Of course, the criteria for eligibility is totally arbitrary. Martin boasts two best and fairest honours, three All-Australian selections and 251 goals from his 225 game career. Iker Casillas burst into the Real Madrid side as a kid, putting in a masterclass as a 19-year-old in a Champions League final. 20-16: Two Crows but which Hawks icon missed the cut? The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 60-41, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 80-61, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 40-26, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 100-81, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 25-11, The 100 best players of the 21st Century: 10-1, Roberto Firmino makes stunning choice on Liverpool future: 'It's decided', Liverpool signing Mason Mount from Chelsea could be a LOT more realistic than you realise, Why Sir Alex Ferguson thinks Anfield has the best atmosphere in the country, Father of Manchester United's potential new owner Sheikh Jassim criticises bid for club: 'I dont like this investment', Manchester United target Victor Osimhen openly reveals that a dream Premier League move is his 'ambition'. The argument for Bale falls into three categories: his astonishing rise at Tottenham, his performances in finals for Real Madrid, and his unwavering commitment to Wales. Channel 7 AFL commentators Luke Hodge and Shaun Burgoyne are also Hawthorn icons and teammates of Mitchell. Playing Career: 1982, 1984-96 (Haw 1982, Geel 1984-96) Games: 248. The 280-game Collingwood star had the archetype like no other. There was a problem. Share Dean Polo is one such player. We want to see it. Gold Coast Suns also have a big contingent with Noah Anderson, Connor Budarick, Caleb Graham, Ben King and Matt Rowell who although played only five games before his season-ending injury in 2020 had already shown the depth of his talent. 38 Hawthorn jumper for all the trivia buffs playing along at home the Buddy nickname stuck. FourFourTwo is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Menu . Its hard to make a case against Barlows game as the best AFL debut since the start of the century and he didnt slow up recording 34 disposals the very next week against Essendon. 'Saint Nick' was everything a coach could ask for in a player. He won Serie A, a Coppa Italia and the Champions League itself as part of one the most iconic Milan sides in history, and earned himself the Ballon dOr in 2004. The wingers scorching pace, mind-bending trickery and ability to win games single-handedly make him a joy to watch, and a future Ballon dOr seems all-but inevitable already. For sheer consistency the only player that comes to Judd for mantle of best 21st century player is Gary Ablett Jnr, but his first season didn't set the world on fire. He is electric. The Manchester United legend ranks among the greatest English midfielders of all time, and has earned praise from illustrious quarters. Since breaking into Bara team at the age of 20, he has never made fewer than 40 appearances a season, he has been the rock on which Messi and co.s cathedral was built throughout the 2010s. Language. His move to Carlton raised questions surrounding his ability to perform without a number of stars around him, but his critics were soon silenced. Personally, the late, long-range snap goal from a stoppage in the 2007 preliminary final against Collingwood stands out. Premier League and Champions League victories have been the reward, while at international level the winger captained Egypt to their first World Cup in 28 years in 2018 and runners-up finishes in two Africa Cup of Nations. Arguably the game's greatest ever full-back, Matthew Scarlett's dominance over the league is yet to be reached by any there player since his retirement. Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Picking then ranking the 20 best AFL players of the past 20 years has been a painstaking and hair-tearing task thats consumed many hours of isolation life. Debate about the best players of the 21st Century goes . My Top 5 players drafted since 2000. Create your own Fantasy AFL team and compete for daily prizes on Draftstars its free to join so why not check it out? LANCE FRANKLIN (HAWTHORN/SYDNEY SWANS), 2000-2020 stats: 300 games, 944 goals, 170 Brownlow votes, averaged 15.5 disposals, 2000-2020 CV: Two-time premiership Hawk, eight-time All-Australian (one as captain), one best and fairest, four-time Coleman medallist, 11-time club leading goalkicker. He captained Collingwood in 184 games, he captained them to a Grand Final, he was twice the AFLPAs best captain he is a silky footballer, he got it done. THE NUMBERS: 33disposals, 6 marks, 4 tackles, 4 clearances, 2 goals Get insight to top players, instructions & drills and extensive coverage of equipment. Andrew Walker reached great heights (pun intended) during his 204-game career at Carlton. The club's CEO at the time, John Anderson acted as non-voting chairman of the panel. A two-time premiership player with Geelong, Ablett had notched up close to 200 games for Geelong before leaving for the Gold Coast, winning a Brownlow Medal, four All-Australian selections, two best and fairests, three AFLCA Player of the Year awards and three Leigh Matthews trophies before 2011. The 100 greatest players of the 21st century, featuring Lionel Messi and Ronaldo By Kobe Tong Published Oct 18, 2019 The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Xavi made the top ten Want. 2. Source: FOX SPORTS David Zita from Fox Sports @DavidZita1 May 10th, 2020 6:57 pm These players have all played at some point throughout 21st century, however based on their entire . Picture: Phil Hillyard. That rangy, young Frenchman would soon blossom into one of Europe's most complete midfielders. This varies slightly from the Last Word On Baseball All-Decade teams list which took the best individual seasons. Cechs individual records stack up high: he has the most clean sheets ever in the Premier League with 202, as well as the most in a single season, 24, while hes a four-time Golden Glove winner and has gone longer than any other keeper without conceding, 1,025 minutes in 2004/05. So many moments. 2 was the easiest part of the gig. No player has won more MVP awards. If you like what you read be sure to check out more SportsbyFry articles by hitting this link. Sachin Tendulkar (cricket) 17. Naming the 10 best AFL players of all-time is a thankless task when you consider the talent the competition has had in its long history. Please refresh the page and try again. All rights reserved. And while the no.10 broke through in the 90s, the 21st Century was paved in gold for him. Available now! Random. A strong, tough-tackling defender, Terrys leadership was behind five league titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups, a Europa League crown and a Champions League title. AFL's biggest question 'everyone's talking . Inside or outside, left boot or right boot, in the air or on the ground, short kick or long kick, overhead or on the ground, in front of the goals or on the last line of defence, Geelong or Gold Coast he could do it all and has done it all, wherever hes played. Falling just short of the best player of the century, Franklin deserves a podium finish for his astounding career-to-date. At the very start of the 21st Century, Luis Figo committed the most controversial transfer that football had ever seen. BA1 1UA. 1 and No. These are guys you want to go out to battle with. 13-min read. All players have been selected and ranked based on their 21st century performances only, so any seasons prior to 2000 havent been considered. He earned legend status over 11 years at the Bernabeu and remains the foreigner with the most appearances for the club. Andrew McLeod (Adelaide) 18. Dennis Comettis call of cometh the moment, cometh the man the son of the man was so apt, as it was a goal when his team needed him most in its most important win of the season. Hawthorn have won 11 wooden spoons in their history but the last time they ended up on the bottom of the ladder was in 1965. The criteria was a player had to play more than 50 games from 2000 onwards. 245 games as captain, the most games as captain, the most wins as captain. That's why the likes of Wayne Carey and Robert . THE NUMBERS: 30 disposals, 7 clearances, 1 goal Nathan Buckley emerged as a genuine superstar of the game in the early 2000s. Lee McCulloch. UNLUCKY DOZEN: The 12 AFL legends brutally snubbed from top-20 list, *Odds are current as of 4th March 2023, 6:03pm AEST. Toni Kroos can do both. REAL MADRID Is Toni Kroos one of the best midfielders of the 21st century? Along with Hodge and Burgoyne, Richmond legend Matthew Richardson, AFLW trailblazer Daisy Pearce, former Geelong captain Cameron Ling, and 7NEWS football reporter Ryan Daniels also believe that the Hawks are on track to break a 58-year wooden-spoon drought. 11. Picture: Colleen Petch, Sign up to all of Foxtel Now with a 10-day free trial. Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? After drawing in the first game, at 68 points each, St. Kilda and Collingwood met again a week later to determine a winner. Throughout of the rest of the noughties, he simply oozed more of the class he'd displayed in the 90s. Pele said if I played with him, I wouldve scored many more goals, Thierry Henry described Scholes as the greatest Premier League player ever, and Xavi called him a role model. Philip Rivers (QB) San Diego Chargers and Indianapolis Colts - First year: 2004 - Drafted:. 12 votes, 77 comments. The fact he actually improved as a player when he moved north his first four years at the Suns, numerically, were the finest of his career to join an expansion club that was always going to start slowly is a testament to his drive, professionalism and talent. Atletico Madrids flamboyant Frenchman has inspired club and country to success in the last decade. Arsene Wenger once claimed that he only really won the Arsenal players' trust when he arrived in England because they could see he'd brought a top player with him. He won back-to-back Europa League titles with different clubs in 2011 and 2012 for Porto and Atleti, a Ligue 1 title with Monaco and is Colombias all-time top scorer with 35 goals in 90 caps. King Kun arrived in the Premier League with promise: he left a hero. Well before Tom Mitchell and Lachie Neale were racking up 40-plus disposals a game for fun, Buckley was the leagues true ball magnet in an era when possessions were harder to accumulate. But their passion for their old club has not prevented them from having a very dim view of the season ahead. The level of talent in this tournament -- especially among the top few teams -- is unprecedented. Stay tuned, and check out the other runners and riders. His heroics earned McGrath a game in the next three rounds, where he combined to record just 19 possessions and one goal. Gerard Healy thinks Richmond superstar Dustin Martin is already a "certainty" to be named the AFL player of the 21st century. They (will) have a lot of youth and enthusiasm, Tuck said. It's the toughest, hardest, most athletic game on the planet. 4. The former Magpies captain and now coach won a total of seven All-Australian selections, along with a Brownlow medal and Norm Smith following the turn of the century. Voss presence within the midfield lifted those around him, making some of the greatest onballers within the league better, perhaps producing the 'fab four' himself. You will receive a verification email shortly. Robert Lewandowski netted 344 goals in 375 Bayern Munich games. Hawthorn are bracing for a world of pain in the 2023 AFL season, according to two of their most decorated players. He is the very embodiment of the football club. It was clear from an early age that there was something special about Hazard. The players have been selected and ranked based on their 21st century performances only, so any seasons prior to 2000 haven't been considered. Click here to subscribe on iTunes There were devastating patches of brilliance. 10 goals, 10 finals, 10 trophies at club level. Note that players must have played at least five seasons in the 21st century to meet the criteria and their body of work during the century is also key. Three hundred and ninety-one career goals cant be wrong. 295. The Top 20 players of the past 20 years have been revealed. 100 greatest NFL players of the 21st century Aug 21, 2020 at 11:05 am Expand Autoplay 1 of 100 100. He captained Brisbane to the 2001, 2002, 2003 premierships and even in the 2004 Grand Final. While most AFL fans will remember Ben Truck Rutten for his All-Australian defensive days his debut match in 2003 was something quite the opposite. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. After three previous top-five finishes, he finally broke through to claim a maiden Brownlow Medal. Here are the 25 of the greatest players to ever play the great Australian game ranked from one to 25: 1. The 253-game Essendon hero won two best and fairests and three All-Australian selection after entering the 21st century, earning him Hall of Fame honours. 2000-2020 stats: 138 games, 140 goals, 82 Brownlow votes, averaged 24.5 disposals, 2000-2020 CV: Norm Smith Medallist, Brownlow Medallist, three-time All-Australian, two-time best and fairest. Whether it is high flying marks, bone jarring tackles or freakish goals, Australian Rules has it all. Get everything you need, from team lists, fixtures, statistics and a profile on every single player in the competition in our 2023 AFL Season Guide. THE NUMBERS:27 disposals, 5 clearances, 5 tackles But hes only won the AFLPAs best captain once, which is why I didnt give him the number one spot.. The outstanding performer for Germany in Brazil in 2014; the steady metronome during Real Madrid's Threepeat. Randomn but heading into the 2023 season I was thinking who would be stop the AFL Mt Rushmore of the 21st Century. Voss played through most of the 90s, but his durability and elite consistency across the first seven years of the 2000s mustnt be forgotten. Anyone can contribute to The Roar and have their work No player has polled more Brownlow Medal votes. Official Western Bulldogs App. It's ironic that Kroos running riot against the Selecao has become the defining image of his career: he's far more restrained, usually. Enjoy! Buddy 3. Rounding off the top five are Brazilian icon Ronaldinho and Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta. These players have all played at some point throughout 21st century, however based on their entire career. By Seb Mottram 9 minutes ago Former AFL forward Daniel Menzel has ranked his top seven AFL captains of the 21st century. Michael Voss The star of the Lions three-peat dynasty, Voss would add to his already stellar career with record breaking season after season following the conclusion of the 20th century. If names are anything to go by, we are in for a treat with surnames that whether or not they are in any way related mirror the surnames of former Brownlow Medalists, champion goal scorers and club champions both past and present. Luis Gonzalez Matt Kemp Jason Kendall Mike Lowell Hideki Matsui Brandon Phillips Gary Sheffield Grady Sizemore Jason Varitek Vernon Wells Pitchers Bronson Arroyo A.J. Sign up to all of Foxtel Now with a 10-day free trial. Franklins sensational switch to Sydney, after two flags with the Hawks, was bold on many fronts. Contents 1 Top 10 AFL Players Right Now 1.1 Dustin Martin - Richmond 1.2 Christian Petracca - Melbourne 1.3 Max Gawn - Melbourne 1.4 Jack Steele - St. Kilda 1.5 Toby Greene - GWS 1.6 Lachie Neale - Brisbane 1.7 Marcus Bontempelli - Bulldogs 1.8 Jack Macrae - Bulldogs 1.9 Nic Naitanui - West Coast 1.10 Zach Merrett - Essendon Nedved also captained his country to the final of Euro 2004, where they lost to Greece, and he opted to stay with Juve following their demotion to Serie B in the wake of the Calciopoli match fixing scandal, helping them go straight back up at the first attempt. The towering Dutchman, who combines immense strength with impressive acceleration, was the defensive rock behind Champions League and Premier League victories in his first two full seasons at Anfield. 2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni. A key figure in the side's maiden AFL premiership success, Cornes is the club's only 300-game AFL player, won four best and fairests in seven years and was named in two All-Australian sides. The Colombians football odyssey has taken him to seven different countries, with his most successful spells coming at Porto, Atletico Madrid and Monaco. Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access, Enjoy your first month for just 1 / $1 / 1, *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription, Current page: New York, GAJ 2. Because Judds explosive best during a four-year period at West Coast (2004 to 2007) was better than any players optimum output on this 20-man list. It will be an interesting exercise to look back at these players careers when another decade has passed. Lots of goals. Where Robben was direct, obvious, powerful and bold, Ribery was deft, thoughtful and capable of the unexpected. Whilst most teams boast a clutch of these youngest players, the teams from lower down the ladder who have put their faith in rebuilding over time have the most. In typical early 2000s fashion, Paul Haselbys first game of footy came in a Dockers loss. A 58-year drought is on track to be broken, according to those close to the club. The top 10 players in your ranking, below, will next go head-to-head with our winningest pre-80 and 80-99 stars for the battle to determine the one true bass GOAT. These are the top seven captains that you would love to play for, he said on SENs Sportsday SA. Ballack was the complete package as a central midfielder, capable of bossing opponents physically, spreading passes around the pitch with both feet and scoring goals. His progression from left-back to to one of Europes most feared forwards at Spurs landed him the PFA Player of the Year, PFA Young Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year in 2012/13 (a feat only matched by Cristiano Ronaldo), as well as an 85m move to Real Madrid. In fact he probably became a wiser and more-rounded player at the Blues. Hawthorn champion Dermott Brereton recently told Fox Footy Live Judds best football was the best midfield football Ive seen. Weve counted down the top 15 players of the century. Players whose careers began prior to the year 2000 . Left-footers like him arent supposed to have a better chance of kicking a goal from the boundary on the wrong side for a left-footer. Login. The former Groningen, Celtic and Saints stoppers importance to those achievements didnt go unnoticed, as he won the UEFA Mens Player of the Year award for 2018/19 - the only defender to have done so - and finished as the Ballon dOr runner-up in 2019. Luke Hodge is as hard as they come, as much of a leader you want to play for out of anyone and I found it hard not to put him at no.1. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Birthdate: June 24, 1987. At Madrid, he has scored one of the greatest goals in Clasico history a winner during the 2014 Copa del Rey final as well as one of the greatest goals in a Champions League final one of three Champions League final goals hes nabbed, while totting up four winners medals.