Football's Team of The Year - 2020

Without question, 2020 has produced one of the strangest, yet entertaining years of world football. Liverpool won the Premier League title for the first time in 30 years, Bayern Munich marched through the Champions League unbeaten, and new contenders to the Ballon\"dor blossomed in the form of Robert Lewandoski and Erling Haaland. In fact, there were so many incredible individual and team successes in 2020, it made picking a "Team of the Year" almost impossible. Although you may not agree with my choices initially, each of the players on this list has undoubtedly performed in two key areas: a major contribution to team success or incredible individual achievements.  

GK - Manuel Neuer 

The German legend once again proved that despite his absence from the top of European football since 2013, he is undoubtedly one of the most capable keepers on the planet. Putting in major performances in both the Bundesliga and Champions League campaigns with 21 clean sheets in 44 appearances. These numbers and Neuer\"s presence in the Bayern Munich side proved detrimental in their capture of the European treble. 

RB - Trent Alexander-Arnold 

As one of the most influential players in the Liverpool side, Alexander-Arnold again proved himself to be one of the best right-backs in Europe with a timeless combination of jaw-dropping passes and set-piece masterclasses. He ended the 2019/2020 Premier League campaign with 13 assists in 33 appearances, second only to Kevin De Bruyne, whilst playing over 3000 minutes, making him virtually undroppable to Jurgen Klopp. 

CB - Sergio Ramos 

Although Real Madrid has mostly disappeared from Champions League finals since Ronaldo\"s departure, you cannot ignore the slack that Sergio Ramos has picked up. In 35 league appearances during the 2019/2020 LaLiga campaign, Ramos racked up 11 goals and 1 assist, equaling Alfredo Di Stefano to become Spain\"s 8th highest ever goalscorer (23). Not only is this a spectacular individual achievement (especially as a centre back), but it also propelled Madrid to their 34th LaLiga title, beating out bitter rivals Barcelona in the process. 

CB - Virgil Van Dijk 

There is no question that at the centre of Liverpool\"s success in recent years, stands Virgil Van Dijk. He has been instrumental in Liverpool\"s capture of both the Champions League in 2019 and Premier League title in 2020 and up to his injury in October, had not missed a single minute of football out of Jurgen Klopp\"s side. All these incredible achievements resulted in him being named UEFA\"s Best Player in Europe for 2019/2020. 

LB - Alphonso Davies 

In 2020, Bayern Munich\"s squad looked unmatched in both ability and depth. The scary part: one of their best players is only 20 years old! Alphonso Davies burst onto the world stage this year to become one of (if not the) best left-back in all of Europe. With an elite combination of pace, strength, attacking and defending abilities, he was able to play a major part in Bayern\"s capture of the treble, providing 4 goals and 3 assists along the way. This earned him a place in UEFA\"s 2019/2020 squad of the season and finished 2nd in voting for the Defender of the Year award to team-mate Joshua Kimmich. 

CM - Kevin De Bruyne 

No team of the year list would be complete without the maestro himself. Kevin De Bruyne once again distinguished himself as the best midfielder in Europe with of the best season-long performances of all time. Although he was unable to deliver any silverware to Manchester Cities already full trophy cabinet, he did deliver a season worthy of the Premier League Player of the Year award for 2019/2020 with 13 goals and 20 assists in 35 appearances. This made him the only player to have two 20-assist seasons in two of Europes top 5 leagues. 

CM - Jordan Henderson 

Up to now, I realise this list has met most of your expectations. However, Jordan Henderson is one player that will be mostly overlooked for anyone\"s Team of the Year lists in 2020. Yes, he only delivered 4 goals and 5 assists in 35 appearances. Yes, other midfielders delivered much better numbers. But no one can argue the effect that Henderson\"s leadership has on Liverpool\"s performance both in the Premier League and in the Champions League. He is what is known as a "players player" and although his play may not separate him from the competition, his leadership more than makes up for it. 

CM - Thomas Müller

At the age of 31, most would have thought that Thomas Müller would be starting to think of German beach house\"s and winding down his incredible football career. However, by setting a national record of 21 assists in the Bundesliga in 2019/2020, he showed he may still be on the way up. With the addition of the Bundesliga title, Champions League and German Super Cup, Müller has become the most decorated player in German history with 27 trophies to his name and has remained an integral part of the Bayern Munich winning machine.  

RW - Mohammed Salah 

In 34 Premier League appearances, Mo Salah led the way for Liverpool\"s title success with 19 goals along with 10 assists. Much like Jordan Henderson, the Egyptian has been instrumental in both his leadership and chance creation for those around him. Alongside aiding in Liverpool\"s capture of the Premier League title, Salah reached 100 goals scored for the club in 159 games alongside 44 assists, leading him to be one of the top leaders in goal contributions Europe has ever seen. 

LW - Ciro Immobile 

I know what you\"re thinking? Where is Ronaldo? Where is Messi? Who the **** is Ciro Immobile? Well, the first thing you have to know is that Immobile led all of Europe in league goals scored in the 2019/2020 campaign with 36 goals along with 8 assists. This herculean effort helped Lazio once again qualify for the Champions League, beating out the likes of Napoli, AC Milan and Roma and was also awarded Serie A\"s Best Striker honour, beating out the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Francesco Caputo and Ronaldo. Now I\"m not saying that Messi and Ronaldo are not worthy of positions in this squad, but as this is not the "Team of the Century", I think they can live with not being included in 2020\"s list. 

ST - Robert Lewandowski 

Due to Covid-19, there was no Ballon d’Or award ceremony in 2020. However, I think we can all agree, Robert Lewandowski was more than deserving of it. As the top scorer in both the Bundesliga (34) and in the Champions League (15) in a combined 41 appearances, Lewandowski placed his name among the supernatural in 2020 and I would be highly surprised if he is not able to do the same in 2021.