We are back! After a brief hiatus due to the Winter World Cup in Qatar, ESPN presents its seventh annual ranking of world football’s best men’s players and coaches! Welcome to FC100.
FC 100 is different because we actually take into account all 11 positions on the field; most countdowns prioritize talent with little regard for the placement of stars. The end result is an unappealing roster, with more focus on goalscorers (forwards) and goal-makers from midfield, with little attention paid to talent in those areas. less attractive on the field.
Our leaderboard shows each position on time and provides readers with the closest thing to a “depth chart” of each position in world football.
GUIDE
Go: Goalie | Right behind | Focus again | left back | central midfielder | Attacking midfield | winger | Front | striker | Manager
Previous versions: 2021-22 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016
ESPN FC Women’s Rankings: 2021
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Why is there no player from USMNT on ESPN FC’s 100 list
Herc Gomez explains why it’s not surprising that no player from the USMNT or the Mexican national team made it to ESPN’s 100 player list.
main lesson
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We have a new, new look-and-feel list with seven new #1s in 10 categories. Only Ruben Dias (CB), Achraf Hakimi (RB) and Kevin De Bruyne (AM) have retained their positions from the end of 2021 standings. This reflects the change in generation since the Lionel Messi era/ Cristiano Ronaldo into the era of new stars.
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Speaking of Cristiano Ronaldo, he hasn’t made it to this list for the first time since we started this annual ranking in 2016. Our global board considers his exit from Man United harshly, the World Cup bad with Portugal and a move to the Saudi Pro League as disqualification factors.
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There’s no international American or Mexican among the 100 on the list, this shows that there is still some way to go before those players are considered part of that elite. (Tough seasons for the likes of Hirving Lozano, Christian Pulisic and Tyler Adams are sure to be absent from the standings.)
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The Premier League reigns supreme, offers 45 out of 100 players, and it is heavily weighted against the top clubs and top four teams. (Full breakdown: Man City 13, Arsenal 8, Liverpool 6, Man United 6, Newcastle 4, Brighton 3; Chelsea/West Ham/Tottenham/Aston Villa one each.)
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Man City provided the most names for FC 100followed closely by Barcelona (10) and Real Madrid (9).
How the lists were made
This year’s poll features 50 entries from around the world and from every field of ESPN FC, from writers to reporters, from editors to producers, from behind-the-scenes staff to online talent. Gab Marcotti, Julien Laurens, Mark Ogden and Luis Miguel Echegaray are just some of the key voters, along with their FC TV partners Craig Burley and Shaka Hislop.
Voters are encouraged to consider the following when casting their ballots: who is the current best player, according to their 2022-23 season. Voters have the right to determine the extent of injuries in ballots; several players have been cut despite missing parts of the season based on the size of their contributions and performances when healthy. Similarly, performance in individual tournaments (aka Champions League, World Cup) is considered, but not an overarching factor, in voting. Players with sustained efforts in the largest sample of games will naturally rank higher than those who excel in short tournament formats.
Here are some of the questions we asked voters:
Q: On what basis should I rate my players?
A: Who do you think is the best player right now, if they are completely healthy.
Q: How much should I take into account the current season?
A: It will probably be an important component, but this is not a ranking of the best players in 2022-23. Instead, this season will likely weigh heavily on your assessment as it reflects more recent performances. If someone is outstanding in 2022-23 then there is reason to believe they are a great player right now.
Q: What if someone has performed at a very high level for a long time but this year is not so good?
A: That’s when it becomes a judgment call. For example, Sadio Mane is a great player but this season he has only scored 12 goals in 34 games, compared to 23 goals in 51 games last year. He’s 31 years old, so you’ll need to decide if it’s just a drop in form due to a new team and a new coach or you think maybe he’s older now. His skills are dwindling.
Q: How do we deal with injured players during key periods of the season?
A: Rate them on how long they were healthy and their previous jobs. And again, if they’ve been out of action for a long time, decide if you think the injury has had such a long-term effect that they’ve been permanently impaired.
Q: Should we value performance more in major tournaments like the World Cup and Champions League?
A: Not necessarily. If there’s a player who was brilliant in the Champions League (think Divock Origi a few years ago) but mediocre in the league, he probably shouldn’t be in your standings.
What each FC 100 Top 10 is about
The key here is in two parts: why each player made it to this list in 2022-23 and where they are expected to go next season.
Goalie
For the modern goalkeeper, good use of his gloves is not enough. Today, interceptors are expected to initiate offensive moves as well as block them.
Agility and reflexes are par for the course, but the best goalkeepers in the world also combine a sense of confidence and daring in the box that makes them seem truly bigger in real life.
Right behind
Right-back has never been the sexiest position, but much of the game has seen it become an intense and unpredictable position on the pitch. The best in the game will combine strong positional awareness with breakneck speed, as well as the audacity to rush forward and assist their team in attack.
central defender
If you’re going to have a great team, you need a good central defender (two, if you’re really lucky). The best players in the game are formidable players in both size and power but are also blessed with the ability to handle the ball at the right time and predict striker movements to regain control of the ball. .
Elegance with and without the ball is essential, whether making a weighted pass or fooling an opponent to relieve pressure.
left back
Just like their counterparts on the opposite flank, the best left-backs combine speed and intelligence to become a threat in attack or defence. Comfort and precise passing with the left foot is also a rarity, but the top players will be at their peak when they stack up before slicing into a perfect ball.
central midfielder
Engine room. Metronome. Drinking straws stir drinks. Central midfielder is the nerve center of any successful team, but the beauty of this position is that high class can come in many different forms.
There are tough ball stealers who cover a lot of grass and win the ball all the time. Or about the conductor, proficient with both feet and at his best when dribbling past opponents and passing accurately. Then there are those who set the tone for their team through their distributive power, always aware of their teammates’ movements, and constantly able to pick them up on the run.
Whatever your preference, your team will fail without quality in the middle of the park.
attacking midfielder
Playfulness, creativity, speed and confidence: these are the tools available to the best attacking midfielders. Sometimes called the number 10, these boys are as free to score as they are when they do. With their ability to freely move around the field and exploit space, their rich ability to create something out of nothing makes them the most exciting players around.
winger
Wingers have become a bit outdated in modern football, but there are still a lot of benefits to having quick, attacking-minded players in wide positions. Blessed with the speed and tenacity to beat scorers and cross the line to land a cross, they can be really dangerous.
Front
Strikers are more mysterious and harder to identify in today’s beautiful game. They are not quite the strikers they once were, parked in a six-yard box ready to poach. They are not really attacking midfielders, coordinating the play from deep, nor are they wingers whose job is to stretch the opponent’s defense for teammates to exploit.
Instead, they are a powerful combination of all of the above, talented enough to take on freelance roles and graceful enough under pressure to consistently get the job done.
striker
Snoopers in the box, the modern forward is an unstoppable force. They will score in any match, against any team from any position. Quick-footed and quick-witted, their ability to read play and predict where the ball will be passed three times before it gets there is what sets them apart.
It’s not just the touches they’ll score with: the best strikers can improvise with any part of their body (except the hands, of course) to get the job done. Clever snaps, sophisticated tricks, skillful heel strikes and calm set-pieces are their best weapons.
Manager
All of the above means nothing without an equally adept mastermind on the frontier. Football’s best managers are calculating with their tactics, charming enough with their people management to handle harsh emotions during a full club season and free enough. awareness to deal with the psychological stress of the demanding media and the external pressure of fans.
Top managers transform any team from a group of individuals into a well-trained, harmonious collective in which every player knows their role and values. And they’ll look good doing it, too.
