THE INFINITECREATIVE: Inside The 10 Best Creators In Futbol (Right Now..This Second)
This season we have seen the rise of the creator: assists are now counted (almost) as equally as goals in this day and age, with greater importance, no...correct that: enhanced credit finally being given to these masters of something I like to call the "Infinitecreative".
Now, more than at any other time in the history of futbol, created chances and players with insatiable and potently productive qualities are of intense value to managers across Europe's top leagues.
Managers aren't just talking about having in form and rampaging #10s, attacking midfielders or forwards, the best managers are looking for chance creation from deep as well: more defenders have been involved in created chances than at any other time I can consider, with center backs like Sule, Ramos, Van Dijk, Maguire, De Ligt among others becoming the modern template of a ball playing, anticipatory and penalty box dangerous center back (this makes Gerard Pique look truly, definitively ahead of his time, being the first Beckenbauer type center back futbol had seen in a long time when he busted onto the scene in 2008. Pique continued this as currently as yesterday when he scored yet another set piece goal and nodded down an assist to Ousmane Dembele only a few matches ago).
We're talking about front to back potential goal creators for the smartest and ahead-of-the-curve teams, i.e City or Barca or Liverpool, with goalkeepers crazily getting in on the act (Ederson hitting an assist for the second season in a row, a truly remarkable achievement and proof of a growing long ball trend in futbol).
We've seen a plethora of players achieving the rarest statistical achievement in futbol: The hat trick of assists. 2018/19 is on pace to have the most players registering this truly insane statistic (such is the general rarity of completing even 1 assist, let alone 2 or 3 in the same game) with Achraf Hakimi, Jordi Alba, Suso, Wendel, Neymar, Quaresma, Arber Zeneli, young talent Carel Eiting of Ajax, Pablo Sarabia, Marco Asensio and Mark Diemers among others ALL hitting a hat trick of assists already, only 3 months into the season.
So, in a campaign devoid of Kevin De Bruyne's dominance so far (a name sorely missed on this list) we enter the realm of the top creators in world futbol at the moment, with preference given to players who've achieved eye popping stats from either deeper positions, or players who are on weaker teams with teammates who don't always (or even half of the time) finish and players who've stunned or shocked us with the propensity of their evolution.
Once again, this list is based on form RIGHT NOW as of the writing of this article (29 November 2018). Plus, we have taken into account chances created and players who have been unlucky due to poor team finishing are NOT being punished as harshly as Phil Foden waiting for minutes.
Give me your list and your thoughts below
Let the debate continue...and the assists...
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
After a slow start to the season dominated with a missed penalty against Liverpool and shoot-first ethos, Mahrez has increased his creative output with 5 assists in all competitions with 4 in his last 4 matches, and 4 already in the Champions League this season.
He began the season with 5 Assists in under one month total for Manchester City, all in the Premier League, with 1 assist for France (in only 1 appearance, off of the bench and in that same month) against the Netherlands before his injury setbacks.
Alba has been in ridiculous form, with 3 assists in both the UCL and La Liga, all 3 in the UCL coming from a dynamic, perfect 10 performance against Tottenham, truly one for the ages from Jordi. He even ripped Real Madrid apart with yet another goal conjured. His performances have been so raging and rampant that it even cooled the 4 year war between Luis Enrique and himself, culminating in the ending of his international ban.
The Uruguayan mercenary has had yet another underrated, under appreciated season (of course unless he scores a hat trick, then we'll celebrate him..for five minutes and then quickly forget that he's one of the greatest players of all time) and at the fore of it is his unceasing partnership with Lionel Messi, who shares the bulk of Suarez's 6 assists for Barcelona. He's also notched another assist for Uruguay in a recent friendly. Suarez misses the overall list due to his low 1.6 key passes a match average and his recent form of no assists (or goals for that matter) in his last 5 matches before the injury he sustained against Atletico Madrid on Saturday..
With 6 assists in the Bundesliga and 3 in the Europa League, Sebastian Haller has been a beast creatively, with 9 total assists and 11 goals scored to add to his goal creation output of 20 total this season in league and Europa league competition. He has been a juggernaut for Frankfurt, although many of his assists have come against some shocking defending, he has still been a monster and one that may very well soon get a French cap, something in this day and age that is akin to a World Cup spot with that pool of talent. Haller is most likely, on form and by the numbers, joining Ryan Fraser in the list of the top 5 most underrated players in Europe. Haller has been a colossus for the vicious and surprisingly goal-happy Eintracht Frankfurt.
CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN (Tottenham / Denmark)
After an injury ravaged beginning to the season, he's been nothing but creative, feasting on Chelsea with 2 assists in the 8th and 16th minutes, with 5 other chances created that missed the goal somehow, Some way. Eriksen should've had a career 4 assist night at the least, only through lack of finishing did this not occur.
CRAZY IN DEPTH KEY STAT:
6 Assists Total All Competitions In Only 14 Appearances, 4 Assists in The Premier League In Only 7 Starts, a fantastic return. He has also notched another assist for Denmark in international play this last month, following up his fantastic World Cup display.
JADON SANCHO (Dortmund/ England)
The English prodigy began the season at a blistering pace with 8 assists for his club across all comps, including in the Ligapokal in extra time, Champions League in his first campaign and Bundesliga. He also registered an assist in only his 2nd ever England match and in his first international start. Sancho has been nothing short of incredible, getting 6 assists within no time and then spending the next several matches working on his finishing by burying goal after goal for Dortmund. His assists have dried up, yet he has continued to be an ever present force and quickly becoming an incredible all around player with high passing volumes and completion rates going so far as to prove that he's nothing like a typical young flashy winger. He likes the ball at all times. He has also begun to show some feisty tackling abilities and tenacious work ethic to go with it.
CRAZY IN DEPTH KEY STAT: In only 10 matches, and 379 minutes total (most of these appearances being "cameos" off of the bench) beginning with the Ligapokal match against Greuther Firth on August 20th and ending on October 6th vs Augsburg, Sancho produced 8 assists, a truly shocking number. He then proceeded to score 4 goals in the next 3 matches for Dortmund, showing his all around world class potential and displaying himself as a true freak of nature. 29 key passes across three competitions for Dortmund underlines his willingness to bust out of the shell of his hype. Well...he has...and then some...
HAKIM ZIYECH (Ajax)
This fascinating player who fills up the stat sheet from high amounts of shots, to key passes, or a litany of tackles and passes completed. And even though he's playing in a weaker league, Ziyech, if you cut his stats in half in a top league, is still incredible, as the data shows, but the performances tell the entire story. Ziyech is a tireless creator, even hitting 9 key passes in one match without any luck until David Neres finally put one of them away. The Moroccan had a fantastic World Cup with underrated performances, especially against Spain. One feels had he not been substituted in the last ten minutes, Morocco could have won the dramatic 2-2 against the Spanish.
CRAZY IN DEPTH KEY STAT: Ziyech has 43 total key passes in the Netherlands but only 6 total key passes in 4 Champions league appearances, showing why he hasn't made the final list. He has 5 assists in the Eredevisie and 2 in the Champions league, with a few more that could've been added through shots hitting the post / rebounds but we're only counting passes registering in goals.
THE LIST
The talented future German captain (according to Matthias Sammer) grabbed another 2 assists this week in the Champions league, the natural evolution we were all waiting for of Kimmich going from right back to midfield has been just fine. The young German has gone for maturity over flash and is still delivering the goods.
CRAZY IN DEPTH KEY STAT:
2.2 Key Passes per 90
42 Key Passes Overall
8 Assists total across 4 different competitions: German Super Cup, Ligapokal, Champions League, Bundesliga, and we're not even counting the token 1 assist (tally taken to 9) he had off of the bench in the 58th minute during a club friendly for Bayern against Hamburg.
All we'll discuss with Neymar IS the craziness of it all below...
CRAZY IN DEPTH KEY STAT: he has 74 total key passes across all competitions for Brazil and PSG, with a hat trick of assists to his name in a match for the Brazilian national team earlier this season, 2 assists in the World Cup and a sackful of assists in friendlies alike, Neymar has taken on and destroyed all comers. And if you think his opponents have been weaker, he's averaging 3.9 key passes in the Champions League and had 4.6 in the World Cup this Summer. Neymar is a nonstop creative force, with some of the commentary pages of Brazil's friendly matches looking like a telegram from Neymar's foot to the head or feet of his teammates such is the frequency of his creation. with an incredible 6 assist burst for Brazil across 3 matches against Saudi Arabia, Argentina and El Salvador.
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| Sane has enjoyed a season full of creation as well as a handful of goals, both for club and scoring his first 2 goals for Germany. |
Yet again, the afro'd, moody but vivacious German has terrorized defenses in the Premier League and Champions league alike this season, with more goals scored being another virtue added to his arsenal, now. Even while scoring a double at the weekend, he still had time to notch yet another assist vs lowly West Ham.
CRAZY IN DEPTH KEY STAT:
-5 Assists Total All Competitions
-11 Key Passes In One Match In The Carabao Cup, against Fulham, with 0 assists in that match, although one of his key balls created the 2nd goal, it is perhaps the most unlucky performance, from a pure chance creation standpoint, since data has been collected.
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| Suso in action for A.C. Milan |
Suso is, admittedly, not one of my favorite players and a particularly singular faceted player, though he's had 8 assists on the season in the league (inc. A hat trick of assists in one match against Chievo) to lead Europe and has 2 assists in international play, a duo received in a rare international appearance vs Wales.
CRAZY IN DEPTH KEY STAT:
3.3 Key Passes Per 90 minutes in the Europa League and 2.8 In Serie A
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| Ryan Fraser could perhaps be the most underrated Premier league player right now, as he excels for both Bournemouth and Scotland. |
Fraser has created 6 goals in the Premier League for Bournemouth, which is an accomplishment in and of itself, with 1 to follow in the CC Cup, plus he's had 3 assists in his last 2 Scotland matches, including 2 assists in one match. With two multi-assist matches and a mutli-goal match (with one assist in the same game) and 4 goals for Bournemouth and 1 goal for Scotland in Nations League play, Ryan Fraser could very well be in the top 3 of the list for Most Underrated Player in the world, right now.
CRAZY IN DEPTH KEY STAT: Fraser has achieved 4 of those assists from a right forward position, with 5 of them and all 4 of his goals in the Premier League, coming from a deep, defensive left midfield role showing his insane versatility and adaptivity.
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| Havertz continues to develop and evolve at a shocking rate. Stats cannot define his true value and world class level, he must be seen to be believed. |
His numbers should be even higher, his talent bar raising at the same time with each passing match, yet Kai Havertz has shown us a beautiful all around game, both in tandem with Julian Brandt (who narrowly missed this list) and Kevin Volland, or in a variety of attacking midfield positions and angles, Havertz has been irresistible and only second to Jadon Sancho's titanic rise in being best young player in the Bundesliga (Sancho only misses this list due to the fact his assists have dried up as of late despite the awesome numbers).
CRAZY IN DEPTH KEY STAT: Havertz already has a match with a hat trick of assists (last season) and multi-assist matches this season for the 19 year old virtuoso. This has earned him Germany call ups recently and a start against Russia. Weirdly, he only has 16 total key passes on the season, a meager stat that shows his delicate, raw efficiency and inconsistent finishing and ball retention of his teammates
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| Raheem Sterling has benefited immensely under the guidance of Guardiola, more so than any City player and at the most crucial point in his career. |
4. RAHEEM STERLING (Man City)
Right there with Messi at 6 assists , 7 total (1 in CC cup) Sterling has had a phenomenal, breathtaking season so far, improving on his blistering campaign last year and building off of his World Cup experience and (under appreciated) success and performances in that tournament. He's shown a bevy of delicious runs finished off with delicate, powerhouse assists to show his world class level on full display, showing for both England (2 goals vs Spain, 1 assist in the World Cup) and Manchester City. Sterling has been creating with his runs nonstop and still finds time to deliver assist after assist, creating a few big chances in the match against Lyon this week in the UCL, while receiving 0 assists, proof of his creativity at all costs. The Englishman is a proven Guardiola stalwart, an absolute necessity in the biggest of matches, getting over his finishing woes in the process as well. Sterling has exceeded the hype that once defined him, earlier in his career.
CRAZY IN DEPTH KEY STAT: 2.4 and 2.8 key passes averaged a match in the Premier League and Champions League respectively, this season, with 40 overall total (25 in the Prem, 2 in the CC Cup and 13 in the UCL).
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| Lionel Messi cannot stop, won't stop notching assists. His creativity is more rabid than Harvey Weinstein at a school for young girls. He's tallying assists like Marvin Gaye counted sexual conquests. |
Messi..Messi..Messi...the Argentine king already has 6 league assists to his name, with 1 this week against PSV in the Champions League to add to the tally and all he does is play fantastic probing passes. The greatest player of all time continues to set our imaginations on fire with his inventive play, usually with Luis Suarez. But what staggers us all, is how even in the era of "Messi-dependence" where it seems he has no help, it is still stunning to have seen how many different players he'll register assists too or find with outrageous passes: Coutinho and Leo combining with some South American flair, Dembele and Messi beginning where they left off in flashes last season with some sparkling interplay as well, then we cannot forget his titanic relationship with Jordi Alba streaking down that left wing or his nonstop telepathic bromance with Luis Suarez. Lionel Messi is a god.
CRAZY IN DEPTH KEY STAT: Messi is averaging 3.7 key passes per match in the Champions League and 3.2 in La Liga, with 46 total (11 more and 2 more assists if you count his underrated exploits with Argentina in the World Cup).
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| David Silva has had one of the unluckiest creative seasons in modern footballing memory. |
He has been cheated out of so many assists this season it belies logic really. Silva has been an ever present creative force for City with the absence of De Bruyne, and even though he's been used in a deeper role, he's found time and space to continue to score goals nearly every match and being one of the most creative players on the planet at this time.
CRAZY IN DEPTH KEY STAT: 52 Key passes total for Silva this season already across all competitions for City. Silva has seen 8 direct goalscoring opportunities he's created go begging or hit the post only to be buried by a waiting City player, stripping him of some pretty earth shattering stats, but it's ok David, we've been watching!
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| Depay has dominated for both club and country and against all-world opponents. |
I get it , I get it, he plays in a weaker league..I understand that...but he has proven this same swashbuckling data against world class, top tier opponents (German national team, French national team, Manchester City (x2), etc.) begging the million dollar (or perhaps 80-100 million dollar) question: Can, Should, Will Depay go to a bigger club and if so, when? His numbers and the opponents speak for themselves both for club and country,...maybe we're ALL weaker defensively, eh?? Or maybe...just maybe, the kid who scored 2 goals in the 2014 World Cup (as a young and unknown talent that carried the following hype around his neck like a noose at Manchester United) IS ACTUALLY THAT GOOD. Only time will tell...
CRAZY IN DEPTH KEY STAT: 3.8 Key passes a match this season across all competitions for club and country, averaging a whopping 4.8 in the Champions league, including 3 assists vs Manchester City, 2 in one match this week vs the Guardiola juggernaut. Depay has 75 total key passes this season for both Lyon and the Netherlands.
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