10 December 2019 Forster (Celtic) Wan-Bissaka (Man United) Smalling (AS Roma) Bensebaini (Gladbach) Messi (Barcelona) Luis Alberto (Lazio) Julian Brandt (Dortmund) Son (Spurs) Memphis (Lyon) Vardy (Leicester City) Joaquín (Betis) .... and Smalling is in now. The back-up goalkeeper of AS Roma is mentioned too. Smalling, who now in an Italian setting looks a better player and defender (is a better player?) as what he was at United. Joaquin scored the first hat-trick of his career at the age of 38 and became immediately the oldest player in history to score a hat-trick in the Primera Division. Wan-Bissaka can at times give a raw impression but one-on-one he is very strong and Sterling couldn't do much against him (compare this to TAA). Spoiler (Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content) Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler On twitter I saw one funny exchange "If you dream about football, then you dream about Messi [in this match]. Almost every ball, almost every pass, almost every first touch, almost every dribble perfect. The purity of his game is intimidating. And then it all looks so simple. As if he is walking his dog." "This is really a weird reaction to a football tweet. You may think that I am in the Lower House because, like the other Öztürk, I have a strange name. It is also difficult to keep the pieces apart. In essence you are right: housing shortage is more significant than Messi."
16 december 2019 Ramsdale (Bournemouth Fernandinho (Man City) Vertonghen (Tottenham) Rekik (Hertha BSC) De Bruyne (Man City) Fleck (Sheffield) Soler (Valencia) Coutinho (Bayern) Mbappe (PSG) Lewandowski (Bayern) Ronaldo (Juventus)
De Bruyne was colossal vs Arsenal. One of the best individual performances so far this season in Europe.
23 december 2019 Henderson (Sheffield United) Ruben Aguilar (Monaco) Gomez (Liverpool) Czichos (Koln) Willian (Chelsea) De Bruyne (Man City) Odegaard (Real Sociedad) Pellegrini (AS Roma) Mbappe (PSG) Lukaku (Internazionale) Ilicic (Atalanta) It is said at this rate Mbappe can reach 900 career goals, if he stays healthy and free of injuries, maintains the blistering pace he has now. He is in a good position to win every trophy there is to win before he turns twenty-two years old. Lukaku had an impressive goal this weekend, and Gomez impressed as well, especially compared to the semi final game vs Monterrey. Gomez was possibly the best performer in the final (they think) and of course the players around him help. Ilicic is in for the fourth time over the past two seasons. Someone who can go under the radar because his performances have come almost exclusively at Serie A level rather than international level for club or country.
Illicic is magic. A supremely gifted player but struggled for consistency. Might not be a good fit for a big club but he has found his place at a mid-size club like Atalanta and for that I am glad. Awesome to watch. Hope Atalanta's fairy-tale run in the UCL continues past Lyon.
Team of the year 2019 Allison (Liverpool) Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) Van Dijk (Liverpool) Robertson (Liverpool) Messi (Barcelona) De Bruyne (Man City) Bernardo Silva (Man City) De Jong (Ajax/Barcelona) Mbappe (PSG) Lewandowski (Bayern) Mane (Liverpool) A few snippets of what is said/written: There was doubt and discussion about the merits of Onana, Oblak, Ter Stegen or Allison. The last one goes narrowly ahead of Oblak because of his performances with club and country alike. Best goalkeeper of the low countries this year was Mark Flekken (of #8 Freiburg, two points behind European football). Kimmich has his supporters and things he does better, but when TAA has a bit of space he can place the ball almost everywhere and his weaknesses are accounted for. He is coached well by his team mates and coaches. "He is schooled as a midfielder and then talked with Lijnders, the first assistant of Klopp, about 'is that right-back position something for you, that is where you can become top of the world, as midfielder not yet or only on the long term'". The left-back is (as in many years) not the most stacked position. "Bernardo Silva especially likes it to play against Liverpool and he kept Sane on the bench". De Jong: wins possession the 2nd most often of all Barcelona players but might do a bit more with goals and assists. But the focus is on not losing the ball, be available for a pass, "that team mates can deliver the ball to him so they have a breather". "But also in his best periods at Ajax he didn't stand out with goals and assists, he stood out with that Kante, Griezmann and others couldn't get a grip on him. [...] At Ajax and Oranje he has some of the functions Busquets has." "300 million for Mbappe is too cheap, rationally". Honorable mention for Haland, Werner.
20 January 2020 (link - "Wijnaldum is a better, smarter, polyvalent and more important player than glorified Henderson" ) Schwolow (Freiburg) Holgate (Everton) Fernandez (Newcastle) Van Dijk (Liverpool) Wijnaldum (Liverpool) Cherki (Lyon) Casemiro (Real Madrid) Thiago (Bayern) Haaland (Dortmund) Immobile (Lazio) Ronaldo (Juventus) 27 January 2020 (link) Sommer (Gladbach) Subotic (Union Berlin) Hummels (Dortmund) Davies (Bayern) Jones (Liverpool) Havertz (Leverkusen) Kondogbia (Valencia) Zielinski (Napoli) Sancho (Dortmund) Ilicic (Atalanta) Neymar (PSG)
I think it's helped by there was no Premier League football and some of the bigger teams didn't play well, dropped points or lost their game (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Lazio, Inter, RB Leipzig, Marseille among others; Man City going out in the FA Cup vs ManUnited). Yesterday there was the replay (I see The Independent gave him a 9 for the replay, for what's worth). https://www.independent.co.uk/sport...rned-fa-cup-replay-curtis-jones-a9317816.html The commentary for Curtis Jones in the video is: "Yes he also caught the eye with his play in the 3rd round and now in the 4th round again. Curtis Jones, Liverpool, an 18 years old boy from that city. Against Everton he scored a great goal and now 2-2 against Shrewbury Town. Third division of England. [... some talk about Liverpool will use youth players in defense for the replay...] He soon turns 19. This is a boy if he develops that killer instinct of Mane or Salah it becomes an interesting player because he has something peculiar [that can not be fully put into words]. Is orientated towards the goal, good dose of self-confidence and makes for the second consecutive time the difference. Nice to see that belief in himself. Okay it was against Shrewbury Town but I'd like to see him in the Premier League and then towards the end of the season among the other first choice players. Thus the first team, Mane out and him at this place, or on midfield somewhere. Makes a good impression." It shouldn't be taken very literal but let's see when he pops up for a 2nd time (Camavinga for example is still selected only once, even F. de Jong).
For last week they had this (finished hearing it now) 4 February 2020 Pentke (Hoffenheim) Suarez (Getafe) Egan (Sheffield) De Ligt (Juventus) Henderson (Liverpool) Thiago (Bayern) Valverde (Real Madrid) Neymar (PSG) Dolberg (Nice) Haaland (Dortmund) Immobile (Lazio) Must be said De Ligt is a borderline inclusion (instead of Tarkowski). The quality of Haaland his goals are underwhelming so far, but you can't deny the numbers. Valverde again convinced for Real Madrid vs Atletico, also next to Kroos (subbed out at half time) and Modric (who isn't the youngest). Immobile has a fitting last name, and is addicted to Playstation. Henderson might be the 'captain' of the year, and if Liverpool finishes with 112 points it doesn't make much sense to single one player out ("give it to the entire XI if they end up with 112 points"), but there are doubts about putting him in the company of Mane and the rest. Looking at the Daily Telegraph and Twitter, it seems they're not alone in this opinion. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/02/05/20-best-players-premier-league-january-2020/ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/01/08/20-best-players-premier-league-december-2019/ https://twitter.com/search?q=mane henderson season&src=typed_query&f=live https://twitter.com/search?q=dijk henderson season&src=typed_query&f=live https://twitter.com/search?q=wijnaldum henderson season&src=typed_query&f=live https://twitter.com/search?q=salah henderson season&src=typed_query&f=live
I saw later GdS had him as joint man of the match with Dragowski, so incredibly bizarre it is not either to take him as the token guy. He's also placed in here. Anyway, now they go over the top a bit. The guy behind the camera mentions this is the first time four compatriots are in (though one of them plays for Morocco). 10 February 2020 Mandanda (Marseille) Corona (Porto) De Vrij (Inter) Sinkgraven (Leverkusen) Isco (Real Madrid) Schouten (Bologna) Amrabat (Verona) Kostic (Frankfurt) Messi (Barcelona) Molina (Getafe) Quaison (Mainz) For Corona this move is recalled: De Vrij also received an 8/10 by Gazzetta, the highest of the game, and is in here. The national team coach was watching the game in the stadium. Amrabat a 7.5 by Gazzetta I see (against Juventus) and Schouten a 7 vs Roma (2nd highest behind Barrow with 8/10) Close to be in was Upamecano of RB Leipzig, De Jong of Barcelona (Messi with two free kick assists) and also Musa Barrow of Bologna. Isco man of the match & Zidane (+ staff) rotates between 15 players and keeps them all sharp and motivated.
18 February 2020 (link) Ter Stegen (Barcelona - 4th time) Hakimi (Dortmund - 4) Chiellini (Juventus - 5) Saka (Arsenal - 1) Ferran Torres (Valencia - 2) Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio - 3) Kakuta (Amiens - 1) Grealish (Aston Villa - 3) Thuram (Mönchengladbach - 2) Weghorst (Wolfsburg - 2) Gnabry (Bayern - 3)
This was last week 24 February 2020 (link) Ugurcan Cakir (Trabzonspor - 1st inclusion) Jack Stephens (Southampton - 1) James Tarkowski (Burnley - 6) Marquinhos (PSG - 1) Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea - 1) Bruno Fernandes (Man United - 3) Nkunku (Leipzig - 3) Dani Ceballos (Arsenal - 3) Messi (Barcelona - 23) Jhon Córdoba (Köln - 1) Diogo Jota (Wolves - 2)
OK, I'll take a pause now. 2 March 2020 Rajkovic (Reims - 1st inclusion) Doherty (Wolves - 3) Tarkowski (Burnley - 7) Gaya (Valencia - 2) Foden (Man City - 2) Kimmich (Bayern - 9) Luis Alberto (Lazio - 3 Sarr (Wolves - 1) Benedetto (Marseille - 1) Zapata (Atalanta - 3) Vinicius (Real Madrid - 1)
At this point, Kimmich is one of the very best right backs in the world and also one of the very best central midfielders often playing better than Thiago alongside.
Made yesterday a good impression to me, especially going forward, much less so without ball or the ball near to him. https://www.espn.com/soccer/liverpo...wler-begins-liverpools-fa-cup-exit-at-chelsea https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/51727601
9 March 2020 Henderson (Sheffield - 2nd inclusion) Wan-Bissaka (Manchester United - 4) Bonucci (Juventus - 4) Tapsoba (Leverkusen - 1) Fekir (Betis - 3) Vlap (Anderlecht - 1) Gilmour (Chelsea - 1) Van Aanholt (Crystal Palace - 6) Havertz (Leverkusen - 5) Dybala (Juventus - 9) Saint-Maximin (Newcastle - 1) A few Italian papers gave an equally high or higher grade to MDL for the match vs Inter, but VI prefers Bonucci. Lukaku was often seeking out Bonucci and he didn't have a great amount of success this time. Furthermore, Bonucci didn't have too many inclusions yet.
Because I'm crazy I have now updated the list. Again, it shouldn't be taken too literal and because there is an arguable bias for Dutch players (and more broadly Benelux as well) I have listed those separately. Foreign players: Messi - 23 Ronaldo - 12 Mbappe - 11 Dybala - 9 Kimmich - 9 Lewandowski - 8 Thiago Alcantara - 8 Donnarumma - 7 Neymar - 7 Salah - 7 Sancho - 7 Son Heung-min - 7 Tarkowski - 7 Coutinho - 6 Oblak - 6 Pogba - 6 Immobile - 6 B. Silva - 6 Reus - 6 Alexis Sanchez - 6 Werner - 6 Aguero - 5 Aspas - 5 Cavani - 5 Chiellini - 5 Di Maria - 5 Eriksen - 5 Fabinho - 5 Godin - 5 Havertz - 5 Ilicic - 5 Kante - 5 Kane - 5 Naby Keita - 5 Koscielny - 5 Koulibaly - 5 Maguire - 5 Keylor Navas - 5 Quagliarella - 5 D. Silva - 5 Tarkowski - 5 Vardy - 5 Jordi Alba - 4 Bonucci - 4 Brandt - 4 O. Dembele - 4 Benzema - 4 Dele Alli - 4 Demirbay - 4 Fernandinho - 4 De Gea - 4 Hakimi - 4 Icardi - 4 Kruse - 4 Mahrez - 4 Benjamin Mendy - 4 Nicolas Pepe - 4 Odegaard - 4 Robertson - 4 Rodri - 4 Ter Stegen - 4 Thauvin - 4 Wan-Bissaka - 4 Marcos Alonso - 3 Aubameyang - 3 Arnautovic - 3 Buffon - 3 Ceballos - 3 Cech - 3 Diego Costa - 3 Matt Doherty - 3 Bruno Fernandes - 3 Federico Fernandez - 3 Fekir - 3 Gagliardini - 3 Gnabry - 3 Joe Gomez - 3 Grealish - 3 Griezmann - 3 Haaland - 3 Handanovic - 3 Heaton - 3 Higuain - 3 Ibrahimovic - 3 Isco - 3 James Rodriguez - 3 Jonas - 3 Kondogbia - 3 Lafont - 3 Luis Alberto - 3 David Luiz - 3 Mane - 3 Ferland Mendy - 3 Milik - 3 Milinkovic-Savic - 3 Modeste - 3 Modric - 3 Moutinho - 3 Neuer - 3 Ndombele - 3 Nkunku - 3 Orban - 3 Ozil - 3 Plea - 3 Rico - 3 Fabian Ruiz - 3 Sane - 3 Simeone - 3 Sterling - 3 Luis Suarez - 3 Torreira - 3 Vestergaard - 3 Duvan Zapata - 3 Felipe Anderson - 2 Bale - 2 Banega - 2 Bartra - 2 Cahill - 2 Caligiuri - 2 Cancelo - 2 Casemiro - 2 Christensen - 2 Coady - 2 Coman - 2 Dahoud - 2 Charlie Daniels - 2 Chilwell - 2 Cook - 2 Curtis Davies - 2 Debuchy - 2 Deulofeu - 2 Dubravka - 2 Embolo - 2 Falcao - 2 Joao Felix - 2 Ferran Torres - 2 Filipe Luis - 2 Finnbogason - 2 Roberto Firmino - 2 Foden - 2 Fraser - 2 Jose Gaya - 2 Guardado - 2 Gervinho - 2 Jose Gimenez - 2 Alvaro Gonzalez - 2 Guedes - 2 Raphael Guerreiro - 2 Gueye - 2 Gundogan - 2 Dean Henderson - 2 Lucas Hernandez - 2 Ander Herrera - 2 Holebas - 2 Mason Holgate - 2 Hradecky - 2 Illarramendi - 2 Gabriel Jesus - 2 Joaquin - 2 Jony - 2 Diogo Jota - 2 Kabak - 2 Michael Keane - 2 Kehrer - 2 Koke - 2 Kostic - 2 Kramaric - 2 Lascelles - 2 Lemar - 2 Leno - 2 Lo Celso - 2 Matic - 2 Thomas Muller - 2 Nubel - 2 Ondoa - 2 Otamendi - 2 Parejo - 2 Thomas Partey - 2 Pavlenka - 2 Lorenzo Pellegrini - 2 Ricardo Pereira - 2 Ayoze Perez - 2 Piatek - 2 Pickford - 2 Pique - 2 Piszczek - 2 Sergio Ramos - 2 Rashford - 2 Reguilon - 2 Ribery - 2 Rice - 2 Roussillon - 2 Sabitzer - 2 Salisu - 2 Alex Sandro - 2 Sarabia - 2 Schmeichel - 2 Sensi - 2 Shelvey - 2 Sidibe - 2 Sigurdsson - 2 Skriniar - 2 Carlos Soler - 2 Sommer - 2 Sorrentino - 2 Stuani - 2 Sule - 2 Damian Suarez - 2 Szczesny - 2 Terry - 2 Thuram - 2 Torunarigha - 2 Cengiz Under - 2 Uth - 2 Fede Valverde - 2 Willian - 2 Benelux players: De Bruyne - 13 Van Dijk - 10 Memphis - 10 Wijnaldum - 9 Robben - 8 Dost - 7 Van Aanholt - 6 E. Hazard - 6 Mertens - 6 Lukaku - 5 De Vrij - 5 Promes - 4 Ake - 3 Carrasco - 3 M. Dembele - 3 Kompany - 3 De Ligt - 3 Nainggolan - 3 Witsel - 3 Alderweireld - 2 Nordin Amrabat - 2 (Morocco) Blind - 2 El Ghazi - 2 T. Hazard - 2 Kongolo - 2 Meunier - 2 Pieters - 2 Strootman - 2 Van Drongelen - 2 Vermaelen - 2 Weghorst - 2 Sofyan Amrabat - 1 (Morocco) Babel - 1 Boeckx - 1 Brenet - 1 Casteels - 1 Chadli - 1 Cillessen - 1 Clasie - 1 De Guzman - 1 F. de Jong - 1 Defour - 1 Dijks - 1 Dilrosun - 1 Fer - 1 Flekken - 1 Fosu Mensah - 1 Gouweleeuw - 1 Krul - 1 Lukebakio - 1 Pröpper - 1 Rekik - 1 Schouten - 1 Sinkgraven - 1 Sneijder - 1 Stekelenburg - 1 Tete - 1 Tielemans - 1 Van der Hoorn - 1 Van la Parra - 1 Van Persie - 1 Vertonghen - 1 Vlap - 1 Vorm - 1 Vormer - 1 Vossen - 1 Willems - 1 Zeegelaar - 1 ------------------------------- De Jong vs De Ligt is an interesting one so far. My impression is that De Ligt has been fairly good and consistent in the Champions League (Juventus' 'real' target now) rather than the league. Only four goals against in the group stage is good. His games against Atletico, Leverkusen and Lyon (1-0 loss, but the best rated Juventus player on the pitch by Italian sources) were very good - this VI exercise is though mostly geared towards the weekend action rather than Champions League. Sometimes he was on the bench for a few games but then Sarri lined him up again for the Champions League. It is at times almost as if the domestic football is used as training ground (placed on the unfamiliar left-sided place in many games, and then Bonucci as partner instead of Chiellini). Ronaldo revived again as well when the CL action was looming, after starting the season very slow. In the league MDL was particularly poor against Napoli (his very first game), Lazio, and against Sassaulo with howler. Against challenger Inter, just before the lockdown, he was very good and reliable again. All in all it's a bit puzzling (F. de Jong especially good in the 2nd half in the first Real Madrid game, against Valencia, Dortmund and Sevilla I'd say; also red carded in one) but each to his own. Let's see how this develops.
22 June 2020 Alisson Becker (Liverpool) Jules Koundé (Sevilla) Mats Hummels (Dortmund) Lewis Dunk (Brighton) Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton) Sofyan Amrabat (Hellas Verona) Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) Christian Eriksen (Inter) Duván Zapata (Atalanta) Lewandowski (Bayern) Goncalo Guedes (Valencia) 29 June 2020 (link) Krul (Norwich) De Vrij (Internazionale) De Ligt (Juventus) Günter (Freiburg) Marcos Llorente (Atlético) Casemiro (Real Madrid) Thomas Müller (Bayern) Franck Ribéry (Fiorentina) Luis Muriel (Atalanta) Kramaric (Hoffenheim) Breel Embolo (Gladbach) 4 July 2020 Aitor Fernández (Levante) Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) Michael Keane (Everton) Ashley Young (Inter) Papu Gomez (Atalanta) Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) Phil Foden (Manchester City) Tomas Soucek (West Ham United) Takefusa Kubo (Real Mallorca) Paulo Dybala (Juventus) Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle United) 7 July 2020 (link) Emiliano Martinez (Arsenal) Cuadrado (Juventus) Jack Stephens (Southampton) David Alaba (Bayern Munchen) Marcos Llorente (Atlético Madrid) Jerdy Schouten (Bologna) Franck Késsie (AC Milan) Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) Mason Greenwood (Manchester United) Griezmann (FC Barcelona) Ferdi Kadioglu (Fenerbahce) ------------ Sorry for not noting how often they're included so far. Takes too much time. Sergio Ramos with a rare selection here... Dybala, Griezmann and Lewandowski not so rare.
13 July 2020 (link) Nick Pope (Burnley) Hans Hateboer (Atalanta) Gerard Piqué (Barcelona) Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli) Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers) Sofyan Amrabat (Hellas) Alejandro Gómez (Atalanta) Ever Banega (Sevilla) Michail Antonio (West Ham United) Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) Son Heung-min (Spurs) 20 July 2020 (link) Hugo Lloris (Tottenham) Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) David Luiz (Arsenal) Theo Hernandez (AC Milan) Kovacic (Chelsea) Locatelli (Sassuolo) Riqui Puig (Barcelona) Rice (West Ham) Quagliarella (Sampdoria) Kane (Tottenham) Rossi (Los Angeles FC) 27 July 2020 (link) Donnarumma (AC Milan) Fofana (Saint-Etienne) Van Dijk (Liverpool) Hysaj (Napoli) Kulusevski (Parma) De Bruyne (Manchester City) Rodrigo de Paul (Udinese) Mount (Chelsea) Immobile (Lazio) Lukaku (Inter) Aubameyang (Arsenal) Team of the season (two alternative teams) Thibaut Courtois - Hugo Lloris Virgil van Dijk - Trent-Alexander Arnold Sergio Ramos - Virgil van Dijk Alphonso Davies - David Alaba Lionel Messi - De Bruyne Papu Gomez - Bruno Fernandes Joshua Kimmich - Kimmich Kevin De Bruyne - Gosens Karim Benzema - Lionel Messi Robert Lewandowski - Luis Muriel Ciro Immobile - Jadon Sancho (with a large supply of alternatives, didn't watch the 1.5 hour video to which also the article refers) The left hand row is made by the editor who normally compiles and notes these selections (if he's not away). The right hand row is made by his 'boss'.
[QUOTE="PuckVanHeel, post: 38912823, member: Team of the season (two alternative teams) Thibaut Courtois - Hugo Lloris Virgil van Dijk - Trent-Alexander Arnold Sergio Ramos - Virgil van Dijk Alphonso Davies - David Alaba Lionel Messi - De Bruyne Papu Gomez - Bruno Fernandes Joshua Kimmich - Kimmich Kevin De Bruyne - Gosens Karim Benzema - Lionel Messi Robert Lewandowski - Luis Muriel Ciro Immobile - Jadon Sancho (with a large supply of alternatives, didn't watch the 1.5 hour video to which also the article refers) The left hand row is made by the editor who normally compiles and notes these selections (if he's not away). The right hand row is made by his 'boss'.[/QUOTE] Lloris? Wow. Not sure he’d be Spurs fans’ choice as the best goalkeeper at the club this season given Gazzaniga’s performances, let alone Europe. Has some great games and too many poor ones at the moment
I have seen that part now about the keepers. Spoiler (Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content) Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler What is said: of 1000 people he's probably the only one to have Lloris on goal. But he has put a few options in the mix, where statistics show a surprising thing. Lloris (21 league games, 29 in total), on average, saves apparently a high number of goals per metrics as XG and also XG2. "Despite injuries he stands on top with goals prevented - on average. In 21 league games he has give or take prevented 11 goals." Now it's also said this is a standard feature for a Mourinho team, the same happened with David de Gea, and to a lesser extent Jan Oblak for Atletico. "If you have 20 players in the sixteen then the chance looks higher, or lower, than it is in reality." "He did make some blunders and howlers right? They have forgotten to enter this at the statistics agency perhaps." "I understand the story and if I'm not mistaken there is also a keeper of Levante that comes close [gets confirmed]. Yes, okay [laughs]. I think over more than 20 matches this statistical level is impossible to keep up. But yes in principle it is a good goalkeeper that would be a good one for every national team. Two reasons: maybe a period he picks up everything, that happens in life and second it can also be he prospers in matches without public. Because it's striking how some players are more noticeable without public." "He received the compliments from Mourinho when he started to barrack his team-mates in matches without public, that he showed he is the 'winner' [said with some irony] Mourinho is looking for." Courtois is recognized as a more conventional choice. He gets the nod over other shouts as Allison (missed part of the season) and final stages protagonist Neuer who as a shot stopper is evidently not at his best after his injury and had also some gaffes and scenes where he overplayed himself. Maybe there's a slight bias at play here but they aren't the only ones to select Courtois, from what I've seen.
Thank you. I can understand that better now. I think it's between Courtois and Neuer for the best of the season.