Sportskeeda's Football Team of the Year 2015
As the sun set on an eventful 2015 calendar year, there were many incredible stories that came out from the footballing year. From Chelsea’s Premier League win to their incredible downfall; to Barcelona’s incredible trophy-laden year; to Leicester City’s stunning rise to the top of the Premier League table, it’s been an action-packed year.However, what makes football tick at it’s very heart is the player, and there have been many stunning individual performances this year, that have included some incredible displays of goal-scoring, defensive nous and even leadership, culminating in a year that has seen many long-standing record tumble.While football celebrates the individual with awards like the Ballon d’Or, it must be remembered that it’s a team game – and with that in mind we pick a team that had the best performers of the year in each position, to form a formidable force, albeit hypothetical.Without further ado, here is Sportskeeda’s Football Team of the Year.
#1 Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer
The man who has come to combine the sweeper and goalkeeper role into an unholy yet thrilling combination, is our pick for the goalkeeper spot. Manuel Neuer had stiff competition this year, as opposed to last year when he was unquestionable the best goalkeeper in the world. However, the German’s assured performances in goal this calendar year have meant that his club, Bayern Munich romped to a Bundesliga title while narrowly missing out in the Champions League and the DFB Pokal.
The German’s made a relatively high 53 saves this calendar year, with 23 clean sheets in 43 games, the highest of any goalkeeper this year. Neuer’s unquestionable skill was on full display in Bayern’s Champions League encounter against Arsenal on the 21st of October. The German pulled off a stunning point-blank save from a Theo Walcott header, that had many labeling it their ‘save of the season’, with the Arsenal striker even peeling away in celebration before being shocked to a standstill as Neuer clawed the ball away from goal.
It’s for that very reason that Neuer makes the cut; the German can take your breath away with his goalkeeping feats. While some other goalkeepers such as Samir Handanovic, Keylor Navas and Claudio Bravo have had a statistically more successful year in some aspects, Manuel Neuer still retains his crown as the #1 goalkeeper around, as he is the better keeper overall.
Neuer made the cut from a very tough pool of the Top 10 Goalkeepers of the Year.