2015-16 La Liga season has come to an end with FC Barcelona winning their 24th title. The title race went all the way to the wire as the runners-up Real Madrid were just a point behind of the eventual champions going into the last game week. A draw for Barcelona and a win for Real Madrid would have won the ten-time European champions their record 33rd La Liga title.
Atletico Madrid finished third while Villarreal completed the Spanish representation for UEFA Champions League quota by finishing fourth. Athletic Bilbao and Celta Vigo finished fifth and sixth and booked their places in the Europa League.
Sevilla will become the seventh team from Spain in Europe next season if they beat Liverpool in the finals of the 2015-16 Europa League. Moving to the bottom three, Levante, Rayo Vallecano and Getafe were relegated to the Segunda division.
As far as the individuals are concerned, there were a lot of players who set the La Liga on fire. Let us take a look at the players featuring in our La Liga 2015-16 team of the season.
Formation: 4-3-3
Goalkeeper: Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid)
Jan Oblak has been chosen as the goalkeeper of La Liga 2015-16 team of the season ahead of his Real Madrid compatriot Keylor Navas. Though Navas had a fantastic season in front of the goal for Real Madrid, Oblak was better than the Costa Rican international in all aspects.
Backed up by a strong defensive unit, Oblak conceded just 18 goals in the entire season and was instrumental for La Rojiblancos in the La Liga. In spite of the defence in front of him being strong, Oblak’s saves helped Atletico come closer to their second title in three years.
In the 38 matches he played, Oblak has kept a clean sheet on 24 occasions and has saved an average of 3.5 shots per goal scored. He is also a vital factor in Atletico’s journey to the UEFA Champions League finals as he made a crucial save from Thomas Muller’s penalty in the second leg of the semifinals.
Defender: Mario Gasper (Villarreal)
Mario Gasper is the only player from a non-La Liga top 3 team to feature in the La Liga 2015-16 team of the season. The Villareal right-back has been a vital part in his team securing a Champions League spot for the next season.
Gasper is in the team ahead of Atletico Madrid’s Juanfran for his successful season in La Liga in which he didn’t commit a single defensive error and had 85 interceptions to his name. His pace on the right flanks was too good for the opposition defenders to handle.
The Spanish international has been equally good on both defence and attack and has caught the eye of Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque, who could well look to him to fill the right-back berth in the upcoming Euros.
Defender: Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)
It is safe to say that Diego Godin is the best defender in the World at present. Just like Jan Oblak, Diego Godin is a vital part of Atletico Madrid’s defence. In the 30 games, he has played for Atletico in La Liga this season, they have conceded only 11 goals.
According to Diego Simeone, Godin is one of the most important players in his squad, which is evident by the Uruguayan International’s numbers this season. Godin is one of the main reasons why Atletico Madrid have the best defence in Spain and arguably the best in Europe.
In the whole season, Godin has 101 interceptions in 31 matches and adding to that, he has 163 clearances this season at an average of 5.26 per game, which is astonishing.
With Atletico Madrid playing the UEFA Champions League finals against Real Madrid later this month, Godin will look to complete the unfinished job from the same match a couple of years ago.
Defender: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Sergio Ramos has been one of the most consistent defenders in La Liga in the last decade and once again he showed his class in the League this season. He will be partnering Diego Godin at the back in our 2015-16 La Liga team of the season.
In spite of playing fewer matches when compared to other defenders in the League, Ramos has fared better in all aspects and provided the stability at the back for Real Madrid.
In the whole season, Ramos has 77 interceptions in 23 matches and adding to that, he has 81 clearances this season at an average of 5.26 per game, which is not at all bad for a defender.
With Real Madrid playing the UEFA Champions League finals against Atletico Madrid later this month, Ramos will look to repeat his heroics from the same match a couple of years ago. He led his team from the front and hence, he has been chosen as the captain of the LA Liga 2015-16 team of the season.
Defender: Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid)
After Jan Oblak and Diego Godin, Filipe Luis is the third player in our La Liga 2015-16 team of the season from Atletico Madrid, thanks to their rock solid defence throughout the season.
After having a great season with La Rojiblancos, Luis moved to Chelsea where he spent the majority of the 2014-15 season on the sidelines. When he got a chance to move back to Madrid, he didn’t let the opportunity go away as he, along with his fellow defenders made sure that Atletico were the best defensive team in Spain.
Luis was easily the best fullback in La Liga this season in which he didn’t commit a single defensive error and had 87 interceptions to his name as he outperformed both Marcelo and Jordi Alba on a consistent basis.
Midfielder: Sergio Busquets (Barcelona)
While most of the limelight in Barcelona’s triumph was on Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, this man‘s contribution to the team is too hard to be ignored. He is easily one of the best central midfielders at the moment and in the season that went by, he proved why he is regarded as one of the best.
He brings his team the much-needed balance and stability in the midfield. With Busquets in the middle, the full-backs can afford to go forward and contribute in the attack.
In the 35 matches he played, he has a total of 67 interceptions and has completed 90% of his passes successfully every game. Adding to that, he has successfully won each and every take on in the season.
Midfielder: Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Watching Luka Modric play is a treat to our eyes as he makes Football look easy. In the last couple of seasons, Modric has been instrumental for Real Madrid as he brought in the balance and stability to the team.
In the season that just concluded, he was the best midfielder among all the 20 teams and gets into out La Liga 2015-16 team of the season. He has completed 91% of his passes successfully apart from having 57 key passes in the 32 matches he played this season. His forward passes were vital for Real Madrid as the front three made the full use of it throughout the season.
Modric is key to Real Madrid’s chances in the UEFA Champions League finals and also for Croatia in the upcoming 2016 Euros.
Midfielder: Koke (Atletico Madrid)
While most of the limelight on Atletico Madrid was hogged by their defenders, this man deserves equal credits to too. The Spanish midfielder made his case clear to his national team boss Vincente Del Bosque ahead of the Euros by putting up an incredible show throughout the season that saw him finishing as the second leading assists provider.
Koke has assisted 14 from 35 matches for Atletico Madrid this season. He has involved in almost all the attacks that led to a goal for Atletico as made sure that his team managed to score a goal and grind out results this season.
With the Champions League Finals fast approaching, Koke’s presence in the midfield will key for Atletico Madrid as they look to avenge Real Madrid for the 2013-14 Champions League finals.
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Once again, Lionel Messi had a fantastic season for Barcelona and helped them win the title. Unlike the other seasons, Messi does not feature in the top of goal scoring charts as he has scored a total 26 goals and assisted 16 in 33 matches.
In spite of scoring less when compared to the previous seasons, the impact he had in Barcelona’s attack has been valuable and it helped Luis Suarez to win the Golen Boot and Pichichi award.
Messi was asked to play in a deeper role this season in which he flourished as he created a lot of chances and managed to score a handful of goals. He will be leading our front three, where he will be playing on the right.
Forward: Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Luis Suarez is the main reason behind Barcelona’s successful title defence as he scored 40 goals and assisted 16 in this season. Not often we see someone outscoring both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. But this man did that and is set to receive the Golden Boot and the Pichichi award.
The arrival of Luis Suarez has bolstered Barcelona’s attack as the former Liverpool man steps up for his team in each and every game. When Barca were going through a slump towards the end, Suarez single-handedly put his team’s title race back on track by scoring 4 goals in two consecutive matches and followed it with a hat-trick in the last match of the season against Granada that sealed the title for his team.
He is going through the form of his life and one won’t be surprised if goes on to win the European player of the year and a possible nomination in the final three for the Ballon d’Or award.
Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Cristiano Ronaldo completes the La Liga 2015-16 team of the season and is the third Real Madrid player to be featuring in this list. Cristiano Ronaldo had a fantastic season once again and that helped his team to stay in the La Liga title race till the final game week.
Ronaldo has scored 35 goals and assisted 11 this season as he narrowly misses out from winning the Golden Boot and the Pichichi award. This season he has become the first player in the history of La Liga to score 30 goals in six consecutive seasons.
He had a total of 227 shots at the goal, the most by any player in La Liga this season out of which 52% were on target. Ronaldo drifting in from the left will give nightmare for any defender and that is why he will play on the left in the team of the season.
Substitutes and Manager:
Substitutes:
Due to the extraordinary performances of the players featuring in our La Liga 2015-2016 team of the season, there are a bunch of players who were ignored from the XI in spite of having a tremendous season. Those players are included in the list of substitutes and they all have the capability of making a difference after coming on.
Substitutes: Keylor Navas (Real Madrid), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Victor Ruiz (Villarreal), Bruno Soriano (Villarreal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid) and Antoine Griezemann (Atletico Madrid).
Manager: Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid)
No other manager in La Liga has managed to do what Simeone did as he kept the pressure on both Real Madrid and Barcelona throughout the season. He also transformed Atletico as the best defensive team in Spain and there should not be a second thought in choosing the manager of our La Liga 2015-16 team of the season.
Simeone just pips his Villareal counterpart, Marcelino, to be the manager of the team. Marcelino has helped the Submarines secure a Champions League play-off place in the very season.
