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The midfield is the spine of any football team. The center of the pitch is where much of the action takes place. Winning the ball in the middle of the park, controlling possession and dictating play are mostly done by midfielders.
A strong midfield is a balanced one
It's not enough for a team to have naturally gifted technicians patrolling the midfield reams. A strong midfield needs to be balanced. They should have individuals who are good at destroying opposition attacks and recycling possession.
An efficient midfield department should also be blessed with playmakers who possess great technique and vision. To get a better idea, all we need to do is analyze the best midfields in Europe this term.
Without further ado, let's take a look at five of the strongest midfields in football this season.
#5 Liverpool
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is one of the best coaches in the world of football. He has transformed this Liverpool side from nostalgia merchants to one of the most intimidating sides in Europe over the past six-and-a-half seasons.
Liverpool's midfield is all about efficiency. The Merseysiders have one of the best defensive midfielders in the world in Fabinho. He is a disruptive presence at the base of midfield, constantly destroying opposition attacks and turning over possession for his side.
Jordan Henderson is a workhorse who also possesses a great reading of the game. He is always looking to sniff out passes and make interceptions and is pretty good at it as well. Thiago Alcantara is one of the most technically gifted footballers on the planet.
Despite crossing over to the 30s, Thiago continues to work hard in midfield. His deft touches, turns, agility and pin-point passing help afford a great amount of freedom to the Liverpool attackers.
Naby Keita, Curtis Jones and James Milner are three very good replacements for the aforementioned trio as well.
#4 Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich have two of the finest midfielders in all of Europe. Joshua Kimmich is one of the best holding midfielders in the world. His partner Leon Goretzka is one of the best box-to-box midfielders on the planet.
Together, they work like a charm at the base of Bayern Munich's midfield. The two of them are excellent passers of the ball. Kimmich is a great deep-lying playmaker. There is a bit more of a physical aspect to Goretzka's game and he is a big threat from set-pieces as well.
Thomas Muller often starts as an attacking midfielder in front of Kimmich and Goretzka. Muller is the assist-king of Europe and has scored 12 goals and provided 22 assists in 40 appearances for Bayern Munich this season.
In addition to these three, Bayern Munich have Marcel Sabitzer, Corentin Tolisso and Jamal Musiala as well.
#3 Barcelona
Barcelona struggled massively in the first half of the 2021-22 season. The Catalans had a very imbalanced side but they rejigged their squad well during the January transfer window. They have been one of the best teams in Europe ever since.
But their midfield department is extremely well-rounded with a great blend of youth and experience. Sergio Busquets might be in the twilight of his career but Barcelona have a great set of young midfielders on their payroll.
19-year-old Pedri has been absolutely brilliant and has already earned comparisons to the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta. 17-year-old Gavi, who was introduced to the first team this season, is a prodigious talent produced by the famed La Masia academy.
Frenkie De Jong has also been getting back to his best under Xavi Hernandez in recent months. The Catalans also have Nico Gonzalez and Riqui Puig on their payroll. It's easy to see why Barcelona have made easy work of their opponents in recent months and have climbed to second in the La Liga table.
#2 Manchester City
Perhaps no other team on this list has as technically blessed a group of midfielders as Manchester City. Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have been one of the strongest sides in Europe this season. What makes them so difficult to go up against is how well-balanced their midfield is.
Rodri is one of the finest deep-lying playmakers in the world. He possesses a great reading of the game and is so tactically intelligent that he can afford Pep Guardiola the luxury of not using a double pivot in midfield.
Bernardo Silva is one of the best central midfielders in the Premier League. He has been one of City's standout performers this season and h is well complemented by Kevin De Bruyne. The Belgian international has been in spectacular form this term again.
But that's not all. They also have Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, Fernandinho and a young Cole Palmer adding depth to their midfield. Pep Guardiola is quite simply spoilt for choices when it comes to his midfield department.
#1 Real Madrid
Real Madrid's midfield trio of Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos are widely viewed as the best in Europe. The trio have won three back-to-back Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018.
All three players are in their 30s but on their day, there is still no dominating them. Luka Modric is one of the finest ball progressors in the game right now and despite being 36 years old, he is a tireless worker. He is also one of the best passers in the modern era.
Toni Kroos is a midfield maestro blessed with incredible technical ability. He boasts a pass completion rate of 94.6% across all competitions for Real Madrid this term. Casemiro continues to be one of the best midfield destroyers on the planet. But he has shown that there is more to his game than just muscle in recent seasons.
Real Madrid are presently at the top of the La Liga table and while their attackers have been in sublime form, their midfield has done a great job too. Real Madrid also have the talented Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos and Isco as alternatives. Carlo Ancelotti clearly has the strongest midfield department in all of Europe right now.
