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The season has come to an end. The Champions League final marked the end of a glorious footballing season where as football goes there were those who emerged victorious while others scrapped to make their own mark. At the end of each season of European football, UEFA announces its Champions League squad of the season and they have done so yet again this time.
Of course the players who won it all feature heavily on the squad but the monopoly is staggering. There is, however, little arguing with it because after all they are champions.
A team of UEFA Technical Observers put together what they believe to be the best Champions League squad of the season. The list consists of 18 players of whom 15 played in this year’s Champions League final.
Let’s take a look at who made the cut:
Goalkeepers
Marc-Ander Ter Stegen only joined Barcelona at the start of this season. He took over between the posts for the Blaugrana in the UEFA Champions League and the domestic cup in Spain while Barcelona’s other goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was between the posts in La Liga. While not many teams can claim to have troubled Barcelona this season, Ter Stegen has been alert whenever he has been called upon to respond.
Barcelona’s 23-year-old goalkeeper came out victorious against his opposing veteran goalkeeper Juventus’ Gianluigi Buffon in the Champions League final, nonetheless, the Italian has oozed class for Juventus through the whole tournament. His performances were key in Juventus’ dream run to the final as they were eventually drafted as the minnows to face the giants Barcelona.
Having either one of those keepers in your team would give the opposition attack the sweats.
Defenders
In keeping with the theme, Barcelona players dominate this part of the team. which should come as a bit of a surprise, but given that Barcelona have been decidedly more robust in defence all season, it really isn’t. Gerard Pique is at the heart of this defensive machine and you could pair him with either the constantly impressive Javier Mascherano or Juve’s immovable rock Giorgio Chiellini.
At left-back you’ll find the familiar face of Jordi Alba who’s been impressive with Barcelona, although it would be a task to find someone who hasn’t been splendid for them this season.
The only player from the Premier League to make the Champions League best XI is Chelsea’s Serbian right-back Branislav Ivanovic. You would be hard-pressed to find a defensive line that scores more goals than Chelsea’s back four but with his knack for scoring important goals, Ivanovic has to be the gem among them going forward.
Midfielders
The Barcelona midfield of Ivan Rakitic, Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta have at times ghosted past opposition defences as if they weren’t there. Their sublime defensive work combined with the composure on the ball made for a unit that was hard to beat.
Having said that, Juventus’ duo of Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio haven’t been too far behind. Though Paul Pogba and Arturo Vidal have not been mentioned in UEFA’s Champions League squad, these four together have been the engine of the Juventus juggernaut that only fell to the skill of Barcelona in the final. Not a shabby record by any means.
Toni Kroos may sometimes go unnoticed in the galaxy of stars that is Real Madrid but with the season that he’s had for them especially pulling the strings in the first half of the season, it’s hard to look past him. His midfield partners have come and gone but he’s been the stalwart of the Real Madrid midfield all season. As he did for Bayern Munich before, he has dictated terms in the centre for Real.
Forwards
No prizes for guessing the Barcelona the trio that make it to this squad. The combination of new recruit Luis Suarez, youngster Neymar and Lionel Messi has breezed past most defences this season. Their understanding has been supernatural, in full flow they have been unstoppable.
Joint top-scorer along with Messi and Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo also makes the squad. Leaving him out would have been blasphemy, wouldn’t it? Although his performances haven’t been his usual best since the turn of the year, he has been impressive nonetheless.
The last one to make the squad is a former Real Madrid player, one who broke Madridistas hearts when he scored against them to put them out. Alvaro Morata – the scorer of Juventus’ sole goal in the Champions League final has been a revelation alongside Carlos Tevez in Juventus’ attack. This may be a loss that will be hard for Real Madrid to digest but Juventus will gain much out of the young lad.
