Martin O'Neill (Republic of Ireland) – Gareth Bale, Gianluigi Buffon, N’golo Kante
The Republic of Ireland manager had quite a hipster pick for his top 3 players. While he like the Indian coach, Stephan Constantine, picked Gareth Bale as his number 1 pick, veteran Italian shot-stopper, Gianluigi Buffon and French star N’golo Kante also made the list.
Buffon along with Rui Patricio was arguably the best goalkeeper of 2016 and the legendary goalkeeper showed that he still has quite a few years left at the top level. N’golo Kante, meanwhile was the architect of Leicester City’s fairytale Premier League triumph.
Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez ran away with all the plaudits, but the player who was undroppable for Claudio Ranieri’s side was the unassuming French midfielder, Kante. The Chelsea star was the best midfielder of 2016 and it is only fitting that he found a place in atleast some managers’ lists.
However, while Buffon and Bale were undoubtedly brilliant last year, Messi and Ronaldo will feel slightly aggrieved that they did not make the top 3 of Martin O’Neill’s list.