Most under-rated XI of the decade

Fullbacks

Juanfran

Juanfran during his Atletico Madrid days

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

Diego Godin led the Atletico backline for many many seasons

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.