Sportskeeda's 10 Best Forwards of the Year 2015

With the year drawing to a close, it’s time to start handing out a few awards for the footballers who have managed to hit all the right notes over the course of the past 12 months.What better position to fawn over than the striker. The year has been kind to fans of the beautiful game of late with plenty of goal-scoring records getting broken as well as the fact that we’ve seen our fair share of absolute golazos, but the tricky part comes in attempting to single out a select few performers for praise.Entertainment and spectacle have met us at every turn of the calendar pages and many a thrilling moment has become emblazoned on our minds, but exactly who have the stand-out forwards of the year been? And why are they deserving of our recognition?Looking at the calendar year 2015, we have shortlisted 10 of the best forwards this year. The players appear in no particular order.Who is your pick? Remember to vote in the poll at the end of the article.

#11 Honourable Mentions

Higuain, Giroud and Hernandez narrowly missed out on the top ten, despite each having stellar calendar years

Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli) : Amongst the top goalscorers across Europe’s best leagues, Gonzalo Higuain has earned the right to be considered one of the most fearsome attackers around after a series of fine individual performances for his club SSC Napoli. In total, the Argentine has accrued as many as 27 Serie A goals this year, and one would be hard pushed to find a better finisher in that league than him.

Olivier Giroud (Arsenal) : It seems not a week goes by without Arsenal being linked to one world-class forward or another, but what people often fail to realise is that the Gunners already have one amongst their ranks and his name is Olivier Giroud. In 2015, he managed to rattle the net 19 times in the league and, as reported by @afcstuff on Twitter, he is the highest-scoring Frenchman of the year.

Javier Hernandez (Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen) : The player nicknamed “Chicharito” was rarely given a chance at Old Trafford in the latter years of his Manchester United career, but ever since he snagged a move to the Bundesliga’s Bayer Leverkusen, he has really come into his own. Since joining the German club in 2015, he has picked up 19 goals, with 17 of those arriving in his most recent 14 matches. Had the move materialised sooner, he might have made the cut.

#10 Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

Despite being plagued by injury, Aguero has still had a high-scoring year

Injury and Sergio Aguero seem to have a pretty fractious relationship at the best of times, which is a real shame not only for the player himself, but also for the wider football community. As outlined by Opta, he has not completed 90 minutes more often than he has which has really taken the edge off his ability at times.

Nevertheless, the truth is that the Manchester City magician has been one of the most celebrated strikers in world football for the last number of years, and it has been easy to see why as he’s treated us all to some fantastic consistency season after season.

After all, despite missing quite a few matches in 2015 through two very disruptive injury-plagued spells, the 27-year-old has managed to keep pace with the Premier League’s top scorers because he has really shone spectacularly when given the opportunities.

His five-goal rout of Newcastle United was a masterclass in how to play as a complete forward and his 19 league goals in this calendar year is no fluke.

#9 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St. Germain)

Ibrahimovic lifted multiple individual awards this year

It’s not often that Zlatan Ibrahimovic pales in comparison to those around him. A first-class talent who just loves to out-shine his competitors, the Sweden international has always been one of the most eye-catching talents around.

While people are often drawn to him due to his unbelievably brilliant quotes and witty ripostes, he’s also pretty nifty with the ball at his feet, to be frank. Indeed, the towering Swede has scored the most amount of Ligue 1 goals in 2015 with an astonishing 26 goals in 27 matches, per Opta.

Rising above his team-mate Edinson Cavani, he has also outscored Michy Batshuayi and Alexandre Lacazette.

Not only this but Zlatan also been pretty prolific on the international stage as he’s scored some really important goals to help the Blagult qualify for France 2016 in style.

#8 Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur)

Kane consistent goal-scoring exploits have silenced those who labelled him a ‘one-season’ wonder

Nobody has scored more Premier League goals than Harry Kane has this year. It’s as simple as that. In a league that currently accommodates the likes of Diego Costa, Radamel Falcao, Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero, it’s Tottenham Hotspur’s young starlet who has managed to come out on top.

It wasn’t that long ago when Kane was a real nobody in the world of football. He began to make a name for himself and now he’s quickly proving that his whirlwind introduction to top-flight football hasn’t been a mere flash in the pan at all.

Now, as recorded by Squawka, he has 27 league goals to his name this year, which is the best-ever from a Tottenham player, and is continuing to earn the praise of his peers and team-mates with increasing ease.

No longer is he the young upstart he once was, stealing other people’s limelight because he is the star of his own show and it’s up to the rest to steal his crown, not the other way around.

#7 Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

Jamie Vardy cemented his place in the history books with a 11 gme scoring streak

It’s been a year to remember for Jamie Vardy as he has become one of the best strikers to grace the Premier League stage in the past 12 months. Sure, Olivier Giroud and Sergio Aguero are also both locked on 19 league strikes but it is the Leicester City man who will arguably be most remembered when spectators reflect back on 2015.

He might be only second in the running for most EPL goals scored in the calendar year, but he has done a whole lot more besides.

Beating Ruud van Nistlerooy’s now defunct record of having pocketed the most amount of consecutive EPL strikes, his 11-goal streak is something to savour, as it will be for a long time to come. Not only that, but he’s arguably feasted on such a phenomenal conversion rate in a team more widely rated as underdogs than most.

His ability to evolve to fit into the needs and wants of the collective team marks him out as an astonishing player and he’s one who’s truly deserving of all the recognition he’s been earning so far. Can he keep it going and fire the Foxes to silverware?

#6 Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Lewandowski’s goal-scoring exploits led Bayern to the Bundesliga this year

Between Bayern Munich and Poland, Robert Lewandowski has banged in as many as 49 goals this year.

His form for his country was just as pivotal as his productivity at club level because he played an absolutely vital role in helping to guide the Poles to Euro 2016 in France, beating out the Republic of Ireland for second spot in qualifying.

At one point, the 27-year-old had bagged as many as 15 goals in six matches, setting the record for the fastest-ever Bundesliga hat-trick as well as becoming the first player to pocket five strikes in a single Bundesliga match.

Bayern Central’s Juan Pablo Gonzalez points out that he’s not just a clinical finisher; he’s also pretty nifty with the ball at his feet, too: ‘I like the fact that Lewandowski is so good off the ball, he will often create spaces for his teammates to score, even if he does not actively participate in the preceding play.’

Indeed, this plays into the notion that he is one of the most complete attackers around because after all, he has the second-most amount of goals and assists in the German top-flight in 2015 with a combined total of 28.

#5 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund)

The high-flying Gabonese striker has been the scourge of many a Bundesliga defence this year

Has there ever been a better player to hail from the tiny African republic of Gabon than Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang? If there has, weve not heard of him.

The 26-year-old has been tearing the Bundesliga up throughout 2015 with his goals and overall incisive play, something best highlighted by the fact he has become the leagues player with the highest combined total of strikes and assists, leading with 36.

Not only this, but the Borussia Dortmund dynamo has converted more clear-cut chances than any other player in Europes top five leagues, as relayed by WhoScored. Out-scoring the likes of Ronaldo and Messi in this niche department, he really has been the most assured striker of the year, even if he hasnt bagged the most goals overall.

An incredibly gifted, and creative marksman Aubameyang has been a delight to watch. Neutrals everywhere will hope he continues at pace.

#4 Neymar Jr. (Barcelona)

Neymar has emerged from Messi’s shadow this year to legitimately become a star in his own right

Emerging from the rather large shadow cast by the diminutive Lionel Messi might seem like an impossible task to accomplish, but thats precisely what Neymar has managed to do in 2015.

The talented Barcelona striker, who normally operates to the left of Luis Suarez, has transformed from being one of the best young players in the world to being one of the best in the world period. His goal tally for his club stands at 41 for the year, while he also managed to squeeze in another four while he was on international duty as well.

All in all, its been a pretty productive period for the Blaugrana man and his positive development has earned him the chance to win his first-ever Ballon dOr award. While he faces stiff competition from Ronaldo and Messi, the Brazilian should feel confident of his chances.

Time after time, he has wowed audiences with some mind-bending displays of skill, but he has effectively married that strength with a mature cutting-edge to make him a veritable goal-scoring machine.

#3 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

The Portuguese star continued to break goal-scoring records this year

Some might say he’s hit a bit of a slump, but when one looks at the statistics, its sort of difficult to argue against why Cristiano Ronaldo is still one of the best attackers in the modern game.

In 2015, nobody in Europe’s top five leagues have netted more league goals than the Real Madrid star. With 35 to his name (per Squawka), he stands alone at the top of the charts and can rightly claim to be the player with the best return around, in one of the best leagues, too.

His stats stack up rather impressively in his favour compared with the rest of the game’s offensive maestros. It hasn’t all been happy reading as there has actually been a decline in his game from last season to this current one, but as for the calendar year, he remains the highest-scoring forward.

With the Portugal international turning 31 in February, it will be interesting to see how much longer he can continue to muscle his way into the Ballon d’Or shortlist, but given his uber-competitive mentality and incredible industry, he’ll certainly not give up on the prospect.

#2 Luis Suarez (Barcelona)

Luis Suarez lifted his first Champions League trophy with Barcelona this year

When Luis Suarez joined Barcelona from Liverpool after the 2014 World Cup, he couldn’t get stuck into the action immediately due to the fact he was serving a suspension, but when he was finally able to sink his teeth into the appetizing action once again, he was proving his critics wrong left, right and centre; with some superhuman shifts and generally god-like goals.

Carrying that momentum into 2015 saw him flourish fantastically alongside his partners in goal-plundering and his jaw-dropping return of 46 goals for the reigning treble-winners has seen him cement his place as one of the games most iconic forwards.

With pace, audacity and some sort of general telepathy all coming natural to him on the field, there has been no stopping the Uruguay international this year and he has even done his best to steer clear of too much controversy.

A genuinely brilliant goal-scorer who has found his groove.

#1 Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Messi is now one of the most decorated players in the history of football

Widely tipped to win his fifth Ballon d’Or in the New Year, it has been yet another outstanding year for the pint-sized Barcelona star.

Between club and country fixtures, Lionel Messi has slotted home 51 goals, and while he might be slightly behind Ronaldo when it comes to that particular statistic, he has actually directly contributed to more goals (77) compared to his fierce rival’s 73.

An unselfish player who has worked tirelessly to make his partnership with Luis Suarez and Neymar Jr. move from strength to strength, he has continued to evolve for the benefit of his teams needs.

His dribbling skills and outlandish ability to make a mockery of pretty much any defence he wants to means he will always be a great player to watch, and he has proven his capacity to ignore the temptation to rest on his laurels with a near perfect 2015.

Will 2016 prove as positive for him? Were banking on it.