Kenyan international and AIK defender Erick ‘Marcelo’ Ouma has been ranked as one of the best over 23 year old full backs with the best dribbling ability in the world, according to a report by the CIES Football Observatory, a study group within the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), an independent study center located in Neuchâtel, Switzerland.The former Gor Mahia defender has been ranked third in the list of 10 world-class players judged by dribble frequency, success rate and match-level as tracked by Wyscout – an Italian company that supports football scouting, match analysis and transfer dynamics.Top dribblers 🌐 among over 23-year-old defenders as per @CIES_Football Index with dribble frequency, success rate (@Wyscout) & match level1. #JaviGalan 🇪🇸 (@RCCelta)2. #JoaoCancelo 🇵🇹 (@FCBayern)3. #ErickOtieno 🇰🇪 (@AIKfotboll)Top 💯 U23 👉 https://t.co/b3QrdekeZU pic.twitter.com/aUkxnR8gMA— CIES Football Obs (@CIES_Football) May 7, 2023 Ouma – who ranks just behind Celta Vigo’s Javi Galan and Bayern Munich’s Joao Cancelo in the top two positions respectively – has a dribbling frequency of 16:05 minutes per dribble, a 78.9% successful dribbles rate and a 0.56 score on sporting level of teammates and opponents.The only non European player in the list that has Rodinei De Almeida (Olympiacos) closely following Ouma, is Caio Paulista of São Paulo (Brazil).##NAJAVA_MECA_7261632##Chelsea’s Reece James is ranked sixth with a dribbling percentage of 84.2% and a dribbling frequency of 36:53 dribbles per minute.With a total of over 15 goal contributions for AIK since he joined in January 2020, Ouma was in February this year ranked as one of the players with the best take-on index in the world, starring more in the European non-big-five leagues where he was in the top 10.On the global rank of the defensive players with the best take-on index, the Kenyan was ranked 59th with a score of 75.8 out of 100, ahead of some key names on the world stage including Manchester United’s left-back Luke Shaw (75.4), Pervis Estupiñán (75.2) of Brighton & Hove, Aston Villa’s Lucas Digne (74.8), Bayern München’s Daley Blind (74.5), West Ham’s Aaron Creswell (73.7), Real Madrid’s Ferland Mendy (73.4), and another Bayern München’s player in Benjamin Pavard (73.0).’No cause for alarm’: Mathare United coach tells fans amid relegation fearsIn 2022, Ouma played a total of 2,213 minutes, accumulated across 26 matches in the Swedish top-tier league, and went on to score two goals and set up four others, the second most goal contributions by a defender in the league that year.His exceptional season over time has seen his market value rise from €100,000 (Ksh. 13,600,000) in December 2020 to an all-time high of €1,800,000 (Ksh. 245,000,000) in June 2022 before dropping slightly to €1,500,000 (Ksh. 204,000,000) in December.
