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Football is a sport about gaining territory and scoring goals by putting the ball in the back of the opponent's net. For the team to advance forward whilst maintaining shape, rehearsed passing combinations are crucial to maintaining the team's tempo and shape.
The sport was earlier played on bumpy and uneven grass, which made passing challenging. However, with the evolution of the game and the attention to detail, pitches these days are almost like carpets. It makes passing the ball much easier as it travels faster with a consistent speed.
The Premier League, La Liga, German Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 are some of the top leagues in the world that involve immaculate passing plays. While the stars of the past have focused mainly on driving forward and scoring, the game is now more about making the ball work.
Some players truly stand out in this respect. Their ability to manipulate the spaces and help their team progress into the attacking third is exceptional. Without further ado, let's take a look at the five best passers of all time:
#5 Mesut Ozil
Mesut Ozil is one of the most creative, innovative and unique footballers of all time. His ability to scan the field for teammates making runs is unparalleled. The German is renowned for his stints with Real Madrid and Arsenal, where he dazzled with his surreal passing abilities.
In just three seasons in Madrid between 2011-14, Ozil provided 80 assists in all competitions. Out of those, 54 came in La Liga. His partnerships with Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain expanded their games and helped propel Real Madrid to multiple trophies.
Ozil's assists tally took him to ninth on Real Madrid's all-time assists list, despite spending just three full seasons in Spain.
Ozil displayed his class at Arsenal as well but did so in several patches throughout his six-year spell in north London. In the 2015-16 season, Ozil recorded 18 assists before the new year. He was just two shy of equalling Thierry Henry's all-time record for the season. However, a goal drought for striker Olivier Giroud meant the German finished the season with 19 assists.
The German has won several honors in his career, including the FIFA World Cup with his nation in 2014.
He currently plays for Fenerbahce in the Turkish League.
#4 Cesc Fabregas
Cesc Fabregas broke on to the footballing scene as a long-haired, skinny teenager with exceptional talent at Arsenal under Arsene Wenger's watch. Having seen his potential, the former Gunners boss snapped up a then 16-year-old Fabregas from Barcelona's fabled La Masia academy.
The Spaniard shone in a team full of established stars such as Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira and Robert Pires. He was eventually named Arsenal's captain for the 2009-10 season, becoming the youngest to do so aged just 21.
Fabregas etched his name in Spanish history as he provided the assist for Andres Iniesta's winning goal for Spain in the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final.
Fabregas also enjoyed successful spells at Barcelona and Chelsea later in his career. With Chelsea, he came close to equalling Thierry Henry's assists record, providing 19 assists in the 2014-15 campaign in the Premier League.
The Spaniard currently plays for AS Monaco in France.
#3 Juan Roman Riquelme
Juan Roman Riquelme was one of the best midfielders and most underrated footballers of all time. He had some of the best passing and ball-playing abilities one may come across.
Riquelme notably played for Barcelona, Villarreal and Boca Juniors, among others. The Argentine midfielder made over 400 appearances at club level, scoring 106 goals and registering 71 assists.
The former Boca man was known as a classic number 10. A tall and strong presence in midfield, Riquelme held his own in the center of the park. He used his physical and technical abilities such as passing, dribbling and long-range shooting for the team's benefit.
Riquelme made 51 appearances for Argentina, scoring 17 goals and making 20 assists in the process.
He retired from the sport in 2014.
#2 Andres Iniesta
Andres Iniesta is an absolute joy to watch on the pitch. He combines his agility, passing abilities, dribbling skills and spatial awareness to control the midfield. Along with Xavi Hernandez and Sergio Busquets, Iniesta formed one of the sport's greatest ever midfield trios at Barcelona.
Iniesta began his career as a defensive midfielder. However, he exhibited great attacking awareness, decision-making in tight spaces and made darting runs forward. That helped him establish himself as an attacking midfielder later in his career.
He spent 22 years at Barcelona, winning a total of 35 trophies. Iniesta also won two Euro Championships and one World Cup with Spain.
Iniesta has made a whopping 783 club appearances in his career, scoring 82 goals and providing 160 assists. For Spain, he played 131 games, scoring 13 and providing 30 assists.
The Spaniard has been with Vissel Kobe in Japan since 2018.
#1 Xavi Hernandez
Xavi Hernandez is arguably the best passer to have played the beautiful game. Deployed mainly as a 'number 6', Xavi controlled the tempo of the game exceptionally well. Such was his passing accuracy that the man could probably thread a needle with his eyes closed.
The Spaniard is one of the few players in the history of the game to finish an entire game with a 100% passing accuracy. However, he is highest on the list for the number of passes made. He did so against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in 2013 as he made 92 passes.
The Spaniard is also among a list of a handful of players to have played in over 1000 professional football matches.
His role was to play as a deep-lying playmaker, carefully stitching a move together for Barca by connecting defense with offense. He rarely stopped moving or creating space for his teammates during a game. With a low center of gravity, agility, exceptional ball control and near perfect vision, Xavi could pick a pass from any range.
Having retired as a player in 2019, Xavi has now returned to Spain and is Barcelona's manager.
