Barcelona’s Víctor Valdés ended 2009 as the best goalkeeper in the world in the FTBL ranking and remained there for most of the time, except for the brief interlude when he was pushed aside by Inter Milan’s Brazil international Júlio César. After Sunday’s 5:0 clobbering of Tenerife in La Liga, Valdés has returned to the top, but staying there will now prove even harder.
In the coming games, Valdés will face planks that suggest he is likely to drop. In 2 successive games, he will have to clear planks of 15.40 and 15.54 rating points. These planks result from the Spain international’s performance in the recent FIFA Club World Cup in the UAE. But that competition is ranks higher in our system than the Spanish La Liga.
To beat those planks in La Liga, therefore, Valdés will have to save not one, but two penalties. This is further indication he is bound to lose points.
In the meantime, Inter Milan’s Júlio César and Real Madrid’s Iker Casillas lurk behind with 134.70 and 133.18 points, respectively, even though they face serious planks of their own in our system.
With a tally of 138.73 points at the moment, Valdés will have to thank his lucky star if he finds himself still at the top of our ranking 2 to 3 games from now.
© FTBL