The very best Premier League gamers of the 00s

Born in the 90s, the Premier League kept going from strength to strength at a progressively quick rate throughout the 00s, strongly developing itself as the best league in the world. And a few of the video game’s finest people required to the pitch in the English leading flight throughout the very first years of the brand-new centuries. Here, FourFourTwo counts down the very best Premier League gamers of the 00s! 33. Kevin Phillips (Image credit: Getty Images)A Premier League rarity because he won the Golden Boot with a club outside the department’s recognized huge young boys (he acquired 30 objectives for Sunderland in 1999/2000), Kevin Phillips was playing the very best football of his profession around the millenium. The striker’s medical kind made him a handful of England caps– and a location in the Three Lions’ Euro 2000 team. 32. Ashley Young (Image credit: Getty Images)Promoted to the Premier League with boyhood club Watford in 2006, Ashley Young made an instantaneous impression at the greatest level and signed up with Aston Villa midway through his very first top-flight project. With Villa, the flexible left-back went from strength to strength, making succeeding PFA Teams of the Year in 2007/08 and 2008/09– and winning PFA Young Player of the Year in the latter season. 31. Brad Friedel (Image credit: Getty Images)Perhaps the USA’s most effective footballing export, famous goalkeeper Brad Friedel generated more than 500 Premier League looks, lining up in between the sticks for Liverpool, Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and Tottenham. The 2002/03 and 2003/04 seasons were especially remarkable for Friedel at Blackburn: in the previous, he kept a league-high 15 tidy sheets; then, in the latter, he scored versus Charlton Athletic. 30. Dimitar Berbatov (Image credit: Getty Images)An immediate hit at Tottenham after showing up from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer season of 2006, Dimitar Berbatov bagged 27 Premier League objectives in 2 seasons for Spurs. That made the easygoing Bulgarian– who made the 2006/07 PFA Team of the Year– a ₤ 30.75 m relocate to Manchester United at the start of the 2008/09 season. 29. William Gallas (Image credit: Getty Images)A back-to-back Premier League champ with Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in 2004/05 and 2005/06, William Gallas was called in the 2002/03 and 2005/06 PFA Teams of the Year. The versatile French protector crossed London to sign up with Arsenal in 2006, later on captaining the Gunners (just to lose the armband after criticising his colleagues in an interview– oops). 28. Arjen Robben (Image credit: Getty Images)Arjen Robben’s Premier League stay was brief however quite efficient: 3 seasons with Chelsea; 67 looks; 15 objectives; 16 helps. Among the world’s finest wingers at the time, the terrible Dutchman terrorised lots of a left-back en path to assisting the Blues to their very first 2 Premier League titles– making the PFA Team of the Year in his very first project. 27. Gilberto Silva (Image credit: Getty Images)Described by Arsene Wenger as the most underrated gamer he ever coached, Gilberto Silva’s robust protective midfield qualities were absolutely critical to Arsenal’s 2003/04 ‘Invincibles’ Premier League title accomplishment– when they notoriously went the entire project unbeaten. Signed from Atletico Mineiro in 2002, the Brazilian– called ‘the unnoticeable wall’ back home– made 170 Premier League looks throughout a six-year spell with the Gunners, scoring 17 objectives. 26. Shay Given (Image credit: Getty Images)Among with the very best goalkeepers ever to grace the Premier League, Republic of Ireland legend Shay Given chalked up over 450 looks in the competitors– the huge bulk of them for Newcastle. Called in the 2001/02 and 2005/06 PFA Teams of the Year, Given– who made his top-flight launching at Blackburn Rovers– later on had stints with Manchester City, Aston Villa and Stoke City. 25. Nicolas Anelka (Image credit: Getty Images)Having gotten here with a bang at Arsenal in the late 90s, Nicolas Anelka went back to England in 2001, signing up with Liverpool on loan– before squeezing in 3 more Premier League clubs throughout the 00s. After free-scoring spells with Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers, the medical Frenchman signed up with Chelsea in January 2008– and won the Golden Boot the following season. 24. Patrice Evra (Image credit: Getty Images)Up there with the best left-backs around throughout his prime, Patrice Evra won 3 straight Premier League titles with Manchester United in between 2007 and 2009. Consisted of in the 2006/07 and 2008/09 PFA Teams of the Year– regardless of making just 24 looks in the previous project– the France worldwide sometimes acted as skipper for the Red Devils. 23. Cesc Fabregas (Image credit: Getty Images)Signed by Arsenal from Barcelona as a 16-year-old, Cesc Fabregas quickly became among the most appealing assaulting midfielders in world football– and after that developed himself amongst the straight-out finest. An extremely talented playmaker, the Euros and World Cup-winning Spaniard was voted 2007/08 PFA Young Player of the Year. 22. Fernando Torres (Image credit: Getty Images)When Liverpool got Fernando Torres for a then club-record ₤ 20m in 2008, expectations were not surprisingly high– and the extremely talented Spanish frontman appropriately provided, banging in 24 Premier League objectives in his very first season with the Reds. In spite of being hindered by injury, ‘El Nino’– a two-time PFA Team of the Year addition– still signed up 41 times in 69 trips over the next two-and-a-half projects, before leaving for Chelsea. 21. Claude Makelele (Image credit: Getty Images)You need to be a quite unique gamer to have actually a function called after you– and Claude Makelele was simply that, presenting English football to a brand-new type of protective midfielder. Signed from Real Madrid in the summer season of 2003, the indefatigable Frenchman was definitely vital to Chelsea’s 2004/05 and 2005/06 Premier League title accomplishments under Jose Mourinho. 20. Robert Pires (Image credit: Getty Images)An all-time Arsenal fantastic, two-time title winner Robert Pires illuminated the Premier League with his very stylish playmaking qualities, including 189 times for the Gunners from 2000 to 2006 and winning 2 titles. Throughout that duration, the seriously suave Frenchman made 103 objective contributions (62 objectives and 41 helps), scooping 2001/02 FWA (Football Writers’ Association) Footballer of the Year and making 3 succeeding PFA Teams of the Year. 19. Roy Keane (Image credit: Getty Images)(In)notoriously among the Premier League’s hardest ever gamers, Manchester United icon Roy Keane continued to employer the midfield throughout the very first half of the 00s. Consisted of in the 1999/2000, 2000/01 and 2001/02 PFA Teams of the Year– and voted 2000 PFA Players’ Player of the Year– the terrifying Irishman captained United to the 1999/2000, 2001/02 and 2002/03 Premier League titles. 18. Alan Shearer (Image credit: Getty Images)The supreme Premier League goalscorer, Alan Shearer was still banging them in for Newcastle well into the 00s– and producing some minutes of pure radiance, such as his thumping volley versus Everton in 2002. Shearer took pleasure in 20+ objective projects in 1999/2000, 2001/02 and 2003/04, retiring in 2006 having actually accumulated a Prem-record 260 objectives. 17. Paul Scholes (Image credit: Getty Images)Another Manchester United midfield terrific, Paul Scholes’ long-lasting class assisted his only club to 6 Premier League crowns in between 2000 and 2009. Called in the 2002/03 and 2006/07 PFA Teams of the Year, Scholes delighted in perhaps the very best project of his profession in the previous season– when he discovered the net 14 times in the league. 16. Sol Campbell (Image credit: Getty Images)Sol Campbell started the 21st century as a Tottenham gamer– a Tottenham, legend in truth; then, in 2001, he made one of the most questionable relocations in Premier League history by crossing the North London divide to Arsenal. In the middle of the furore his transfer activated, however, Campbell continued to assert himself as one of the league’s standout centre-backs, forming rock-solid collaborations with the similarity Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Kolo Toure– and winning 2 Premier League titles in the area of 3 years. 15. Edwin van der Sar (Image credit: Getty Images)Edwin van der Sar invested the very first 11 years of his profession with Ajax– winning the 1994/95 Champions League– and Juventus, so it was rather a coup for Fulham to protect the enormous Dutchman’s services in 2001. In England, Van der Sar continued to assert himself as one of the world’s finest goalkeepers– and in 2005, he signed up with Manchester United, winning his very first 3 of 4 Premier League titles in between 2007 and 2009. 14. Patrick Vieira (Image credit: Getty Images)A definitely powerful midfield existence– for his first-rate capabilities both on and off the ball– Patrick Vieira was at the heart of whatever great Arsenal carried out in the early 00s. A Premier League champ for the 2nd time in 2001/02, then captain of the Gunners’ 2003/04 ‘Invincibles’, the World Cup and Euros-winning Frenchman was voted 2000/01 Premier League Player of the Season. 13. Ryan Giggs (Image credit: Getty Images)Ryan Giggs’ haul of 13 Premier League winner’s medals is not likely ever to be exceeded– and Manchester United’s famous one-club male got 6 of them in between 2000 and 2009. Throughout the 00s, the Welsh wing wizard extended his record of scoring in every league project of his profession to 19 seasons, making it into 4 PFA Teams of the Year and scooping 2008/09 PFA Players’ Player of the Year. 12. Ashley Cole (Image credit: Getty Images)Probably England’s biggest full-back of perpetuity, Ashley Cole took pleasure in tremendous success with Arsenal and Chelsea, winning the 2001/02 and 2003/04 Premier League titles with the previous. An elite operator left wing, Cole was consisted of in the 2002/03, 2003/04 and 2004/05 PFA Teams of the Year. He left the Gunners for the Blues in 2006. 11. Didier Drogba (Image credit: Getty Images)The very first African gamer to score 100 Premier League objectives, Didier Drogba signed up with Chelsea from Marseille for ₤ 24m in the summertime of 2004– and the renowned Ivorian frontman showed to be worth every cent. A correct protector’s problem, Drogba notched more than 60 league objectives in his very first five-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge, winning 2 titles (in his very first 2 seasons) and the 2006/07 Golden Boot. 10. Ruud van Nistelrooy (Image credit: Getty Images)Ruud van Nistelrooy smashed in 95 objectives in 150 Premier League video games for Manchester United– and just one of them was from outside package. The Dutch striker was the meaning of deadly inside the charge location. Premier League Player of the Season and Golden Boot winner with 25 objectives in 2002/03– when he won his only title– Van Nistelrooy was likewise a fantastic charge taker, scoring 18 out of 22 in the Prem. 9. Petr Cech (Image credit: Getty Images)Arguably the best goalkeeper in Premier League history, Petr Cech used the gloves as Chelsea yielded a parsimonious 15 objectives all season en path to the title in 2004/05. Voted Best European Goalkeeper in 2005, 2007 and 2008, the towering Czech Republic worldwide made 333 league looks for the Blues in all, reaching 100 Prem tidy sheets in simply 180 trips. 8. John Terry (Image credit: Getty Images)Captain of Chelsea’s very first 2 Premier League-winning sides, in 2004/05 and 2005/06, John Terry is considered among the finest gamers in the Blues’ history– and among the standout centre-backs of his generation. Regularly rock-like at the back, Terry– who, thanks to his big set-piece danger, is the Premier League’s top-scoring protector– was voted 2004/05 PFA Players’ Player of the Year as Chelsea allow simply 15 league objectives all season. 7. Rio Ferdinand (Image credit: Getty Images)Eminently continental in his craft on the ball, Rio Ferdinand was not the normal English centre-half of his time– which significant him out as one of the absolute best around. Signed by Manchester United from Leeds for a British-record charge of around ₤ 30m in 2002 (which likewise made him the world’s most pricey protector for a 2nd time), Ferdinand’s protective class underpinned 4 Premier League title success over the next 7 years. 6. Nemanja Vidic (Image credit: Getty Images)Known as among the hardest protectors around throughout his prime, Nemanja Vidic marked himself out as an all-time centre-back excellent throughout a glittering spell with Man United. Called 2008/09 Premier League Player of the Year– when he won his 3rd of 5 titles– the no-nonsense Serbian super star made it into 3 straight PFA Teams of the Year at the end of the 00s. 5. Frank Lampard (Image credit: Getty Images)Generally thought about to be Chelsea’s finest ever gamer, Frank Lampard is likewise practically the finest goalscoring midfielder the Premier League has actually ever seen. The Blues’ record goalscorer, Lampard struck double figures in the last 6 league projects of the 00s, with his brace versus Bolton Wanderers in April 2005 clinching Chelsea’s first Premier League title. He did the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year double that season. 4. Steven Gerrard (Image credit: Getty Images)Liverpool’s biggest gamer of the contemporary age– and among their biggest of perpetuity– captain great Steven Gerrard pulled his boyhood club out of the mire time and time once again, producing inspired efficiency after inspired efficiency and turning up with more than a couple of important objectives. A first-rate box-to-box midfielder with a thunderous chance at his disposal, Gerrard– who won 2000/01 PFA Young Player of the Year and 2005/06 PFA Players’ Player of the Year– will decrease as one of the very best gamers never ever to win the Premier League. 3. Wayne Rooney (Image credit: Getty Images)As quickly as Wayne Rooney burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old with this error for Everton versus Arsenal in 2002, it was quite apparent that he was going to be one hell of a gamer. By the mid-00s, the future England captain was turning it on for Manchester United– where he won back-to-back PFA Young Player of the Year awards in 2004/05 and 2005/06, and 3 straight Premier League titles in between 2006/07 and 2008/09. 2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Image credit: Getty Images)Rooney’s much more prodigious Man United colleague, Cristiano Ronaldo signed up with Manchester United in 2003 and was a Ballon d’Or winner 5 years later on. Merely unstoppable for the majority of his very first Premier League spell, the Portuguese megastar banged in 31 objectives in 34 video games to win the 2007/08 Golden Boot, shooting United to their (and his) second of 3 straight titles. 1. Thierry Henry (Image credit: Getty Images)Thierry Henry never ever won the Ballon d’Or– he actually ought to have done– however absolutely nothing can eliminate from his achievement, and his status as the best Premier League gamer of perpetuity (in FourFourTwo’s modest viewpoint). Undoubtedly Arsenal’s finest ever gamer, the beguilingly smooth Frenchman tore the English leading flight a brand-new one throughout the very first half of the 00s, collecting 157 objectives at approximately 0.7 per video game from the 2000/01 to 2006/07 seasons– and winning an unmatched 4 Golden Boots. Voted PFA Fans’ and Players’ Player of the Year in 2002/03 and 2003/04, Henry was the primary male in the Gunners’ ‘Invincibles’ project– which brought him his 2nd Premier League winner’s medal.

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