A collection of players from the Bundesliga participated in an anonymous survey aimed at identifying the best defender in world football based on performances from the current season.
The German publication kicker, which conducts this survey annually, provided 216 footballers from all 18 Bundesliga clubs the opportunity to express their opinions on some of the most contentious issues in the sport.
For instance, after achieving 18 goals and 25 assists across all competitions for Barcelona this season, Lamine Yamal was recognized as the best attacking player by over half (53.7%) of the voters.
The 17-year-old forward surpassed Ousmane Dembele (6.9%) and Kylian Mbappe (6%) to secure the top position, while his teammate Raphinha ranked fourth with 4.6%. Florian Wirtz, Mohamed Salah, and Erling Haaland also made the list.
Now, regarding defenders: after an outstanding season with Liverpool, center-back Virgil van Dijk emerged as the top choice, garnering 27.3% of the votes.
Van Dijk, who played a crucial role in helping the Reds achieve a record-equalling 20th league title during what was an impressive debut season for Arne Slot, was recently rewarded for his contributions with a two-year contract.
Inter Milan’s Alessandro Bastoni secured second place with 15.7% of the votes, followed by Arsenal’s William Saliba (12%), Barcelona’s Pau Cubarsà (4.2%), and Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger (3.7%).
Additionally, Manchester City vice-captain Ruben Dias appeared on the list with 3.7% of the votes, along with Marquinhos (3.2%), Rodri (3.2%), Jonathan Tah (2.3%), and Josko Gvardiol (2.3%).
Hansi Flick was recognized as the best coach after a title-winning season with Barcelona.
The German tactician received an impressive 31.9% of the votes, placing him ahead of Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique, who celebrated a Champions League victory on Saturday night with a 5-0 triumph over Inter Milan.
Xabi Alonso, Pep Guardiola, Arne Slot, Simone Inzaghi, Carlo Ancelotti, and Mikel Arteta also received a portion of the votes.
In addition to the above, all 216 footballers were posed questions related to their respective leagues.