ESPN Top 100 Footballers 2020

[cgf]

Alaba & Upamecano are both world class CBs.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Alaba may be a winger in his few games with the Austrian national team, but with FC Bayern he's only playing CB.

Upamecano together with Sabitzer was the biggest reason behind Leipzig's Champions League success last season by the way, dominating both Tottenham and Atlético.

Alaba’s played CB regularly for like one year. He’s been a LB/CM/winger his whole career.

And I think Upamecano may be the most overrated player in the Bundesliga. Konate regularly outplays him, in my opinion. Upamecano is very flashy due to his style of play, but he makes a lot of errors. He’s a good player, but this idea that he’s pretty much the undisputed best up and coming CB that all teams should be trying to buy isn’t something I agree with.

 

[Albatros]

Guardiola used Alaba as CB as well, it's not a new thing although he played other positions for a couple of seasons in between.

 

[cgf]

Alaba’s played CB regularly for like one year. He’s been a LB/CM/winger his whole career.

And I think Upamecano may be the most overrated player in the Bundesliga. Konate regularly outplays him, in my opinion. Upamecano is very flashy due to his style of play, but he makes a lot of errors. He’s a good player, but this idea that he’s pretty much the undisputed best up and coming CB that all teams should be trying to buy isn’t something I agree with.

He played CB under Pep and was phenomenal then as well.

Upamecano is not regularly outplayed by Konate, that'd be like saying Subotic regularly outplayed Hummels back in the day. Upamecano is asked to do more and regularly does so at an incredible level. Konate is very good as well and gets the easier job, but he's not asked to as much because he isn't as capable.

 

[Evilo]

Upa is not World class. At all. He has lots of progress to make.
Kounde is much closer to world class right now (though he needs to show it in international games).

 

[Evilo]

And yeah Alaba has played CB a lot over the years.
Not a WC CB either though.

 

[Evilo]

But ESPN guys?
Would you ask a French magazine to rank NHL players with a glimpse of good sense?

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

He played CB under Pep and was phenomenal then as well.

Upamecano is not regularly outplayed by Konate, that'd be like saying Subotic regularly outplayed Hummels back in the day. Upamecano is asked to do more and regularly does so at an incredible level. Konate is very good as well and gets the easier job, but he's not asked to as much because he isn't as capable.

And Pep also used Kimmich at CB. Pep has used Fernandinho at CB. He makes a lot of decisions most coaches wouldn't make. And we don't need to get into the semantics of what regular means, but he split playing time between LB/CB for one season under Pep. Alaba is a world class player with a very versatile skill-set, so he can play many positions well. I don't think that automatically makes him one of the best CB's in the world when for the overwhelming majority of his career he's not been a CB.

We'll have to agree to disagree about Upamecano then. Last season, Konate was injured and Upamecano had a good season without him. The season prior, Konate clearly outplayed, him in my opinion, and probably every CB in the league. This season, I think Upamecano has struggled, while Konate has looked pretty good just back from injury. But it's a limited sample this season, so we'll see how the rest of the season plays out. Anyway, I just don't think Upamecano is as good as the reputation he gets. Upamecano is very flashy, so I see why he gets ranked the way he does, but I feel like a lot of people ignore that he's not yet as consistent as you'd like for a player with his ranking within the game.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

What a disgusting list.
I do like Mane getting some love though.
No Conte on the managers list is a joke
Rashford, Vinicius, Pogba, Grealish, Henderson, Reguilon, Chillwell, Upamecano, Kounde, Walker, Navas, Dest, Trippier

 

[cgf]

What a disgusting list.
I do like Mane getting some love though.
No Conte on the managers list is a joke
Rashford, Vinicius, Pogba, Grealish, Henderson, Reguilon, Chillwell, Upamecano, Kounde, Walker, Navas, Dest, Trippier

...you know that Conte is a bad manager, right?

 

[East Coast Bias]

ESPN is shitty. Bad content.

That said, If every one of you created your own list, the majority of the other posters here would shit themselves over it as well.

It would probably swing the other way here, with 18 year old prospects listed as the top 3 players in the world as some positions.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

...you know that Conte is a bad manager, right?

Conte is a top-5 manager. What are you talking about?

 

[cgf]

And Pep also used Kimmich at CB. Pep has used Fernandinho at CB. He makes a lot of decisions most coaches wouldn't make. And we don't need to get into the semantics of what regular means, but he split playing time between LB/CB for one season under Pep. Alaba is a world class player with a very versatile skill-set, so he can play many positions well. I don't think that automatically makes him one of the best CB's in the world when for the overwhelming majority of his career he's not been a CB.

We'll have to agree to disagree about Upamecano then. Last season, Konate was injured and Upamecano had a good season without him. The season prior, Konate clearly outplayed, him in my opinion, and probably every CB in the league. This season, I think Upamecano has struggled, while Konate has looked pretty good just back from injury. But it's a limited sample this season, so we'll see how the rest of the season plays out. Anyway, I just don't think Upamecano is as good as the reputation he gets. Upamecano is very flashy, so I see why he gets ranked the way he does, but I feel like a lot of people ignore that he's not yet as consistent as you'd like for a player with his ranking within the game.

So what you're saying is that Alaba has just as much of a sample size as a world class CB as Dest does? ;-)

 

[cgf]

Conte is a top-5 manager. What are you talking about?

I'm talking about conte, the idiot in charge of Inter right now.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

So what you're saying is that Alaba has just as much of a sample size as a world class CB as Dest does? ;-)

If you want to put Alaba with the LB's, he's top 2 for me. I think the CB list is a little harder to break into when someone like Gimenez isn't even on the list, and Marquinhos is 10.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

I'm talking about conte, the idiot in charge of Inter right now.

Oh you mean the same guy who made them relevant again?

 

[Adele Dazeem]

If you want to put Alaba with the LB's, he's top 2 for me. I think the CB list is a little harder to break into when someone like Gimenez isn't even on the list, and Marquinhos is 10.

Dest being there is laughable.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Dest being there is laughable.

Dest isn't a CB. I'm confused at what you are trying to say.

 

[cgf]

Oh you mean the same guy who made them relevant again?

Since when does finishing bottom of your group make you relevent?

We're talking about a coach who sent his team out in a must-win match against an injury weakened backline and the best he could do was bunker & pray for Lukaku/VAR. It was simply pathetic watching Inter just standing around with their season on the line, letting BMG roll the ball around them with ease.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

Since when does finishing bottom of your group make you relevent?

We're talking about a coach who sent his team out in a must-win match against an injury weakened backline and the best he could do was bunker & pray for Lukaku/VAR. It was simply pathetic watching Inter just standing around with their season on the line, letting BMG roll the ball around them with ease.

You mean the same coach who actually turned Lukaku from a nearly forgotten player who had a lot of potential to a top-10 striker in the world currently? Inter's problems don't have anything to do with their coaching. Also BMG aren't sheep coming to get slaughtered. Even Madrid couldn't beat them.

Squad depth is the main problem in Inter. Eriksen wasn't a good acquisition.

 

[Adele Dazeem]

Dest isn't a CB. I'm confused at what you are trying to say.

Dest was listed in the top-10 for fullbacks. He shouldn't be sniffing any top-whatever list any time soon; if ever.

 

[cgf]

You mean the same coach who actually turned Lukaku from a nearly forgotten player who had a lot of potential to a top-10 striker in the world currently? Inter's problems don't have anything to do with their coaching. Also BMG aren't sheep coming to get slaughtered. Even Madrid couldn't beat them.

Squad depth is the main problem in Inter. Eriksen wasn't a good acquisition.

How many managers do we credit for turning Lukaku into a top striker? I seem to recall Mourinho-fanboys making those same claims to defend their beloved when confronted with his poor possession structures. But w/e, kudos to Conte for not impeding his 70M euro striker completely...

BMG's quality (especially with the ball) was my point. Conte's strategy would've been cowardly facing an outclassed minnow, against a team who had already outplayed his once before, it was simply shameful...especially with Elvedi & Bensebaini out for the match.

 

[Aladyyn]

Conte is a top-5 manager. What are you talking about?

Not even a top 5 manager in Serie A...

 

[Adele Dazeem]

How many managers do we credit for turning Lukaku into a top striker? I seem to recall Mourinho-fanboys making those same claims to defend their beloved when confronted with his poor possession structures. But w/e, kudos to Conte for not impeding his 70M euro striker completely...

BMG's quality (especially with the ball) was my point. Conte's strategy would've been cowardly facing an outclassed minnow, against a team who had already outplayed his once before, it was simply shameful...especially with Elvedi & Bensebaini out for the match.

I don't understand your rant about BMG? First you say they're no pushovers, then you call them outclassed minnows? They're maybe one tier lower than Inter in terms of quality. Also, Inter won that match - sure it wasn't easy but like I said BMG wasn't just going out without a fight.

In regards to Lukaku, the man said it himself. He feels revitalized at Inter and credits Conte. His production is no comparison to what he was doing in United, especially the later seasonos.

Also, very nice of you not to mention his Serie A success. Inter went from fighting for a Champions league spot, to now being a contender for the league.

@Aladyyn I have no idea what you're watching my friend. It's not Serie A.

 

[Aladyyn]

Now compare how many resources he gets compared to some of the other managers who got their clubs to a similar position (De Zerbi, Gasperini, S. Inzaghi, Pioli) and you'll understand.