Retro "Rangliste"

Earlier this season I attempted to rank this season’s European based players according to the system devised by German magazine Kicker in the 1950s. The focus of this blog though has so far been primarily historical and so it was inevitable that I would eventually try to recreate the rankings for the past. This then is my attempt to do that.

I’ve chosen 1980 as an arbitrary starting point on the basis that there exists a wealth of information for the period since then. These rankings do not claim to be definitive. It is hard enough to rank and rate players performing currently, let alone those from more than 30 years ago. Despite that there are more than enough sources with which to form an educated opinion on the standard to which players within Europe were operating. The ratings provided by Kicker itself, those of Don Balon, Mundo Deportivo, Guerin Sportivo and others offer a starting point. There are a plethora of domestic awards in addition to those organised by the likes of France Football and Onze Mondial, which add further light. In addition I’m in the fortunate position to own every copy of World Soccer from 1980 onwards which provided its typical encyclopaedic coverage of the international game.

If anyone has additional information or would like to suggest inclusions and exclusions for future periods then please let me know.

For those who missed the original the scope and categories are included below as a refresher.

Scope

These rankings apply to all players based in Europe in a given season. They focus primarily on domestic and European performances, with due consideration given to mid-season internationals, but exclude continental tournaments such as the World Cup, European Championships and Copa America. Consideration is given to the calibre of competition and opposition faced to reflect the difficulty in obtaining high quality performances. Therefore an outstanding performance in the Belgian league, for instance, will count for less than one in the Champions League final.

Players are rewarded for competing to a high standard in multiple competitions and for maintaining consistency throughout the period. Where a player is injured for a period of time in a season it may prevent them demonstrating the necessary consistency to be classified as world or international class.

The rankings consider merely the performances made during the season in question. They do not look at the ability or past history of a player, only how they have played during the year studied. They do not assess the completeness or variety of talents a player demonstrates either, merely the level to which he influences the games played in.

Note in any given season there may be no players performing to a world class level in a particular position, players do not become world class by default but by the performances they make.

Ratings

World Class *** – Performing consistently to an exceptional standard. Among the finest players in the world and performing at a level comparable with the very best in your position. (Guideline – 15-20 players a season)

International class ** – Performing consistently to an excellent or sporadically to an exceptional standard.  (Guideline – a further 20-30 players a season)

National class * – Performing consistently to a very high standard or sporadically to an exceptional or excellent standard.  (Guideline – a further 50-60 players a season)

Note: All appearance and goal statistics throughout the rankings refer only to the domestic league.