Questions and Answers

Petr Cech rates as the best keeper in World Football.
Over the last 12 months we've followed 5,000 of the best players in world football to check on their form. Are their teams winning? When they play, do they make a difference to how goals are scored or conceded? Are they selected for the top fixtures? We measure keepers on all the above plus goals conceded and clean sheets. 
Cech has an astonishing record of nearly ten shots on target saved for every goal conceded. Germany's Oliver Kahn ranks only 19th on current form.

Thierry Henry is the top striker.
We look at players' record for club & country and in top cup competitions. We particularly focus on their Strike Rate, how regularly they score. Henry has one of the top three strike rates in World Football - a goal every 113 minutes on average! He also has 16 assists.
Barcelona's Ronaldinho has a Strike Rate of a goal every 341 minutes - only the third best at his club. He ranks 28th in our striker table.

David Beckham is only the 25th best midfielder in the game.
But he does top the Real Madrid midfield, beating players like Zidane and currently has the fourth best midfield record in Spain's La Liga. Madrid concede less than a goal a game when he plays and score nearly two. He also tops their average points table.

 Steven Gerrard shone in the Champions League but disappointed in Liverpool's league games, playing in 12 defeats. Three Liverpool players had better midfield records. 
Our top-ranked midfielder does play in the Premiership though.

Rio Ferdinand is the 11th best defender.
But he does make a huge difference to Man United. When he plays, they average a whole point a game better than when he doesn’t.
Real Madrid concede a goal every 115 minutes when Roberto Carlos is playing and one every 70 minutes when he doesn’t. Carlos is 19^th in our table.
To find out the best defender, you’ll have to get hold of a copy of our Match of the Day Annual.