Sportskeeda Football Awards 2016: Forward of the Year

We are nearing the end of 2016 and as the curtains draw on yet another scintillating year of football, we are left with a few tough choices to make, like selecting the Best Forward of the Year 2016. We at Sportskeeda undertook the arduous task of running through all the stats and came up with the list of 10 best forwards of the year to choose from, upon which a polling was done with fans voting for their favourite for the award.

You can throw the age old adage – “Offence Wins Games, Defence Wins Championships” – out of the window in the age of Messi and Ronaldo. Forwards, undeniably, have the biggest impact on games these days given the sheer amount of goals that they score and have the inherent threat to turn the game on its head with a moment of brilliance.

How our Readers voted

We sent out a poll for fans to vote for who they believed to have been the best forward this year. Apart from that, the in-house team had a discussion of its own on the same.

The one with the highest vote received 10 points and the one with the lowest got 1 point. The scores from Sportskeeda’s list and the Reader’s choice are then added together, with the total score being taken.

In the event of two players being tied, Sportskeeda’s ranking takes preference. Surprisingly, there is a lot of difference between what we have picked, and what you readers have chosen. After taking the total from both the readers and our in-house set of experts, we have come up with this list.

Honourable Mention: Sergio Aguero

When we put out the poll for our readers, we received many comments and messages that where is the ‘Kun’. Aguero, without a shadow of doubt, is one of the best strikers in world football as of now but when you take into account his statistics, his trophy count for the year and his overall impact on the game his club/national team played, then he falls just short of the 10 that made our shortlist.

Aguero, in fact, one of the names which involved the most debate and after much introspection we made the harsh call to drop him from the shortlist. Despite the plethora of goals that he scored, he failed to save Manchester City’s season as they finished 4^th in the league and also fired blanks for Argentina when they needed him the most – in the final. Aguero has also missed a lot of games recently due to bookings and suspensions, which doesn’t bode well for a striker.

#10 Alexis Sanchez (Reader’s Rank: 8, Sportskeeda’s Rank: 9)

Arsenal failed to stop Leicester City’s fairytale from coming true as the Foxes romped to their maiden Premier League title and a part of the reason for that was the injury that ruled out Alexis Sanchez for close to one and a half months, towards the end of 2015. The Chilean recovered from his hamstring and helped his club side finish 2^nd in the league.

He then inspired Chile to their second successive International triumph – Copa America Centenario – where they again got the better of Argentina in the final. El Nino Maravilla, as he is fondly called back home, has taken to the new role of a striker given to him by Arsene Wenger like a challenge and has carried the Gunners on his back on more occasions than one so far in this season. A testament to that is the fact that he is currently only behind Diego Costa in the Premier League goal-scoring charts.

Also Read: Sportskeeda Football Awards 2016: Goalkeeper of the Year

Ironically, he is the only player from the Premier League to make the cut, considered the best league in the world.

Legendary Italian forward and former team-mate of Alexis, Antonio di Natale had the following to say about the Chilean:

“Alexis is one of the most complete attackers in the world: he could play as a winger, as a striker, as an inside forward. He has always shown a hunger to get better, and he’s always been willing to sacrifice the sweat and tears to do so. I never got the sense that he was satisfied with what he achieved.” ~ Antonio di Natale

2016 Stats (for club and country – Games: 57, Goals: 27, Assists: 20)

#9 Neymar (Reader’s Rank: 9, Sportskeeda’s Rank: 8)

Many would wonder what Neymar is doing so far down on the list. But that is just further proof how tough the race for the top 10 has been this year. The Brazilian sensation has racked up an incredible 32 assists in the calendar year partly due to him partnering Messi and Suarez but let’s not take away the credit where it is due.

Neymar helped Barcelona lift the La Liga and the Copa del Rey before guiding Brazil to their maiden Olympic Gold medal – a feat even the great Pele failed to achieve in his long and illustrious career. The 24-year-old may have only featured at 9^th place on our list but in a few years from now it won’t be a surprise if he finishes in the top 3 – that’s how good he is.

Brazil and Barcelona legend Ronaldinho said the following about Neymar. Imagine if he actually lives up to these words!

“Without doubt, he is already my heir.” ~ Ronaldinho on Neymar

2016 Stats (for club and country – Games: 51, Goals: 25, Assists: 32)

#8 Gonzalo Higuain (Reader’s Rank: 10, Sportskeeda’s Rank: 7)

When Gonzalo Higuain failed to receive any votes in our reader’s poll, it baffled many of us here. For, here was a man who had broken the Serie A record for most goals scored in a single season* and had sealed a €90 million transfer to Juventus from another Serie A side, apart from playing – what can be termed – as a key role in Argentina’s march to the final of the Copa America Centenario.

Also Read: Sportskeeda Football Awards 2016: Defender of the Year

Agreed, Argentina failed to win the Copa America and Napoli also missed out on ending Juventus’ run of 5 consecutive Scudettos. But it was the first time – ever since the legendary Diego Maradona helped them win the Serie A in 1989-90 – that the Naples outfit had come this close to capturing it again. That effort, right there, is what makes him feature on the list above Neymar and Alexis, who enjoyed more domestic or international success.

Italian legend Luca Toni was so impressed by the exploits of Higuain that he even went as far as saying that the former Real Madrid man was better than Luis Suarez.

“He has done something exceptional, also because he has not even played all the games. Gonzalo is from another planet. For me, he is even stronger than Suarez.” ~ Luca Toni

2016 Stats (for club and country – Games: 55, Goals: 39, Assists: 5)

*Higuain broke the record for most goals scored in a single Serie A season with 20 teams, however, he equalled the record of Gino Rossetti for most goals scored in a single Serie A season with 32 teams.

#7 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Reader’s Rank: 6, Sportskeeda’s Rank: 10)

Aubameyang has set the Bundesliga on fire ever since switching from Saint Etienne to Borussia Dortmund. The lightning-quick striker took the goal-scoring burden upon himself in the absence of Marco Reus – who had an unfortunate year with a lot of injuries preventing him from having the impact he is capable of.

The Gabonese international racked up an incredible 33 goals and 10 assists in the calendar year for club and country, while helping the Signal Iduna Park outfit finish second in the Bundesliga – although Thomas Tuchel’s charges failed to usurp the magical Bayern Munich.

Also Read: Sportskeeda Football Awards 2016: Midfielder of the Year

With 16 goals to his name, Aubameyang is currently leading Bundesliga goalscoring charts and a big-money move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs is surely around the corner, which will help him add trophies to his tally, which for now, just features goals and assists. Although, he might opt to stay at Dortmund and help Tuchel put an end to Bayern Munich’s domination in Germany. Expect Aubameyang to finish higher up next year, unless something untoward happens.

Lothar Matthaus – arguably one of the greatest ever midfielders to grace the game – has been full of praise for the Dortmund hitman and has gone as far as to say that he would cost around €150m in today’s market.

“If a player like Pogba costs €105million, Dortmund would have to get €150m for Aubameyang. He is a player who makes the difference. Pogba does not.” ~ Lothar Matthaus

2016 Stats (for club and country – Games: 49, Goals: 33, Assists: 10)

#6 Antoine Griezmann (Reader’s Rank: 7, Sportskeeda’s Rank: 4)

For Antoine Griezmann this has been a cruel year but one that will surely increase his hunger for greatness for the rest of his footballing years. The Atletico Madrid superstar slumped at the final hurdle with his club side in the UEFA Champions League – as they once again lost to Real Madrid in the final of the tournament. A fate La Rojiblancos suffered against Los Blancos in the final of the same tournament in 2014/15.

After the heartbreak in Milan, it was the anguish at Stade de France as Griezmann witnessed Cristiano Ronaldo and company lift the Euro 2016 in front of a stadium packed with fans from the host nation – France. Griezmann was, without a doubt, the most outstanding player of the tournament and had almost single-handedly – at times – guided his team to the final of the tournament. He was awarded the Player of the Tournament and the Golden Boot for his exploits with his national team, which included six goals, while also featuring in the team of the tournament.

France legend and 1998 World Cup winner Bixente Lizarazu has even compared Griezmann to the legendary Zinedine Zidane.

"If I had to find a common point between Zinedine Zidane and Antoine Griezmann it would be their culture and their feel for the pass. These are two great creators of movement. They first think of others before thinking of themselves and that has a direct impact on the team. It sounds simple written that way, but it's much more complicated in practice.” ~ Bixente Lizarazu

2016 Stats (for club and country – Games: 68, Goals: 36, Assists: 15)

#5 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Reader’s Rank: 4, Sportskeeda’s Rank: 6)

Now, Zlatan might not agree with the rankings but that’s the way of the world that we are governed by. Let me remind you, Zlatan is not. Anyways, all jokes apart, the 35-year-old looks to be every inch as fit as any other 25-year-old out there and add to that the truck loads of goals that he scores – with the poise and finesse of a Ballerina.

Ibrahimovic has scored an astonishing 46 goals in this calendar year and has room to add to that tally before the end of the year. He helped PSG demolish every opponent in Ligue 1 and win the title as early as on 13^th March. Apart from that, he also played a starring role in their Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue triumphs this year.

If that was not testament to the mind-blowing year that Zlatan is having, he is single-handedly keeping his new side Manchester United in the hunt for a top four spot in the league table and it won’t be an outlandish claim if I say that he might end this season as the top-scorer in the Premier League.

"Ronaldo is a good player but he is certainly not the best. He deserved the Golden Ball award because his team won the Champions League and the Premier League. But, for me, Ibrahimovic is the best.” ~ Jose Mourinho in 2009

2016 Stats (for club and country – Games: 57, Goals: 49, Assists: 12)

#4 Robert Lewandowski (Reader’s Rank: 5, Sportskeeda’s Rank: 5)

Robert Lewandowski has had an incredible 2016. He has scored the most goals in the Bundesliga and comes only after Messi, Ronaldo and Suarez in calendar year stats for goals scored. The Polish had a rather dismal Euro 2016 but then again, he didn’t have much support from his team-mates.

Lewandowski helped Bayern Munich win the domestic treble of Bundesliga, DFB Pokal and the DFL-Supercup and has been their star man this season as continue their domination of Bundesliga. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Robert Lewandowski usurps Luis Suarez and the likes in 2017 and breaks into the top 3 next year.

“He is the most professional player I've ever coached. Football is in his mind 24 hours a day. He eats right, sleeps right, trains right, he is always on point, never hurt, because he focuses on these things.” ~ Pep Guardiola

2016 Stats (for club and country – Games: 62, Goals: 47, Assists: 7)

#3 Cristiano Ronaldo (Reader’s Rank: 1, Sportskeeda’s Rank: 3)

Cristiano Ronaldo coming in at #3 would definitely raise many eyebrows and some people may go as far as questioning our sanity. But we came up to this conclusion after hours of debate and after considering all facets of the game and his involvement in the triumphs of his club and country.

Yes, he won the Ballon d’Or after guiding Real Madrid to La Undecima and Portugal to their maiden European Championship triumph before capping off an excellent year with the Club World Cup win. But by sheer numbers the two players that finish above him, displace the Portuguese.

Hear our argument first. Ronaldo had an incredible year with his team but not so much individually – irrespective of the Ballon d’Or triumph. You can count on your hands the occasions on which he made the difference for his side in the Champions League and Euro 2016 winning campaigns of Real Madrid and Portugal respectively. Add to that the occasions and the opponents against whom he scored bulk of his goals and you would understand our reasoning behind this bold pick.

It is no denying that Ronaldo was among the 3 best players in the world but he was just not the best forward of 2016.

“There have been a few players described as the new George Best over the years, but this is the first time it’s been a compliment to me." ~ George Best

2016 Stats (for club and country – Games: 57, Goals: 55, Assists: 17)

#2 Luis Suarez (Reader’s Rank: 3, Sportskeeda’s Rank: 2)

Finishing above Cristiano Ronaldo in a best of the year list is something of an achievement in itself. Not many players in the last decade can claim to have done that, nor would many in the coming years.

El Pistolero came the closest that anyone has come to breaking the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly in the world of football and if it were not for his past demeanours he might have usurped the duo in the Ballon d’Or race. In fact, he became the first man since Diego Forlan in the 2008/09 season to win the Pichichi ahead of the magical duo – a momentous achievement in itself.

Suarez’s injury stopped Uruguay from progressing to the business end of Copa America Centenario but that again symbolises the sheer dependency that a national team full of world-class attackers have on the 29-year-old. If he can actually finish above the duo in the La Liga goalscoring charts in the near future remains to be seen but for now, he was the one who did what no one else had.

“He is the best out-and-out forward there is in the game today. He has so much to offer the team and it is a pleasure to play alongside him.” ~ Lionel Messi

2016 Stats (for club and country – Games: 57, Goals: 51, Assists: 31)

#1 Lionel Messi ((Reader’s Rank: 2, Sportskeeda’s Rank: 1)

And the winner of the SK Forward of the Year Award is …... Lionel Andres Messi.

Barcelona failed to repeat their historic 2014/15 season last year was partly due to the sporadic injuries that Messi suffered during the campaign. Messi’s impact on the Barcelona team is far greater than any player has or has had. The diminutive Argentine is their main goalscoring threat, while also being their creator in chief, while also dropping deep and pulling strings from deep if need be – as we have witnessed on a few occasions this season.

That was just Barcelona, moving on to Argentina. Under Messi’s guidance and captaincy, La Albiceleste have reached the final of three consecutive international tournaments – FIFA World Cup, Copa America and Copa America Centenario. Although they did fail to come out victors on each of the three occasions, it goes out only to prove that Messi is all but human.

He was their standout player in each of the three tournaments but he either failed to come up good when it mattered the most or was let down by his teammates – more of the latter.

Despite the failures and the heartbreaks, Messi lifted his 8^th La Liga with Barcelona this year, coupled with his fourth Copa del Rey and his 7^th Supercopa de Espana – not a bad year by any standards. Now add to that the 59 goals that he scored and the 32 assists that he gave during the course of the year and you will understand why Lionel Messi is SK Forward of the Year 2016.