Player Focus: Europe's Top Dribblers by Frequency and Effectiveness

The 2012/13 season wasn't without the odd moment of magic across Europe's top 5 leagues this season, and in this piece we look at those that have thrilled and excited with some exceptional dribbling skills over the course of the campaign.

An ability to round and outfox an opponent is what the fans love to see, and while some will attempt to do so with great regularity but without great results, there are still a number of masters of the art playing across the continent.

Here we investigate those that not only look to beat a man on numerous occasions in a game but also are most effective at doing so, picking their moments wisely and showing exceptional balance and agility in the process.

To be considered among the elite in the game WhoScored have set a qualifying average of at least 2 successful dribbles per game and a minimum of 50 over the course of the season. This narrowed the search for the best of the best down to 46 players, but the sheer volume of dribbles a player produces and completes doesn't reflect just how successful an individual is with his attempts.

Therefore, the graph below has been plotted to ascertain the players that rank above and below the average figures of the aforementioned 46 in terms of both per game figures and success rate. In turn, for example, we can see that while Bayern's Franck Ribery has attempted the most dribbles per game in Europe's top 5 leagues this season, his success rate is some way below the average (56.6%) of the 46 players analysed, at 50.8%.

Likewise, while want away Liverpool forward Luis Suarez also completes more dribbles per game than the average here (2.8), with 2.88, his success rate is the lowest of the 46 players by some distance. This suggests that while he terrorises defences at times with his direct approach, he also finds himself running down blind alleys and into defender shaped walls.

There are a number of players deserving of mentions outside of our top 10 here, with HSV's Milan Badelj falling short of the per game average but completing a huge 74.8% of his 107 dribble attempts. Meanwhile the likes of Timo Gebhart, Jefferson Farfan and Andre Schurrle also feature just outside of the desired top right portion of the chart for those who complete an above average number of dribbles per game at an above average success rate.

Ten players make their way into that section of the chart, so here's a rundown of those to do so.

The first to scrape their way in is 23 year old winger Sercan Sararer, whose flair was clear to see over the course of the Bundesliga season, completing 3.5 dribbles per game with a success rate of 56.6% - the exact average here. The Turkish international lacked an end product, however, netting just once and failing to pick up an assist in 22 appearances, with his Furth side relegated with games to spare.

Newcastle were without Hatem Ben Arfa, again, for much of the season due to injury, but when the Frenchman was fit he showed what he is all about. The 26 year old is renowned for his pace and trickery, beating an opponent more often per game than any other Premier League player (4.16) at a 57.2% success rate. Meanwhile, Frieburg wide man Daniel Caligiuri had an all but identical completion percentage (57.3%), successfully beating an opponent 3.38 times per game.

Staying in the Bundesliga, and Hoffenheim starlet Roberto Firmino is sure to be attracting interest around Europe. Still only 21, the Brazilian was the star man for the club for much of the season as the German outfit escaped relegation via a play-off with Kaiserslautern. He completed 3.09 dribbles per game with a 58.3% success rate.

With a slight leap forward in success rate, here we find Lionel Messi, who is undoubtedly known as one of the top dribblers in the world. He proves that theory correct having completed a total of 122 dribbles this season - fewer than only one player - with the sixth best success rate of our top 10 here (62.6%).

The Agentine's percentage is just behind that of Stuttgart winger Ibrahima Traore, who posed a constant threat down the left this season. The 25 year old is another player who may be sought after this summer, proving his undoubted dribbling ability to complete an average of 3.34 per game with a 63.3% success rate, whilst also contributing 6 assists to his side.

A player in the news of late for the wrong reasons, Andros Townsend certainly let his football do the talking in a loan spell with QPR in the second half of the season. The Spurs youngster completed 3 dribbles per game in 17 appearances for Harry Redknapp's relegated side, with a Premier League record in a single game of 14 vs Wigan. He's already picking his moments to run at players well, with an impressive success rate of 64.6% enough to encourage Tottenham fans ahead of next season.

Moving into the top three we find another man who impressed on loan from a London club this season, with all parties concerned profiting from Kevin De Bruyne's loan spell with Werder Bremen. The young Belgian was able to beat an opponent 3 times per game from a role predominantly in the centre of midfield, doing so with a superb 65.1% success rate. Without his 10 goals and 9 assists it's unlikely that Dutt's side would have staved the threat of relegation, finishing just 2 places and 3 points above the drop zone.

Just pipped into second here, but with some remarkable statistics nonetheless, is Inter's January signing Mateo Kovacic, with the teenager set to be the Nerazzurri's star man for the years to come. In just 13 Serie A appearances he completed 78 dribbles, with a per game figure of 4.38 only bettered by Franck Ribery in Europe's top 5 leagues. The 19 year old, however, had an exceptional success rate of 73.1% compared to the Bayern winger's 50.8%, and the Croatian is emerging as one of the hottest prospects around.

Top of the pile, however, with an outstanding 75% success rate, is Wolfsburg playmaker Diego. The Brazil international returned to the Volkswagen Arena this season after a successful stint with Atletico and he was the Wolves' star man by a distance. As well as completing over twice as many dribbles per game as any teammate (4), the 28 year old was the top scorer, with 10 goals, and picked up the most assists (7) for Dieter Hecking's side.