Chelsea
defender Antonio Rudiger picks the 11 toughest players he has faced during
his career on Sky Sports' brand-new programme
The Football Show.
The 27-year-old has enjoyed spells in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart, in
Serie A with Roma and in the Premier League with Chelsea, as well as
representing Germany at the 2018 World Cup in Russia
It's a career which to date has pitted him against some of the best players
of this generation - but who were the toughest? Here, Rudiger reveals all...
Manuel Neuer
There were some times, around 2014, where he was unbeatable. He was the
goalkeeper.
There are a lot of good goalkeepers, I played with Alisson at Roma, he's a
beast, and I've played with Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Bernd Leno. There are
a lot of good goalkeepers, but I pick Neuer.
In the 2014 World Cup against Algeria, I was watching from home and he was
unbeatable, he was almost playing like a defender, clearing up the long
balls Algeria put over the defence. He took everything and I was shocked.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
This guy is hard to beat, with his tackles - his sliding tackle is amazing.
He is progressing very well, and I like him very much.
Sergio Ramos
Everyone knows why, this guy knows how to do his job in defence and is also
very important at offensive set pieces. He is a commanding defender and a
great anywhere.
Virgil van Dijk
In the last two years he's shown he is definitely one of the best, even
maybe the best at the moment. He is a beast. You always look up to those
kind of players because these two centre-backs are, at the moment, the best
centre-back, so of course you can learn something from them. Everyone has
their own style of playing, but you can learn from them.
Andrew Robertson
This guy doesn't stop running, he is active the whole time, going forward
and backwards. He is very good at crossing and overall, both defensively and
offensively, he is doing a very good job.
N'Golo Kante
The guy is everywhere, and he loves to tackle. These kind of players look
for the contest, they find it and they win it, that is impressive,
especially when you consider what kind of guy he is. Wow.
Kevin De Bruyne
I
played against him in Germany. In those days, it was hell to play against
Wolfsburg because they were a really tough side with good quality players,
and of course he was the best in that team. He has everything; his crossing,
passing, the way he shoots on his left and right foot and his technical
ability - he is really, really good.
Andres Iniesta
The vision he had for football was massive, I'd never seen anything like it.
His combination game was top class.
Lionel Messi
The next two stand out, they are in a different world, they are different
quality. When you're playing against Messi, the feeling you have is that
it's just up to him, if he is in a good mood or is having a good day you
cannot stop him. That is my honest opinion.
Cristiano Ronaldo
The same applies with Ronaldo. They have two different ways of playing, one
to try and score goals and the other is enjoying his football. If I had to
pick one it would be Messi. Is he the best ever? I didn't see Pele or Diego
Maradona playing because that was not my time, so it's Messi.
Sergio Aguero
For me, he is a top striker. He's small, compact and a goalscorer who scores
for fun. He's the type of striker that if you give him an inch that's
enough, it's tough to mark him. For a big defender, his centre of gravity is
very low and it's difficult because of his good movement.
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