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CIES Football Observatory have released their survey to determine the best players based on the position they play in, starting the 1stof January this year. The rankings consider the relevant statistics for different positions.Among the centre backs, the list mostly comprises players from England and Germany with the mentions of a few players from France. The Bundesliga once again rules the roost in case of fullbacks while the Premier League takes a sizeable chunk in case of attacking midfielders. However, the biggest shock comes in the forwards category where one big name doesn't find himself in the top 10.The key factors taken into consideration while churning down the list are:Shooting: ability to take advantage of goal opportunities through accurate shootingChance creation: ability to put teammates in a good position to scoreTake on: ability to create dangerous situations by successfully challenging opponentsDistribution: ability to keep a hold on the game through efficient passingRecovery: ability to minimise goal opportunities for opponents through proficient interception workRigour: ability to minimise goal opportunities for opponents through robust duellingHere is a full breakdown of the survey with the top 10 players in respect to their playing positions:
#1 Centrebacks
The study reveals that among the centrebacks, Bayer Leverkusen’s Emir Spahic is at the top, followed by Manchester City’s Martin Demichelis. Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels followed by Manchester United’s Chris Smalling.
Former Brazil captain and Paris Saint-Germain’s Thiago Silva finds himself at the number 5 spot. The sixth place is a tie between David Luiz of PSG and Stefan di Vrij of Lazio. United make another appearance at 8 with Marco Rojo. The ninth spot is once again shared by Konstantinos Manolas of AS Roma and Hummels teammate at Dortmund, Neven Suboti.
Interestingly, the list doesn't see the likes of Sergio Ramos among others make it even to the top 15, let alone the top 10.
| No. | Player Name | Club | League | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Emir Spahic | Bayer Leverkusen | Bundesliga | 100 |
| 2. | Martin Demichelis | Manchester City | Premier League | 89 |
| 3. | Mats Hummels | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | 79 |
| 4. | Chris Smalling | Manchester United | Premier League | 76 |
| 5. | Thiago Silva | Paris Saint Germain | Ligue 1 | 71 |
| 6. | David Luiz | Paris Saint Germain | Ligue 1 | 69 |
| Stefan de Vrij | Lazio | Serie A | 69 | |
| 8. | Marco Rojo | Manchester United | Premier League | 68 |
| 9. | Konstantinos Manolas | AS Roma | Serie A | 64 |
| Neven Suboti | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | 64 |
#2 Fullbacks
Among the fullbacks, Manchester City’s Gael Clichy tops the chart, followed by Marcelo from Real Madrid. Bayern Munich’s Márcio Rafinha is shares the third spot with Wendell Nascimento from Bayer Leverkusen.
The defending Premier League champions finds another mention at 5 in the form of Pablo Zabaleta. David Alaba of Bayern Munich and Jordi Alba of Barcelona are tied 6th, followed by Layvin Kurzawa of Monaco, who is 8th.
| No. | Player Name | Club | League | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Gael Clichy | Manchester City | Premier League | 100 |
| 2. | Marcelo Viera | Real Madrid | La Liga | 75 |
| 3. | Márcio Rafinha | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | 72 |
| Wendell Nascimento | Bayer Leverkusen | Bundesliga | 72 | |
| 5. | Pablo Zabaleta | Manchester City | Premier League | 70 |
| 6. | David Alaba | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | 69 |
| Jordi Alba | Barcelona | La Liga | 69 | |
| 8. | Layvin Kurzawa | AS Monaco | Ligue 1 | 68 |
| 9. | Dusan Basta | Lazio | Serie A | 67 |
| 10. | Juan Bernat | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | 65 |
#3 Central midfielders
In the central midfielder category, Borussia Dortmund’s Nuri Sahin takes the top spot followed by Juventus’s Paul Pogba. Luis Fernandinho is at third, followed by Lucas Biglia and Ilkay Gündoan.
Marco Verratti from Paris Saint Germain is at sixth while former Real Madrid player Xabi Alonso is in eighth. 2014 World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger is ninth and the 10th spot belongs to Arturo Vidal from Juventus.
| No. | Player Name | Club | League | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Nuri Sahin | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | 100 |
| 2. | Paul Pogba | Juventus | Serie A | 96 |
| 3. | Luis Fernandinho | Manchester City | Premier League | 94 |
| 4. | Lucas Biglia | Lazio | Serie A | 89 |
| 5. | Ilkay Gündoan. | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | 87 |
| 6. | Marco Verratti | Paris Saint Germain | Ligue 1 | 85 |
| 7. | Clement Chantome | Bordeaux | Ligue 1 | 84 |
| 8. | Xabi Alonso | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | 79 |
| 9. | Bastian Schweinsteiger | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | 78 |
| 10. | Arturo Vidal | Juventus | Serie A | 77 |
#4 Attacking midfielders
The top three spots in the attacking midfielder category are occupied by three players from the Premier League – Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil and Manchester City’s Jesus Navas. Kevin de Bruyne comes in at 4, followed by former Manchester United winger Shinji Kagawa.
Napoli makes its first entrance with Marek Hamšík at 6th. David Silva from Manchester City and Maximilian Meyer from Schalke occupy the seventh and eighth place. Roberto Pereyra of Juventus and Javier Pastore of Paris Saint Germain round off the list.
| No. | Player Name | Club | League | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Eden Hazard | Chelsea | Premier League | 100 |
| Mesut Ozil | Arsenal | Premier League | 100 | |
| 3. | Jesus Navas | Manchester City | Premier League | 86 |
| 4. | Kevin de Bruyne | Wolfsburg | Bundesliga | 85 |
| 5. | Shinji Kagawa | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | 84 |
| 6. | Marek Hamšík | Napoli | Serie A | 79 |
| 7. | David Sliva | Manchester City | Premier League | 77 |
| 8. | Maximilian Meyer | Schalke | Bundesliga | 73 |
| 9. | Roberto Pereyra | Juventus | Serie A | 72 |
| Javier Pastore | Paris Saint Germain | Ligue 1 | 72 |
#5 Forwards
Barcelona striker Lionel Messi leads the list in the forwards list, followed by Bayern Munich’s Dutch forward Arjen Robben. Robben’s fellow countrymen Bas Dost is in third, followed by Messi’s teammate at Barcelona, Luis Suarez.
Chelsea’s Diego Costa is fifth while the latest sensation to come out of England, Harry Kane is tied sixth with Marco Rues. Lucas Barrios, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Christophe Mandanne round off the list.
Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo is ranked 29th in the list, but given Real Madrid’s poor form since the start of the year, adding to the Portuguese’s own off-pitch troubles, this doesn’t really come as surprising as it should. Meanwhile, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema find themselves in the 35th and 37th position respectively.
| No. | Player Name | Club | League | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | La Liga | 100 |
| 2. | Arjen Robben | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | 92 |
| 3. | Bas Dost | Wolfsburg | Bundesliga | 77 |
| 4. | Luis Suarez | Barcelona | La Liga | 71 |
| 5. | Diego Costa | Chelsea | Premier League | 61 |
| 6. | Harry Kane | Tottenham Hotspur | Premier League | 57 |
| Marco Reus | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | 57 | |
| 8. | Lucas Barrios | Montpellier | Ligue 1 | 56 |
| 9. | Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Borussia Dortmund | Bundesliga | 55 |
| 10. | Christophe Mandanne | Guingamp | Ligue 1 | 54 |
