Six of the Best: Top dribblers in Europe by success rate
The ability to beat an opponent, be it through skill or a combination of pace and power, will always make a player a fan favourite, though it’s fair to say some frustrate more than they delight by heading aimlessly down blind allies.
Anyone can run at a player after all, but many find themselves thwarted more often than not or simply end up going backwards having failed to successfully round their man. There are, however, a number of masters of the art, and here we look at the top six dribblers by success rate to have attempted at least two per game this season.
6. Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
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As far as the best dribblers on the continent are concerned, Hazard’s is a name you would expect to find at the top of a leaderboard. He’s sixth here, though the five ahead of him don’t come close to the Belgian in terms of the sheer volume of dribbles that he completes. Indeed, the fact that he attempts almost six per game makes a success rate of 77.5% all the more impressive, ranking as the best of all wingers in Europe’s top 5 leagues this season.
5. Joao Mario (Inter)
He may have set Inter back a pretty penny but Joao Mario hasn’t disappointed since a move to Milan, with his energy on and off the ball a positive for the Nerazzurri even whilst they were struggling under Frank De Boer. The 24-year old has actually been used a little more sparingly by Stefano Pioli but has still had an impact, with two of three goals and three of four assists coming under the new manager. It’s the Portuguese’s dribbling that has been most impressive though, not only leading the way with 35 in total for Inter, but boasting the best success rate in Serie A (77.8%) of those to attempt at least two per game.
4. Fouad Chafik (Dijon)
A key player for Dijon as they attempt to beat the drop at the first time of asking, Chafik’s ability to carry the ball forwards from right-back has helped alleviate pressure on the side. His is comfortably the best dribble success rate of any defender in Europe’s top 5 leagues (83.3%) - Roma’s Emerson is second on 75.6% - helping the Moroccan international to the second highest WhoScored.com rating for his side (7.18).
3. Mousa Dembele (Tottenham)
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A regular feature at the top of any dribbling statistics leaderboard, Dembele has the much sought after blend of elegance and power in the middle of the park that makes him near impossible to dispossess. Whenever Tottenham players are asked which of their teammates is the most gifted, the Belgian’s name always comes up and for good reason. An average of 3.2 successful dribbles per game ranks fifth in the Premier League and first of central midfielders, while a completion rate of 84.4% places him ahead of compatriot Hazard as the most effective dribbler in England’s top-flight.
2. Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain)
He may not boast the size of a Dembele, but Marco Verratti has the same ability to hold off opponents and emerge from seemingly precarious positions with the ball. His intelligence and awareness of those around him mean the Italian is able to pick and choose when to pass and when to carry the ball forwards himself, doing both to great effect. He may not have racked up the same tally of dribbles as the likes of the Belgian duo in this list, but a success rate of 85.4% from 2.3 attempts per game indicates that he is an expert nonetheless.
1. Wylan Cyprien (Nice)
Out in front in all of Europe’s top 5 leagues, and by a decent margin to boot, there’s little wonder why Wylan Cyprien has drawn admiring glances for high-flying Nice this season. Making the step to the top-flight in France with consummate ease following a move from Lens, the 22-year old has been a real star turn in Ligue 1. With 7 goals and 3 assists from central midfield, the youngster clearly has an end product to back up his impressive build up play, and like Verratti is capable of keeping things ticking over or injecting that vertical threat by beating an opponent himself. Of 58 dribble attempts in the league this season, he’s been dispossessed just seven times (87.9% success).
Using only success rate is stupid because some on this list are not prolific. The best dribblers are the high volume dribblers who have a high success rate. Are we seriously supposed to believe Cyprien is a better dribbler than Hazard?
@excalibur Excalibur has a point, I don't know why people are thumbing this down.
@What4 Because downvotes have rarely anything to do with the contend but rather with previous ones. Some people can write whatever and get downstairs automatically...
@neumi17 downvotes, not downstairs... ;-)
@neumi17 Haha. You missed "contend", by the way, it should be "content".
@What4 I am bad, I know... ;-)
@excalibur Exactly, also this is not really a fair comparison to make. Players like Hazard are dribbling against defenders and holding midfielders and midfielders who know how to tackle more. These players are supposed to be able to tackle players like that, otherwise they wouldn't be a defender. Where as players like Veratti and Dembele, they're in midfield and will be dribbling against players like wingers and more attacking midfielders. Those players aren't as good at tackling as defenders and holding midfielders, so their success rate is naturally going to be much higher.
@jordan1502 Also central midfielders dribble differently than " real " dribblers since they mostly do just a little move to the side to create space to make a pass and not take on two defenders in narrow space s with trickery
@jordan1502 Hazard is arguably the best dribbler in the world, but it's not a coincidence that there are only 3 CM/DMs that average at least 2.5 dribbles/game (Keita, Dembele, Pogba) while the other 30 are wingers/attackers. It's really hard to navigate through more bodies with less space than on the outside.
@excalibur Definetely, best example is Toni Kroos. Statistically he is the best dribbler at Real with 22 1-1 situations won out of 26. Also at the european championship last year he won 15 out of 17 dribbles in 6 games. But nobody in the world would assume that Kroos is an extremly gifted dribbler. The volume of attempts is also to consider, maybe even more...
@excalibur even though guys like verratti and dembele are central mid but that still doesn't take away the fact they are gifted dribblers. It would pretty ignorant to dismiss their achievements. If one had seen how verratti bosses the midfield then I guess people wouldn't be complaining here. But alas most of us don't so hence the complaints. I do agree dribbling from cm is different ball game than dribbling from wing position. But take nothing away from Verratti and co. FINALLY EVEN I DON'T FOLLOW ENGLISH LEAGUE. AND DEFINITELY HAVE NO INTENTION TO FOLLOW IT IN FUTURE INSHALLAH. But I would by saying that even Delle Alli agrees that Moussa Dembelle is the best footballer in tottenham fc. So there you go naysayers. Yup not gonna follow epl. Definitively not. They are gifted footballers like it or not.
Also, when you say "per game", it looks like you mean "per appearance". A small point, but it would be better to use "per 90 minutes" or "minutes per (successsful) dribble".