As 2016 comes to a close, The Sports Lowdown brings its weekly feature of footballers who have risen to the occasion in the calendar year. After a year filled with high drama, intense action, successes and failures in the biggest and best competitions in the sport, this is the definitive list that singles out the 25 best footballers on the planet this year.
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20. Andres Iniesta
“Iniesta’s the most inventive player in Spanish football at the moment. He’s like Harry Potter. One, two, three and whoosh… he’s past the player. It’s like he has a magic wand.” — FC Barcelona manager, Luis Enrique
Few midfielders in the world are as good as Barcelona’s number 6. Despite having an injury spell (that’s still ongoing) towards the end of the year, the Spaniard managed to impress whenever he did play and spurred the Catalan side to a second successive La Liga and Copa del Rey honour. He played the entire 120 minutes of the Copa del Rey final at the Vicente Calderon against Sevilla and was voted as the man of the match after a superb performance in a 2-0 win.
For his national side, he helped Spain reach the Last 16 of the European Championships in France and was a key cog in the midfield demonstrating his talents on the highest stage. He controlled the tempo of every group game he played, and despite registering just one assist, it was his control and composure that did the talking. The Barcelona captain had a fine year and would be higher up on this list had it not been for his horror injury. A Ballon d’Or nomination as well as a spot on FIFA’s Best Player of the Year award justifies that and he will be hoping for a more positive record in 2017.
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19. David de Gea
“He is the number one in the world. In England you know that, but in the rest of the world they think they have better goalkeepers, but I don’t think so. When we win titles or trophies I think he will be more recognised.” – David de Gea’s Manchester United and Spain team-mate, Ander Herrera
Where would Manchester United be without David de Gea? Another stunning year with some immense performances in the Red Devils’ goal that was rewarded with an FA Cup success after overcoming Crystal Palace in the final at Wembley. He played a crucial role that afternoon, making a signature save with his legs in extra-time while United were down to 10 men, before Jesse Lingard stole the show six minutes before the end. He was also voted as the club’s Fans Player of the Year for the third successive season, beating the likes of Chris Smalling and Anthony Martial to the award.
In Spanish red, the goalkeeper finally took away the starting spot from long-standing captain and stalwart Iker Casillas for the European Championships and successive World Cup Qualifiers, forcing the ex-Real Madrid captain into international retirement. A key fixture from that tournament was in the last 16 where de Gea pulled off a few fine saves, despite being part of the losing side. Arguably, the best goalkeeper in the world, de Gea is an important figure for both club and country, and one would argue that his best years are still ahead of him.
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18. Diego Costa
“Diego Costa is world class. The best thing I can say, if other supporters love you then that’s not a good sign! But he’s a real warrior on the pitch and he uses his body all the time. That’s a quality and what you need to know.” – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
This addition would have been so much more different if Chelsea were the same side they were a year ago. Beleaguered, bothered and uninterested, Diego Costa seemed a lost man as Chelsea’s faltering defence of the league title last season under Jose Mourinho put Costa’s Blues future in doubt. But, the revival, led by Guus Hiddink and new manager Antonio Conte has seen a streak of impressive form from the Brazilian-born Spanish international.
He’s had an impressive start to the Premier League season, scoring 9 times in 11 games, including 5 goals in his first 5 league games that puts him ahead of Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero and Chelsea team-mate Eden Hazard as Chelsea look to work their way back into the running for the Premier League title. He’s also earned his spot in the Spanish national team after being omitted from the European Championships roster by ex-manager Vicente del Bosque. He rewarded the faith put in him by scoring twice against Liechtenstein in September and once past Albania in October. A brilliant revival which includes some brilliant goals sees Costa earn the 18th spot on this list.
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17. Thomas Muller
“Muller is a very unorthodox player and you can’t really predict his lines of running, but he has one aim and that is ‘how can I score a goal?” – Germany National Team boss Joachim Low
Thomas Muller isn’t exactly well-renowned for his mazy dribbles or silky footwork, in fact, it’s his determination and tireless running that sets him apart from the others. Despite a relatively poor European Championships campaign where he failed to score, Muller had another impressive year domestically where he managed to win the Bundesliga and the DFB Pokal with Bayern Munich once again.
Some of his key stats include 20 league goals in 31 Bundesliga games – his best-ever tally in the German top-flight, as well as eight goals in the UEFA Champions League, including the winner against Juventus in a thrilling Round-of-16 tie. He did miss a crucial penalty against Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the competition, but that shouldn’t take away the gloss off a splendid year with the Bavarian giants. He added a further accolade to his year with a win against Borussia Dortmund in the DFL-Supercup, where he scored in a 2-0 win to earn new manager Carlo Ancelotti his first German trophy.
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16. Mesut Ozil
“He has grown into a great player as he has added commitment, leadership qualities and responsibility – I’m very pleased with his development.” – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Mesut Ozil nearly made history in 2016 with his astonishing tally of assists in the Premier League. 19 in total over the course of the 2015-16 season was one short of Thierry Henry’s record, set in 2003, but it was still a remarkable year for the German playmaker. Voted as Arsenal’s Player of the Season for his exploits, he carried his form into the 2016-17 season where he managed to bring in more goals to credit his ever-present attributes and scored his first ever career hat-trick against Ludogorets Razgrad in the UEFA Champions League.
He also had an impressive European Championships campaign with Germany where he scored once in the quarter-finals against Italy and put on a masterclass in midfield in the group stages against Northern Ireland where he completed 99% of his passes, as well as create six chances in a man-of-the-match display. Trophies eluded the German’s wonderful year, and if Arsenal are to finally win the Premier League this season after 13 years, then Ozil will be the heart of the team, pulling the strings.
For More: PLAYERS 25 TO 21
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