Okay, so I was checking out the Real Betis versus FC Barcelona game the other day, and I thought, why not try to rate the players myself? It seemed like a fun little project, and I was curious to see how my ratings would stack up against what the “experts” were saying. So, I grabbed a notebook and a pen, and got to work.
First things first, I needed a game to watch. I found a recording of the match online – thankfully, there are tons of those available. I made some popcorn, settled into my comfy chair, and hit play. I watched the whole game, keeping an eye on each player, trying to assess their performance.
I decided to use a simple 1-10 scale, with 1 being “did they even show up?” and 10 being “they played like a god.” I jotted down each player’s name, their number, and then started making notes as the game went on. Stuff like, “good tackle,” “nice pass,” or “what were they thinking?” It was pretty messy, to be honest, but I was just trying to capture my initial thoughts.
- For Real Betis:
- Rui Silva (GK) – 6: Made some decent saves, but also seemed a bit shaky at times.
- Aitor Ruibal – 7: Solid defensively and got forward well.
- German Pezzella – 6: Okay, but a couple of shaky moments.
- Sokratis – 5: Struggled a bit, especially with Barcelona’s quick attacks.
- Juan Miranda – 7: Pretty good, both defending and attacking.
- Johnny – 6: Worked hard, but didn’t really stand out.
- Marc Roca – 7: Good on the ball, made some nice passes.
- Isco – 8: Their best player, I thought. Always involved, scored a couple of goals.
- Luiz Henrique – 6: Showed flashes, but inconsistent.
- Nabil Fekir – 6: Not his best game, but still a threat.
- Willian Jose – 5: Didn’t do much.
- For Barcelona:
- Inaki Pena (GK) – 6: Didn’t have loads to do, but did what was needed.
- Jules Kounde – 7: Solid as usual.
- Ronald Araujo – 7: Commanding at the back.
- Pau Cubarsi – 6: Young lad did alright, some good moments and some mistakes.
- Alejandro Balde – 7: Good going forward, looked dangerous.
- Frenkie de Jong – 8: Controlled the midfield.
- Ilkay Gundogan – 7: Kept things ticking over.
- Pedri – 7: Some nice touches, but tired as the match went on.
- Lamine Yamal – 8: A real bright spark, always a threat.
- Ferran Torres – 9: Man of the match for me, scored a hat-trick!
- Robert Lewandowski – 6: Quiet by his standards, but still set up a goal.
After the game, I went back through my notes, trying to assign a number to each player. It was tough! Sometimes a player would have a great first half and then disappear in the second. Or they might make one amazing play and then mess up a bunch of simple things. But I gave it my best shot, trying to be as fair as possible.
I ended up with a list of ratings for each team. It was interesting to see how different players stood out to me. I also compared my ratings to some I found online from some sports websites, and they were pretty similar, which was cool! It wasn’t a perfect system, of course, but it was a fun way to engage with the game on a deeper level.
What I learned
It is actually harder than I thought. Judging a player’s performance over a whole game is tricky. There are so many things to consider – their skills, their effort, their impact on the game. But it was a good learning experience, and I’ll definitely do it again.
