Anytime that the idea of best player in the world is brought up, the list starts and ends with two names -- Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

People invariably anoint these two stars as the ne-plus-ultra of soccer and end the conversation there.

But even wilder than naming either player is the arbitrary nature of people taking sides. Goal scoring gets brought up. Team success. Passing skills. Defensive skills. Physical prowess. A number of different arguments are leveled to decide which superstar is the superior player.

When looking at 2014, picking the top player between Messi and Ronaldo seems like a futile and uninteresting task.

So instead, Latin Post.com's David Salazar and Edwin Molina, as part of our Best of Soccer in 2014 feature series, are looking at their choices for players not named Ronaldo or Messi who deserve some credit in 2014.

A Hero in Big Moments

By David Salazar

Let us forget the World Cup for a moment. While it was certainly the tournament to watch in 2014, people often forget that it lasted all of seven games for Argentina and Germany, a rather small sample size when one considers that Real Madrid pulled off 51 wins in the calendar year.

Another point worth noting about the World Cup is that every major player has had a high and low point in 2014. Manuel Neuer, he who is in competition with Ronaldo and Messi for the Ballon d'Or, had a terrible showing in the Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid. Ronaldo himself had a woeful World Cup, while Messi, who had a solid World Cup, did not win a single team trophy in 2014.

Which brings us to Sergio Ramos. He had a dismal World Cup. Let us throw that out there. He was non-existent against the Dutch and Chileans and had minimal impact against a poor Australia team in a meaningless game. He got off to a mediocre start to the 2014 season in which he was constantly making questionable decisions, almost as if his confidence had evaporated.

But there is no denying that when push comes to shove, there is no player more capable of making a giving his team a major moment.

Ronaldo may be the engine that leads Madrid, but Ramos is arguably its heart and soul.

Ramos does not score a ton of goals, but you can bet that when he does they are huge ones. His two headers against Bayern Munich in the second leg of that semi-final essentially won Real Madrid a berth in the final. And that was on the heels of a dominant showing in the first leg in which he and partner Pepe were impenetrable in the air, Madrid's main weakness.

And then he had his crowning moment. The one that will live throughout history. The one about which books will be written. Ramos scored a goal with seconds remaining to give his club hope of winning La Decima. And that is exactly what happened.

It should be noted that up to that point, Ramos had not scored a single Champions League goal in 2013-14, but the three he did put in were monumental.

Also worthy of mention? Ramos' tremendous header against San Lorenzo to win the Club World Cup. Not as dramatic a goal, but just as important in the context of the game.

Furthermore, he has two Spanish League goals thus far this season; Ramos has never scored more than four in a season and is already on pace to top that number.

Also worth noting -- Ramos is notching his best defensive stats in 2014-15. His 3.1 interceptions per game this season are far better than his career average of 2.5. That could change as regression sets in, but to start the season there is no doubt Ramos has been terrific.

These stats highlight Ramos' overall terrific display for his club. Is he perfect? No. Did he have a perfect year? No. But no one else, except for Gareth Bale and Mario Gotze can claim to have scored bigger goals for his club or country in 2014, while playing a consistently great brand of defense. And he did more than either of them, though Bale could make an argument against that.

Honorable Mention: Gareth Bale for two game-winners in finals this year and three goals in finals. Arjen Robben for a phenomenal run in the World Cup and strong turn for his club. But above either is the ever-growing Toni Kroos, who has played on three different teams in 2014 and been an essential piece in their fortunes. He is intelligent, precise and decisive when needed. He is arguably Germany and Real Madrid's most vital player at the moment and could be for years to come.

The Young King of Belgium

By Edwin Molina

While most feel that Germany's Manuel Neuer is the best player in the world, excluding Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi, considering his nomination for the 2014 Ballon d'Or, it is extremely difficult to ignore Thibaut Courtois accomplishments.

Courtois' year started off helping Atletico Madrid win their first league championship since the 1995-1996 La Liga season. Courtois would go on to win Spain's Zamora Trophy, given to the goalkeeper with lowest goals-to-games ration, after allowing an average of 0.65 goals per games and earning 20 clean sheets in 37 starts for the year.

While both La Liga and Germany's Bundesliga are top-heavy leagues regarding quality of competition, Neuer earned 15 shutouts in 31 starts for Bayern Munich during the 2013-2014 Bundesliga season playing in a considerably weaker soccer league compared to the Spanish league.

Courtois would have also have a strong 2013-2014 UEFA Champions League campaign, helping lead his team to the finals and earning five clean sheets in 12 starts, including shutouts against Serie A club AC Milan, La Liga rival Barcelona and English Premier League (EPL) powerhouse Chelsea, before things fell apart for Atletico Madrid in the title game. Courtois had one more clean sheet during the tournament in the same amount of starts when compared to Neuer.

Courtois ended 2014 playing for EPL team Chelsea, who had loaned him out to Atletico Madrid for several years, with "The Blues" head coach Jose Mourinho giving the starting job to the Belgium keeper over long-time starter Petr Cech. Courtois repaid Mourinho's faith in him with seven clean sheets in eighteen games thus far in the 2014-2015 EPL season, helping lead the team to the top of the standings going into the new year. Courtois also has two clean sheets in three starts to kick off Chelsea's 2014-2015 UEFA Champions League campaign.

While Courtois did not have as strong 2014 World Cup outing as Neuer, the Belgium national team goalkeeper earned two clean sheets against Russia and South Korea in the Group Stage. Courtois, who did not have as stout a defense as Neuer had in front of him, also had solid starts against the United States national team in the Round of 16 and against Argentina in the quarterfinals before being eliminated from the tournament by "La Albiceleste."

And while Neuer is having a great run with Bayern Munich to commence the 2014-2015 Bundesliga season, one could even argue that he is suffering from a "World Cup hangover" having yet to notch a clean sheet in the 2016 European Championship qualifiers compared to Courtois's two clean sheets in three starts.

It is hard to deny that Neuer is one of the top goalkeepers. But the 22-year-old Courtois is quickly proving that his name belongs up there not just among the best goalkeepers in the world. The young Belgium keeper is proving that he is one of the best soccer players on the planet. The sky is the limit for Courtois as 2015 quickly approaches.

Honorable Mention: Had Luis Suarez not bitten Italian centre-back Giorgio Chiellini during the 2014 World Cup, Neuer may not have even made the final cut for the 2014 Ballon d'Or award. Prior to taking a chomp out of Chiellini's shoulder during the Uruguay-Italy match at Estadio das Dunas, Suarez won the EPL Player of the Year award and shared the Golden Shoe Award with Ronaldo, which is given to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of every European national league. Suarez scored 31 goals and notched 12 assists for Liverpool, with the club finishing the 2013-2014 EPL season in second place.

Looking at the list of 20 players chosen as 2014 Ballon d'Or finalists, stack Suarez's statistics against just about anyone on that list and see if his name did not belong there. It is difficult to defend EPL players Yaya Toure of Manchester City or Eden Hazard of Chelsea being on that list and not Suarez considering he outplayed both of them, no?

Did Paul Pogba of Juventus -- with seven goals and seven assist during the 2013-2014 Serie A season -- really have a better season than Suarez? Really?

How about Barcelona's Andres Iniesta or Javier Mascherano, who were not even the best players at their own club?

Suarez blew a great opportunity to put his name among Messi and Ronaldo as one of the best players in the world. There is no denying that Suarez did this to himself, once again finding a new way to self-destructive as has been his penchant throughout his career. But it is also extremely hard to just sweep his stellar 2013-2014 campaign under a rug like it never happened even if he had to eat the longest suspension in FIFA history.

FOR MORE EPL, EURO 2016, LA LIGA, UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE, MLS,
LIGA MX & INTERNATIONAL SOCCER NEWS, VISIT LATIN POST.COM'S SPORTS PAGE