31 January, 2013

Today 20 years ago: top rated players Serie A.

6,82 Signori (Lazio)
6,75 Marchioro (Pescara)
6,67 Maldini (Milan)
6,64 Ferron (Atalanta)
6,63 Fusi (Torino)
6,62 Van Basten (Milan)
6,61 Gullit (Milan)
6,59 Winter (Lazio)
6,58 Lombardo (Sampdoria)
6,56 Effenberg (Fiorentina)

Europe's Under-21 topscorers 2012/13.

15 goals: El Shaarawy (Milan)
10: Lamela (Roma)
9: Lukaku (West Bromwich)
8: Castaignos (Twente), Kokorin (Dinamo Moscow), Musa (CSKA Moscow)
7: J. Ayew (Marseille), Belfodil (Parma), Götze (Dortmund), Icardi (Sampdoria), James Rodríguez (FC Porto), Son (HSV), Vasiliou (Levadiakos)
6: Léo Baptistão (Rayo), Christian Eriksen (Ajax)

Player ratings Real Madrid 1, Barcelona 1 [Copa del Rey]

0-1 50' Fàbregas, 1-1 81' Varane. Att: 83.000.
Real Madrid: Diego López 6,60 - Essien 6,00, Varane 8,40, Ricardo Carvalho 5,40, Arbeloa 5,90 - Khedira 6,30, Xabi Alonso 6,70 - Özil 6,60, Callejón 5,10 (58' Modric 6,20), Cristiano Ronaldo 6,30 - Benzema 5,80 (63' Higuaín 5,90). - coach: Mourinho. = average: 6,25 [solid]
Barcelona: Pinto 6,00 - Dani Alves 6,00, Piqué 6,90, Puyol 5,90, Jordi Alba 6,00 - Busquets 5,90, Xavi 6,60, Fàbregas 6,30 (85' Thiago) - Pedro 5,30 (76' Alexis), Iniesta 7,30, Messi 5,80. - coach: Roura. = average: 6,18 [solid]

30 January, 2013

Memory Lane: Juventus 1983/84.

Serie A and Cup Winners' Cup matches.

6,65 Platini
6,63 Tacconi
6,46 Cabrini
6,24 Tardelli
6,29 Vignola
6,21 Bodini
6,16 Boniek
6,12 Scirea
6,06 Bonini
5,96 P. Rossi
5,98 Gentile
5,90 Brio
5,83 Cesare Prandelli
5,70 Caricola
5,50 Penzo.

Memory Lane: Real Madrid 1983/84.

La Liga, UEFA Cup and Copa del Rey matches. 

3,54 Stielike
3,48 Butragueño
3,46 Miguel Ángel
3,43 Chendo
3,35 Martín Vázquez
3,10 Juan José, San José
3,04 Juanito
2,98 Camacho
2,88 Sanchís
2,85 Salguero
2,79 Bernardo
2,77 Pineda
2,75 Gallego
2,71 Ángel
2,70 Lozano
2,69 Bonet
2,63 Metgod
2,43 Santillana
2,25 Isidro

Memory Lane: Chelsea 2009/10.

Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup matches.

6,66 Drogba
6,53 Lampard
6,45 A. Cole, Essien
6,44 Anelka
6,35 Malouda
6,27 Terry
6,26 Alex
6,24 Zhirkov
6,21 Ricardo Carvalho
6,18 Deco
6,16 Ivanovic
6,14 Cech
6,11 Ballack, J. Cole
6,06 Kalou
6,02 Bruma
5,96 Belletti, Paulo Ferreira
5,90 Mikel
5,77 Turnbull
5,72 Hilário

Player ratings Lazio* 2, Juventus 1 [Coppa Italia]

1-0 53' Álvaro González, 1-1 91' Vidal, 2-1 93' Floccari. Att: 52.506.
Lazio: Marchetti 7,00 - Biava 5,70, Dias 6,20, Ciani 5,80 - Konko 6,20, Álvaro González 7,00 (66' Cana), Ledesma 7,00, Hernanes 6,00 (63' Lulic 6,00), Radu 5,00 - Mauri 6,20 - Klose 6,00 (70' Floccari 7,00). - coach: Petkovic. = average: 6,24 [solid]
Juventus: Storari 5,70 - Barzagli 6,00, Bonucci 5,90, Peluso 5,20 - Isla 5,70, Vidal 6,20, Marrone 5,00 (70' Marchisio 5,00), Giaccherini 5,70 (76' Quagliarella), Padoin 5,00 (68' Pirlo 6,30) - Giovinco 4,80, Vucinic 6,00. - coach: Conte. = average: 5,58 [failing


Lazio to meet Inter or Roma in the final.

29 January, 2013

Six years average attendances in Brazil & Argentina.

Average crowds in league matches 2007-12.

38.419 River Plate [BA]
38.380 Boca Juniors [BA]
32.910 Rosario Central
30.655 Newell's Old Boys
29.334 Flamengo [RJ]
27.719 Racing Club
25.083 Belgrano Córdoba
24.720 Corinthians [SP]
24.112 San Lorenzo [BA]
23.625 Grêmio
23.377 Independiente
23.001 São Paulo
22.117 Colón
21.671 Estudiantes
21.324 Atlético Mineiro
20.930 Bahia
20.874 San Martín de Tucumán
20.379 Vélez [BA]
19.768 Sport Recife
19.506 Atlético de Tucumán
19.363 Unión Santa Fe
18.604 Ceará
18.196 Internacional
18.160 Huracán [BA]
18.153 Gimnasia La Plata
18.060 Fluminense [RJ]
17.966 Cruzeiro
17.006 Coritiba
16.423 Tigre [BA]
16.023 Vitória Bahia
15.680 Quilmes

15.650 Nueva Chicago [BA]
15.615 Lanus
15.563 Atlético Paranaense
15.475 Godoy Cruz
14.811 Palmeiras [SP]
14.476 Náutico
14.307 Banfield [BA]
14.252 Botafogo [RJ]
13.420 San Martín
13.211 All Boys
12.878 Chacarita Juniors [BA]
12.828 Atlético Rafaela
12.699 Vasco da Gama [RJ]
11.504 Goiás
11.335 Olimpo
11.200 Argentinos Juniors [BA]
9861 Santos
9611 Gimnasia Jujuy
9180 Figueirense
9158 Avaí
7652 Atlético Goianense
7050 Arsenal de Sarandí
4601 Portuguesa [SP]
4166 Grêmio Barueri


[BA] club from Buenos Aires
[RJ] club from Rio de Janeiro
[SP] club from São Paulo.

Photo: fans of Racing Club of Avellaneda.

Memory Lane: Manchester United 2009/10.

Premier League and Champions League matches included.

6,81 Rooney
6,57 Giggs
6,43 Fletcher, Kuszczak
6,33 Evra
6,31 Berbatov
6,29 Valencia
6,20 Van der Sar, Obertan
6,19 Scholes
6,17 Vidic
6,15 Carrick
6,13 Nani
6,11 Ferdinand, Rafael
6,10 Evans
6,09 Brown
6,07 Gibson
6,02 Anderson
6,01 Park
5,95 G. Neville, Fábio
5,94 Owen
5,93 O'Shea
5,89 Foster
5,84 M. B. Diouf
5,83 Welbeck

Memory Lane: Allsvenskan 2006.

3,19 José Júnior (-photo- , Malmö FF)
3,04 A. Svensson (Elfsborg)
3,00 H. Larsson (Helsingborg)
2,95 Von Schlebrügge (Hammarby)
2,91 Furuset Olsen (Hammarby), Ekunde (GAIS)
2,88 Rosengren (Kalmar)
2,85 Wilton Figueiredo (AIK)
2,84 Rubarth (AIK), A. Augustsson (Elfsborg)
2,83 Makondele (Gefle)
2,80 Zvigdauskas (Halmstad), Keene (GAIS)
2,79 N. Carlsson (AIK)
2,77 Eguren (Hammarby), Tjernström (AIK)
2,76 D. Andersson (Malmö FF), Lucic (Häcken)
2,75 Wernbloom (IFK Göteborg)
2,73 Concha (Djurgården)
2,72 Ishizaki (Elfsborg)
2,70 Sandberg (AIK)

Average ratings Catania 2012/13.

League matches only.

6,38 Alejandro Gómez
6,19 Izco, Bergessio
6,18 Lucas Castro
6,17 Marchese
6,16 Spolli
6,15 Legrottaglie
6,13 Lodi
6,12 Doukara
6,11 Andújar, Almirón
6,00 Bellusci 
5,96 Biagianti
5,90 Barrientos
5,76 Pablo Álvarez
5,50 Capuano

28 January, 2013

Probable league champions 2012/13.

Probability based on odds from 22 bookmakers.

Spain
94,20% Barcelona
3,69% Real Madrid
2,11% Atlético

England
69,08% Man United
26,44% Man City
3,59% Chelsea
0,51% Tottenham
0,38% Arsenal

Germany
89,36% Bayern Munich
6,44% Dortmund
2,56% Leverkusen
0,67% Schalke
0,59% Frankfurt
0,37% Werder Bremen

Italy
68,88% Juventus
17,98% Napoli
5,06% Lazio
4,44% Inter
1,71% Milan
1,02% Fiorentina
0,90% Roma

France
67,54% Paris St Germain
22,00% Lyon
9,19% Marseille
0,65% Bordeaux
0,61% Rennes

Portugal
55,50% FC Porto
43,81% Benfica
0,69% Braga

Holland
37,73% PSV
32,20% Ajax
24,28% Twente
3,14% Feyenoord
2,13% Vitesse
0,53% AZ

Memory Lane: Manchester City 2009/10.

League matches only.

6,63 Tévez
6,57 Bellamy
6,50 Given
6,35 N. de Jong
6,31 Wright-Phillips, M. Petrov
6,25 Kompany
6,24 Barry
6,19 Adebayor
6,17 Ireland
6,13 K. Touré
6,09 Zabaleta
6,07 Richards
6,04 Lescott
6,03 Bridge
5,97 Garrido
5,92 Onuoha
5,90 Boyata
5,87 Robinho
5,60 Santa Cruz
5,42 Sylvinho

League top scorers minus penalties.

30: Messi (Barcelona, +3 penalty goals)
18: Ibrahimović (Paris SG, 1)
17: Van Persie (Man United, 1)
16: L. Suárez (Liverpool, 0), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, 5)
15: El Shaarawy (Milan, 0)
14: Cavani (Napoli, 4)
13: Kießling (Leverkusen, 0), Ba (Newcastle/Chelsea, 1), Michu (Swansea, 0)
12: Mandžukić (Bayern Munich, 0)
11: Lewandowski (Dortmund, 1), Falcao (Atlético, 7), Aduriz (Athletic, 1), Rubén Castro (Betis, 1)
10: Meier (Mainz, 2), Szalai (Mainz, 1), Defoe (Tottenham, 0), Džeko (Man City, 0), Fletcher (Sunderland, 0), Walcott (Arsenal, 0), Di Natale (Udinese, 4), Klose (Lazio, 0), Lamela (Roma, 0).

Memory Lane: Hammarby 1982.

3,08 Sten-Ove "Putte" Ramberg
3,00 Peter Gerhardsson
2,97 Michael Andersson
2,71 Ulf Eriksson
2,67 Thom Åhlund
2,65 Mats Wahlberg
2,62 Klas Johansson
2,61 Anders Forsberg
2,58 Anders Markström
2,56 Björn Hedenström
2,50 Billy Ohlsson
2,42 Jonnie Efraimsson
2,40 Thomas Dennerby
2,38 Per Holmberg
2,33 Kenneth Ohlsson
2,25 Jörgen Sandell
2,00 Mats Werner

Memory Lane: Arsenal 2009/10.

6,81 Van Persie
6,77 Fàbregas
6,47 Vermaelen
6,45 Song
6,41 Gallas, Ramsey
6,39 Arshavin
6,31 Diaby
6,30 Eboué
6,23 Denílson, Rosický
6,21 Eduardo
6,20 Sagna
6,16 Mannone
6,09 Bendtner
6,07 Clichy, Nasri
6,01 Vela
5,93 Almunia
5,91 Walcott
5,87 Traoré
5,79 Silvestre

Memory Lane: Real Madrid 2009/10.

6,73 Cristiano Ronaldo
6,44 Guti
6,32 Higuaín
6,30 Van der Vaart
6,28 Kaká
6,27 Sergio Ramos
6,24 Xabi Alonso
6,19 Granero
6,18 Casillas
6,15 Marcelo
6,13 Arbeloa
6,11 Gago
6,08 Pepe
6,02 L. Diarra
5,99 Albiol
5,94 Garay, M. Diarra
5,92 Benzema
5,86 Drenthe
5,72 Raúl



Las notas del Real Madrid en la prensa deportiva, temporada 2009/10.

Player ratings Paris Saint Germain 1, Lille 0.

1-0 68' og Chedjou. Att: 42.029.
PSG: Sirigu 6,90 - Maxwell 5,90, Armand 5,90, Sakho 5,90, Jallet 5,90 - Lucas 5,70 (76' Chantôme), Matuidi 6,40, Thiago Motta 5,30 (56' Verratti 6,50), Ménez 5,90 (65' Pastore 6,00) - Lavezzi 6,40, Ibrahimovic 5,60. - coach: Ancelotti. = average: 6,02 [acceptable]
Lille: Elana 4,50 - Basa 6,20, Sidibe 5,90, Digne 6,20, Chedjou 6,50 - Balmont 6,20 (82' Bruno), Martin 5,20 (57' Pedretti 6,00), Gueye 6,20, Roux 5,50 (67' De Melo 5,00) - Payet 6,20, Rodelin 6,20. - coach: R. Garcia. = average: 5,83 [mediocre]

Player ratings Parma 1, Napoli 2.

0-1 20' Hamsik, 1-1 30' og P. Cannavaro, 1-2 85' Cavani. Att: 15.883.
Parma: Mirante 7,10 - Rosi 5,30 (70' Amauri), Santacroce 5,50 (28' Lucarelli 5,50), Paletta 5,30, Gobbi 6,00 - Marchionni 6,30, Valdes 6,30, Parolo 6,80 - Biabiany 6,30, Belfodil 5,50, Sansone 5,90 (79' Benalouane). - coach: Donadoni 6,20. = average: 5,98 [acceptable]
Napoli: De Sanctis 6,50 - Campagnaro 6,70, P. Cannavaro 6,40, Britos 6,30 - Mesto 5,80 (78' Armero), Dzemaili 7,30, Inler 5,50 (63' Donadel 6,00), Zúñiga 6,00 - Hamsik 7,50 - Pandev 5,50 (67' L. Insigne 6,80), Cavani 6,70. - coach: Mazzarri 7,00. = average: 6,38 [strong]

27 January, 2013

Swedish players' average ratings in World Cups & Euros 1990-2008.

1990 World Cup
2,56 Brolin
2,33 Thern
2,22 Schwarz
2,17 Hysén
2,11 T. Ravelli
2,00 P. Larsson
1,89 J. Nilsson
1,78 Ingesson, S. Pettersson
1,67 R. Nilsson
1,50 Limpár

Best: 4,00 Brolin, vs Brazil.
Worst: 1,00 five players vs Scotland & Costa Rica.

1992 Euro
4,06 J. Eriksson
3,92 Schwarz, Dahlin
3,75 P. Andersson, Thern
3,69 Brolin
3,25 T. Ravelli
3,12 R. Nilsson
2,69 Ingesson
2,50 Limpár
2,38 K. Andersson
2,31 Björklund

Best: 5,00 Brolin, vs Denmark.
Worst: 1,00 J. Nilsson, vs Germany.

1994 World Cup
3,96 K. Andersson
3,92 Brolin
3,90 Schwarz
3,84 T. Ravelli
3,61 Björklund
3,60 Thern
3,47 Mild
3,29 Kåmark
3,27 Dahlin
3,10 Ljung
3,01 R. Nilsson
2,95 P. Andersson
2,64 H. Larsson
2,36 Ingesson

Best: 5,00 Brolin, vs Bulgaria; Dahlin, vs Russia; T. Ravelli, vs Brazil (semi).
Worst: 1,00 P. Andersson, vs Cameroon; Dahlin, vs Brazil (semi).

2000 Euro
2,92 Björklund
2,42 Mjällby
2,25 Mellberg, Ljungberg, Lučić
2,12 K. Andersson
2,08 Hedman
2,00 P. Andersson, H. Larsson
1,75 Mild
1,50 D. Andersson, J. Pettersson
1,25 Alexandersson

Best: 3,50 Björklund, vs Belgium; M. Svensson, vs Italy.
Worst: 1,00 P. Andersson, vs Belgium; Alexandersson, vs Turkey.
 

2002 World Cup
3,97 H. Larsson
3,91 Mjällby, A. Svensson
3,78 Jakobsson
3,44 Andreas Andersson
3,25 Linderoth
3,06 Ljungberg
3,04 Mellberg
2,97 Lučić
2,88 Hedman
2,56 Alexandersson
2,37 M. Svensson
2,31 Allbäck

Best: 5,00 Mjällby, vs Argentina.
Worst: 1,75 M. Svensson, vs England.

2004 Euro
4,06 Isaksson
3,88 Ibrahimović, H. Larsson
3,79 Linderoth
3,66 Mellberg
3,53 Ljungberg
3,25 Jakobsson
3,06 M. Jonson
2,96 A. Svensson
2,84 M. Nilsson
2,79 Edman
2,58 Wilhelmsson
2,25 Källström

Best: 5,00 H. Larsson, vs Bulgaria.
Worst: 1,50 Lučić, vs Bulgaria.  


2006 World Cup
3,25 Ljungberg
3,17 Isaksson
2,88 Lučić
2,67 Allbäck
2,38 Alexandersson, Linderoth
2,25 Mellberg
2,17 Källström
2,00 Wilhelmsson
1,75 Edman, H. Larsson
1,33 Ibrahimović

Best: 5,00 Isaksson, vs Germany.
Worst: 1,00 three players vs Trinidad & Tobago and seven vs Germany. 

2008 Euro
3,50 Ibrahimović
3,33 Mellberg
3,17 Isaksson
2,67 D. Andersson 
2,50 Hansson, A. Svensson
2,33 M. Nilsson, H. Larsson
2,17 Ljungberg
2,00 Stoor
1,83 Elmander

Best: 4,50 Ibrahimović, vs Greece.
Worst: 1,00 Rosenberg, vs Spain; M. Nilsson, D. Andersson, Hansson, A. Svensson & Stoor, vs Russia.

Memory Lane: Lazio 2000/01.

League matches only.

6,73 Nedved
6,52 Nesta
6,38 Poborský
6,36 Ravanelli
6,33 Verón
6,31 Peruzzi
6,28 Baronio
6,25 Crespo
6,22 Castromán
6,21 D. Baggio
6,17 Marchegiani, S. Inzaghi
6,11 Simeone
5,98 Pancaro, Salas
5,97 Mihajlovic
5,94 Favalli
5,80 Negro
5,78 Fernando Couto
5,50 C. López
5,46 D. Stankovic

Player ratings Stoke 0, Man City 1 [FA Cup]

0-1 85' Zabaleta. Att: 19.814.
Stoke: Thomas Sørensen 6,60 - Ryan Shotton 5,30, Andy Wilkinson 5,40 (73' Dean Whitehead), Ryan Shawcross 5,70, Robert Huth 5,70 - Michael Kightly 5,20 (67' Cameron Jerome 5,70), Steven N'Zonzi 5,40, Matthew Etherington 5,40, Glenn Whelan 5,30, Jonathan Walters 5,40 - Kenwyne Jones 5,40 (73' Peter Crouch). - coach: Pulis. = average: 5,54 [poor]
Man City: Costel Pantilimon 6,30 - Vincent Kompany 6,00 (40' Gaël Clichy 6,30), Pablo Zabaleta 6,60, Aleksandar Kolarov 6,00 (63' "Kun" Agüero 6,10), Joleon Lescott 6,00 - David Silva 6,70, Gareth Barry 6,60, James Milner 6,30, Javi García 6,20 - Edin Dzeko 6,00, Carlos Tévez 6,00 (86' Jack Rodwell). - coach: Mancini. = average: 6,24 [good]

Player ratings Juventus 1, Genoa 1.

1-0 54' Quagliarella, 1-1 68' Borriello. Att: 36.668.
Juventus: Buffon x - Barzagli 5,40, Bonucci 6,80, Cáceres 6,00 - Lichtsteiner 7,00, Vidal 5,70, Pogba 6,20, Marchisio 6,00 (82' Beltrame), De Ceglie 5,20 (72' Giaccherini) - Quagliarella 5,90 (69' Giovinco 6,00), Vucinic 5,50. - coach: Conte 5,70. = average: 5,97 [acceptable]
Genoa: Frey 7,00 - Granqvist 7,00, Manfredini 6,60 (66' M. Rossi 6,20), Moretti 6,80 - Pisano 5,70, Kucka 7,00, Matuzalem 6,50, Olivera 4,80 (59' Bertolacci 6,00), Antonelli 5,40 - Immobile 5,70 (59' Borriello 7,00), Floro Flores 5,20. - coach: Ballardini 7,00. = average: 6,21 [solid]


Photo: Granqvist. 

Pagelle Juventus-Genoa sulla stampa sportiva.

Average ratings Barcelona 2012/13.

La Liga, Champions League, Supercopa and Copa del Rey matches.

7,07 Messi
6,94 Iniesta
6,65 Xavi
6,41 Montoya
6,40 Tello
6,37 Busquets
6,32 Jordi Alba
6,31 Fàbregas
6,26 Adriano
6,25 Puyol
6,24 Piqué, Pedro
6,14 Valdés, Thiago
6,13 Alexis
6,11 Villa
6,06 Dani Alves
5,90 Mascherano
5,88 Bartra
5,86 Song

Average ratings Inter 2012/13.

League matches only.

6,39 Ranocchia
6,34 Handanovic
6,32 Guarín
6,31 Samuel
6,22 Cassano
6,00 Juan Jesus, Mudingayi
5,95 J. Zanetti
5,86 Gargano
5,85 Nagatomo
5,75 Á. Pereira
5,69 Coutinho
5,50 Rocchi, Livaja
5,38 R. Álvarez


Voto medio dell'Inter stagione 2012/13.

Market values today.

According to transfermarkt.de. In red, players in clubs outside the EU.

The top ten players of 2013 are in average 96 times more expensive than the top ten of 1980.

120 m€:
Messi (Barcelona)

100 m€:
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

70 m€:
Iniesta (Barcelona)

65 m€:
Rooney (Man United)

60 m€:
Falcao (Atlético de Madrid)

55 m€:
Fàbregas (Barcelona)

51 m€:
Agüero (Man City)

50 m€:
Silva (Man City)

45 m€:
Hulk (Zenit), Cavani (Napoli)

43 m€:
Van Persie (Man United)

42 m€:
Ribéry & M. Gómez (Man United), Busquets (Barcelona), Götze (Dortmund)

40 m€:
Piqué (Barcelona), Bale (Tottenham), Hazard (Chelsea), Thiago Silva (Paris SG), Sergio Ramos, Özil & Benzema (Real Madrid), Neymar (Santos)

38 m€:
Higuaín (Real Madrid), Mata (Chelsea)

37 m€:
T. Müller (Bayern Munich)

36,5 m€:
Y. Touré (Man City), Nani (Man United)

35 m€:
Fernando Torres (Chelsea), Lucas & Ibrahimovic (Paris SG), Casillas & Modric (Real Madrid), Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Kompany (Man City)

32 m€:
Hamsík (Napoli), Balotelli (Man City), Oscar (Chelsea), Kroos (Bayern Munich)

31 m€:
Marchisio (Juventus)

30 m€:
De Rossi (Roma), Pepe (Real Madrid), Neuer (Bayern Munich), Ramires (Chelsea)

29 m€:
Dzeko (Man City)

28 m€:
Mascherano & Alexis Sánchez (Barcelona), Lavezzi (Paris SG)

27 m€:
Eto'o (Anzhi), Pastore (Paris SG)

26 m€:
Dani Alves (Barcelona)

25,5 m€:
Vidic (Man United)

22,5 m€:
Tévez (Man City)

22 m€:
Robben (Bayern Munich)

20 m€:
Villa (Barcelona), Jesús Navas (Sevilla)

19 m€:
Sneijder (Galatasaray)

18 m€:
Alexandre Pato (Corinthians)

17,5 m€:
Terry (Chelsea)

16 m€:
Kaká & Essien (Real Madrid)

15,5 m€:
Gerrard (Liverpool)

26 January, 2013

Players' market value 33 years ago.

Values estimated by weekly magazine Guerin Sportivo April 1980, in perspective of the opening of Italian borders. Spanish players, extremely reluctant to leave their country, not taken into consideration.

In Italics, players that eventually played in the Serie A.


3000 m. lire (apprx 1,5 m€):
Maradona (Argentinos Juniors)

1.000.000€:
Zico (Flamengo)

550.000-650.000€:
T. Francis (Nottingham Forest), Woodcock (Köln), Cunningham (Real Madrid)

500.000-600.000€:
Brady (Arsenal), Sócrates (Corinthians)

450.000-550.000€:
Kh Rummenigge (Bayern Munich), H. Müller (Stuttgart)

400.000-500.000€:

Birtles (Nottingham Forest), Dalglish (Liverpool), Keegan (HSV), Schachner (Austria Vienna), Krankl (First Vienna)

350.000-450.000€:
Stapleton (Arsenal), Ward (Brighton), Regis (West Bromwich), Coppell (Man United), K. Allofs (Fortuna Düsseldorf), Kaltz (HSV), Platini (St-Etienne), Prohaska (Austria Vienna), Simonsen (Barcelona)

300.000-400.000€:
Case (Liverpool), Mariner (Ipswich), D. Müller (Köln), Breitner (Bayern Munich), Stielike (Real Madrid), Gomes (FC Porto)

250.000-350.000€:
R. Kennedy & Johnson (Liverpool), Thijssen (Ipswich), Wallace (Coventry), Williams (Southampton), Neumann (Köln), Kempe (Duisburg), Dell'Haye (M'gladbach), Hartwig (HSV), Abramczik (Schalke 04), Bonhof (Valencia), Carpegiani (Flamengo), Falcão (Internacional), Ischia (Vélez)

200.000-300.000€:
McDermott (Liverpool), McQueen (Man United), Ritchie (Morton), Schuster (Köln), Nickel (M'gladbach), Hrubesch (HSV), D. Hoeness (Bayern Munich), Sigurvinsson (Standard de Liège), Vandenbergh (Lierse), Van der Elst (Anderlecht), Ceulemans (Brugge), Pécout (FC Nantes), Tahamata (Ajax), Kist (AZ '67), Pétursson (Feyenoord), Morena (Rayo Vallecano), D. Bertoni (Sevilla), Dirceu (Atlético de Madrid), Reinaldo & Jordão (Benfica), Sulser (Grasshoppers), Júlio César (Flamengo), Jorge Mendonça (Vasco da Gama), Nílton Batata (Santos), Toninho Cerezo (Atlético Mineiro), Passarella & R. Díaz (River Plate)

150.000-250.000€:
Somner (St Mirren), McAdam (Partick Thistle), McCluskey (Celtic), Hannes (M'gladbach), Fischer (Schalke 04), Voordeckers (Standard de Liège), Van der Eycken (Brugge), Elkjær (Lokeren), Rep, Zimako & Rocheteau (St-Etienne), Alves (Paris SG), Krol, La Ling, Arnesen & Lerby (Ajax), R. van der Kerkhof, W. van der Kerkhof & Brandts (PSV), Zenon & Careca (Guarani), Pita (Santos), Edinho (Fluminense), Randazzo (Boca Juniors), Beto Alonso (River Plate), Bochini (Independiente), Gallego (Newell's Old Boys), Reinaldi (Talleres Córdoba), J. Olsen (Næstved)

100.000-200.000€:
Deyna (Man City), Edström (Standard de Liège), Christophe (Monaco), Stopyra (Sochaux), Wildschut (PSV), Vermeulen (Roda), Ponte (Grasshoppers), Zé Sérgio (São Paulo), Fortunato (Estudiantes), Bravo (Talleres Córdoba)

100.000-150.000€:
H. Jensen (Ajax), Thychosen (M'gladbach)

Average ratings Paris Saint-Germain 2012/13.


Including Ligue 1 and Champions League matches.


6,47 Sirigu
6,46 Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva
6,44 Sakho
6,37 Verratti
6,35 Matuidi
6,24 Ménez, Lavezzi
6,23 Alex Costa
6,20 Z. Camara
6,15 Lucas
6,12 Chantôme
6,10 Armand, Rabiot
6,06 Nenê
5,97 Jallet, Thiago Motta, Pastore
5,95 Maxwell
5,42 Van der Wiel

Today 16 years ago: Zeman's last match at Lazio.

Lazio 1, Bologna 2.
0-1 41' K. Andersson, 1-1 47' Casiraghi, 1-2 60' Nervo. Att: 31.560.
Lazio: Marchegiani 6,00 - Negro 5,25, Nesta 6,50, Fish 5,25, Gottardi 4,00 - Fuser 6,00, Okon 5,50, Nedved 5,50, Rambaudi 5,25 (69' Buso) - Casiraghi 7,00, Signori 5,25 (78' Protti). - coach: Zeman 5,50. = average: 5,59 [failing]
Bologna: Antonioli 7,25 - Tarozzi 6,25, Torrisi 6,00, Mangone 6,00, Paramatti 6,25 - Magoni 6,25 (91' Cardone), Marocchi 6,50 (65' Shalimov), Scapolo 6,50 (78' Bergamo), Nervo 7,00 - K. Andersson 7,25, Kolyvanov 6,25. - coach: Ulivieri 7,25. = average: 6,50 [very good]

Average ratings Liverpool 2012/13.

League matches only.

6,67 L. Suárez
6,39 Sterling
6,26 G. Johnson
6,22 Wisdom
6,18 Gerrard
6,13 Downing
6,11 J. Allen
6,06 Henderson
6,05 Agger
6,04 Suso
6,03 José Enrique
5,98 Carragher
5,96 Skrtel, Lucas
5,88 Shelvey
5,86 Reina
5,85 Sahin
5,80 Kelly
5,76 J. Cole
5,56 Borini

25 January, 2013

Average ratings Bayer Leverkusen 2012/13.

7,21 Gonzalo Castro
7,14 Kießling
7,12 Leno
7,04 Rolfes
7,00 L. Bender
6,94 Wollscheid
6,93 Reinartz
6,91 Toprak
6,86 Schürrle
6,81 Carvajal
6,25 Hosogai

Memory Lane: Barcelona 1981/82.

Including la Liga, Cupwinners' Cup (champion) and Copa del Rey.

4,14 Schuster
3,95 Simonsen
3,62 Alexanco
3,53 Víctor
3,51 Sánchez
3,43 Manolo, Urruti, Moratalla
3,40 Olmo
3,30 Carrasco
3,28 Artola
3,20 Estella
3,18 Ramos
3,13 Zuviría
3,10 Quini
3,08 Geraldo
2,96 Esteban
2,93 Morán


Las notas del Barcelona en la Liga, Recopa y Copa del Rey, temporada 1981/82.

Today 21 years ago: top rated players Serie A.

6,80 Zola (Napoli)
6,76 Kohler (Juventus)
6,72 Marchegiani (Torino)
6,67 Fuser (Torino)
6,66 F. Baresi (Milan)
6,64 Rijkaard (Milan)
6,62 Van Basten (Milan)
6,60 Maldini (Milan)
6,58 Shalimov (Foggia)

Memory Lane: Borussia Mönchengladbach 1975/76.

8,21 Vogts
7,68 Wittkamp
7,62 Wimmer
7,60 Bonhof
7,53 Simonsen
7,52 H. Jensen
7,35 Kleff
7,32 Danner
7,25 Heynckes
7,24 Stielike
7,10 Klinkhammer
7,08 Schäffer

Ligue 1: top rated players.

6,22 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris-SG)
6,20 Rémy Cabella (Montpellier)
6,11 Rémy Vercoutre (Lyon)
6,07 Thiago Silva (Paris-SG)
6,05 Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)
5,95 Alexis Thébaux (Brest)
5,89 Benjamin Nivet (Troyes), Steed Malbranque (Lyon), Jeremie Aliadière (Lorient)
5,84 Kossi Agassa (Reims), Aurélien Chedjou (Lille)
5,82 Mickaël Landreau (Bastia)
5,81 Romain Alessandrini (Rennes)
5,79 Salvatore Sirigu (Paris-SG)
5,73 Carlos Gilberto Gil (Valenciennes)

Average ratings Lazio 2012/13.

6,44 Marchetti
6,35 Ledesma
6,29 Klose
6,20 Radu
6,18 Hernanes
6,15 Candreva
6,12 Mauri
6,09 Konko
6,08 Biava
6,07 Floccari
6,06 Álvaro González
5,90 Bizzarri
5,86 Cana, Lulic
5,75 Brocchi
5,73 Cavanda
5,36 Ciani
5,00 Kozák

24 January, 2013

Average ratings Valencia 2012/13.

La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey (quarterfinals).

6,24 Guaita
6,17 Soldado
6,16 Diego Alves
6,15 Banega
6,09 Feghouli
6,02 Gago
6,01 Tino Costa
5,97 Mathieu
5,96 Jonas
5,90 Rami
5,88 Barragán
5,87 Piatti
5,86 Ricardo Costa, Cissokho
5,79 João Pereira
5,74 Guardado
5,64 Albelda
5,63 Valdez
5,59 J. Viera
5,57 Víctor Ruiz
5,47 Parejo
5,40 Bernat

The world's highest earning football clubs.

Revenues for the 2011/12 season. Source: Deloitte Football Money League 2013.

1. Real Madrid : 512,6 m euro = +7%
2. Barcelona : 483 m = +7%
3. Manchester United : 395,9 m = +8%
4. Bayern Munich : 368,4 m = +15%
5. Chelsea : 322,6 m = +27%
6. Arsenal : 290,3 m = +16%
7. Manchester City 285,6 m = +68%
8. Milan : 256,9 m = +9%
9. Liverpool : 233,2 m = +15%
10. Juventus : 195,4 m = +27%
11. Borussia Dortmund : 189,1 = +37%
12. Inter : 185,9 m = -12%
13. Tottenham : 178,2 m = -2%
14. Schalke 04 : 174,5 m = -14%
15. Napoli : 148,4 m = +29%
16. Olympique Marseille : 135,7 m = -10%
17. Olympique Lyon : 131,9 m = -1%
18. Hamburger SV : 121,1 m = -6%
19. Roma : 115,9 m = -19%
20. Newcastle United : 115,3 m = +18%

Best supported 2nd division teams in 'small' countries.

Teams in second tier or lower. Countries with <10m inhabitants.

47.199 Rangers (4th division)
8463 Hammarby Stockholm -photo-
4733 Öster Växjö
4375 Start Kristiansand
4283 Austria Lustenau

4254 Queen's Park FC (4th division)
3938 Napredak Kruševac
3896 Dunfermline
3390 St Pölten
3377 Halmstad
3241 Falkirk
3227 Partick Thistle
2939 Aarau
2756 Rheindorf Altach
2711 Winterthur
2610 Sarpsborg

Average ratings Real Madrid 2012/13.

Including la Liga, Champions League, Supercopa and Copa del Rey from quarterfinals.

6,70 Cristiano Ronaldo
6,43 Xabi Alonso
6,35 Khedira
6,31 Özil, Modric
6,27 Varane
6,25 Marcelo
6,22 Di María
6,21 Sergio Ramos
6,20 Benzema
6,15 Morata
6,14 Pepe
6,13 Callejón
6,10 Casillas, Ricardo Carvalho
6,08 Kaká
6,06 Higuaín
6,05 Essien
6,04 Fábio Coentrão
5,84 Arbeloa
5,83 Nacho
5,70 Albiol
5,53 Adán

Average ratings Milan 2012/13.

League matches only.

6,45 El Shaarawy
6,25 De Sciglio
6,14 Bojan
6,11 Pazzini
6,10 Yepes
6,04 Ambrosini, De Jong
5,94 Zapata
5,93 Constant
5,88 Abate, Emanuelson, Robinho
5,87 Montolivo
5,83 Bonera
5,81 Abbiati
5,75 Amelia
5,58 Mexès
5,47 Nocerino
5,42 Antonini
5,40 Flamini
5,38 K. P. Boateng

Player ratings Valencia 1, Real Madrid* 1 [Copa del Rey quarterfinal]

0-1 44' Benzema, 1-1 52' Tino Costa. Sent off: 51' Fábio Coentrão, 88' Di María. Att: 40.000.
Valencia: Guaita 6,30 - João Pereira 5,60, Rami 6,00, Ricardo Costa 5,00, Cissokho 6,30 - Víctor Ruiz 5,40 (58' Piatti 6,00), Tino Costa 6,50, Jonathan Pereira 5,80, Jonas 5,80 (80' Canales 6,00) - Guardado 5,20 (46' Banega 6,30), Valdez 6,80. - coach: Aspiazu. = average: 5,93 [vulnerable]
Real Madrid: Casillas (16' Adán 5,40) - Arbeloa 6,20, Varane 6,80, Albiol 6,20, Fábio Coentrão 5,00 - Khedira 6,30, Xabi Alonso 6,80, Di María 5,30, Özil 5,70 (53' Nacho 6,00), Cristiano Ronaldo 6,00 - Benzema 6,20 (74' Modric). - coach: Mourinho. = average: 5,99 [acceptable]

Player ratings Swansea* 0, Chelsea 0 [League Cup semifinal]

Sent off: 78' Hazard. Att: 19.506.
Swansea: Gerhard Tremmel 6,70 - Ashley Williams 7,00, Chico 6,70, Ben Davies 6,40, Ángel Rangel 6,70 - Wayne Routledge 6,20 (66' Nathan Dyer 6,00), Leon Britton 6,20, Pablo Hernández 5,90, Ki Sung-Yueng 6,30 - Jonathan De Guzmán 6,30, Michu 5,90. - coach: M. Laudrup. = average: 6,36 [strong]
Chelsea: Petr Cech 6,10 - Ashley Cole 6,00 (86' Ryan Bertrand), Gary Cahill 6,10, César Azpilicueta 5,60, Branislav Ivanovic 5,90 (68' David Luíz 5,80) - Eden Hazard 4,10, Oscar 5,50 (81' Fernando Torres), Frank Lampard 5,50, Ramires 5,90, Juan Mata 6,00 - Demba Ba 6,10. - coach: Benítez. = average: 5,72 [disappointing]

Player ratings Roma 2, Inter 1 [Coppa Italia]

1-0 13' Florenzi, 2-0 33' Destro, 2-1 44' Palacio. Att: 28.415.
Roma: Stekelenburg 6,00 - Piris 7,00, Burdisso 5,30, Marquinhos 6,50 (60' Castán 6,00), Balzaretti 5,30 - Bradley 6,50, Tachtsidis 4,80, Florenzi 6,80 (77' Perrotta) - Lamela 5,10, Destro 7,00, Totti 6,10 (86' Marquinho). - coach: Zeman 6,30. = average: 6,03 [acceptable]
Inter: Handanovic 5,70 - Ranocchia 6,00, Chivu 5,20, Juan Jesus 6,00 - Obi 5,50 (46' Nagatomo 6,00), J. Zanetti 5,70, Benassi 5,00 (65’ Gargano), Á. Pereira 5,00 (75' Álvarez) - Guarín 6,70, Cambiasso 6,20 - Palacio 6,70. - coach: Stramaccioni 6,00. = average: 5,81 [mediocre]

23 January, 2013

Memory Lane: La Liga 1989/90.

7,30 Martín Vázquez (Real Madrid)
7,10 Ablanedo II (Sp. Gijón)
7,00 Hugo Sánchez (Real Madrid)
6,90 Vinyals (Oviedo)
6,88 Polster (Sevilla)
6,86 Penev (Valencia)
6,84 Pardeza (Zaragoza)
6,80 Fradera (Mallorca)
6,80 Juanito (Zaragoza)
6,75 Zubizarreta (Barcelona)
6,70 Fernando (Valencia)

Ideal XI:
Ablanedo II (Gijón) - García Cortés (Mallorca), Juanito (Zaragoza), Fradera (Mallorca), Chano (Málaga) - Fernando (Valencia), Vinyals (Oviedo), Rafa Paz (Sevilla) - Martín Vázquez (R. Madrid), Polster (Sevilla), Hugo Sánchez (R. Madrid).

Average ratings Everton 2012/13.

6,64 Fellaini
6,46 Baines
6,38 Jagielka
6,37 Mirallas
6,33 Pienaar
6,31 Jelavic
6,28 Osman
6,23 D. Gibson
6,13 Distin
6,08 Howard, Hibbert, P. Neville, Anichebe
6,06 Coleman
5,77 Oviedo
5,73 Heitinga
5,68 Naismith

Average ratings Fiorentina 2012/13.

6,60 D. Pizarro
6,50 Borja Valero
6,34 Cuadrado
6,25 Jovetic
6,16 Toni

6,15 Savic
6,13 Gonzalo Rodríguez
6,12 Aquilani
6,11 Pasqual
6,07 Viviano
6,00 Roncaglia
5,93 Mati Fernández
5,88 Tomovic, Ljajic
5,83 Seferovic
5,67 Cassani

Best supported teams in 'small' countries.

Countries with less than 10m inhabitants. 

47.199 Rangers (4th division)
45.828 Celtic
28.965 FC Basel
18.839 Young Boys Bern
16.763 Red Star Belgrade
14.705 Malmö FF
14.655 St Gallen
14.469 Rapid Vienna
14.311 AIK Stockholm
14.193 FC København
13.575 Hearts
13.394 Rosenborg
12.582 Luzern
12.321 Brann Bergen
11.732 Sturm Graz
11.389 FC Sion
11.027 FC Zürich

10.918 Maccabi Haifa
10.856 Hibernian
10.797 Aberdeen
10.766 Vålerenga Oslo

10.619 Beitar Jerusalem
10.513 Elfsborg 
10.493 IFK Göteborg
10.276 Maccabi Tel Aviv

The world's best supported teams.

Average attendances in home matches in domestic league. In bold text, clubs having won the Champions League/European Cup or Copa Libertadores.

80.496 Borussia Dortmund
75.981 Barcelona
75.506 Manchester United
74.005 Real Madrid
71.000 Bayern Munich
61.017 Schalke 04
60.096 Arsenal
52.606 Hamburger SV
50.333 River Plate
50.183 Ajax
49.637 Newcastle United
49.087 Stuttgart
48.293 Borussia M'Gladbach
47.239 Eintracht Frankfurt
47.199 Rangers (4th division)
46.937 Manchester City
45.828 Celtic
44.739 Inter
44.637 Liverpool
44.593 Fortuna Düsseldorf
44.111 Feyenoord
43.922 Hannover
43.104 Seattle Sounders
43.091 Atlético de Madrid
42.257 Paris Saint-Germain
42.096 Shakhtor Donetsk
41.761 Nürnberg
41.396 Milan
41.000 UANL Tigres
40.519 Werder Bremen
40.174 Lille
40.171 Sunderland
39.022 Roma
38.740 Juventus
37.690 Köln (2nd division)
37.868 Benfica
37.100 Boca Juniors
37.041 Valencia
37.003 Guangzhou Evergrande
36.965 Everton
36.879 Beijing Guoan
36.634 Urawa Red Diamonds
36.586 Napoli
35.965 Tottenham
35.396 Real Betis
34.631 West Ham
34.292 Olympique Marseille
34.111 Newell's Old Boys
34.084 Aston Villa
33.637 Hertha BSC (2nd division)
33.565 Athletic Bilbao
33.401 Lazio
32.770 PSV Eindhoven
32.111 Sevilla
31.163 Jiangsu Sainty
30.936 Metalist Kharkov
30.318 Southampton

Average ratings Atlético de Madrid 2012/13.

League matches only.

6,82 Falcao
6,59 Koke
6,58 Diego Costa
6,53 Arda Turan
6,40 Courtois
6,39 Miranda, Mario Suárez
6,38 Cata Díaz
6,36 Filipe Luis
6,31 Gabi
6,28 Cristian Rodríguez
6,27 Raúl García
6,24 Godín
6,17 Juanfran
6,10 Tiago
6,08 Adrián
6,00 Emre