Ranking the top five commentators in world football

1. Peter Drury

Peter Drury is considered as one of the best commentators in footballing history

Football poet Peter Drury is arguably the best commentator the sport has ever seen. The 52-year-old has been in the commentary business for the last three decades and has overseen some of the biggest games in world football. He commentates in the Premier League’s biggest matches of the week, whilst also undertaking FA Cup and Champions League duties with BT Sport.

It might not be an understatement to say that the Englishman can enhance the viewing experience of any football game, be it a Manchester derby or an FA Cup third-round tie involving two amateur teams. He has an almost literary style of commentating, in which he would try to dramatise even the smallest events of the match. His excellent reading of the game, tactical analysis, and expressive viewpoints make him one of the most highly-regarded commentators in the football business.

It could be hard to choose Drury’s most iconic commentaries but few definitely stand out. Drury is famed for his commentary when Kostas Manolas scored the equalising goal against Barcelona in the 2017-18 Champions League quarter-final which steered Roma into the last-four of the competition. After the Greek centre-back’s towering header, Drury screamed, “Roma have risen from their ruins, Manolas, the Greek God in Rome”, in a bit of commentary which is something that even non-English speakers appreciate.

2018 in Review: Peter Drury on THAT #ASRoma Manolas commentary 👉 https://t.co/xNEv6giWyxpic.twitter.com/8w8eYVhrcg

— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) December 30, 2018

Tyler’s legendary “Aguero” moment perhaps overshadowed Drury’s commentary on the incident, which was another scintillating piece of work by the British commentator when he shouted “staggering, just staggering” before saying “the blue moon has risen” at the final whistle.

Drury also has some amazing moments in FIFA World Cups, most notably in the 2010 edition in South Africa when Siphiwe Tshabalala scored an absolute rocket in what was the host nation’s and the tournament’s first goal. He has also been roped in by football video game giants Pro Evolution Soccer to be their primary commentator of the franchise. His excellent chemistry with Jim Beglin can not only be witnessed live but in the virtual world too.

It is a given that many football fans will open their television sets immediately if Drury is in the box, but the humble commentator vehemently denies it:

“I say this to everybody: people tune in for the football, not for the commentary. You only switch on to watch the match. A commentator might annoy you or he might please you, but he’s not who you’re watching. And as a commentator, you get lucky when you get a great moment like that [Manolas’ goal].”

As far as we’re concerned, we’re just lucky to be watching football with Mr. Peter Drury.