XI of the decade - 2010s

Looks good and I don't disagree too much.

The only one I'd certainly have much higher is Roy Keane. Between him joining Manchester United and 2001 there were two league titles he didn't win. That was 1995 and 1998 and he missed a chunk of games in both. Then there is also the 1999 Champions League where he had his moments. But I understand the perception he's not the most sophisticated and silky midfielder around. For me he is in that group just behind Xavi and Modric. Roy Keane vs Italy in 1994 (0-1 win for Ireland at the World Cup).

I'd have Gerrard down as an attacking midfielder (also in his mindset).

edit: bottomline remains Pirlo is not a good fit for this decade, even more so with the league in a lull period. When he played in the Champions League he faced teams adopting a pressing tactic and struggled much more (in Serie A pressing was more of a rarity). In a similar way, Xavi is not a good fit for this decade too.

 

The coach of the decade

Pep says whether it's Madrid or the Arabic countries, he will always stand up for human rights. https://t.co/X8dEl4hT9p

— AS USA (@English_AS) October 18, 2019

 

Casillas was a train wreck after 2012 and I personally don't even think he was real madrids best goalkeeper of the 2010s
Van dijk has 1 CL title and 0 leagues in Europe's big 5 leagues
Probably that speaks to the defensive quality this decade

That a player who has essentially won nothing can make world team of the decade
There is a case for kroos over xavi this decade Purely because I think the latter has accumulated a greater body of work since 2010

Cristiano Ronaldo shouldnt be moved from his preferred position to accommodate anybody
His position on the left is uncontested
Messi can be on the right(as he was in 2014/15-arguably his prime)
Suarez is the most prolific league CF of the 2010s
He has also the most assists for a player his position
He has also two European golden shoes and league MVPs in England and Spain

I'm sorry but there is no way he doesn't get on this team.

 

Yes, you can argue Casemiro, Kroos and Modric over Busquets (a bit overrated imo), Xavi and Iniesta in this team.

I believe Neymar was a better player than Suarez, but without engineering the uruguayan would have a preference. Of course CR7 would have to be on the left.
The question would be Robben vs Suarez, since Messi was as good on the right or as CF.

Someone can argue Alves and Marcelo over the others too.

Neuer in, Casillas (overrated here) out.

I would put Chiellini alongside Ramos for now too. The other option would Thiago Silva.

 

For me, Busquets is an automatic choice. Nobody even comes close for that DM position, which I'd argue has been as iconic a position as any of this decade.

 

I disagree in terms of peak performance but at least someone is talking about dm position.

People have problem with ronaldo playing a striker to accommodate neymar, but the fact xavi is dm nobody mentions.

Dani alves is a must. No problem with van dijk because his peak is way above anythung any other cd managed to produce. Perfect player.

Casillas is a joke. Neuer in.
Cech. De Gea. Ter Stegen. Oblak. Courtois... so many great gks above Casillas.

 

As I said in this thread I would always pick players who were good in both halves of the decade, but to think Van Dijk was only good for two years is also too simplistic and isn't backed up by WhoScored and some more things (if you look back at it he had good games vs Barcelona, Inter in 2016 previously). Or that all the dismal defeats of Oranje came without him on the field, and the world record fee doesn't come out of nowhere (and he isn't Brazilian or English, which comes with a marketable bonus)

 

Always be a bit careful with models like this (100% predictive power is unrealistic) but saw this today on who has the biggest (indirect) attacking contribution. Who contributes to the goals scored.

Helping your team is firstly getting on the pitch & then doing good things while you're there. He's who's been doing that for #LFC & look set to continue for a good few years yet. Based on @InfogolApp non shot #xG Cream rising to the top of the plot. pic.twitter.com/y2LCpsxOIl

— mark taylor (@MarkTaylor0) January 2, 2020

"It’s nice to note that Southampton’s “player of the match” under this system in their November 2017 meeting with Liverpool was none other than Virgil van Dijk. "
https://www.infogol.net/en/blog/analysis/non-shot-xg-player-rating-system

 

https://www.squawka.com/en/features...ominance-decade?amp&__twitter_impression=true


Eden Hazard possibly a bit overlooked here?

 

He is not overlooked. He just plays the same position as Ronaldo, and that position is not up for debate. Same problem for Neymar or for Robben playing in the Messi's position. They get honorable mentions.

 

I did not overlook him. It is possible to argue his 2018 tournament performance was the best of all players this decade in the way he was great in (at least) five games and also against the best teams. At the same time, his Champions League exploits are somewhat sub-par for a player of his caliber and 'natural' talent. I'd give that third spot to Robben (or Suarez).

 

I don't think it's possible to argue he was better as James Rodriguez 14
Knocked out in the QF and was still the golden boot winner with a negligible amount of penalties(for Colombia -not a 'stacked team'by any stretch of definition)

Hazard 18 is becoming overrated it seems with every passing day
Nobody called jay jay ocha 94 with 15 dribbles against Italy (a defensive juggernaut )a historic performance

Why is 10 completed dribbles against Brazil 18 more impressive?
Have the standards of great international performances dropped so low


Fact is hazards relatively low end product for a free scoring Belgium NT prevents his 18 tournament from being considered as anything more than good

I think he belongs to the ibrahimovic tier which is a rung below that of robben,luis suarez and neymar Jr

 

Maybe becausef xavi has already been proven as a world class DM in FC Barcelonas's 2005/06 champions league title winning season

CR's prime was either as a left midfielder in the noughties
Or a left wing forward in the 10s
There are no other (worthy)candidates for this position

There are only 2-3 positions that aren't up for debate IMO
The obvious two and most probably Manuel neur between the sticks

XavI is a cross generational player
and 2009 is very crucial to his legacy
His prime almost directly coincides with Messi and Ronaldo despite being much older
That's why his position is contentious and subject to some maneuvering

Even if kroos and modric have a greater body of work the best of xavi is still a level above and beyond any midfielder this decade

'Big game performances' use to be a thing that posters used to inflate certain players legacies
Xavi has more great major final performances this decade than those two combined
Manchester United 2011
Italy 2012

 

Interesting statistic I read the other day left me scratching my head
Sergio ramos has been voted 9 times in the fifa team of the year during the 2010s
But only made la liga team of the season once during that time period

 

Definitely can't have him ahead of CR7 and he has got some HMs but when I see the formation tweaked to make room for a fourth attacker, it seems Neymar is the automatic choice on the left side. Has Neymar's decade been better than Hazard's?

 

In the CL he has certainly underwhelmed or not participated enough. If Messi & Cristiano play in their best positions then Suarez is the leading choice, ahead of Lewandowski, Ibra, Cavani and Aguero. If Messi moves to False-9 then surely Robben is the automatic choice on the right. What if CR7 is this team's number 9, how does Hazard compare with Ribery and Neymar

 

The comparison is only legit in certain seasons wherein neymar hadn't yet peaked as in 2014/15

Whoscored gave them a very comparable score and till this day 14/15 remains hazards highest rated campaign at league and champions league


Neymar then took it up a level
(Outside of Messi and CR) Only suarez and robben reached this level
The former in Oct-Dec 2013
the latter in 09/10 and the first half of 14/15

These are the 5 outstanding attackers of the last 10 years
And in all honesty perhaps the last 20 years also

 

Yes. Neymar is as good as ball carrier as Hazard plus he has way more assists and goals, and still perhaps worked harder on the defense than the belgian in his Barcelona time.

Neymar not as focal point of his team (Barcelona) 0.91 Non-PK Goals + Assists per 90 ==> 1.23 Non-PK Goals + Assists per 90 minutes for PSG.
Champions League 1.07 NPK Goals + Assists per 90 minutes.
https://fbref.com/en/players/69384e5d/Neymar
https://fbref.com/en/players/a39bb753/Eden-Hazard
https://www.optasportspro.com/news-analysis/blog-identifying-progressive-ball-carriers/

 

@carlito86 that's a good point, numbers are definitely in Neymar's favour. With that said, I see their roles as being subtley different and Hazard spent a good chunk of the decade playing for managers that preferred to keep things tight at the back before unleashing their attacker's potential. Chelsea was also not among the super teams in Hazard's time whereas Barca and PSG most definitely were.

@Tropeiro technically Neymar is just as good a dribbler for sure, but across the whole decade Hazard showed it more and even with less assists was a more constant threat moving forward (dribbles, being fouled, passes into final third). A more penetrative player, granted Neymar himself is no slouch in that regard.

https://www.theroar.com.au/2019/08/12/hazard-was-the-closest-thing-to-messi-the-epl-will-ever-see/

 

Neymar is in Europe since 2013/2014, Hazard's numbers are from 2010 till now, so he has advantage in total numbers.

IMO Hazard just match Neymar's performance in dribbles and being fouled. Neymar produces twice the number of assists and Non-PK Goals than Hazard. Even in that match Brazil vs Belgium in 2018, Neymar (not fit) probably generated more danger than the Belgian (xA + xG). Neymar is better creator and reach better goalscoring positions than Hazard too.

Statsbombs about passes into final third is in Passing, Club Collapsed here: https://fbref.com/en/players/a39bb753/Eden-Hazard https://fbref.com/en/players/69384e5d/Neymar
Neymar has more passes into the final third, into the PA and through balls too than Hazard per 90 minutes.

 

I think G+A numbers can be explained
1. Role/Position - Neymar is a wing forward, Hazard is a wide playmaker (Ribery, Figo etc). How often do either of them lose the ball f.e.
2. Strength of team - PSG and especially Barcelona were just so much better than the Chelsea Hazard played for. In terms of head to head (Mata, Willian, Pedro together can't equal Messi, and Costa, Giroud are steps below Suarez, Mbappe, Cavani. This without talking of Iniesta, Xavi, Rakitic, Verratti, Di Maria, Alves, Alba). There is a wide gap in the creative and finishing capabilities of both support casts which surely would affect the goals and assist numbers. Then with respect to how much better they are than their league competitors. It's remarkable that Hazard won two league titles as Chelsea were not favourites either time.
3. Style of play - it's quite something that literally every manager in Hazard's Chelsea tenure save Sarri (21G+15A) had a safety first approach. We've seen what Hazard can do under Sarri and Rudi Garcia.

Any one of these reasons can explain the difference in their outputs, but Hazard has to overcome all three, and IMO he has for the most part.

 

I am very surprised at the low importance that Casillas is given by some of us in this forum. I cannot be blamed for lack of objectivity because I am a fan of Barcelona, but thanks to Iker Casillas, Real Madrid and the Spanish team have been able to achieve important titles. Spain has been the origin of great goalkeepers throughout history, but in recent decades, without a doubt, Casillas has been the best. From Gea? With all due respect, it is (even in its best years) much inferior. Believe me that in the national team we long for the times when Casillas defended the goal of the Spanish team.
However, it is true that if we refer to the merits accumulated throughout the decade, Neuer, Buffon and Courtois, they would clearly be above Casillas.

 

No, imo he hasn't.

Neymar's direct participation in Barcelona and PSG goals are superior to Hazard's direct participation in Chelsea goals or now with Real Madrid, plus he is as good as Hazard in progress the ball with either passes or dribbling, also Neymar is more involved in build plays than Hazard.
In fact Neymar in league is involved in 1.32 expected goals with his possesions vs Hazard's 0.70 (xG Chain). 1.32 is very close than the 1.36 of Messi.
Neymar is also more consistent than Hazard.

But well... let's see now Hazard in La Liga. For now, I would say that on form Neymar is better than Hazard, just more dangerous and objective player. In fact even Pulisic was disputing Hazard xA+xG. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/chelseas-slump-wont-necessarily-be-fixed-by-more-attackers/

PD: Neymar loses the ball more often than Hazard (around X+1.5), but he also complete more dribbles and is more fouled per 90 minutes than Hazard (around X+1.5 as well). Just as good as progressing the ball with his dribbles tho.