The year 2019 is about to come to an end, and people like to read lists on the internet, so how about we determine the best eleven men’s soccer players of the year 2019?
The criteria isn’t all that specific, just basically the people who I thought gave the best performances of the past year in men’s soccer. I lined up my fake team in a 4-3-3, with actual assignments for left back and right back. Why? Why not. It’s more fun that way.
We’ll have a poll at the bottom with a notable omission, and you can let me know what else I screwed up on Twitter.
Let’s get to the Best XI for 2019.
Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Oblak was very hard to leave off, but Becker’s ability to play the ball with his feet opened up everything that Liverpool wanted to do. Along with Van Djik, he was the final piece of the puzzle that resulted in Liverpool’s Champions League victory.
Left Back: Jordi Alba
Marcelo was definitely in for a shout here, and I looked at Liverpool’s Robertson, but Alba is consistently fantastic for Barcelona. When your left back is technical enough to play anywhere on the field, that’s a good problem to have.
Center Back: Virgil Van Dijk
Runner up for the Ballon D’Or, Van Dijk is everything you want in a center back. He’s so good that he doesn’t even need to tackle that often — the opponents know not to even go near him. He sucks the air out of opponents’ attacks, consistently. That’s so hard to do.
Center Back: Kalidou Koulibaly
There are a lot of fantastic CBs alive right now, but none may be more gifted than Koilibaly, the rock at the heart of the Napoli defense. With respect to De Ligt, Ramos, Chiellini, and others … I’m giving it to Koulibaly.
Right Back: Trent Alexander-Arnold
One Ballon D’Or voter said Trent AA was the best player in the world last year, which is a bit much, but I feel confident giving him the nod over Joshua Kimmich as the best right back this year.
Midfielder: N’Golo Kante
Kante has struggled with injuries at times, and last season had to learn a new position, essentially, on the fly, thanks to the coaching of Maurizio Sarri. But he’s still my platonic ideal for a midfielder. He covers more ground than anyone, he plays beautifully, and he makes everyone better. Plus, that smile. THAT SMILE.
Midfielder: Kevin De Bruyne
With apologies to his teammate Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne is the most talented attacking midfielder in the Premier League, someone who has every tool in the toolkit. He can dribble, he can pass, he can shoot, and he can do it all with both feet. A perfect soccer player.
Midfielder: Frenkie De Jong
De Jong is an interesting one because now that he’s with Barcelona, they’re asking him to do a lot less than he was doing at Ajax last season. But Ajax’s run last season was part of 2019, and he was absolutely sensational. In he goes.
Forward: Kylian Mbappe
This was a hard one to include, because Mbappe’s been injured at times and Sadio Mane has been absolutely unbelievable for Liverpool. That being said, when he’s healthy, I’m not sure there’s a more unstoppable player alive (not named Messi) than Mbappe.
Forward: Lionel Messi
Yeah, he’s still the best player in the world. Not really sure what else to say.
Striker: Robert Lewandowski
Lewa has been absolutely unreal this year for Bayern Munich, somehow improving on past seasons to be the best pure striker alive. Yes, I left off Cristiano Ronaldo. No, it wasn’t an accident. Lewa has been better, by a bit.
[opinary poll=”should-cristiano-ronaldo-be-in-the-best-” customer=”forthewin”]
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