Most under-rated XI of the decade

We live in the era of greats such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Sergio Ramos, and many more. All of these players have stolen the limelight in world football showcasing their talents and bagging important results time and again for their teams. They have been the flagbearers of the beautiful game across the globe in the past decade and they did it in sublime fashion.

But football hasn’t always been about these global superstars. Alongside them, there have been players, often playing in lesser leagues who have been brilliant for their teams over many seasons. In this article, we take a look at the underrated XI of the decade, the ones who did their job very well without getting much of the limelight and didn't recieve enough appreciation.

Goalkeeper: Rui Patricio

Rui Patricio has been phenomenal for Sporting, Portugal, and Wolverhampton.

31-year-old Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio began his youth career in Leiria e Marrazes and played as a striker. He then was scouted by Sporting CP and they found him to be adept at goalkeeping after he joined the club in 2000. He made his debut in November 2006 as an 18-year-old. Since then, he went on to become the first choice keeper in Lisbon and went on to make 327 appearances for the capital club over 12 seasons.

He went through all the youth levels of the Portuguese national team and made his debut for the senior team in 2010 and has been the starter for them ever since. He won the Euro 2016 with Portugal and in summer 2018 he made a move to England signing for Wolverhampton Wanderers on a 4-year deal. He has been immense for Sporting Lisbon for over a decade and also featured in the UEFA European Championship Team of the tournament in 2016 and the UEFA Europa League squad of the season in 2017.

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Fullbacks

Juanfran

The two fullbacks on this list made their name by playing for the same club during their peak. They formed an impenetrable defensive partnership with an immense amount of workload under the tutelage of Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid.

Juanfran is a Real Madrid academy product who could never make his way through to the first team for Los Blancos. He spent the 2005-06 season on loan at Espanyol before joining Osasuna on a 5-year deal. He joined Atletico Madrid in the year 2011 on a paltry sum of over €4 million and there had been no looking back for him since then.

He was perfectly suited for Simeone’s gritty, defensive football where the fullbacks had to cover a lot of ground while going forward in numbers on the counter. He made a total of 355 appearances over 8 seasons and was an integral part of Atletico’s defence that beat Real Madrid and Barcelona to the La Liga title and also gave the best attacks of Europe a run for their money in recent years.

Filipe Luis

Felipe Luis on the other flank of defence for Atletico Madrid

Brazilian full-back Filipe Luis joined Atletico Madrid in 2010 and spent 4 seasons with them before making a move to Chelsea for a season. His Chelsea stint was a forgettable one and he returned to Diego Simeone’s side a year later. Luis has been known as a tireless runner with brilliant tactical awareness. He made 333 appearances for Atletico across 8 seasons and with Juanfran on the other flank, the duo made formed the best defensive fullback partnership in Europe for many years.

Together, they won the La Liga in 2013-14 and have been runners up in the UEFA Champions League in the 2013-14 and the 2015-16 season. Their combined efforts have been immense and they have been integral in lifting Atletico from a mid-table team to one of the top sides in Europe in recent years. The biggest thing about both these players is that their immaculate consistency lasted for many seasons and helped the lesser-known Madrid side a fair bit.

Centre Backs

Diego Godin

Just like the fullbacks, the central defenders also have a connection to Atletico Madrid. This makes perfect sense as Diego Simeone's side has been one of the toughest sides to beat over the years due to extremely organised defensive setup.

Diego Godin joined Atletico Madrid from Villareal in 2010 and the rest is history. Over the years, he has built up a reputation as one of the grittiest, no-nonsense defenders on the planet. Godin, on his day, is a hard defender to beat for even the best of attackers. A defensive leader, he was the fulcrum of Atletico's defensive setup with the Uruguayan veteran calling the shots on the backline whenever required. He spent 9 seasons at Atletico making 387 appearances before joining Inter Milan this summer.

Toby Alderweireld

Alderweireld has played a huge role in the revival of Tottenham.

The other centre-back is Belgian international Toby Alderweireld. He came through the ranks of the famous Ajax youth academy in Amsterdam and began his senior career with them. Alderweireld moved to Atletico Madrid in 2013 and failed to make an impression in Spain. He spent the following season at Southampton on loan before joining London-based Tottenham Hotspur in 2015.

Ever since his move to Spurs he has developed into one of the most reliable defenders in England and has also grown into a key figure in the Belgian national team backline. Under the tutelage of Mauricio Pochettino, Alderweireld helped Spurs become of a formidable force in England once again.

Midfield

Miralem Pjanic

Pjanic has been an asset for all the teams he's played for

Miralem Pjanic landed in Italy in the year 2011 when he joined Roma after having spent the early years of his career in France with Metz and Lyon. The Bosnian was quick to win hearts in Rome with his exquisite technical qualities and ability to control the game from the midfield with the utmost ease. He spent 5 years in Rome before moving to country rivals Juventus in 2016.

At Juventus, he settled in pretty quickly and has also turned into a favourite in Turin. Fans affectionately call him "The Pianist" which signifies the impact he has on the Juventus midfield. He's good with freekicks and has a brilliant passing range and vision, and Pjanic on his day can cause opposition nightmares. He'll turn 30 next year and has a few years of brilliant football left ahead of him.

Arturo Vidal

Vidal's versatility is an asset that teams have utilised over the decade

Arturo Vidal is one of the most aggressive midfielders the world of football has witnessed in this decade. He joined Bayer Leverkusen in 2007 and spent 4 seasons before moving to Juventus. His performances in Turin earned him the nickname of "The Warrior". Bayern Munich wanted Vidal in 2011 when he joined Juventus and they got the opportunity to sign him in 2015 when Bastian Schweinsteiger left the club.

The Chilean left the Bavarian giants to sign for FC Barcelona in the summer of 2018. Vidal has played in the attack, midfield and defence for club and country through the course of his career. Most notably known as a box to box midfielder, he can play anywhere in the midfield and has also been fielded in central defence and as high as the position of a second striker. Few players as versatile as Vidal have embraced the beautiful game in recent years.

Thiago

The third player in midfield is Thiago Alcantara. Coming through the ranks of the famous La Masia academy in Barcelona, the player struggled to cement a place in the starting lineup at Camp Nou due to presence of Xavi and Andres Iniesta. When Pep Guardiola joined Bayern Munich in 2013, he picked Thiago as the player he wanted at Bayern and the club authorities granted him his wish. Though struck with injury problems in his initial days in Munich, the club had been very supportive of the Spaniard and have helped him get past that phase.

The midfield metronome has repaid the club's faith through his string of classy, consistent performances over the next few seasons. Bayern's game has become so dependent on Thiago over time that they do struggle on the ground without him at the heart of midfield dictating the tempo of the game. An immensely talented midfielder with exquisite passing range and ball control, the 28-year-old is contracted to the Munich club till June 30, 2021.

David Silva

The final player in midfield at the tip of the diamond is David Silva. The 33-year-old Spaniard started his career at Valencia and he spent 6 seasons at his boyhood club before moving out to Manchester City in 2010. He has been one of the key figures in the consistent trophy haul City have been notching up over the years. Till date, he has made 415 appearances scoring 74 goals and assisting 136 more during his time with the Cityzens. Silva has been part of a golden generation in Spanish football, winning the 2008 Euros, 2010 World Cup and 2012 Euros.

With his 35 goals in national colours, he is the 4th highest scorer ever for Spain. His 28 assists make him the 2nd highest assist provider ever for the Spanish national team. A talented and agile left-footed player, Silva is known for having excellent dribbling skills, outstanding technical ability and first touch, which, along with his intelligent attacking movements, allow him to create space for himself and teammates to open up defences and to retain possession in tight spaces.

Attack

Gonzalo Higuain

Higuain has been a one of kind striker in this decade.

Gonzalo Higuain has been one of the most consistent goalscorers in the current decade. He moved from River Plate to Real Madrid in 2007 where he scored 122 goals in 264 appearances for Los Blancos. He then moved on to Napoli and spent 3 seasons where he amassed 92 goals in 147 appearances. He completed a transfer to league rivals Juventus in 2016 and has been on and off ever since, struggling to find consistency.

He spent 6 months on loan at Milan last season followed by another 6 months at Chelsea. Primarily right footed, Higuain can score with either foot and is a very hard-working player on the pitch. His strong physique makes it difficult for opposition defenders to go into duels with him. His off the ball movement defines his intelligence and combined with pace, he's a deadly asset in counter-attacks and his playing style has drawn comparisons to compatriots Gabriel Batistuta and Hernan Crespo.

Karim Benzema

Benzema has given the Real Madrid attack an altogether different shape over the years.

The final player on the list is none other than Karim Benzema. Coming through the ranks of Olympique Lyon, the 32-year-old striker spent 5 seasons in France before joining Real Madrid in 2009. The 3-time French Player of the year has now become an icon in Madrid after staying at Spain's capital club now for over a decade. Over the years, his goalscoring form took a hit due to him sacrificing his position on the pitch to allow Cristiano Ronaldo to drift inside the box and do all the damage to the opposition.

With Ronaldo's departure, Benzema now gets to play more centrally and has been phenomenal. He's very creative, skilful, agile with a brilliant ability to score with either foot or head. His link-up play is amazing and often drops deep to collect the ball while pushing other men forward. A player with immense work rate and intelligence, Benzema has scored 238 goals and assisted 131 more in 488 appearances in a Real Madrid shirt so far.

Formation : 4-4-2 (diamond) : Patricio; Juanfran - Godin - Alderweireld - Filipe Luis; Thiago - Pjanic - Vidal - Silva; Higuain - Benzema.