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A playmaker is to a team what a conductor is to an orchestra. He is responsible for bringing teammates into play, leading attacks, and unlocking the most stubborn defenses. He sets the tone and his teammates follow along.
The playmaker’s ability is often what separates a good team from a great one.
Over the course of the year, we have seen plenty of excellent playmakers work their magic, split rearguards with their inch-perfect passes. Today, we will take a look at five maestros who caught our eye.
Now, without further ado, let’s check out the five best playmakers of the calendar year (2022):
#5 Martin Odegaard
Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard is the most traditional playmaker on this list. He operates just behind the center-forward, in the hole, and is responsible for creating goalscoring opportunities. His passing is intelligent, he knows how to position himself, and is not afraid to go for the spectacular.
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Between January and May, Odegaard scored thrice and provided an assist in 19 Premier League matches. This season, Odegaard has been a lot more active in front of goal, scoring six times and claiming two assists in six Premier League matches. He has also created six big chances, delivered five accurate through balls, and completed 31 crosses in the Premier League.
#4 Jamal Musiala
Germany and Bayern Munich youngster Jamal Musiala is turning out to be quite a playmaker. After claiming one assist in the second half (January to May) of the Bundesliga in the 2021-22 campaign, the 19-year-old has truly come on his own in the 2022-23 season.
In 14 league appearances, Musiala has scored nine times and claimed seven assists. His playmaking ability has shone through in the Champions League and the German Supercup as well. He recorded two assists in five Champions League group-stage matches and added another goal and an assist in Bayern’s 5-3 Supercup win over RB Leipzig.
Musiala was Germany’s standout performer at the 2022 FIFA World Cup as Die Mannschaft shockingly went out of the group stage. In three matches, he provided an assist, created eight chances, completed a whopping 19 dribbles, and lodged three shots on target.
#3 Neymar
Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar can swap between being a slick playmaker and an adept goalscorer with the flick of a switch. He can prove to be devasting in either role.
The Brazil ace missed the first one-and-a-half months of 2022 due to an ankle injury. The playmaker/goalscorer, however, did not let the absence derail his season. He bounced back strongly and finished the 2021-22 Ligue 1 campaign by scoring 10 times and claiming three assists in 12 games. He also provided two assists in two Champions League Round-of-16 matches against Real Madrid.
Neymar has enjoyed a lively start to the 2022-23 season for PSG. He has scored 11 goals and claimed nine assists in 14 Ligue games. His playmaking skills came to the fore in the Champions League as well, with him picking up three assists and two goals in five matches.
Neymar unfortunately could play only thrice for Brazil at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He still scored twice and claimed an assist before Selecao crashed out in the quarter-finals.
#2 Kevin De Bruyne
Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne hardly needs an introduction. He is widely hailed as the best midfielder in the world and is capable of conjuring something extraordinary out of the mundane.
De Bruyne, who won the Premier League Player of the Season award at the end of the 2021-22 campaign, recorded seven assists and 10 goals in 16 league matches between January and May. His exploits helped the Cityzens retain their Premier League title. In the FA Cup, he popped up with three assists in three games. Finally, in the Champions League, he scored twice and claimed two assists in five knockout fixtures.
De Bruyne has enjoyed a blistering start to the 2022-23 campaign. In the Premier League, he has popped up with 10 assists and three goals in 14 games. The Champions League has fetched him three assists in four games while the Carabao Cup has seen him claim two assists in one appearance.
The Belgium international unfortunately did not manage to bring his ‘A Game’ to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He neither scored nor assisted as the Red Devils crashed out in the group stage.
#1 Lionel Messi
Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina star Lionel Messi is arguably the only player in the world who is as good as a playmaker as he is as a goalscorer. Messi sees passes that no one else sees, plays little one-twos with teammates to unlock defenses, and always manages to make himself available irrespective of how tightly he is marked.
In the second half of the 2021-22 season, Messi claimed a whopping 10 assists for PSG in only 15 Ligue 1 matches. He improved his efficiency for PSG in the 2022-23 season, providing 10 assists and scoring seven times in only 13 Ligue 1 games. In the Champions League, too, Messi has popped up with four assists and four goals in five games.
Messi was in a league of his own at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, pitching in with seven goals and three assists in seven matches to fire Argentina to glory. His assist to Nahuel Molina in the 35th minute of the quarter-finals win over the Netherlands was a thing of beauty. He perfectly located the right-back tucked between the left-centreback and left-back, and threaded the ball to pick him out.
Messi’s exceptional displays helped him win the FIFA Golden Ball, making him the first player to win the accolade twice (first in 2014).
