Team of the Year 2021
As 2021 comes to a close, I felt it would be fun to create a team of the year, consisting of the best performing players of the year. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best 11 players of the year.
GK: Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern)
Look, there are many good shouts for the best GK of the year, but I still feel Neuer deserves it. True, he may not have been as good as he was in previous years, but he still put out top performance after top performance. Donnarumma was a big contender for the spot, but his lack of game time with PSG makes me hesitant to hand him this spot. Neuer still has most of the phenomenal ability he had in his younger years, despite being in the twilight of his career, and he fully deserves the title of best GK of 2021.
RB: Achraf Hakimi (Inter Milan/PSG)
This one was quite straight-forward. There were plenty of good RBs this year, from Prem Youngsters Reece James and TAA to La Liga stalwarts Carvajal and Trippier, but Hakimi was truly the best out of all the RBs. The Moroccan Right Wing-Back was simply phenomenal for Inter Milan, which earned him a massive move to PSG. In Paris, he has been a crucial player under Pochettino, who can count on the Moroccan to bombard up and down the wing to create and stop chances. He truly has been the right-back of 2021, and has a bright future ahead.
CB: Ruben Dias (Man City)
Dias has become one of the best CBS in the world this year, in one of the best teams in the world, Man City. When Dias signed for Man City, many thought he was overpriced and overrated. This year, however, Dias has silenced the haters with top-class, consistent performances at the heart of the City defence. He has been a leader at the back, and his chemistry with John Stones has helped to create the best Man City defence since Kompany left. All in all, the Portuguese centre-back can be proud of his work this year.
CB: Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea FC)
The left centre-back spot was hard to pick, but quite honestly Rudiger was a beast this year. Under the management of Tuchel, he became a monster at the back, and a massive set-piece threat as well. The German truly stepped up in 2021, becoming a Chelsea and German regular through his consistent and top quality performances. His hard tackles and dominance in the air made him a menace to the forwards of the Premier League, while his passing prowess made him a crucial part of Tuchel’s system. 2021 was certainly Rudiger’s best year of his footballing career, and hopefully 2022 can be even better.
LB: Joao Cancelo (Man City)/ Luke Shaw (Man United)
I really couldn’t pick one or the other, given both have been quite phenomenal this year. Shaw was exceptional till August, after which his performances dropped, but were still quite decent. Cancelo, on the other hand, had a mixed start to the year, before blossoming into a crucial part of Guardiola’s Man City this season. Both players constantly churned out attacking masterclasses, while also remaining solid at the back. Shaw finally turned into the player everyone thought he would be, and was great for Man United in the Prem, and for England in the Euros as well, even scoring England’s only goal in the final. His chemistry with Rashford on the wing and Maguire in defence was crucial to Man United’s second place finish in 20/21, while his partnership with Maguire played a big role in England’s Journey to the final. Cancelo, meanwhile, became a flying left-back for Pep, replacing the mostly average Zinchenko. His attacking play is simply marvellous to watch, and his stats have been mind-blowing. He has become a permanent fixture in this Man City side, and looks to remain so for the foreseeable future. To conclude, both Shaw and Cancelo were too good this year, which means they share the mantle of the best left-back of 2021.
CM: Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern)
Kimmich may have had a sour end to 2021, but he sure did have a great year overall. The young German midfielder evolved to a midfield maestro this year, as he became a vital cog of the Bayern Munich midfield. His replacement for the past few games, Corentin Tolisso, has shown exactly what Bayern gain from Kimmich when he is on the pitch. He is the best example of a box-to-box midfielder, with his defensive solidarity and chance creation crucial to this Bayern team. His role is somewhat similar to Pirlo’s during his time at Juve, but he roams much more forward than the Italian legend. Kimmich has been the crucial link between the Bayern defence and attack, which helped them to retain their Bundesliga title for the 20/21 season, while also create a solid lead in the title race this season. To conclude, Kimmich has been the best midfielder at Bayern this year, and potentially the best midfielder in the world this year.
CM: N’Golo Kante (Chelsea FC)
The reason I didn’t just say outright that Kimmich has been the best midfielder in the world this year is because of this man, N’Golo Kante. The Frenchman has had a superb year in 2021, winning the Champions League and Super Cup with Chelsea, and the Nations League with France. He has been a beast in midfield for both teams, covering almost the whole field when he plays. His defensive solidarity has been crucial for both Chelsea and France, enabling other players to play freely and contribute massively to the team, knowing Kante is there to block any counter-attacks. The Frenchman’s energy is matched by none, and he certainly deserves a place in the team.
LW: Mbappe (PSG)
This selection hurt a lot. I want to say Ronaldo, but honestly Mbappe was marginally better. For his age, the Frenchman is exceptionally good, and he has been quite phenomenal this year. The PSG youngster has been performing consistently for PSG and France since the 2018 World Cup, and this year too he has done well. While he missed out on Ligue 1 with PSG, he still continued to score goals on a consistent basis, while also improving the defensive and creative aspects of his game. The emergence of Erling Haaland seems to have pushed Mbappe to do as well, and this season he has been a crucial cog in this PSG team, to which he has contributed to 17 G/A. Like I mentioned in one of my articles, Hakimi and Mbappe are the only undroppables in the PSG team below 30, which says a lot given the quality of that squad. All in all, 2021 has certainly been one of Mbappe’s better years in his football career.
CAM: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
Regardless of what rival fans say, Bruno has been one of the best players this year. True, since October he hasn’t really played that well, but he still is a vital part of this Man United side. The Portuguese no.10 was great statistically and creatively for the Red Devils in 2021, contributing with goals, assists and leadership. His footballing brain is simply exceptional, and thinking where Man United would be without him is quite scary indeed. Fernandes is truly an ideal no.10, who is able to chip in with crucial goals when needed, but also create chances consistently and take risks. This season, he has had to step back as the star player after Ronaldo’s arrival, but he remains an important creative beacon for the Red Devils. While some of his performances have been far from impressive towards the end of 2021, rest assured that this is merely a rough patch, and the phenomenal Bruno we saw for the majority for 2021 will return soon in 2022.
RW: Messi (FC Barcelona/PSG)
How could I create a TOTY without including the Balon D’or winner in it? While I feel Lewandowski deserved the esteemed prize, Messi still was exceptional enough to win the prize. The Argentine may be approaching his twilight years, but he continued to put out top class performances this year. He scored plenty of goals and assisted many others to salvage Barca’s season (and pride) in 20/21, before tearfully departing for PSG. While his move hasn’t worked out exactly as planned, he still did well in the CL for the Parisians. 2021 has seen many great football players, and Messi is certainly one of the best out of them all.
ST: Robert Lewandowski (FC Bayern)
Who else could it be? I once again considered putting Ronaldo here, or Haaland, but the Polish striker has been to good to ignore. He scored 41 goals in 29 games in 20/21, before going on to score 19 in 17 this season. Those are exceptionally crazy numbers, considering his age. The Pole seems to age like fine wine, given that he’s scored NINETY-FOUR goals in 77 league games in the past 3 seasons. No other player has had such a marvellous and constant goal-scoring record, and Lewandowski deserves to be included in the team of this generation, forget only the team of this year. The striker continues to be a vital part of Bayern, despite Nagelsmann’s emphasis on wingers, which makes his renewed goal-scoring all the more impressive. All in all, Lewandowski has truly lived up to his nickname ‘LewanGOALski’ this year.
That’s all for the TOTY article, and I hoped you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Some honourable mentions are Reece James (Chelsea/RB), Ronaldo(Man United/Juventus/LW/ST), Haaland (Dortmund/ST), Barella (Inter/CM), KDB( Man City/CAM/CM), Gundogan (Man City/CM) and Salah (Liverpool/RW). Have a great new year, and till next time, adios!
