7. Kyriakos Papadopoulos
Is Papadopoulos really the greatest defender the world has ever seen? Because that's the sort of picture that his FM13 ratings suggest. The Greek centre-half's ratings are vastly over-powered for most of the key defensive attributes. He ranks as 18s or higher for marking, tackling, aggression, bravery, determination, positioning, team-work, work rate, balance, and natural fitness, and strength comes in at 17. The suggestion then, is that at the age of just 20, Papadopoulos has very little improvement to make in those areas to become perfect. His non-technical skills, such as off the ball, decisions, composure and agility are single figures, and even his less defensively minded technical abilities like passing (8,) first touch (7,) and technique (8) are likewise dire for a supposedly brilliant player, which again shows the problem with the German scouting system, which seems obsessed with extreme ratings without actually judging the player fairly. If those stats were correct, Papadopoulos would wander around the pitch at will, falling over, scuffing passes out of touch, and not being able to kick a ball properly, despite being an absolute colossus as a centre-half. As long as he doesn't touch the ball, according to the stats, he's a genius, which is clearly wrong on both ends of the scale.
What Are The Chances? Again it all depends on how the Germans scout their own league. They are notorious for ignoring the middle ground, giving great players terrible stats in supposedly unnecessary areas, without actually considering the real implications of those ratings. If that changes, and Papadopoulos' overall ranking becomes something more broadly focused on his game, then we might see a more realistic reflection of the player's ability. And since we're already in Germany...