Best of the decade

Whilst this is a column that has dipped into a variety of different sports and events through my reasonably short time as columnist, I think it would be silly to act as though football hasn’t been a preferred choice of topic on more than one occasion.

I love sport but I really love football. As this will be the last the decade has to offer in the way of Voice of Sport columns, I thought I’d end with my opinion on the best XI the 2010s gave us the pleasure of watching. I hope your teams have all had great times and success and I hope the new period brings even more.

s In goal, there were a few names to choose from. It is with distorted facial gestures that I move past Iker Casillas when looking for someone to stand in the net for the best team of the decade. The man captained Spain to a World Cup and European Championship victory in 2010 and 2012 respectively whilst also winning the League, Cup, Champions League and Uefa Super Cup. Casillas being unceremoniously dumped by Real Madrid was one of the lowest points for the Spanish giants and not befitting of the true champion he was for them. For me, however, a player who redefines his position in a way that others now refer to the role by his name shows the incredible impact he has had.

s Manuel Neuer was named the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistic) for four years in a row between 2013 and 2016 as well as having a very similar honours list to that of Casillas, less one European Championships but up six league titles. In 2010, the sweeper-keeper, goalkeeper or quarterback was mostly assumed by boys in the playground who did not want to play in goal. Yet now at the end of the decade it is almost a requirement, that’s why Manuel gets the nod.

Whilst the attacking fullback was not something new to the game in 2010, especially when the decade before gave us Roberto Carlos, it is definitely apparent that their role and abilities have adapted over the last 10 years. Jordi Alba, who was a massive part of Barcelona’s attempts to redefine the fullback during the decade, can consider himself extremely unfortunate to not get a look in on the team. For me, there were three clear choices: Marcelo Vieira, Dani Alves and Phillip Lahm.

The problem is I was only allowed two. A decade winning trophies everywhere he went, forming partnerships with the world’s best attackers and treating us to technical displays that put him up there with the very best of Brazilian fullbacks, means that Dani Alves was the first to get the nod.

s Whilst Vieira was named in just about every team of the year of the last decade, I always prefer the thinker to the flair. Phillip Lahm was named by Pep Guardiola as the most intelligent player he had ever worked with and when you consider who that beats, there isn’t much higher praise than that.

s It seems as though all of the defensive positions went under some attacking revamp. For better or for worse, the importance of a centre back that is comfortable with the ball at his feet skyrocketed; sometimes in place of players who were more naturally talented in the art of defending. For these positions again, it seems unfair that Gerard Pique would be left out after everything he has done for Barcelona in this period. As it is, the Real Madrid pairing Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane are the ones who get the shirts. World Cup winners and a Champions League winning combination, Ramos’ attacking threat is well known as he scores at the same rate many strikers would be proud of. Varane’s class makes him a Rolls Royce of a defender.

My team would play a 4-3-3 and as I’m getting further up the pitch it is becoming easier and easier to pick my players. Xavi, Toni Kroos, David Silva are more honourable mentions in the midfield three and potentially had Xavi spent more time during this decade at the top of the game, I would have had a real headache.

s Sergio Busquets would take up a holding role in the team. When you are the lynchpin of one of the greatest teams club football has seen and maintain that level of performance over a whole decade it would be impossible to leave him out. In my opinion, behind Messi and Ronaldo, the next best player the decade has to offer and when it comes to renaming roles is Busquets. In front of him is Andres Iniesta, a man who made the la croqueta famous and a player of the most immense technical ability when it came to passing and dribbling. You would have to put all 10 players around him just to stop him. The only other player to break up the Ballon D’or dominance of Messi and Ronaldo is Luka Modric, a true genius.

s Finally and potentially the easiest front three that would ever have been picked in any decade are Messi, Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski. Messi has scored 50 goals in nine of the 10 calendar years this decade, including a year where he bagged a mind-boggling 91 goals. To put that in perspective, he scored on average a competitive goal every four days for a whole year. Teams only play a competitive game every nine days on average. Ronaldo has broken records left, right and centre including smashing records in the Champions League. Even at 34, he is pushing his body and only last week scored a goal where he met the ball at 8 feet 5 inches off the floor. Incredible! Finally, Lewandowski has epitomised the great front man. He can score every type of goal and is absolutely lethal in his prowess. He gave us five goals in nine minutes during this decade in a game he had come in to when his team were losing.

Whether you agree or disagree, here’s to another 10 years of the finest the beautiful game has to offer!