10) Arturo Vidal - Juventus & Chile
'The new Makelele'. Vidal is quietly
establishing himself as one of the best
holding midfielders in the world for
Juventus. A brilliantly combative
operator - Vidal is the platform from
which the Old Lady have waltzed to
consecutive Serie A titles. Alongside
Andre Pirlo and the ever-improving Paul
Pogba, Juventus have a midfield trio to
rival anything in Europe.
9) Steven Gerrard - Liverpool & England
Now 33-years-old, Gerrard is not the
dynamic lung-busting player he once
was, but is still brilliantly effective for
both club and country. Now played in a
deeper role, the Liverpool skipper
dictates matches with his fantastic
array of passing and organisational
skills. One of the best players of his
generation, and still worth his place in
any side.
8) Ilkay Gundogan - Borussia Dortmund
& Germany
The youngest player in this top 10 -
Gundogan has quickly established
himself as one of the hottest properties
in world football. Brilliant technically,
Gundogan has an outrageous engine,
and can break through midfield with the
ball at his feet. At only 23-years-old,
the German will get better and better,
and his parent club will do well to hold
on to him when the likes of Barcelona
and Manchester United come sniffing.
7) Cesc Fabregas - Barcelona & Spain
Fabregas is a technically outstanding
midfielder, and is as good on the eye as
anyone in the world. Barcelona have an
embarrassment of midfield riches like
no other, but Fabregas is still an integral
part of their all-conquering outfit.
6) Yaya Toure - Manchester City &
Ivory Coast
The highest Premier League operator on
this list - Toure has been absolutely
brilliant since arriving in Manchester.
Arguably the world's most powerful
midfielder, Toure's physical presence on
a football field is virtually unrivalled. The
Ivorian was key to City's maiden title
win in 2011/12, and is still the first
name on their team sheet. Alongside
Fernandinho, City have the strongest
midfield base in the country.
5) Xabi Alonso - Real Madrid & Spain
Along with Paul Scholes, Alonso is
probably the best passer of a football to
play in the Premier League. Since
moving to Real Madrid for a whopping
£30m back in 2009, Alonso has only
cemented his reputation as one of the
world's best. His ability to pick out a
teammate with a long diagonal is
practically unrivalled.
4) Andrea Pirlo - Juventus & Italy
When Italy beat England in the Euro
quarters last year, there was a
begrudging acceptance that we had
watched a player who was head and
shoulders above anything else on the
park. Pirlo is a beautifully slick
midfielder to watch, with intricate
passing, perfect touch, and dangerous
set-pieces. The fact he can barely run
and we still rate him as the world's
fourth best centre-midfielder shows
how perfect a midfielder he really is.
3) Xavi - Barcelona & Spain
No player in the world plays more
passes than Xavi, and that's a fact. Xavi
epitomises the Barcelona tika-taka
approach, and marshals a wave of
attacking brilliance at the Nou Camp
every week. His one touch passing, and
ability to control the ball and recycle it
in tight areas leaves fans gobsmacked.
Like the player who tops this list - he's
won everything there is to win in world
football.
2) Bastian Schweinsteiger - Bayern
Munich & Germany
The dictator of Germany's and Bayern
Munich's midfield - Schweinsteiger has
no weaknesses, and virtually never has
a bad game. Strong in the tackle and
combative, but technically outstanding
and creative - the 29-year-old has
consistently been one of the best
European midfielders for the past
decade.
1) Andres Iniesta - Barcelona & Spain
What more can be said about this
wonderful midfielder? If Iniesta didn't
live in the same era as Lionel Messi, he
would have won a Ballon D'or by now.
To make up for it, the diminutive
Spaniard has won literally everything
there is to win in football. He even
bagged a winner in a World Cup final.
Probably the only midfielder to rival
Zinedine Zidane in terms of greatness in
the past 20 years.
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