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FourFourTwo’s 100 best young players in 2001 list re-emerges and the top 10 makes for a fascinating read

FourFourTwo’s 100 best young players in 2001 list re-emerges and the top 10 makes for a fascinating read

From Kaka and Fernando Torres to Darren Fletcher and Andres Iniesta, here are the 100 players who made FourFourTwo’s rankings in 2001.

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Liverpool hero Fernando Torres and Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta were named by FourFourTwo among the 100 best players in 2001.

Both Ibrahimovic and Iniesta, who is currently captain of J1 League side Vissel Kobe, are still active and have enjoyed trophy-laden careers.

Considered one of the best strikers of all time, Ibrahimovic left Ajax in 2004 and went on to play for the likes of Barcelona, Inter Milan and Manchester United.

The 41-year-old Sweden striker has won an impressive 34 trophies at club level, but the Champions League trophy eluded him in his illustrious playing career.

Meanwhile, Iniesta has played the majority of his club career at Barcelona and hoovered up trophies for the La Liga outfit and the Spain national team.

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The legendary 38-year-old Spanish midfielder lifted 35 trophies with Barcelona and the 2010 World Cup and 2008 and 2012 European Championship titles with Spain.

Other notable names featured in FourFourTwo’s rankings include Kaka, who went on to win the Ballon d’Or at AC Milan and later played for Real Madrid.

Posted below are the top 100 young players in 2001, according to FourFourTwo.

Former AC Milan playmaker Kaka lifted the 2007 Ballon d’Or award.
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100. Alexander Hleb (VfB Stuttgart)

99. David Prutton (Nottingham Forest)

98. Erdal Kilicaslan (Bayern Munich)

97. Daniyel Cimen (Eintracht Frankfurt)

96. Benjamin Auer (Borussia Monchengladbach)

95. Kaka (Sao Paulo)

94. Azar Karadas (SK Brann)

93. Shaun Maloney (Celtic)

92. Leonardo Santiago (Feyenoord)

91. Kieran Richardson (Manchester United)

Kieran Richardson left Manchester United in 2007 and went on to play for the likes of Sunderland, Fulham, Aston Villa and Cardiff City.
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90. Aldo Jara (Cerro Porteno)

89. Keith Kelly (Paris Saint-Germain)

88. Christoph Preuss (Eintracht Frankfurt)

87. Ramon Calliste (Manchester United)

86. Mika Vayrynen (Jokerit)

85. Michael Zepek (Bayer Leverkusen)

84. Labinot Harbuzi (Malmo)

83. Thijs Houwing (Twente)

82. Dimitar Berbatov (Bayer Leverkusen)

81. Tuomas Aho (Myllykosken Pallo −47)

Former Bayer Leverkusen man Dimitar Berbatov would later play for Tottenham and Manchester United.
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80. Candido Costa (Porto)

79. Andres Oliveira (Perth Glory)

78. Michael Essien (Bastia)

77. Fernando Macedo Nano (Barcelona)

76. Dulee Johnson (BK Hacken)

75. Mauro Rosales (Newell’s Old Boys)

74. Derek Boateng (Panathinaikos)

73. Theo Janssen (Vitesse)

72. Hassan Ahamada (Nantes)

71. Cherno Samba (Millwall)

Michael Essien lifted two Premier League titles, a Champions League, four FA Cups and a League Cup at Chelsea.
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70. Matteo Brighi (Juventus)

69. Bojan Djordjic (Manchester United)

68. Andreas Hinkel (VfB Stuttgart)

67. Santino Quaranta (DC United)

66. Jhon van Beukering (Vitesse)

65. Eddie Johnson (FC Dallas)

64. Michael Chopra (Newcastle United)

63. Rubinho (Corinthians)

62. Mark Fotheringham (Celtic)

61. Johnnier Montano (Parma/Hellas Verona)

Bojan Djordjic failed to make his mark at Manchester United.
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60. Serhat Akin (Fenerbahce)

59. Carlos Martins (Sporting CP)

58. Filip Trojan (Schalke 04)

57. Ricardo Costa (Porto)

56. Landon Donovan (San Jose Earthquakes)

55. Alexander Ludwig (Werder Bremen)

54. Lourenco da Silva (Sporting CP)

53. Francesco Tarantino (Athletic Bilbao)

52. Jeremie Aliadiere (Arsenal)

51. Gatti Ribeiro (Blooming)

Jeremie Aliadiere had three separate loan spells during his time with Arsenal before he was sold in 2007.
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50. Massimo Donati (AC Milan)

49. Francesco Lodi (Empoli/Parma)

48. Gael Givet (Monaco)

47. Ewerthon (Borussia Dortmund)

46. Christian Petereit (Schalke 04)

45. Niko Kranjcar (Dinamo Zagreb)

44. Jay Lucas (Southampton)

43. Diego Ribas (Santos)

42. Joaquin Sanchez (Real Betis)

41. Ahmed ‘Mido’ Hossam (Ajax)

Niko Kranjcar would later play under Harry Redknapp at both Tottenham and Portsmouth.
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40. Helder Postiga (Porto)

39. Emiliano Dudar (Velez Sarsfield)

38. Chris Kirkland (Liverpool)

37. Ednilson (Benfica)

36. Dean Ashton (Crewe Alexandra)

35. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Ajax)

34. Leandro Romagnoli (San Lorenzo)

33. Hassan Yebda (Auxerre)

32. Marat Izmailov (Lokomotiv Moscow)

31. Gareth Barry (Aston Villa)

Former Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s club resume speaks volumes in itself.
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30. Jermain Defoe (West Ham United)

29. Gregory Vignal (Liverpool)

28. Julio Colombo (Montpellier)

27. Arjen Robben (Groningen/PSV Eindhoven)

26. Hugo Viana (Sporting CP)

25. Maicon (Cruzeiro)

24. Ricardo Quaresma (Sporting CP)

23. Fabricio Coloccini (AC Milan/Alaves)

22. Marius Niculae (Sporting CP)

21. Milan Baros (Liverpool)

Arjen Robben forged a memorable partnership with Franck Ribery at Bayern Munich.
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20. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

19. Baldo di Gregorio (Eintracht Frankfurt)

18. Juan Andreu Melli (Real Betis)

17. Johnny Heitinga (Ajax)

16. Philippe Mexes (Auxerre)

15. Kim Kallstrom (BK Hacken)

14. John Welsh (Liverpool)

13. Darren Fletcher (Manchester United)

12. David Odonkor (Borussia Dortmund)

11. Pedro Mantorras (Benfica)

Darren Fletcher enjoyed his fair share of silverware under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
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10. Mourad Meghni (Bologna)

9. Anthony Le Tallec (Le Havre/Liverpool)

8. Piotr Trochowski (Bayern Munich)

7. Florent Sinama-Pongolle (Le Havre/Liverpool)

6. Rafael van der Vaart (Ajax)

5. Jermaine Pennant (Arsenal)

4. Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid)

3. Leandro Bonfim (Vitoria/PSV Eindhoven)

2. Andres D'Alessandro (River Plate)

1. Djibril Cisse (AJ Auxerre)

Former Auxerre and Liverpool man Djibril Cisse topped FourFourTwo’s rankings in 2001.
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Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: Football

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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