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A discussion on which the better league is between Premier League and the La Liga, is like the Chicken vs Egg debate. It will never end.
Premier League is easily the most popular league in the World. But popularity alone doesn’t make something the best. It is probably the most competitive league in Europe, with several teams fighting for the Top positions. Nottingham Forest who won back to back European titles in 1979 and 1980 are now playing in the second tier of English football, while another European title holder Aston Villa barely escaped relegation from top flight football last season. Such is the competition in English football, which makes it very interesting to watch.
La Liga on the other hand, was a two horse race up until last season, when Atletico Madrid put an end to the Real Madrid and Barcelona dominance by lifting the title. Fans of La Liga will surely point out that the Spanish teams have been doing well in European competitions compared to English teams in the recent years.
In the past decade 4 out of 10 UEFA Champions League were won by Spanish sides (Barcelona (3) and Real Madrid) and 5 out of 10 UEFA Europa League titles were also won by Spanish sides (Sevilla (3), Valencia and Atletico Madrid)
To add fuel to this debate, take a look at what could be labeled as the best XI of players playing in these leagues.
La Liga XI
Manager
Carlos Ancelotti: Ancelotti is the most successful manager in La Liga today, he is also only the second manager to win three Champions League trophies and the first to do it in the Champions League era (the competition was previously known as ‘European Cup’)
The Italian won two Champions League titles with AC Milan in 2003 & 2007 and also took them to the final in 2005. After leaving Italy he became the manager of Chelsea and later the manage of Paris Saint Germain. Ancelotti managed to win the league and the domestic cup competition in England and France, but the Champions League eluded him. He was appointed the Real Madrid manager in 2013 and he won the Copa Del Rey and Champions League title in his first season.
Ancelotti preferred to play a 4-3-3 formation with Real Madrid last season and for this purpose he moved Di Maria into central midfield with good effect.
Goal Keeper
Iker Casillas: Casillas makes it to the list even though his performance levels have dipped in the recent years. This is also because Thibaut Courtois, Victor Valdes and Diego Lopez do not play in La Liga at present. Real Madrid’s latest acquisition in the goal keeping department – Keylor Navas was one of the best keepers in the league last season, but Casillas still gets the preference due to his experience and his consistent performances for many years
Casillas was put on the bench towards the end of Mourinho’s stint as Real Madrid manager. After the arrival of Ancelotti, he started only in the cup games and the last two league games of the season. Casillas’s initial performances when he played showed signs of him still being on the top of his game. He made an incredible save from nearly a yard out from a Julian Draxler shot in the Round of 16 game against Schalke.
Casillas was partly responsible for the goal Real Madrid conceded in the final of the UEFA Champions League, but he made up for his mistake later on by making some good saves to keep his team in the game.
Defenders
Juanfran: The 29 year old Spanish international gets the nod in ahead of Dani Alves and Carvajal in the list. Alves has seen his form dip considerably in the last couple of seasons or the Brazilian would have made the list. Juanfran was a key member of the Atletico side who won the league tile and reached the final of the Champions League. The right back has played 10 times for La Roja and was part of their squad that won the Euro in 2012. The Atletico Madrid man started his career with city rivals Real Madrid. He is not the modern day flamboyant attacking full back, but a no nonsense defender. Playing on the right he comes up against Cristiano Ronaldo when he plays against Real Madrid and Juanfran has done well to keep the Portuguese quiet for as long as possible.
Sergio Ramos: Ramos despite his extraordinary affinity towards picking up cards is one of the best in the World. Ramos had a good season with Real Madrid. He is a leader at the back and his performances have been excellent. It was his goal in the final of the 2014 Champions League that took the game to extra time, where Real Madrid clinched it. Ramos is a very good ball playing defender and that is expected as the former Sevilla man was once a right back. He is a good tackler of the ball and is very strong in the air while defending and attacking. Ramos has recently added some attacking strength to his artillery by learning to take excellent free kicks.
Diego Godin: Godin is one of the most underrated defenders in the World. When you look at his performances you can see that he is on par with any of the top class defenders playing today. The Uruguayan has a knack of scoring crucial goals like he did that in the final game of La Liga last season to win the title for his side. He scored in the final of the Champions League and in his country’s final group stage match at the World Cup, to send them through to the knock out stages.
Jordi Alba: Alba gets his name on the list because of the transfer of Filipe Luis away from La Liga. The Spaniard though is still an amazing player. He has to be one of the best attacking full backs in the game today. He won many admirers with his performance in the 2012 Euro. Alba has blistering pace and he uses this to counter attack with great effect, his pace also allows him a chance to rectify any sort of defensive mistake he may have made.Alba started his career as a winger and that is probably why he likes to bomb forward. He can be found in and around the penalty box when Barca are on the offensive. His speed coupled with his great energy helps him from being caught out of position when he has to go back and defend.
Midfield
Luka Modric: Selecting midfielder for this list is extremely difficult when you look at the quality in this area for the Spanish sides. Modric makes the list on the back of his excellent season with Real Madrid. The Croatian, who had a tough start to life in Spain, adapted to the conditions in his second season. He did really well to control the midfield during the prolonged absence of Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira.
Sergio Busquets: The Barcelona and Spain defensive midfielder had a below par season according to his standards last time around. Even then he is still one of the best defensive midfielders in the game. He has been a part of the Spanish midfield for 5 years now and has already racked up 70 appearances for them. Busquets is a very good passer of the ball and helps his team to keep the ball. He is also a very good tackler as expected of a defensive midfielder. The 26 year old sits deep in midfield and often in between the center backs. He rarely ventures forward with the ball, but provides excellent defensive cover to the play as the full backs go forward and join the attack.
Andres Iniesta: This was an easy choice. It is very difficult to point out a modern day player who has ball control and dribbling abilities like Iniesta possesses. The Spaniard has been the heart and soul of club and country for many years and watching him play is like listening to an orchestra. That’s how soothing his game is. Iniesta started his career as a defensive midfielder, but his above mentioned attributes and his work ethic saw him move to a more advanced midfield role. He is a complete midfielder, he can attack and defend, has good work ethic, can score and create. Iniesta is also very versatile, he can play on the wing, behind the striker or in central midfield and he can still pull the strings.
Gareth Bale: A player who came to Spain from England. Bale was the player of the season in England before he made his move abroad. The Welshman possesses a wand of a left foot and blistering pace. If you want to know more about his pace ask Maicon or Marc Batra. Bale scored the winning goals in the final of the Copa Del Rey and the Champions League in his very first season with Real Madrid. Bale started his career as a left back, but never excelled in the role. He was converted into a winger by Harry Redknapp. Bale has a good work rate and help his full backs when his team has to defend. Bale moved to the right wing after joining Real Madrid.
Forwards
Cristiano Ronaldo: Winner of UEFA’s award for Best player in Europe award and that was just his most recent achievement. The two time Ballon d’Or winner has had a phenomenal season which has seen him break more and more records. Ronaldo scored 51 goals last season in club competitions despite missing a few games through injuries. He started the present season from where he left off by scoring 2 goals in the UEFA Super Cup game against Sevilla and a marvelous goal in the opening La Liga game
Lionel Messi: The man who has set records tumbling down. Four Ballon d’Or awards and a record of 91 goals in a calendar year is more than enough to introduce the little Argentine. Last season was not a good one for Messi according to the standards he has set earlier. He “only” scored 41 goals last season after sitting out with an injury that bothered him from the end of the 2012-13 season. Messi scored 2 goals in the team’s opening La Liga game and set up the only goal in their win over Villarreal.
Substitutes
Claudio Bravo, Marcelo, Javier Mascherano, Toni Kroos, Xavi, Neymar and Luis Suarez
Formation
4-3-3
Premier League XI:
Manager
Jose Mourinho: Mourinho announced himself on the biggest stage in club football after winning the UEFA Champions League with FC Porto in 2004. The follwing season he was made Chelsea’s manager, but he couldn’t give Abrahimovic the European success that the Russia so badly wanted. After leaving Chelsea he moved to Inter Milan in Serie A and won the treble with them in 2010 before moving to Real Madrid. Mourinho’s stint with the Spanish side saw him win the league title once in 3 years. He took the team to the semi final of the Champions League on three occasions and no further.
His return to Chelsea last season didn’t end as he would have wanted it to as he failed to win any major competitions. He again exited the Champions League in the semi final stage. Other Premier League managers like Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini can boast more experience than Mourinho, but in terms of winning mentality, Mourinho is second to none and this is precisely why he would be the ideal manager for the Premier League XI side.
Goal Keeper:
Thibaut Courtois: Courtois is playing his first season in the Premier League but it is still impossible to remove the Belgian from this list. He has put one of the best, if not the best goal keeper in Premier League era – Petr Cech, on the bench with his performances. At the moment it looks like Cech has very little chance of getting his number one spot back. Courtois is only 22 years old and has a very long career ahead of him. If he follows the right path, he could go on to be one of the greatest of all time.
Defenders:
Pablo Zabaleta: Zabaleta gets in ahead of Ivanovic on the list because of his consistency. The Argentine rarely has a bad game. His performances were one of the reasons why Micah Richards never had a good chance to get back into the Manchester City squad. Zabaleta had a terrific World Cup with Argentina as well. He is a strong tackler as well as intercepts the opposition play. He was voted into the PFA team of the year in 2012-13 even though City didn’t win the title that year.
Vincent Kompany: The Belgian is among the best defenders in the game today. His reading of the game is top notch. Kompany uses his huge figure to good effect by bullying forwards and making life hard for them. He was the backbone of the City team that won 2 league titles and a an FA Cup. Kompany scored the only goal in a must win home game against Manchester United in the 2010-11 season that put his team on top of the table. The Belgium captain was a holding midfielder when he moved to Manchester City. He was later moved to the center of defense and his performances in that position meant that he was not going back to playing in midfield.
John Terry: The Chelsea skipper is showing the new kids in the league that, age is just a number, as he continues to be one of the best defenders in the league even at the age of 33. Terry formed a great understanding with Gary Cahill last season, which sort of reminded many of the Terry-Carvalho partnership. Chelsea boasted the best defense in the league last season even though they finished 3rd.
Leighton Baines: Baines is on the list due to 3 different reasons. One, Ashley Cole now plays in Italy, two – Filipe Luis is yet to play in the league and finally of all the left backs playing in the league, Baines has been the most consistently performing one for a considerable period of time. The Everton man also possesses great set piece taking ability for a defender. He scores from direct free kicks and has so far just missed 1 penalty in his career. He has now firmly established himself as England’s first choice left back after injuries to Kieran Gibbs and Luke Shaw.
Midfield:
Yaya Toure: Toure scored 24 goals from midfield last season, averaging almost a goal every second game. This is a hugely impressive figure for someone who plays in a deeper role. The Ivorian scored some spectacular goals and is a threat from dead ball situations. Toure uses his huge figure to good effect to push defenders out of his way. He joined Premier League from Spanish side Barcelona.
Steven Gerrard: The former England Captain is no longer the player he once was and has moved to a deeper role in midfield recently. Even then he has performed brilliantly for Liverpool and his performances last season earned him a place in the PFA team of the year. Gerrard has one of the best set piece deliveries in football and this was probably the reason why Liverpool scored the most goals from set pieces last season. Gerrard now plays as the deepest lying midfielder who often splits the center backs. This is the reason why Gerrard’s goals from midfield have dried up in the last two seasons.
David Silva: The nimble footed Spaniard like his compatriot Iniesta is pleasure to watch, the calmness and confidence with which Silva moves the ball and dictates the play will make you watch in awe. Silva moved to Manchester City from La Liga side Valencia in 2010. Silva plays on the wings for City often although he is best when played as an attacking midfielder. The 28 year old created more goal scoring chances per game last season than the likes of Juan Mata, Ces Fabregas, Mesut Ozil and Raheem Sterling.
Eden Hazard: Hazard is just 23 years old and has already won many admirers. The Belgian was part of last season’s PFA team of the year and won the PFA Young player of the year award. Hazard has a bag of tricks at his disposal along with admirable pace and dribbling abilities. He would walk into almost any team around the world. Hazard scored 23 goals in his first to Premier League seasons this is a big tally for someone playing on the wings. Even Cristiano Ronaldo who moved to England at the age of 21 could only score 9 league goals in his first two seasons with Manchester United.
Angel di Maria: Although Di Maria has just played one game for Manchester United; it is difficult to leave a player of his caliber out of this list. The Argentine was the man of the match in the final of the 2014 UEFA Champions League. Di Maria is a tailor made player for a manger like Jose Mourinho who demands good work rate and speed from his wingers. Di Maria moved to Real Madrid when Mourinho was appointed their manager. The Argentine is a good crosser of the ball and can chip in with goals. His high pressing game makes him a valuable asset to any team. Manchester United have got a top class player in Di Maria.
Forward:
Sergio Aguero: Aguero is another player who came to England from Spain. He previously played for Atletico Madrid. Aguero has the best goals per minute ratio in the premier league as of now. The Argentine has seen his three seasons at Manchester City hampered by injuries. Still he has scored 58 goals in 90 league appearances for the Citizens. His is not a big figure up front like Mourinho prefers, but he is a hard worker and a creative striker. He sets up his team mates quite often. Aguero is the type of striker who can create something out of nothing.
Substitutes:
Petr Cech, Per Mertesacker, Branislav Ivanovic, Aaron Ramsey, Wayne Rooney, Diego Costa and Mesut Ozil
Formation:
4-2-3-1
Style of play
The La Liga side boast bigger stars than the Premier League side, but that doesn’t mean that a victory for them is assured.
La Liga XI
The Spanish side will play a 4-3-3 formation, with their defensive midfielder Sergio Busquests sitting back and providing defensive cover to prevent being hit on the counter as their full backs will push forward. With Modric and Iniesta in the side, they will easily have the bigger share of possession. Modric completed 90% of his 1967 passes last season, while Iniesta completed 91% of his 2481 passes. [Source: Squawka]. Their midfield partner Busquets has an even better completion percentage with 92% percentage of his passes finding a team mate.
With Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale playing on the wings, there is no shortage of pace in the side either. Bale and Ronaldo will come up against Zabaleta and Baines. These full backs love going forward and this will leave behind plenty of space for the two to exploit.
Lionel Messi will lead the attack and he will be a handful for Terry and Kompany. Even if Messi doesn’t score, his presence up front will keep the defenders occupied and free up spaces for players like Ronaldo, Bale and Iniesta to exploit.
Premier League XI
For the Premier League side, John Terry and Vincent Kompany who have played against the likes of Messi, Ronaldo and Bale before, and have successfully kept them at bay will need to be at their best. They will need help from their midfield which means Steven Gerrard will have to sit back and see that none of the opposition players run into any space left by Kompany or Terry while they are busy with the other players.
With the full backs Zabaleta and Baines going forward, Hazard and Di Maria who will be playing on the wings will need to track back and provide cover for them to try and prevent counter attacks. Yaya Toure will play as a box to box midfielder and his energy and physical presence will be vital to hold up play and start attacks from the back when the Premier League side wins the ball.
Jose Mourinho is no stranger to playing against teams who dominate possession and he will demand a good pressing game from his players, including the striker Aguero. Aguero will have to use his pace, dribbling and hold up play to good effect to help players like Di Maria and Hazard to push up the field and try and score with a counter attack.
The Premier League side will be a big threat from set pieces and this will be another weapon they can use effectively. They have players like Gerrard, Baines and Hazard who can provide good crosses into the box which players like Kompany, Terry and Yaya Toure can attack.
Prediction
Overall the La Liga team looks like the stronger outfit. Both teams have managers who like to work with a good defense, so the match may not be a goal feast. Going with the usual suspects Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to score for the La Liga side and Eden Hazard to score one for the Premier League side.
Score: La Liga XI 2-1 Premier League XI
Who do you think will win if there were a match between the two teams? Who do you think should or shouldn’t have been on the list?
