5 glaring omissions from the FIFPRO World XI shortlist
On Monday, FIFA announced its 23-man shortlist for the much-awaited FIFPRO World XI. In an attempt to resemble a standard football team squad, the shortlist has been trimmed significantly, bringing the number down from 55 to 23. While most popular figures have made the cut, some deserving candidates have been surprisingly left out.
These five players on our list today were firing on all cylinders in the 2020-21 campaign but were still ignored by footballers during voting. Here are the five players who deserved to be on the FIFPRO World XI this year:
#5 Joshua Kimmich - Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich is arguably the most versatile player in Europe. The German can not only slot into any defensive or offensive position, but he also tends to own that position.
The defensive midfielder has played as a right-back, a central midfielder, a deep-lying playmaker, and even a winger. Kimmich’s knack for dictating play from the middle of the park helps Bayern dominate proceedings. It was on full display over the last campaign.
After the game against Mainz, Joshua Kimmich sent Musiala a WhatsApp text: "Great game!". Musiala speaks regularly with Kimmich and gets tips on the right ways to act on the pitch. The 18-year old impressed in midfield through his intelligence & defensive attitude [@SPORTBILD] https://t.co/NHMQ90rLWm
Kimmich’s aggression, leadership skills and sense of positioning allowed Bayern to shift from defense to attack in a heartbeat, often catching the opposition off-guard. Despite missing quite a few matches with a knee injury last season, the 26-year-old put up impressive numbers on the board for the Bundesliga holders.
Kimmich scored four goals and provided ten assists in the Bundesliga, netted once and assisted four times in the Champions League for Bayern.
#4 Marcos Llorente - Atletico Madrid
Last season, Atletico Madrid left Real Madrid and Barcelona in the dust to cruise to the La Liga title. They played a surprisingly expansive brand of football and made full use of the talented players at their disposal.
Former Real Madrid man Marcos Llorente was the star of the show at Atletico Madrid last season. The natural central-midfielder adjusted his positioning time and again over the course of the campaign to lead Atletico Madrid to important victories.
The Spaniard utilized his pace well, made excellent use of his game-reading skills, and popped up with decisive goals and assists every now and then.
Marcos Llorente is a managers dream. He’s so incessant, amazing engine, tactically brilliant and technically secure.
Over the course of the 2020-21 La Liga campaign, Marcos Llorente featured in 37 games for Atletico. He was deployed as a second striker, a central midfielder, a right midfielder, and even an attacking midfielder.
Proving himself in all the aforementioned positions, Llorente bagged 12 goals and provided 11 assists in La Liga last season.