GFFN 100 2015 What is the GFFN 100? The Get French Football News 100 comprises of our selection of the top one hundred talents that French football has to offer, judged solely on their performances in 2015. To be eligible for the GFFN 100, the player must have been a registered squad member of a Ligue 1 or a Ligue 2 club on the 31st December 2015. For example, Anthony Martial is ineligible despite playing half of the calendar year at as AS Monaco because on the 31st December 2015 he was plying his trade at Manchester United. However, Angel di Maria is eligible for the GFFN 100 despite having joined PSG in the summer of 2015 because on the aforementioned date he was a registered squad member of theirs. Players that are eligible are judged on all their professional appearances in 2015, regardless of whether or not they were playing abroad for a part of the calendar year. This applies to the international appearances they might have accumulated, notably in EURO 2016 qualifying matches for example. Players are ranked in descending order: with the highest-rated talent ranked 1st and the 100th highest-rated talent ranked 100th. The selection process involved a nomination stage whereby the GFFN 100 contributors chose their favoured list of one hundred, alongside the use of statistical data to rank players according to a range of over 50 distinct parameters across different playing positions. Gregory van der Wiel 100 [ * ] Club: Paris Saint-Germain F.C. Position: Defender “I am a f ighter and I Born: Amsterdam want to play.” Date of Birth: 03/02/1988 — Gregory van der Wiel Age: 27 Gregory Van der Wiel was touted for huge things when he first emerged on the professional football scene. He showcased his precocious quality in the 2010 World Cup, having a brilliant tournament – selected in the final against eventual win- ners Spain– and winning Netherlands’ young player of the year award in the same year. It would not be harsh, however, to assert that Van der Wiel has not quite lived up to his destiny especially since he was once labelled as the new Michael Reiziger. But it would still be pretty ruthless to say that he has failed; he currently plays his club football at what is now one of the powerhouses of European football, Paris St-Germain. He was a regular in the French capital’s line up when they first took back the Ligue 1 crown in his first season in 2013. A competent, polished defender and comfortable on the ball, with bags of pace and a will to support attacks, Van der Wiel had the potential to be a ‘complete’ defender, similar to how Ashley Cole had plaudits gushing in the great Arsenal and Chelsea sides. There are glimpses in the past 12 months that reflect deeper reasons why he just has not been able to emulate such high performing, consistent players like Cole. There are question marks over his attitude and his untimely, ‘media unfriendly’ comments. As a case in point, let us look at the pre-season period this summer and the start of the season. Further to tweeting that he ‘was fit to play’ before playing Montpellier, he caused quite an unwanted frenzy as to why he was not selected because PSG had officially stated ‘he was getting back to fitness’. It emerged that the non-selection was down to a punishment sanctioned on the Dutchman after not completing post-match training in the game before, against Gazélec. Worse, Laurent Blanc confirmed that he had been on a separate training regime to the 1st XI... not exactly a great way to talk yourself into an extension on your contract. In the summer transfer window, it actually seemed more than likely that Van der Wiel would leave and some - admittedly more unscrupulous sources – reported that Van der Wiel had said PSG wanted him to leave, such was the extent of his unsettlement! Before Chelsea got cover in the summer, José Mourinho considered that his defence was a bit light in this area and the tattooed right-back was duly earmarked. Nonetheless, he ended up stating himself that he wanted to stay in Paris declaring his love for PSG. After prolonged contract talks coupled with a clear reluctance for PSG to sell Van der Wiel was still unable to secure an extension, with Raiola and his client reportedly unhappy with the salary offered, plunging his future into doubt as 2015 comes to a close. He has continued to have a tough time being in competition with Serge Aurier, the Ivorian who is one of the best right backs around in Europe right now. Laurent Blanc has incredible strength in depth at PSG so consequently rotates his players, especially in this position since he has Aurier and Marquinhos as competition to Van der Wiel. Now we are into the business end of the Champions’ League - the knockout stages - it will be interesting to see who Blanc goes with: Aurier has had the nod in both games against Real Madrid so a legitimate conclusion is that the Dutchman is still playing second fiddle. Nevertheless, he is massively experienced on the European, if not international stage (46 International caps, 24 Cham- pions’ league appearances). And with Chelsea ironically now to meet PSG in the first knock-out stage, it could just be the moment for Van der Wiel to show, in the first leg at the Parc des Princes, what the Blues missed out on next February when they meet. The European Cup will be a defining tournament for Van der Wiel; left out of the 2014 World Cup squad due to a knee injury and with Netherlands also being dumped unceremoniously out of the Euro qualifications, the Champions’ League will be the stage where his performances can be internationally measured. That all said he could not do much more to impress his critics. He has only had seven starting appearances this season but has two assists to his name. Moreover, he has been in the starting line-up in the last five games in a row at the time of writing, two of which were clean sheets. There is much of the season to run too in Ligue 1. Without a doubt, at 27 years old, he is more than hanging in there. It was noted that van der Wiel had the potential: he still has. But he is running out of time. And people may run out of patience. Sergi darder 99 [ * ] Club: Olympique Lyonnais Position: Midfielder Born: Artà “We are going to at- tempt to rival PSG.” Date of Birth: 22/12/1993 — Sergi Darder Age: 22 To say it has been a testing 2015 for Sergi Darder might be putting things a little lightly. In one calendar year, he has been pushed into the limelight, had almost fallen ill while waiting for a move to France and now that he has got here, he is being strictly judged at every turn. Who would be a footballer? The Mallorca native joined Espanyol’s youth set-up at 13, progressing all the way up to the Barcelona-based club’s B team, where he made 36 appearances and scored two goals in a season with them. The youngster then made his move to Malaga in July 2012. He spent a year with the B side before being called up by Bernd Schuster to join the first team on their pre-season tour and he impressed, scoring during a friendly against Aston Villa. Darder was officially promoted after the summer, making his debut against Valencia in 2013. He featured in 64 games over two seasons with the club, impressing so much that he then signed a new deal with the Spanish side that would see him agree to remain until 2017. In his final season with the Southern Spain club, he made 33 league appearances, scor- ing four goals but also picking up 10 yellow cards and a red. His form, however, caught the attention of a few clubs around Europe, with the main club chasing him being Ligue 1 run- ners-up Lyon. With their pedigree and the promise of Champions League football for at least one season, the temptation for Darder to join the French club was too much for him to bear. A deal seemed to be agreed between the two clubs about a week before transfer deadline day but after cancellations and delays, Darder became a Lyon player just a day before the window closed for a fee of around €12 million. Speaking to ESPN about the event, the Spaniard said: “At one point everything seemed to be done.” “I had confirmation -- and then it fell through. After this incident, I started losing weight and I wasn’t sleeping any longer... but that’s in the past. What matters is that today I’m at Lyon, one of the biggest clubs in the world.” It was quite the journey, Darder admitted that he had come to the club to win trophies and wanted to emulate the likes of Atletico Madrid in Spain by booting out the big boys even on a smaller budget. He got off to a slow start but he really impressed against Toulouse, where he also scored his first goal. He arrived late in the box, much like he did when playing more centrally, controlled the ball in the box and instinctively prodded the ball home. It was a showcase of what he can do. He made three tackles, he hit the post, he kept possession well and he just wanted to be involved in the game.