European "Rangliste" 2011/12

Following my mid-season attempt to rate the best performing players in Europe of 2011/12 (in the style of kicker's legendary "Rangliste") I was hoping to update it after the campaign's climax with more brief profiles of the game's leading stars. Sadly time didn't permit that endeavour, but instead I have included below a short summary of the rankings I would have provided along with the league appearances and goals for roughly 120 top performers. As always it makes no claim to be definitive, but does aim to be a fair reflection of those who shone in 2011/12.

Goalkeepers

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus and Italy) 34 games, 0 goals **

Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Borussia Moenchengladbach and Germany) 34 games, 0 goals **
Samir Handanovic (Udinese and Slovenia) 38 games, 0 goals **
Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-Germain and Italy) 38 games, 0 goals **

Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich and Germany) 33 games, 0 goals *
Michel Vorm (Swansea and Holland) 37 games, 0 goals *

Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon and Portugal) 28 games, 0 goals *
Joe Hart (Manchester City and England) 38 games, 0 goals *
Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen and Germany) 33 games, 0 goals *
Tim Krul (Newcastle United and Holland) 38 games, 0 goals *
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid and Spain) 37 games, 0 goals *
Petr Cech (Chelsea and Czech Republic) 34 games, 0 goals *

Steeve Elana (Brest and France) 37 games, 0 goals *

Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid and Belgium) 37 games, 0 goals *

Full-backs

Dani Alves (Barcelona and Brazil) 33 games, 2 goals **
Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich and Germany) 31 games, 0 goals **

Lukasz Piszczek (Borrusia Dortmund and Poland) 34 games, 4 goals **
Marcelo (Real Madrid and Brazil) 32 games, 3 goals *
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur and England) 37 games, 2 goals *
Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus and Switzerland) 35 games, 2 goals*
Mathieu Debuchy (Lille and France) 32 games, 5 goals*

Christian Maggio (Napoli and Italy) 33 games, 3 goals *

Tony Jantschke (Borussia Moenchengladbach and Germany) 32 games, 1 goal *

Henri Bedimo (Montpellier and Cameroon) 36 games, 1 goal *

Pablo Armero (Udinese and Colombia) 28 games, 0 goals *

Jordi Alba (Valencia and Spain) 32 games, 2 goals *


Centre-backs

Thiago Silva (AC Milan and Brazil) 27 games, 2 goals ***
Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund and Germany) 33 games, 1 goal ***
Vincent Kompany (Manchester City and Belgium) 31 games, 3 goals ***

Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus and Italy) 34 games, 2 goals **

Javier Mascherano (Barcelona and Argentina) 30 games, 1 goal**

Andrea Barzagli (Juventus and Italy) 35 games, 1 goal **
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid and Spain) 34 games, 3 goals **

Jonny Evans (Manchester United and Northern Ireland) 29 games, 1 goal *

Jan Vertonghen (Ajax and Belgium) 31 games, 8 goals*
Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich and Germany) 33 games, 0 goals *
Adil Rami (Valencia and France) 33 games, 2 goals *
Mapou Yanga-M’Biwa (Montpellier and France) 34 games, 1 goal *
Nicolas N’Koulou (Marseille and Cameroon) 30 games, 0 goals *
Hugo Campagnaro (Napoli and Argentina) 31 games, 2 goals*
Dante (Borussia Moenchengladbach and Brazil) 33 games, 0 goals *
Javi Martinez (Atletic Bilbao and Spain) 31 games, 4 goals *

Lucio (Internazionale and Brazil) 34 games, 1 goal *

Defensive Midfielders

Arturo Vidal (Juventus and Chile) 33 games, 7 goals **
Scott Parker (Tottenham Hotspur and England) 29 games, 0 goals **

Sergio Busquets (Barcelona and Spain) 31 games, 1 goal **
Daniele De Rossi (Roma and Italy) 32 games, 4 goals *
Jeremy Toulalan (Malaga and France) 25 games, 3 goals *

Francesco Lodi (Catania and Italy) 37 games, 9 goals *
Alex Song (Arsenal and Cameroon) 34 games, 1 goal *
Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen and Germany) 28 games, 4 goals *

Felipe Melo (Galatasaray and Brazil) 36 games, 12 goals *

Axel Witsel (Benfica and Belgium) 29 games, 1 goal *

Etienne Capoue (Toulouse and France) 33 games, 3 goals *

Central Midfielders

Andrea Pirlo (Juventus and Italy) 37 games, 3 goals ***
Xavi (Barcelona and Spain) 31 games, 10 goals ***
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich and Germany) 22 games, 3 goals **

Luka Modric (Tottenham Hotspur and Croatia) 36 games, 4 goals **

Yaya Toure (Manchester City and Ivory Coast) 32 games, 6 goals **

Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid and Spain) 36 games, 1 goal **
Claudio Marchisio (Juventus and Italy) 36 games, 9 goals *

Michael Carrick (Manchester United and England) 30 games, 2 goals *
Rasmus Elm (AZ Alkmaar and Sweden) 32 games, 2 goals *
Rio Mavuba (Lille and France) 38 games, 1 goal *

Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord and Holland) 33 games, 3 goals *

Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle United and France) 34 games, 4 goals *

Roman Shirokov (Zenit St Petersberg and Russia) 23 games, 7 goals *

Ramires (Chelsea and Brazil) 30 games, 5 goals *

Attacking Midfielders

David Silva (Manchester City and Spain) 36 games, 6 goals ***
Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund and Japan) 31 games, 13 goals **
Mesut Oezil (Real Madrid and Germany) 35 games, 4 goals **
Sebastian Giovinco (Parma and Italy) 36 games, 15 goals **

Younes Belhanda (Montpellier and Morocco) 28 games, 12 goals *

Juan Mata (Chelsea and Spain) 34 games, 6 goals *

Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona and Spain) 28 games, 9 goals *

Frank Lampard (Chelsea and England) 30 games, 11 goals *
Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich and Germany) 31 games, 4 goals *
Christian Eriksen (Ajax and Denmark) 33 games, 7 goals*

Hugo Viana (Braga and Portugal) 26 games, 2 goals *

Andres Iniesta (Barcelona and Spain) 27 games, 2 goals *

Mikel Arteta (Arsenal and Spain) 29 games, 6 goals *
Pablo Aimar (Benfica and Argentina) 24 games, 2 goals *

Wingers

Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich and France) 32 games, 12 goals ***

Eden Hazard (Lille and Belgium) 38 games, 20 goals ***

Nene (Paris-Saint Germain and Brazil) 35 games, 21 goals **
Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur and Wales) 36 games, 9 goals **
Dries Mertens (PSV Eindhoven and Belgium) 33 games, 21 goals *

Santi Cazorla (Malaga and Spain) 38 games, 9 goals *

Antonio Valencia (Manchester United and Ecuador) 27 games, 4 goals *

Juan Arango (Borussia Moenchengladbach and Venezuela) 34 games, 6 goals *
Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille and France) 33 games, 5 goals *

Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich and Holland) 24 games, 12 goals *

Nani (Manchester United and Portugal) goals 29 games, 8 goals *
Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid and Argentina) 23 games, 5 goals **

Forwards

Lionel Messi (Barcelona and Argentina) 37 games, 50 goals ***
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid and Portugal) 38 games, 46 goals ***
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United and England) 34 games, 27 goals ***
Marco Reus (Borussia Moenchengladbach and Germany) 32 games, 18 goals ***
Hulk (Porto and Brazil) 26 games, 16 goals **

Clint Dempsey (Fulham and USA) 37 games, 17 goals **

Fabrizio Miccoli (Palermo and Italy) 28 games, 16 goals *

Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina and Montenegro) 27 games, 14 goals *

Jeremy Menez (Paris Saint-Germain and France) 33 games, 7 goals *

Matias Suarez (Anderlecht and Argentina) 30 games, 12 goals *

Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St Petersburg and Russia) 29 games, 19 goals *

Strikers

Robin Van Persie (Arsenal and Holland) 38 games, 30 goals ***
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan and Sweden) 32 games, 28 goals ***

Klaas Jan-Huntelaar (Schalke and Holland) 32 games, 29 goals ***

Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid and Colombia) 34 games, 24 goals ***

Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich and Germany) 33 games, 26 goals ***
Edinson Cavani (Napoli and Uruguay) 25 games, 23 goals **

Antonio Di Natale (Udinese and Italy) 36 games, 23 goals **
Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund and Poland) 34 games, 22 goals **

Sergio Aguero (Manchester City and Argentina) 34 games, 23 goals **
Olivier Giroud (Montpellier and France) 36 games, 21 goals *
Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen and Peru) 29 games, 18 goals *

Seydou Doumbia (CSKA Moscow and Ivory Coast) 36 games, 26 goals *

Papiss Cisse (Freiburg/Newcastle and Senegal) 31 games, 22 goals *
Alexander Frei (Basel and Switzerland) 29 games, 23 goals *
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid and France) 34 games, 21 goals *

Bas Dost (Heerenveen and Holland) 34 games, 32 goals *

Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid and Argentina) 35 games, 22 goals *

Diego Milito (Inter and Argentina 33 games, 24 goals *

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 – 20-30 players a season)

National Class * – Performing consistently to a very high standard or sporadically to an exceptional or excellent standard. (Guideline – 50-70 players a season)