Exercise In The Impossible: Defining ‘World Class’.

By: chris | February 17th, 2010

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“World-class is a misused term but, with Rooney, you have to say he is getting to the point where he is now one of the best players in the world.”

– Alex Ferguson, pre-Milan.

This is not the next of a neverending line of droolish praises of Wayne Rooney’s current season, so you can relax. It’s not even wondering whether or not Wayne Rooney is “world-class”. (You’d pick a better day to argue against it than hours after a San Siro brace, however.)

Alex does, however, pose an interesting general question: just what the hell is world class?

My definition has always been sort of grossly simplistic and vague: a star on club and international level with a certain degree of sustained consistency. And if not quite performing at similar levels with both, the good must far outweigh the bad. (i.e. Zlatan hasn’t always been brilliant for Sweden, but no one would question his global class.)

This leaves a lot of leeway and though the entire thing is subjective, debating this amongst even the best of friends would be less tranquil than a Borgia family reunion. Not to mention the wide umbrella it opens probably falls under Fergie’s definition of ‘misused’.

Is there a number – Top 3, 5, 10, etc. – at a position? It seems a bit too stringent. There are probably a number of world class attacking mids, but only a handful of world class fullbacks and even fewer keepers. But it’d certainly make things easy…at least until trying to fill out the lists.

Do we take Alex’s implied definition: ‘one of the best players in the world’? You could, but that’d be a mighty short list. And, right now at least, that list stands at two. It’d be a bit unfair to call…say…Didier Drogba less than ‘world class’.

Or perhaps look at the definition of the term a bit more: “world class”. Class worthy of the world, and thus perhaps a spot on an all-world team. This might fit if we were to come up with a standard list of 25 or so players who’d make it on the world’s ultimate football team. (You could probably find this list on a number of recent Man City & Real Madrid memos.) This one might be workable, but again with the strict number bit.

We could even go to the dictionary:

world-class (wûrldkls)
adj.
1. Ranking among the foremost in the world; of an international standard of excellence; of the highest order

Well that’s no help.

Maybe we could just take the Ballon d’Or Top Ten and call it a day. But wait, there’s Fernando Torres creeping just the window at eleven. Scratch that.

Like the title says, it’s an exercise in the impossible. The entire thing is, though many lists will look similar, entirely subjective. So maybe the definitions, and the players themselves, should be too – damn the misuse.

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Category: World Football

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Flippy

"World-Class" is a broad term, while "Best in the world" is more specific. "World-class" means proven, worthy, or good for a team at the highest level (i.e Champions League). While "best in the world" means only one, two, or no one is better at the position of the player.
Michael

World class means you could walk into any team in the world's starting XII.
Jacek

why is this up for discussion? Zidane.
arshavinist

world class = zidane.
Lord Quas

World Class Strikers - Rooney, Milito, Eto'o, Ibrahimovic, Drogba, Anelka, Torres, Aguero, Villa
tenny

I agree all the way with you stanley. To begin with the growth of a player (from puberty) throughout the years of his career and the status what he is as a world class player. And very important the personal achievements and for his team that will always be remebered by the world in the future.
Trev

Gaston, I think you're confusing world class with 'classy'. You can be the biggest tool off the pitch (and sometimes on it) and still be world class (cough... Ronaldo... cough)
Gaston

i think its the way players carry themselves on and off the field. its also the positive influence they have around other teammates
Stanley

I have generally liked to term 'world class' as a player that adds something new to the particular position he plays in, and by that definition, there cannot be too many 'world class' players around. It is a term that is lazily thrown around, 50% of the English Top 4 players are supposedly World Class, for me this is not possible. For instance, Lampard labelled world class, then what are Xavi-Iniesta-Kaka? Rooney is not yet at that world class tag, this is his first season where he is beginning to make the difference, players like Messi-Kaka-Ronaldo have been doing it for the last 3 years consistently, so we still have to wait with Rooney.
ish

world class: a player good enough to get onto most a-rank teams in the world, in either national or club level.

if he is playing first team at an a-rank level(regular CL, good national and preferably both) he is world class, needs to be seen as a first team member of the team though and not a rotation/backup, so players like rooney yes, owen not so much.