#IBWM100 2014 1

#IBWM100 2014

What’s happening?

Remember the list that Don Balon used to release each year? That’s IBWM now. On Wednesday 18 December, 2013 we revealed The IBWM 100 for 2014, our annual watch list of the most exciting young footballers from around the world. The list is attached.

How do you choose The 100?

We monitor hundreds of players across the globe and talk to coaches, scouts, managers, journalists and fans to gauge their take on who we should select and why. The process of identifying exactly who should be included in The IBWM 100 never ends.

What criteria do you use?

Our main criterion for selection is that players must have been born on or after January 1, 1992. After that, it’s all about how good they are, the current form they are in and whether the next year looks, at this stage at least, as if it could offer significant opportunities. We've no interest in reserve or youth team players, we want to see it happening, or about to happen, at first team level, wherever that may be.

So these are the very best players in the world at their age?

The 100 is our call, it’s our opinion. It is who we at IBWM are excited to watch in 2014, it’s never a categorical list of ‘the best’, which would be just about impossible to quantify anyway.

You left some good players out last year; Verratti, Lukaku and Wilshere for example, how do you explain that?

We have to draw a line somewhere and those exclusions were based on our informed reading of their situations at the time, it wasn't a reflection on the players themselves.

In December last year, was operating as an impact sub for West Bromwich Albion, however, opportunities at his parent club Chelsea were negligible as they arched through a difficult season. Jack Wilshere was just starting to find his feet again at Arsenal after a very lengthy spell on the sidelines and looked, understandably, off the pace and a little fragile. had suffered a slight dip in form at Paris Saint Germain and wasn’t a guaranteed starter. With a transfer window looming and money no object, we wondered whether his club might invest in a replacement; we never doubted his ability.

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We try to consider how the year will work out for each player we select and that guides our judgement, but it’s a difficult science to master. We’ll keep at it though.

Who is missing this time?

Some significant names did not make The IBWM 100 for 2014. While this does not make any of them bad players, recent form and immediate prospects are not what they could be so it feels only right to add some worthy new names to the roster instead. To give a few examples; Phil Jones of Manchester United, of Milan and Iker Muniain of Athletic Bilbao are all players we rate very, very highly, but, right now, we can only see a particularly bland twelve months ahead for each. We also worry about Real Madrid's Raphaël Varane, an exceptional player, but is that knee going to hold up in 2014? We may be wrong with our judgement, but that's the way it goes, we like to keep things fresh. With this in mind, these players, along with several others, are not included in The IBWM 100 for 2014. They’ll get over it, so will you.

Who is in this year?

We’ve tried to identify players that we believe can and will make a significant impact in 2014. Some of these are the ‘names’ you’d expect to see, such as , who could enjoy a magnificent year, but there is a good mix of the lesser known included too. We’re backing every one of The 100 to do well in 2014 and no player has been selected without very good reason. You'll enjoy watching them all.

How many countries are represented?

Players from 46 nations make up The IBWM 100 for 2014, playing in 31 different countries. Some nationalities are represented for the first time, as are several leagues new to The 100. It has taken a while to have a valid inclusion but we are delighted to see the MLS in there for the first time, for example.

Which country is represented the most?

As ever, Germany, Brazil, Spain and France are well represented, but we've been particularly impressed by a number of players in Belgium's Jupiler Pro League. With clubs such as Anderlecht and Standard Liege putting a lot more faith in youth, there have been a number of strong performers with more to follow. We could have selected a lot more from each country but we have to draw a line somewhere so chose the players we see as ascending the fastest.

Do you favour attacking players?

We’ll always edge a little more towards the talented individuals that can really excite and change a game, nevertheless around 40% of the players included in The 100 are primarily defensive minded, whether actual defenders or defensive . There are seven goalkeepers included in The 100 this year too.

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What if I don’t agree with your selections?

That’s your call, this is ours. We welcome all comments on the website or via Twitter, but you must remember this is just a list of players; nobody’s career depends on it. You might disagree with our selection, but we’ve agonised over The 100 for a long time and we’re happy with the choices we’ve made. If we’ve got any wildly wrong that will be reflected in some scathing reviews next year. IBWM is nothing if not accountable.

What happens next?

The IBWM 100 for 2014 published on Wednesday 18 December, 2013 at 10:00 GMT is attached. Our review of the players listed will commence in mid November 2014 - that’s when the grades are awarded. Keep visiting inbedwithmaradona.com to find out more.

Are you available to discuss The 100 with media outlets?

We are, as always, available for interview or to provide further information. Mail us at [email protected] or tweet us @inbedwimaradona and we’ll get back to you.

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Nation Player Club Position Algeria Saphir Sliti Taïder Internazionale Argentina Ángel Correa San Lorenzo Midfielder Gerónimo Rulli Estudiantes Goalkeeper Juan Iturbe Hellas Verona (on loan from Porto) Forward Internazionale Forward Australia Mathew Ryan Club Brugge Goalkeeper Bayern Midfielder Louis Schaub SK Rapid Wien Midfielder FC Red Bull Salzburg Defender Belgium Adnan Januzaj Manchester United Midfielder Maxime Lestienne Club Brugge Midfielder Standard Liège Forward Romelu Lukaku Everton (on loan from Chelsea) Forward Atlético Madrid (on loan from Chelsea) Goalkeeper SV Zulte Waregem (on loan from Chelsea) Midfielder Yannick Ferreira Carrasco AS Monaco Midfielder Brazil Bernard Shakhtar Donetsk Midfielder Coutinho Liverpool Midfielder Dória Botafogo Defender Lucas Piazón Vitesse Forward Paris Saint-Germain Defender Neymar Barcelona Forward Otávio Internacional Midfielder Bulgaria Simeon Slavchev Litex Lovech Midfielder Cameroon Vincent Aboubakar Lorient Forward Chile Nicolás Castillo Universidad Católicá Forward Colombia Éder Balanta River Plate Defender Juan Quintero Porto Midfielder Cote d'Ivorie Toulouse Defender Croatia Mario Pašalić Hajduk Split Midfielder Mateo Kovačić Internazionale Midfielder Czech Republic Václav Kadlec Forward Denmark Christian Eriksen Tottenham Hotspur Midfielder Egypt Mohamed Salah FC Basel Forward

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Nation Player Club Position England Jack Wilshere Arsenal Midfielder Luke Shaw Southampton Defender Ravel Morrison West Ham United Midfielder Ross Barkley Everton Midfielder Finland Tim Väyrynen FC Honka Forward France Adrien Rabiot Paris Saint-Germain Defender Aymeric Laporte Athletic Bilbao Defender Marseille Midfielder Kurt Zouma St Etienne Defender Lucas Digne Paris Saint-Germain Defender Juventus Midfielder Germany Schalke 04 Midfielder Hoffenheim Forward Marc André Ter Stegen Borussia Mönchengladbach Goalkeeper Mario Götze Bayern Munich Midfielder SC Freiburg Defender Schalke 04 Forward Wolfsburg Midfielder Niklas Süle Hoffenheim Defender Ghana Shadrach Eghan Kwesi Twente Midfielder Greece Stefanos Kapino Panathinaikos Goalkeeper Hungary András Radó Szombathelyi Haladás Forward Hungary/Nigeria Kenny Otigba Heerenveen Defender Iran NEC Nijmegen Midfielder Sardar Azmoun Rubin Forward Iraq Ali Adnan Kadhim Çaykur Rizespor Defender Israel Munas Dabbur Maccabi Tel Aviv Forward Italy Sassuolo (on loan from Juventus) Forward Marco Verratti Paris Saint-Germain Midfielder Milan Defender Genoa Goalkeeper Latvia Valērijs Šabala Skonto FC Forward Mexico Jesús Alonso Escoboza Santos Laguna Midfielder

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Nation Player Club Position Netherlands Davy Klaassen Ajax Midfielder Memphis Depay PSV Forward Twente Midfielder Richairo Živkovic Groningen Forward Nigeria Imoh Ezekiel Standard Liège Forward Norway Valon Berisha FC Red Bull Salzburg Midfielder Paraguay Ángel Romero Cerro Porteño Forward Poland Arkadiusz Milik FC Augsburg (on loan from Bayer Leverkusen) Forward Portugal William Carvalho Sporting Clube de Portugal Midfielder Andrei Panyukov Dinamo Moscow Midfielder Scotland Ryan Gauld Dundee United Midfielder Serbia Aleksandar Mitrović Anderlecht Forward Andrija Živković Partizan Midfielder Lazar Marković Benfica Midfielder Matija Nastasić Manchester City Defender South Korea Son Heung-Min Bayer Leverkusen Midfielder Spain Daniel Carvajal Real Madrid Defender Gerard Deulofeu Everton (on loan from Barcelona) Midfielder Real Madrid Midfielder Keita Baldé Diao Lazio Midfielder Koke Atlético Madrid Midfielder Óliver Atlético Madrid Forward Suso Almería (on loan from Liverpool) Midfielder Sweden Alexander Milošević AIK Defender Mattias Johansson AZ Defender Switzerland Michael Frey BSC Young Boys Forward Ricardo Rodríguez VfL Wolfsburg Defender Turkey Hakan Çalhanoğlu Hamburger SV Midfielder Salih Uçan Fenerbahçe Midfielder Ukraine Maksym Koval Dynamo Kyiv Goalkeeper Uruguay Diego Fagúndez New England Revolution Midfielder Diego Laxalt (on loan from Internazionale) Midfielder Wales Ben Davies Swansea City Defender

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