December 2012 UPDATE
DUBAI, 12 DECEMBER 2012 - This month in the Castrol EDGE Rankings we focus on the three
players nominated for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or award; we also analyse Fernando
Torres’ fall from grace within the table and take a look at who Chelsea could
possibly bring in to reinforce their attacking options.
The three nominees for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d’Or award have been revealed,
with the Spanish Liga trio of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Andres
Iniesta all up for the accolade for the best player of the calendar year.
The
Castrol EDGE Rankings suggest that Messi (1st) is in pole position
to receive his third successive FIFA Ballon d’Or crown, as the Argentine has
held the top position throughout the last 12 months. Goals are the most
valuable currency in football and the Barcelona star has been in a run of form
that is rarely seen in Europe, netting 65 goals in just 45 league and Champions
League appearances in the first 11 months of 2012; a tally that surpasses any
other player in the top five European leagues. On average, Messi has managed to
score a goal every 61 minutes in La Liga and the Champions League in 2012 –
equivalent to three goals in every two games.
The Argentine has scored in an impressive 69% of his appearances in the
opening 11 months of 2012, but this ratio is not as high as rival Cristiano
Ronaldo (70%). The Portuguese star has moved up to second place in the latest
edition of the Castrol EDGE Rankings and has not found himself lower than
seventh over the last 12 months; this brilliantly consistent run has been
helped by the fact that he’s been the most dangerous player in Europe in terms
of shooting ability. Ronaldo has attempted an impressive tally of 265 shots in
just 46 appearances in the opening 11 months of 2012 – meaning that he averages
5.8 shots a game; significantly higher than Messi’s average of 4.1 a match. The
former Manchester United forward has also been the more dangerous player from
outside the box in 2012, scoring an impressive 11 goals from long range as we
enter the final month of the year.
An important aspect to consider when comparing Messi and Ronaldo is that
Barcelona provide Messi with much more of the ball in attacking positions than
Real Madrid do for his rival. On average, Messi has averaged 71 ball touches
per game in the attacking half this season in La Liga, whilst Ronaldo has made just
45. Despite this disadvantage, Ronaldo has been far more threatening to
opposition defence; attempting 47 shots on target, meaning that he will achieve
a shot on target with 7.5% of his touches in the opposition half. Messi,
meanwhile, has attempted 39 shots on goal, which works out as a shot on target
with just 3.9% of his attacking half touches.
The outsider for the Ballon D’or award according to the Castrol EDGE
Rankings is Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta. He currently finds himself in
29th position, but is the highest ranked midfielder currently playing
in the Spanish Liga, which is an extraordinary feat in itself.
Iniesta struggled for form in the early months of 2012; failing to score or assist a goal in his
opening six league and Champions League appearances. Since then however, the
Barcelona midfielder has been in fine form and in his final game of November,
he collected a hat-trick of assists against Levante. One reason for Iniesta’s
consistent top 30 position in the Castrol EDGE Rankings over the last 12 months
has been his ability to retain possession of the ball; managing to complete at
least 80% of his passes in all 35 of his league and Champions League
appearances in 2012. He was also exceptional for Spain during their tournament
win at UEFA Euro 2012™ and as a result was the fifth best player during the tournament
according to his average Castrol EDGE Index score (9.43).
Out of Form torres continues to struggle
in the CASTROL EDGE Rankings
Much has been made of the decline of Fernando Torres in recent years,
but according to the Castrol EDGE Rankings, the Spanish striker has been
struggling for quite some time.
Torres
finds himself in 269th place this month – only the 18th
best ranked Premier League forward, which is extremely alarming for the current
Champions League holders. The Chelsea forward netted just one goal from 13
shots in November, despite playing eight hours and 43 minutes of football
during the month for the Blues in the Premier League and Champions League.
One hope for Torres is his reunion with his former manager at Liverpool,
Rafa Benitez, who has now taken the managerial role at Stamford Bridge; it was
under him that El Niño produced his
best form and also his best position in the Castrol EDGE Rankings. The
28-year-old was never ranked lower than eighth when playing at Liverpool under
Benitez, mainly thanks to his tally of 16 goals in 26 Premier League and
Champions League appearances under him during the 2009-10 season.
According to Castrol EDGE performance data, it seems that Torres’ lack
of confidence in front of goal has seen his average minutes per goal ratio drop
from one in every 121 at Liverpool to nearly three times that at Chelsea (a
goal every 360 minutes). This fall in Torres’ goal threat comes despite
averaging the same number of ball touches per 90 minutes at both clubs (42 per
game) – however, he has averaged only two shots per 90 minutes at the Blues,
compared to 3.4 per 90 minutes in his spell at Anfield. The most alarming
figure of all for the Spaniard is that his shot conversion rate has fallen from
22.4% at Liverpool to 12.2% at Chelsea. This is a worrying drop for Torres,
considering that the average Premier League striker is able to convert 17% of
their shots into goals.
Chelsea are likely to bring in reinforcements to boost the squad’s attacking
options during the January transfer window, with former striker Didier Drogba
training with the club in the hope of being given special dispensation by FIFA
to play for them on loan. The Ivorian left to join Chinese side Shanghai
Shenhua following his exceptional performance in the 2011-12 Champions League Final
victory over Bayern Munich and was ranked 180th in the Castrol EDGE
Rankings at the end of that season. There is also a chance to recall Romelu
Lukaku from his loan spell at West Bromwich Albion. The young Belgian forward
rises to 1,524th this month – his highest-ever position.
Another player apparently interesting Chelsea is Atlético Madrid star
Falcao. The striker is likely to command a big
transfer fee, but a fully justifiable one at that, according to his Castrol EDGE
Rankings position of 15th. The Colombian has netted 28 goals in the
last 12 months of league action for Atlético and has scored with 24% of his
shots – making him nearly twice as clinical as Torres has been in the same
period for Chelsea (14%).
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