PFA Team of the Year

As another season comes to an end, another team of the year has been announced. To no one's surprise, Leicester and Tottenham both had a big representation in the 11 man team that was named. This is mainly credited to Leicester's amazing run and Tottenham's second place position currently. Leicester and Tottenham both had 4 players selected to the team. But, with that, there was a big snub this year that was a bit surprising. I figured I'd talk about that prior to talking about the team itself. Mesut Ozil. A big name in the soccer world, but no where near the size of Messi or Ronaldo. That said, he is a star in the English League and his performance this year showed that. This year in the English Premier League, Ozil had 6 goals and 18 assists. EIGHTEEN ASSISTS. He is currently two assists away from tying the record for assists in a season. He has a created 137 goal scoring chances this season. Christian Eriksen, who is second in this category, has created only 108 in comparison. Point made. But let me mention that I have no bias in this argument, mainly because I would describe my feeling towards Ozil and Arsenal on the upper hatred spectrum of fandom.

Let's get into the PFA Team of the Year. Here are the 11 players that were selected:



David De Gea, GK

De Gea has played in 30 games this season and has 14 clean sheets. He has set himself apart from his competition as the best goalkeeper in the league with amazing performances and unreal saves. His performance has, without a doubt, saved Manchester United at least 10 points throughout the season.

Danny Rose, LB
Rose has cemented his identity as an attacking-minded left back. His second season as Tottenham's starting left back has seen him really grow into the role. So much so, that he was named a captain for a game earlier in the season. Rose has provided Tottenham a solid defender who has the ability to create danger going forward. This video is an old goal that he scored, but I figured that it was nice enough to put here anyways:

Toby Alderweireld, CB
Alderweireld has a lot more going for him than just his extremely long name which is tough to type and say. As a newcomer to the league, he had brought a lot of controversey prior to the season when he had reportedly completed a move to Southhampton but ended up agreeing to a deal with Tottenham afterwards, the club he plays for now. Alderweirdeld has played in every game so far in the season and has 4 goals to add to that. He has been a force to reckon with and has played a huge role in Tottenham's success this season.

Wes Morgan, CB
Much like most of the Leicester team, Morgan, the team captain, is another amazing story. The 32-year old Jamaican did not play in the top league until he was 30, when Leicester was promoted 2 years ago. Morgan has played every game in the league this season and has attributed one goal as well.

Hector Bellerin, RB
Bellerin, a young Spaniard like De Gea, had a breakout season. He has played in 33 games and scored a goal while also having 4 assists. Bellerin is only 21, but has already made a statement in the league. He is known for his spectacular speed and tremendous work effort. With that, the future looks bright for him going forward.

Dimitri Payet, LM
Payet has shown his worth this season for West Ham. They payed $17 million for the frenchmen and it sure has paid off. Payet has scored 9 goals and has 9 assists as well in 27 games played this season. The man has been vital to West Ham's performance this season which has them 6th in the league table. Oh, and also, he has done some pretty unreal things on the field, which has lead to him being nicknamed "the freekick king". Like this goal:

N'Golo Kante, CM
As I mentioned ealrlier, Kante is one of the four Leicester players to make the team. Kante, like Payet is a french midfielder that excelled this year. Kante's second season in the English league was spectacular. He became known as the anchor of this Leicester seem that has been on this magical run. Kante's ability to be so dominant in the midfield didn't go unnoticed, as he was also nominated for the Player of the Year award.

Dele Alli, CM
The youngest player on this list, as he just turned 20, Alli leads Tottenham's creativity game after game. Although this is Alli's first year playing at the highest division in English soccer, Alli had no problems settling in with the big boys. Alli has 10 goals and 9 assists through 33 games this season, and has recently been called up to the English National team, where he scored this goal:

Riyad Mahrez, RM
Last but not least in the midfield, we have Riyad Mahrez. Mahrez just won the player of the year award and deservedly so. Mahrez, an Algerian player who 2 years ago was playing for a second division french team, started the season on fire with four goals in four games. Yet, the flame never died out for Mahrez. He continued to be the attacking brains behind the potent offense that Leicester put together this year. Mahrez has 17 goals and 11 assists in the 34 games that he has played in this season. These number speak for themselves and make it clear why Mahrez won the Player of the Year award this season.

Jamie Vardy, ST
If you have been following this blog, you may remember that we talked about Vardy and his rise to success back in February. Vardy's season has been one that not even he could imagine. Much like Dele Alli, his success has provided him with a call-up to the English National Team. The only difference? Vardy is 28 years old. He has proven that his pace and ability to score are top class and earned him a nomination for Player of the Year as well as a spot on this team. Vardy has missed only one game this season so far due to suspension. With that, he has scored 22 goals and has 6 assists in the 34 games that he has played in.

Harry Kane, ST
Last but not least, Harry Kane. Kane had a fantastic year last year which saw him win the golden boot (highest goal scored). Many doubted that Kane could maintain that form and were proven to be correct early on. But, Kane began to catch fire again this season and is so far the leading scorer for this season as well. Kane, who is only 22 years old, has 24 goals and 1 assist this season. If this stays the same, Kane will win two golden boots before he turns 23, something that has never before been done. Although Tottenham may not win the league this year, they have a world-class forward who will score many goals in the years to come. Here is a video of Kane's best goal this year, and I promise this is the last one: