The Most Successful Dribblers in Each of Europe's Top 5 Leagues
Having recently investigated the most accurate crossers of the ball in Europe, WhoScored decided that those who have been successful with the highest percentage of their attempted dribbles should go under the microscope.
We looked at the most successful dribbler from each of Europe's top 5 leagues, filtering out any players who have completed less than 1.5 per game as well as all of those who have appeared in less than half of their sides' games this season. One thing that became instantly apparent was the number of players plying their trade in Germany to feature among Europe's best, with an amazing 15 of the top 20 playing in the Bundesliga.
Equally evident, therefore, was a lack of representation from the other league's, with France's Ligue 1 not represented by a single player in the top 20, while the Serie A and Premier League had two apiece, leaving La Liga with one.
Bundesliga - Tomas Rincon (HSV)
Unsurprisingly, due to the vast representation of players from the Bundeslgia, a player making a name for himself in Germany is the most successful dribbler in Europe. HSV's Tomas Rincon has made 11 appearances in the league this season, and while teammate Gokhan Tore has completed more dribbles per game than any other player in Europe (6.4), the Venezuelan has the better success rate when considering the number of dribbles he attempts per game.
Over the course of the season Rincon has attempted 28 dribbles from a central midfield position, and having beaten his opponent on 23 of these attempts, has an exceptional success rate of just over 82%. His dribbling has been a key factor to a decent WhoScored rating of 6.82 - the 4th best for his side, who appear to have overcome a terrible start to the season since new manager Thorsten Fink’s arrival.
La Liga - Ever Banega (Valencia)
Argentine midfielder Ever Banega has been a key player for Valencia this season, despite missing the last 5 games for the club through injury. The 23-year-old has been his sides' best creator with 2.4 key passes per game, though his dribbling, in particular, has caught the eye.
In just 8 appearances he has attempted 33 dribbles and been successful 3.38 times per game at a rate of 81.8%. This excellent figure ranks him as the second best in Europe, behind Rincon, and is even more impressive when considering no other La Liga player makes the top 20 in this regard, leading him to a team high rating of 7.75.
Premier League - Ramires (Chelsea)
While Chelsea's start to the season under Villas-Boas has been somewhat temperamental, the same could not be said of the form of Brazilian midfielder Ramires. An all but constant starter, making 13 out of 14 league appearances, the 24-year-old has pushed forward more often this season both with and without the ball.
It is his stats with the ball that we focus on, and having attempted 34 dribbles, he has been successful at rounding his opponent 26 times (2 per game). These numbers mean his success rate is 76.5% - the 10th best in Europe and best in the Premier League, just ahead of Nani. With this in mind, Ramires ranks as Chelsea's 4th best player thus far according to WhoScored, with an average rating of 7.35.
Serie A - Kwadwo Asamoah (Udinese)
One of only three ever-presents for Udinese this season, Kwadwo Asamoah has been key to their excellent start to the season when considering the outward-bound transfers at the club this summer. Perhaps the most relevant to the Ghanaian's position, Gokhan Inler's departure left a void for Asamoah to fill as the side's dominant midfielder, and the 22-year-old is impressing going forward as well as back.
In 13 appearances, Asamoah has completed 1.69 dribbles per game (22 in total) having attempted 30. This means he has beaten an opponent with just over 73% of his attempts to do so, with only Inter veteran Javier Zanetti coming close in the Serie A (72.7%). His 6.97 WhoScored rating is modest having failed to score or assist a goal this season, though one shouldn't underestimate his importance to Udinese's fine campaign thus far.
Ligue 1 - Henri Bedimo (Montpellier)
The signing of Cameroon international left-back Henri Bedimo has proven to be a shrewd bit of business for a Montpellier side who have shocked everyone to sit 3-points clear at the top of Ligue 1. While star striker Olivier Giroud has taken most of the plaudits, Bedimo's involvement has been crucial and sees him rated as the side's second best regular starter with a figure of 7.19 from WhoScored.
While he has been solid and dependable defensively, the 27-year-old has also shone when supporting attacks, completing 27 dribbles (1.69 per game) having started every game for the club this season. Attempting to beat an opponent 40 times this season, Bedimo's dribble success rate of 67.5% is way down on the likes of Rincon and Banega but ranks him as the most successful dribbler in France, ahead of the likes of Hazard, Ayew and Pastore.
