WhoScored.com's latest feature focusing on the world's top crossers and dribblers of the ball, compiling the best 5 players from each of the top 5 divisions, moves onto the German Bundesliga.
All players to have played fewer than 20 games from the wing were filtered out in order to prove who had repeated strong performances and wide-man relevant statistics on a consistent basis. The top 5 were analysed in terms of their threat from wide with regards to crossing and dribbling statistics, key passes, assists and chance conversion rates to give a detailed overview of just why the respective performers are so effective.
The appearances on the leader board of players representing the likes of Bayern Munich (3rd) and Hannover 96 (4th) is perhaps unsurprising, however the inclusion of wingers playing from the league's two relegated sides, Frankfurt and St. Pauli, comes as more of a shock. With no one side having multiple numbers in our top 5, Schalke 04 are the final team to be represented despite a disappointing season in the Bundesliga which saw the Champions League semi-finalists finish in a lowly 14th.
Franck Ribery
A name that many would have expected to adorn the leader board for the Bundesliga's top 5 wingers would undoubtedly be Franck Ribery. Indeed the France international did get onto our leader board, topping it for that matter, by leading the way in no less than 7 of the 12 categories analysed. The 28-year-old started just 22 games for Bayern Munich due to an injury interrupted season which saw him miss almost two months of the campaign with a torn ankle ligament. Despite these problems, Ribery managed to top our leader board in terms of total crosses (118), crosses per game (5.36), total dribbles (153), dribbles per game (6.95), assists (10) and goals (7), proving he is an untouchable force in an attacking sense when at his best.
The Frenchman's exceptional talents from wide are far from let down in any attacking category having finished in the top 3 in all regards. His cross accuracy of 21% is still commendable but bettered by his dribble success rate of 53% considering the amount of times he attempted to take on an opponent. A high figure of 2.36 key passes per game adds to his impressive goal contribution and a shots per goal ratio of 6.29 is also far from a flaw.
Jefferson Farfan
Schalke's wing-wizard Jefferson Farfan helped his side reach the brink of the Champions League final but was unable to prevent the club's poor form in the league. However, the Peruvian's part in Schalke's domestic downfall was minimal. Having made 23 of his 26 league starts from wide, Farfan scored highly in terms of dribbles per game (5.3) and crosses per game (4.17), only behind Ribery in both regards. His impressive figure in the latter was supported by his cross accuracy of 24%, the best of our leader board, while his dribble success rate of 49% is also admirable. The 26-year-old also led the way with his chance conversion rate, having netted a goal every 6 shots attempted.
Farfan's decent shots per goal figure suggests that the winger should have more confidence in his finishing after attempting just 0.8 shots per game last season, leading to 3 league goals. His 5 assists from wide positions came from 2.09 key passes per game meaning that similarly to Ribery ahead of him, the Schalke man showed very few weaknesses going forward.
Patrick Ochs
Frankfurt's 27-year-old winger Patrick Ochs put in a decent shift in an attacking sense to make our top 5 despite being unable to see his side avoid the automatic drop from the Bundesliga, finishing 17th. The German's crossing was arguably his strongest attribute last term, averaging 3.81 attempts per game and finishing with a success rate of 21% from those deliveries, matching Ribery's accuracy. His 51% dribble success rate may well suggest that Ochs should try to take on opponents more often, having attempted just 1.78 dribbles per game last season.
Ochs' inability to assist with a higher goal contribution was a down side to his game. Having scored just twice, the Frankfurt man also showed a reluctance to shoot at times, averaging the least efforts per game with 0.5. His tally of just 3 assists was the lowest of the 5 despite playing more games from out wide than any of the other contenders and came from a fairly average 1.15 key passes per game.
Max Kruse
23-year-old Max Kruse showed his attacking prospects last term in a St.Pauli side which finished the season propping up the Bundesliga table. The young winger showed decent figures in most aspects of his attacking game and will have caught the eye of a number of prospective suitors in turn, having failed to make the grade at Werder Bremen. Kruse's cross accuracy of 23% from 3.55 crosses per game is highly respectable for a player of his age, while his dribble success rate of 42%, despite placing bottom of our top 5, is hardly a cause for concern. The category in which the German most impressed is undoubtedly his ability to spot a killer pass having led our leader with 2.45 key passes per game.
The fact that Kruse's key pass figures were rewarded by just 4 assists is more indicative of his side's misfiring front-line than a lack of contribution on his part but there is one area of his game which needs improving upon. His somewhat disappointing tally of just 2 goals came from an average of 1.2 shots per match which, despite showing high levels of confidence in the winger, leaves the St.Pauli man with a conversion rate of 1 goal every 13 shots attempted.
Konstantin Rausch
Hannover 96's Konstantin Rausch made more appearances than any other of our top 5 with 33, despite being the youngest player in our leader board at just 21-years-old. The youngster's attacking threat is abundantly clear having shipped in with 5 goals and 5 assists, though arguably his standout statistic lays in his success rate when taking on opponents. His figure of just 1.73 dribbles attempted per game may be something that Hannover will want to see built upon after Rausch was successful with a hugely impressive 58% of his attempts.
Despite picking up 5 assists, the German's key passes per game figure of 0.88 is pretty meagre, showing that Hannover's successful front pairing of Didier Ya Konan and Mohammed Abdellaoue, who netted 24 times between them in just 54 starts, helped to boost the young winger's figures in this regard. Undoubtedly Rausch's weakest score came in his cross accuracy having hit his target with just 12% of his 3.24 crosses attempted per game, a facet to his game which needs an immediate address.
