The authoritative publication ESPN continues to sum up the results of the past football season. Most recently, the resource published its version of the top ten attacking midfielders.
Two representatives of the Portuguese national team make the cut. Let’s take a closer look at the entire rating, going in ascending order from tenth place to the first.
10. Nicolo Barella (Inter)
Only the most daring, and to some extent even adventurous football fans, before the start of the season made apostas for such a performance by Inter in the Champions League. Barella was one of the main breakthrough factors, linking together not only the entire midfield line, but the entire defence-midfield-attack structure of the team’s game in general. Nikolo is about the perfect balance between defensive work and attacking creativity.
9. Lucas Paqueta (West Ham)
The Brazilian really started very brightly at AC Milan as soon as he moved to Europe. But since then, his star has dimmed somewhat. Until he moved to West Ham. It was in London that Lucas shone again. His game is full of aesthetic pleasure - a lot of feints, graceful plays and creative passes.
8. Brahim Diaz (Milan)
Milan had a very up-and-down season. On the one hand, the club barely finished fourth in Serie A, but on the other hand, they performed very strongly in the Champions League, where they reached the semi-finals. Brahim Diaz, though, had his best individual season for the Rossoneri. His main ability is to open up play and seek to play passes between the lines, which makes the player very dangerous for the opponent at any stage of the match.
7. Gavi (Barcelona)
Gavi is the perfect example of a pressure player. He knows how to create incredible pressure on opponents, forcing them to often make mistakes. In turn, Gavi himself has masterful control of the ball and plays the pass at some transcendent level of quality. And all this at the age of 18.
6. Julian Brandt (Borussia)
Brandt is perhaps one of the most controversial candidates on this list. That he should be in the top 10 in his position at the end of the season is beyond doubt. Brandt can play centrally, behind the striker, or on the flank, and even spearheading the attack. But statistically, he still gravitated more towards the middle of the field.
5. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
And here is the first of the Portuguese mentioned in the list. Bruno is the soul, heart and brain of the current Manchester United. Largely thanks to him, the team managed to stay afloat in times of crisis. Fernandes meets the ball more often than others and makes the most passes. Not surprisingly, with this level of involvement, he often makes mistakes. If he lowers the percentage of giveaways, Bruno may rise higher in the next year’s ranking, although one could argue his non-aversion to risk-taking is a necessary aspect to his game that makes him such a special player in the first place.
Rice ficou impressionado com Bruno ?? pic.twitter.com/9RzDwgAl4C
— B24 (@B24PT) July 12, 2023
4. Jamal Musiala (Bayern)
Watching Jamal play, it is very difficult to get used to his ability to hold the ball. Even in the most difficult situations, he calmly maintains control due to his low centre of gravity and excellent footwork. The level of influence on the results of the team is best borne out by the statistics: 12 goals and 10 assists.
3. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Another Portuguese and another player whose exact best position on the pitch is difficult to pinpoint, even more so playing under Pep Guardiola with his myriad of tactical setups. Bernardo played both left and right and in the centre throughout the season. He became an integral part of the Guardiola mechanism that brought the treble. It is almost impossible to take away the ball from Silva, but to be caught asleep while he makes the decisive breakthrough is very, very likely.
2. Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
15+7 in the Premier League and the role of the leader of the team that led the league table for the lion’s share of the season are the main arguments for such a high place for the Norwegian. After a not very successful period at Real Madrid, Martin finally began to progress steadily, and now the ceiling of his possibilities seems to be very high.
1. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
De Bruyne is the main element of the whole football structure of the best club in the world at the moment. Kevin had an uneven season and was even publicly criticized by the coach at one point. But in terms of the degree of influence on the game, not a single colleague in the role can compare with him. Remember the Champions League final - how confident the “citizens” looked before the KDB injury and how anxious it was after.
