2016 is at its end and as we do every year, we have seen some fabulous performances on the field in football. Ultimately, football is a team sport and as much as individual performances help the team, it is eventually the display as a team that wins teams football games.
This past year, there were some fantastic performances by teams that did not really have any star players but put in incredible performances. Liverpool put in two fantastic displays in the second legs of their Europa League matches against Borussia Dortmund and Villareal. Atletico Madrid were fantastic in their Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona. Portugal, throughout the Euros, relied on their character, fight and defensive doggedness to eventually win the title.
We take a look at some of the best team performances across the world this season. The performance on the day and the actual importance of that particular game was taken into account for this ranking.
#5 BRAZIL v Argentina
For both nations, this is the pinnacle and is the biggest football match for them. It was the fifth game of the CONMEBOL 2018 World Cup qualifiers and Argentina needed the win desperately as they had only five points from their four qualifiers prior to the game, while the Seleccao had won all their games.
Heading into the game, Argentina were at full strength, although they had left Sergio Aguero on the bench. Edgardo Bauza had the services of their superstar Lionel Messi for only the second time after he had announced his international retirement after the Copa America Centenario.
But on the field, La Albiceleste were taught a lesson by their fierce rivals. Brazil took the lead in the 24th minute with a stunning goal from Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho. He received a pass from Neymar and ran at the Argentine defenders before curling a stunning right-footed shot into the top corner giving Sergio Romero no chance in front of goal.
Paulinho put the result beyond doubt after Renato Augusto pulled a Marcelo cross back into his path.
Argentina were terrible on the day, but Brazil played some fabulous football as Messi’s side were not given a sniff.
For Brazil, it was slight redemption for the events that happened at the same venue two years ago, in the World Cup semi-final. They were humbled 7-1 by Germany at Belo Horizonte and in many ways, this win was to make up for the incredible failure of that night in June 2014.
#4 ICELAND v England
Euro 2016 was Iceland’s first appearance at a major football tournament in their history. They had already beaten all odds to reach the knockout stages – after they had beaten the more-fancied Austria in the group stage.
The stage was set at Nice, as they took on England, who were rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of an easy entry into the quarterfinal. But what followed just summed up the England national team.
Wayne Rooney had given them the lead in the third minute with a penalty, but Iceland were not going to lie down and let their heads drop. They took the game to England and midway through the first half, they were ahead.
Ragnar Sigurdsson equalised after England failed to deal with a long throw from Aron Gunnarsson. Iceland weren’t done as Kolbeinn Sigthorsson’s rather weak shot eluded the grasp of Joe Hart.
After that, Iceland played as a unit as England barely had a sniff. The Vikings defended as a team and when they went forward, they went forward in bunches. It was a perfectly executed plan, and coach Lars Lagerback would have been well pleased with what transpired.
There will always be arguments that England being as woeful as they were helped Iceland, but in many ways, England were bad because they were made to look bad by a terrific Iceland performance.
England had “the easy path”, but England didn’t go through, because Iceland were not the easy path.
#3 ATLETICO MADRID v Bayern Munich
Diego Simeone’s men had entered the semi-final after playing a typical Diego Simeone game in the quarter-final against Barcelona. But in the semi-final, they were up against a side on a mission. Bayern Munich had been knocked out in the semi-final of the last two Champions Leagues and they were determined to send Pep Guardiola off with a Champions League title.
But as usual, Simeone had other ideas. In the 7th minute, Saul Niguez came up with a moment of inspiration. He got the ball in midfield and dribbled past three players before he was confronted by Jerome Boateng. He used Boateng as the decoy to curl the ball around and beat Manuel Neuer with a precise finish to the far post.
From then on, it was the kind of situation that Simeone excels at. Atletico had the lead, which meant they could afford to sit deep and deny Bayern room in the final third. It was important that Atletico didn’t allow Bayern to get the away goal.
And that, in the end, proved vital. Atletico won 1-0 in this game before losing 2-1 at the Allianz Arena – reaching the final on the away goals rule. And it was Simeone’s tactical masterclass and Atletico’s willingness to put their manager’s vision to practice on the pitch was what brought them the win.
#2 LEICESTER CITY v Manchester City
Saturday, February 6, 2016. The day Leicester City told the world that they were serious contenders to win the league. At that time, Manchester City were still considered as the favourites to win the league. But the Foxes had a dream and they were serious about making it a reality.
They went to the Etihad Stadium and schooled Manchester City for a large part of the game. They got the goals through a Robert Huth brace and a right-footed strike from Riyad Mahrez, while Sergio Aguero’s goal for City late on was too little, too late.
The game followed the usual Leicester template from the season. They barely had possession of the ball, they sat back, but their defence was well-organised. They had N’Golo Kante winning the ball back, Danny Drinkwater pinging it forward to the rapid Mahrez, and with Jamie Vardy and Shinji Okazaki, they caused City all sorts of problems.
Another aspect from the match that followed that Leicester template was them getting two goals from set-pieces. Both Huth and Wes Morgan were potent from set-pieces and got the Foxes several important goals.
Leicester went on to win the league last season and although they are precariously placed right now, no one can take that win away from the players or the fans. And they showed the world that they were serious about winning the league by smashing City in their own lair.
#1 ITALY v Spain
All through Euro 2016, Italy were demonstrating how football is a team sport as everyone in Antonio Conte’s side had a specific role and each one’s role was different. That was best demonstrated in the Round of 16 clash against two-time defending champions Spain at the Stade de France.
Both teams had come into the game on the back of defeats – Spain had lost to Croatia and the Azzurri had lost to the Republic of Ireland.
But the Italians were terrific in the game. La Roja were on the back foot from the first minute of the game as Conte set out to destroy Spain’s passing rhythm. But the best part of the game was that Italy did not just sit back and absorb pressure. They streamed forward in numbers and were only denied because of a stunning display from Spain keeper David de Gea.
Before Giorgio Chiellini gave Italy the lead, the Azzurri should have been at least two goals to the good, but de Gea produced some absolutely stunning saves. When Chiellini’s goal came, it was after de Gea had saved a free-kick, the rebound fell to Emmanuele Giaccherini and his shot was saved by the Spaniard, before Chiellini put the ball in the net off the rebound.
After that, Italy were in complete control and the Manchester United goalkeeper made a couple of more saves. Spain had one big chance when they breached the Italian defence, but Gerard Pique was brilliantly denied by Gianluigi Buffon.
Graziano Pelle put the icing on the cake in injury time after lashing Matteo Darmian’s cross past De Gea.
Spain were not undone by their lack of proficiency on the pitch; they were outdone by a brilliant tactical set-up from Conte and the players executing the plan to a T.
