As we all know, all things good sooner or later come to an end, and Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker might be about to experience this law of life; he will need a miracle in order to avoid exit from the World Top 23, the FTBL’s list of the world’s top 23 players.
The Germany international might not even complain after his recent run of good results: first, he took the lead in the FTBL ranking of German defenders, thenhe captured a spot in the World Top 23, before coming agonizingly close to topping our world ranking of defenders.
With an overall FTBL rating of 119.66 points at the moment, Mertesacker will face a challenge in his next 3 games, with a plank of 14.60 rating points to beat in the Bundesliga game against FC Nürnberg (he set the plank in the 2:0 win over Stuttgart), followed by a plank of 17.25 rating points in the Europa League game against Austria Vienna. He set that plank in Germany’s 1:0 win over Russia in World Cup 2010 qualifying. But Europa League games are Category 4 in the FTBL system, while World Cup qualifiers are Category 6. This means Mertesacker can avoid loosing rating points only if Werder win and he scores at least a goal.
Finally, Mertesacker will face a plank of more than 20 rating points to beat in the league game against Bosussia Dortmund, a plank he set in the 2:0 win over 1899 Hoffenheim, in which he scored a goal.
Our preliminary prediction is that Mertesacker will lose at least 10 rating points in these 3 games and that he will most likely exit the World Top 23 and lose the leadership in the FTBL ranking of German defenders.
© FTBL