Best Player Top 10 of 2005

The year is coming to an end, and it is time to give my own personal compilation of top 10 football players of the year. Most of them are newcomers, but others were also on my 2004 list:

• 10) Didier Drogba: Chelsea has rightfully been criticized for playing overly defensive. But they still have a very powerful striking force, and the best one is Didier Drogba. This year, he has confirmed himself as one of the best strikers in the world. Furthermore, he has been part of the Ivory Coast team that qualified for their first World Cup ever.

• 9) Lionel Messi: The Argentinian youngster is certainly the newcomer of the year. He was the best player for Argentina's U-21 team that won the World Championship in the Netherlands in July. He had some problems starting in Barcelona, due to questions on his status as "extra-comunitario", but has shined since on the great Barcelona team. He will surely be a player to watch in 2006!

• 8) Juan Roman Riquelme: The former Barcelona player was a very important player in the Villarreal side that qualified for its first Champions League ever. At the time of writing, Villarreal had won their first round group in front of Benfica, Lille and mighty Manchester United, and is set to play Glasgow Rangers in the final-16 in February. Mr. Riquelme was also an important player of an Argentinian national team that had an excellent spring, becoming the first South American side to qualify for the World Cup after a marvelous 3-1 victory against Brazil, where Mr. Riquelme scored the second goal.

• 7) Michael Essien: His marvelous performance in Olympique Lyon in the spring, was rewarded with a highly anticipated change to Chelsea. In the London-team he has been an important defensive player, although his imagine has been tarnished by his recent violent tackles, particularly the one on Didi Hamann. However, it does not take away that he has had a wonderful year. He was furthermore an important player on the Ghana national team that qualified for its first World Cup ever.

• 6) Frank Lampard: Frank Lampard was also on last year's list. He has continued playing excellent on a Chelsea side that seems un-beatable. Also on the English national team, he has been one of the better-performing players on a team that had some difficulty qualifying for the World Cup.

• 5) Samuel Eto'o: Topscorer of last season's Spanish league with Barcelona, as well as the leading scorer at the end of the season, he has been another of the important player's on the great Catalan team this year. On another front, the World Cup dream faded for him and Cameroun, so he will be one of the missed great players next year in Germany.

• 4) Juninho: Has been marvelous in the strong Olympique Lyon team. They have been French champions as well as very strong in the Champions League, where a memorable 3-0 victory against Real Madrid gave them an early lead in a group they easily won. Mr. Juninho is probably the best free-kicker in the world at the moment, and in February, we will see his magic against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.

• 3) Steven Gerrard: This was a marvelous year for Steven Gerrard. He was the captain of Liverpool's amazing victory in the Champions League final. There was much talk of him changing to a "bigger" club, but he has fortunately stayed in Liverpool. He has continued playing very well into the new season, and will be an important player as Liverpool try to defend their title, as well as for the English side in the World Cup.

• 2) Adriano: The Brazilian striker in Inter Milan is surely the best striker in the world at the moment. He scores many goals in the Italian league as well as in the Champions League. For Brazil he has also become the main striker, and he is specially remembered for his marvelous strike against Argentina in the final of the 2005 Confederations Cup this summer.

• 1) Ronaldinho: The Brazilian was also top of my list in 2004. He has continued as a super-player this year, and now the titles have begun coming: with Barcelona he won the Spanish title, and with Brazil he both qualified for the World Cup and won the 2005 Confederations Cup. There is no doubt Mr. Ronaldinho will be a key player in both Barcelona and Brazil as they contend for Spanish title, Champions League and World Cup in 2006.

The list is as always difficult to complete, and is of course my own personal opinion. I would like to hear others though!