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The fourth part of our countdown of the world's current 50 best footballers.

11 - Samuel Eto'o (Internazionale / Cameroon)

It is impossible to imagine a scenario in which the Cameroonian will not go absolutely goal crazy in Serie A. He will be the main striker for easily the best team in a league lacking strength in depth. He has the sharpness and movement around the box of Filippo Inzaghi, but with explosiveness, strength and skill reminiscent of Ronaldo (the Brazilian one) in his early years. Although Zlatan Ibrahimovic has a better all-around game, Eto'o is the ultimate livewire, and it seems amazing that Barcelona would part with him, and £40m, to bring Ibrahimovic to the Camp Nou.

12 - Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich / France)

Zinedine Zidane reckons he is better than Cristiano Ronaldo and, while we respectfully disagree, there is no doubt that Ribery has replaced Zidane as the creative maestro of the French national team. Ribery is a bit like Ronaldo in that he is ostensibly a winger but has the licence and the ability to pop up all the way across the pitch. Having endured a difficult start to his career, the Bayern star plays with a burning intensity which, in conjunction with his dribbling and passing ability, makes him virtually unplayable on his day. No wonder the Bundesliga giants are asking £70 million for him.

13 - Frank Lampard (Chelsea / England)

Not the fastest, not the strongest and not the most skilful; just the most effective. Lampard's brand of no-frills quality has made him a favourite of virtually every manager he has played for - especially Jose Mourinho. He is the undisputed king of the Chelsea midfield, combining tireless running and selfless play with crucial goals and assists. The England man delivers a mean set-piece, and only ever misses a penalty if it is in a World Cup quarter-final. Rarely injured and staggeringly consistent, his last five seasons have yielded 19, 20, 21, 20 and 20 goals.

14 - Andres Iniesta (Barcelona / Spain)

Iniesta certainly has a sense of occasion, having saved to of the finest performances of his career for the finals of Euro 2008 and the 2009 Champions League. The slick-passing midfielder seems made for the big stage, with his clever, one-touch style perfectly-suited to the delicate possession football played by both his club and country. What Iniesta lacks in pace and strength, he more than makes up with his ability to carry the ball forward and pick a pass nobody else knew existed. Along with the even-more-brilliant Xavi, Iniesta ensures that opponents who give the ball away against Spain or Barcelona may not see it again for several minutes.

15 - Diego (Juventus / Brazil)

Diego shot to fame when he and Robinho fired Santos to Brazilian championship glory when the pair were teenagers. Despite starting more slowly in Europe than his former team-mate, Diego is poised to overhaul him having signed for Juventus from Werder Bremen. Having established himself as the best player in the Bundesliga, the 24-year-old can do the same in Serie A. Diego scored 20 goals from his attacking midfield position, carried Bremen to the UEFA Cup final and set up the winning goal in the German Cup final in his last game for the club. A certain Kaka has limited his international options, but Diego has won 33 caps.

16 - Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United / Serbia)

A throwback to the days when footballers were real men who used to brush their teeth with a porcupine, floss with barbed wire and then gargle iron filings instead of mouthwash. You get the idea. As well as being possibly the hardest, least compromising footballer in the world, Vidic is also a technically superb defender. The Serbian's positioning, speed and heading ability have allowed him to form the ultimate good cop, bad cop partnership with Rio Ferdinand and played a leading role in Manchester United's record-breaking run of clean sheets last season.

17 - Daniel Alves (Barcelona / Brazil)

Possibly the most adventurous full-back in world football. Quick, skilful and ambitious, Alves spends far more time in the opposition's half than his own, yet such is Barcelona's commitment to attack and the Brazilian's recovery speed, he somehow gets away with it. Joined Barcelona for £25 million last summer after six trophy-laden seasons with Sevilla, and promptly helped his new employers to a remarkable Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble. Very rarely gets the chance to show his set-piece ability with Barca, but scored a scorching free-kick against South Africa at the Confederations Cup.

18 - Iker Casillas (Real Madrid / Spain)

It hardly seems fair, does it? In addition to all their expensively-acquired superstars, Real Madrid have the best goalkeeper in the world, and they found him on their doorstep in the Madrid suburb of Mostoles. Still only 28, Casillas has been Real's first choice for the best part of a decade. He played in the 2000 and 2002 Champions League finals, and has already racked up 96 caps for Spain - at this rate a final total in excess of 200 is not out of the question. Casillas is an outstanding shot-stopper, boasting extraordinary reflexes, and has improved greatly on less glamorous tasks such as catching crosses.

19 - Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid / Argentina)

Fast, skilful and strong despite his diminutive size, Aguero has made Atletico Madrid fans forget about Fernando Torres, and formed one of Europe's deadliest striker partnerships with Diego Forlan. His sense of occasion means his best performances often come on the biggest stage, such as the brace he scored in the spectacular 4-3 win against Barcelona in March. In 20 years' time, don't be surprised to see Benjamin Aguero on this list. He is the four-month old son of Aguero and Giannina Maradona - Diego's daughter. Let's just say the tot has the gene pool on his side.

20 - Didier Drogba (Chelsea / Ivory Coast)

After sulking his way through the first half of last season under Luiz Felipe Scolari, Drogba exploded into life in the spring following Guud Hiddink's arrival. When on song, Drogba offers a combination of strength, power and skill that no other striker can match - he is a target man that scores 25 goals a season. Drogba at the top of his game would be worth a place in the top 10, but his increasingly suspect temperament makes him difficult to rely on. His last two Champions League campaigns have finished in shame - sent off in the 2008 final and banned for an extraordinary rant after Chelsea's exit at Barcelona's hands.

HOW IT WORKS

We have selected the best players in the world and will be counting down from 50 to one throughout the summer. Every day until Friday, August 7 we will reveal the next player on the list, along with the reasons why we rate him.

HOW WE MADE THE LIST

The list, obviously, is subjective. All the number-crunching in the world will not tell you whether Gianluigi Buffon is better than Samuel Eto'o. Their functions are so different it is like trying to decide whether you prefer an orange or a tin opener.

We basically picked the team using the playground system. If all the players in the world were lined up and you had to pick them to play a match, in what order would a 'team captain' select them?

Our fictional playground captains are not trying to build an actual team, they are just picking the best player available. So there is no effort to balance players from every position.

In our estimation, good attackers win more matches than good defenders. They are the ones who command the big transfer fees, they are the ones who people pay to watch, and they are the ones who win the individual awards.

So we make no apology that the list is weighted in favour of attacking midfielders and strikers. No matter how much you admire Jamie Carragher's contribution to Liverpool, you would never say he was a better or more important player than Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres. The list reflects this.

Form is crucial. There are players who missed out on a top-50 place who might have been in the top 10 last year, but have seen their stock fall either through injury or poor form. There is no doubt Ronaldinho is a stunningly talented player, but we could not say - on current form - he is one of the 50 best in the world.

Age is irrelevant. Players are judged entirely on their current ability, not their potential. A 35-year-old is not marked down because he is at the end of his career, and an 18-year-old does not get extra credit because of the player he is expected to become. Only one thing matters - how good is the player now?

THE PLAYERS WHO MISSED OUT

Whittling the world's best players down to a final list of 50 required us to make some tough decisions. All of the following players came close to making the cut but, for one reason or another, were discarded:

Emmanuel Adebayor, David Beckham, Dimitar Berbatov, Antonio Cassano, Gael Clichy, Ashley Cole, Patrice Evra, Ryan Giggs, Gonzalo Higuain, Vedad Ibisevic, Philipp Lahm, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Lucio, Diego Milito, Joao Moutinho, Andrea Pirlo, Sergio Ramos, Ronaldinho, Marcos Senna, Wesley Sneijder, Dejan Stankovic, John Terry, Carlos Tevez, Francesco Totti, Rafael van der Vaart, Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Alex Chick / Eurosport