Year in review: Best Football XI of 2013

Yet another explosive year of football has come to pass and we at Sportskeeda decided to pick a team that would be the best and beat the best! With all due respect to Franz Beckenbauer (Victor Moses? Really?), here are 2013′s best eleven players to form one epic team!

Goalkeeper – Manuel Neuer

18 clean sheets last season in the Bundesliga and he’s already halfway there this season. Neuer has been instrumental in Bayern’s treble in 2012/13 – the Bundesliga title, the DFB-Pokal cup and the UEFA Champions League. Not to mention the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup as well! The German goalkeeper has cut a lonely figure at times with teams unable to find a way past Bayern’s outfielders, but when called into action, he has been a wall between the sticks making crucial saves. Bayern lost only one league game last season, winning 25! And they are yet to lose in this campaign which is 16 games old, conceding just 8 times!

Right Back – Pablo Zabaleta

One of the Premier League’s most dependable Right Backs, Zabaleta has been a constant threat down the right flank for Manchester City. The Argentina international has played in more than 30 matches in 2013 and combined with the likes of Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, David Silva and Yaya Toure to help Manchester City finish second in the Premier League title race and secure automatic Champions League qualification. Last season, he totalled 18 key passes and 2 assists in the League. This season, he already has 14 key passes and 5 assists!

Centre Back – Thiago Silva

The 29-year-old Brazilian central defender was one of PSG’s biggest signings at £36m. Although he missed a couple of months of the title winning club campaign last year, he was the driving force behind Brazil’s Confederations Cup triumph. Wearing the captain’s armband, Silva marshalled his troops as they beat Japan, Mexico, Italy, Uruguay and favourites Spain to lift the trophy. This season, he has already won the Man of the Match award thrice in the League itself and helped PSG qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Centre Back – Dante

Another Brazilian defender makes the cut, again largely due to the tremendous success that came his way at Bayern Munich. In 2013, Bayern have only conceded 13 goals in League matches he has played! Bayern are yet to lose a League game this season (their only loss coming in the Champions League against Manchester City after already having qualified for the knockout stages). A powerful defender who is adept at tackling and winning aerial duels, it was his performances in the last season that led to an international call-up to play for Brazil.

Left Back – Philipp Lahm

Pep Guardiola named him “the most intelligent player” he had ever managed in his career. The Bayern captain also got his 100th cap for Germany in 2013 and “provided consistency, reliability and the highest standard in the national side” according to Germany coach Joachim Löw. The fact that he had 11 assists in the League last season and 3 this season, albeit in a new role under Pep, Lahm excelled in his position at Right Back in 2013 making 2 tackles per game and 2.5 interceptions a game. And how good is he in his central midfield role avatar? A 92% pass success rate might help judge him.

Central Midfield – Yaya Toure

One of Manchester City’s prime acquisitions has been one of their most consistent players on the pitch ever since his arrival. A towering behemoth in the midfield, Toure has bossed the centre of the park for City. From breaking up attacks to creating goal scoring chances to scoring them himself, the Ivorian has literally made his presence felt everywhere. He scored 7 goals in the League last season but already has 10 goals this season (only behind Luis Suarez and Sergio Aguero in the EPL). He has also developed a lethal conversion rate from free kicks outside the box this season.

Central Midfield - Bastian Schweinsteiger

Oh, look! Another player from Bayern Munich. Arguably one of the best central midfielders of this generation, Schweinsteiger has done it all for Bayern in 2013 – goals, assists, possession, interceptions and tackles. He has won the Man of the Match 4 times and with a pass success rate of 88%, he has almost run the Bayern midfield single handed. A key figure in the squad and the German setup, big things are expected of him in a World Cup year and there couldn’t be a better midfielder to shoulder the burden of linking attack and defence.

Left Attacking Midfield - Franck Ribéry

We hereby declare that we are not die hard fans of Bayern Munich. But this team cannot be complete without the current UEFA Player of the Year after beating Messi and Ronaldo. Oh, and he is short-listed for the Ballon d’Or award as well. 10 goals and 14 assists last season, 6 goals and 7 assists already this season. The midfielder is in the form of his life at the moment and seems virtually unstoppable on the flank.

Right Attacking Midfield – Cristiano Ronaldo

Goals, goals and more goals! No player has justified a high transfer fee as much as Cristiano Ronaldo has done in 2013. The 28-year-old has already scored 27 goals this season in 21 games in La Liga and Champions League. 9 goals in the Champions League group games alone – a new record! This comes after he scored 46 goals in the same two competitions last season! The Portuguese star has played in a variety of positions across the Real Madrid attack and is a top candidate for the Ballon d’Or. His hat-trick was also instrumental in toppling Sweden in a World Cup playoff to clinch a World Cup spot in Brazil for Portugal.

Forward – Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi has broken countless records at Barcelona, and it’s almost terrifying to imagine what more he can do in the next few years. He is only 26 years old after all. 46 goals last season which included a record-breaking run of 33 goals in 21 consecutive matches. That’s not just another level, but another dimension altogether! Although an injury stopped Barcelona’s Champions League run, it didn’t stop Barcelona from winning the League title with 100 points!

Striker – Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The striker with a combined transfer fee of close to £135m scored 33 goals and had 15 assists last season. A key figure in Paris Saint-Germain’s Ligue 1 title success, he too has justified PSG’s big spending. You buy quality, you get goals. Truckloads of them from every possible angle! Gravity defying, acrobatic shots on goal is an understatement when you describe his ability to find the net from any odd position – no matter where the ball reaches him. Be it his feet, waist or even his shoulder – he has managed to put it away and make commentators go wild. And this season? 23 goals in as many appearances is enough to start him up front!