Spotlight | The La Liga season is in the history books! So time to look at their top performers. Unsurprisingly with a large participation of the sovereign champions Real Madrid.
Tor: Alex Remiro (Royal Society): With 19 clean sheets, Real Sociedad’s keeper secured the Ricardo Zamora Trophy. His 0.9 goals conceded per game are only bettered by Thibaut Courtois and Bono (0.8 each). With Real Sociedad he also reached sixth place and the Europa League.
Defense: Ronald Araújo (FC Barcelona): One of the faces of Barcelona’s resurgence under Xavi. Consistently one of the most solid in a season that started far from stable defensively for the Catalans. Also when he was used by Xavi as a right-back. One of those games was the Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu, when he even crowned his performance with a goal of his own.
Defence: David Alaba (Real Madrid): Before the season, not only took over the position of a certain Sergio Ramos, but also his number 4. The jersey was by no means heavy. Alaba immediately grew into the role as Real Madrid’s new defensive boss, forming an extremely solid duo with Éder Militão. The fact that the royals don’t play as extremely high with the last row as FC Bayern did under Hansi Flick also clearly benefits Alaba. Made his debut in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain and his debut goal at the Camp Nou Madridistas popular. 31 goals conceded is also the second best tally in the league, just behind Sevilla FC (30).
Abwehr: Jules Koundé (FC Sevilla): Before the season, Sevilla FC managed to keep Koundé at the club despite advances from Europe’s elite. His 0.7 completed dribbles per 90 minutes are among the highest in Europe, as is the 1.16 shot-producing actions per 90 minutes. That means the Frenchman was particularly impressive with the ball. The 30 allowed goals is the best value in the league.
Defence: Jordi Alba (FC Barcelona)a: It was clear that Barcelona won’t be able to replace Lionel Messi individually. So they had to try to do it at least as a leader. That is exactly the case with Jordi Alba at the tender age of 33. He has two goals and ten assists this season. Also very strong: Javi Galan (27, Celta Vigo)
Mittelfeld: Dani Parejo: (FC Villarreal) With a lot of experience and ball security, Parejo annoyed Europe’s elite in the Champions League. He helped Villarreal to another seventh place. He has two goals and nine assists. In addition, 88 percent pass rate, 92 percent in their own half. Once again a first class season of the six.
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Mittelfeld: Carlos Soler (FC Valencia): It hasn’t been an easy season for Valencia. In the second, without long-time captain Dani Parejo, Carlos Soler grew more and more into his role, not just as a player but as a leader. Second captain of his team behind José Gayà – and he also grabbed Parejo’s number 10 after the rather manageable loan from Christian Oliva. He has eleven goals and five assists in 32 games.
Midfielder: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid): Voted flop transfer of the summer by Marca on his arrival in summer 2012. Over the years he has proved all the critics wrong. Even at the age of 36, he is still an absolute top performer at Real Madrid. 90 percent pass rate, 93 percent in your own half, plus eight assists and – oh yes – the championship title.
Angriff: Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo): There are few players in The leaguewho – just outside of Spain – fly under the radar as reliably as Iago Aspas. Far from playing for one of the biggest names in the league, Celta de Vigo, he rarely gets to present himself to a large European audience when he’s not playing for the national team. But especially when Celta meets one of the heavyweights, you can always count on Aspas to produce big moments.
Goal in Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, converted penalty to equalize against Atlético, brace in Benito Villamarín and not forgetting his brace against Barcelona after being 3-0 down and equalizing in the 96th minute. 18 goals and six assists are for a 34-year-old more than fair value.
Attack: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid): Most goals (27), second most assists (12). Karim Benzema was already at an outstanding level last season. This year he’s upping the ante. He leads the way, works a lot for the team and is always there, especially in the most important situations, like a month ago in the 3-2 at Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, when Real Madrid scored all three with a goal in the 92nd minute points secured.
Drawn level with Raúl in second place on the club’s internal scorers list in a 6-0 win over Levante. There are even said to be some at the club who trust him to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s magical 450 goal mark. Should the World Cup not end in a complete fiasco for France this winter, he should already have the Ballon d’Or secured.
Angriff: Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid): One of the big winners this season. In the preliminary round of last season, in the 2-2 draw in Mönchengladbach, Karim Benzema is said to have been caught saying to Ferland Mendy: “Don’t play to him. By the life of my mother, he’s playing against us.” A lot has happened since then. Carlo Ancelotti put his full trust in Vinícius Júnior and he repaid it with 17 goals and 10 assists in 35 La Liga appearances.
On the penultimate day, the Brazilian sent Levante into second division with a hat-trick and an assist. It’s impressive how confident, self-assured and direct he has been in his actions since this season compared to previous years. You can tell how much fun he enjoys being on the pitch, but also what it means to him to wear the white jersey. That is something that is invaluable for the inner workings of a team.
Substitutes: Former and current talents draw attention to themselves
Matías Dituro (Celta Vigo): There are some statistics in football that are very difficult to explain. Celta de Vigo has lost 16 games this season and conceded 43 goals – but Matías Dituro still has 14 clean sheets. Only Thibaut Courtois (16) and Álex Remiro have more to show for themselves. With 1.1 goals conceded per game, he is also right in the league average.
Diego Carlos (FC Seville): Like Koundé, extremely strong. To be precise, with 2130 passes played the strongest central defender in the league. Only Toni Kroos (2150), Jordi Alba (2292) and Sergio Busquets (2685) are ahead of him.
Iker Muniain (Athletic Club): Athletic’s captain is currently in the best footballing age at 29. Actually, it’s hard to believe that Muniain first 29 is. Made his La Liga debut in August 2009 aged 16 years, 8 months and 11 days. This season, Muniain finished eighth with his Athletic Club under Marcelino, just a point behind Villarreal. He also knocked out both Real Madrid and Barcelona from the Copa del Rey. He scored two goals against the Catalans. In the league, Muniain has only four, but also ten assists.
Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid): Quietly, quietly and secretly, Real Madrid made the transfer of the midfield talent clear at the beginning of the season. It is already evident that the 31 million euros are very well invested. Is growing more and more into an alternative behind the established Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić. He is already a French international. Real Madrid don’t have to worry too much about their future, at least in midfield.
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Ousmane Dembélé (FC Barcelona): Really turned up the heat under Xavi. The ex-Dortmunder was only able to play 20 games due to injury. In these, however, he received 13 templates. His contract expires in the summer. How it will continue with him is open. It’s no secret that Xavi would like to keep him with his current performance. Is as fleet-footed on the pitch as he was recently under Thomas Tuchel in Dortmund. As with Vinícius, you can clearly see his joy in playing.
Raul de Tomas (RCD Espanyol): The fact that Espanyol has rarely been in real danger of relegation is mainly due to “RDT”. Real Madrid’s youth player scored 17 goals in 34 games. He also knew how to shine against the big players. In a duel with Barcelona, he saved Espanyol a point with a goal and an assist. He even shot down his youth club himself with the 1-0.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (FC Barcelona): Came from Arsenal FC in the winter and didn’t need any warm-up time at all. Eleven goals in 16 games are absolutely impressive. His performance in the Clásico was even more impressive when he shone with a brace in Barcelona’s 4-0 win at the Santiago Bernabéu. One of the main reasons why Barcelona moved up to second place under Xavi.
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