The Spanish La-Liga is known for exciting games and top-notch players after all it has produced the Ballon d’or winner for the last 6 years.
This season has been full of surprises and we will be differentiating the standout performers from the flops. This review is of our top players for the matches played so far.
Hero of the Season
Winner
Luis Suarez
Barcelona sits on the top of the la-liga and are undefeated in over 30 games, while the team effort is commendable the impact of Messi, Suarez and Neymar famously referred to as MSN cannot be ignored. Among the trio Suarez performance has been exceptional and this shows he has clearly been enjoying his time in Barcelona.
When Messi was out for 2 months, many assumed that Barcelona would find it difficult to cope but they responded well thanks to goals from Suarez and Neymar.
Suarez has been banging goals consistently this season and he sits at the top of the goal scoring charts with 24 goals in 23 matches and he is the highest goal scorer in Europe with 40 goals in all competitions. He has also found the net against top opposition such as Athletico Madrid, Real Madrid and other top rated teams.
Honourable Mentions
Antonie Griezmann
While all the hype and conversation in the La-Liga has been centered on the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid, it would be easy to forget that Athletico Madrid sits in 2nd place on the log thanks in no small part to the contribution of Antonie Griezmann.
With Fernando Torres misfiring and Jackson Martinez sold to Chinese Super league club Guangzhou Evergrande, Griezmann has ensured that Athletico Madrid are in contention for the La-Liga title should Barcelona slip up with 12 goals to his name in the La-liga.
Griezmann is good on the air, skillful and can use his pace to rattle defenders, adding goal scoring to his repertoire shows that his stock is rising.
He is also quite young at 24 and still has a lot of time to improve on his skills.
Athletico Madrid will definitely struggle to keep him when the season ends as top clubs will definitely come calling.
Aritz Aduriz
Aduriz has been one of the few shining light this season for Athletico Bilbao, his form has been so convincing that he is in contention for a spot in Spain Euro 2016 squad. He has scored 13 goals in the league to keep them in the 7th spot on the league table.
His form in the league has been topnotch and his performance in the UEFA Cup has been excellent, as he scored the only goal for Bilbao in the 1-0 away victory over Marseille in the UEFA Cup knockout stage which could prove to be crucial for Bilbao hopes of qualification to the Round of 16.
Villain of the Season
Gary Neville
This season has been a spectacular one as the coaches are definitely playing their part in the villain of the season, joining Jose Mourinho in this category is Gary Neville who had an awesome career as a player and was lauded for his observations as a pundit post-retirement. However being a great player does not automatically make you a great coach as his horrid season in Valencia has shown.
Valencia has simply lost the plot as it went from one terrible defeat to another culminating in the 8-1 defeat to Barcelona across two legs which crashed them out of the Copa Del Ray.
Valencia finally won a game after losing 10 games and many will hope that their good fortune will continue but whether Neville remains till the end of the season is uncertain and his future with the club is definitely in doubt.
Best team of the Season
Winner
Barcelona
Barcelona form this season has seen them tear just about every opposition, they have broken the unbeaten record set by Pep Guardiola side in 2010-2011 and the sky keeps getting brighter for the Catalan side. Only a major calamity would see them lose the La-liga crown, they are in prime position to win the Copa Del Ray owing to the disqualification of Real Madrid and the elimination of Athletico Madrid. They are also on course to defend the Champions League although they will face stiff competition from the likes of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid if they are to retain their Champions League crown.
Worst team of the Season
Valencia
Valencia form this season has been disastrous even though they recently won their first match under Gary Neville in the La-liga against Espanyol. They also trashed Rapid Vienna 6-0 in the UEFA Cup.
However much of their struggle this season has been as a result of their defence, Valencia defence has been terrible, the team has not gotten an adequate replacement for Otamendi who was sold to Manchester City. The political atmosphere of the club at the beginning of the season definitely affected the club and the change of managers did not produce the expected transformation.
So there is our take on the best and worst players of the La-liga, surprisingly both Messi and Ronaldo were not included in our list but that is not to discount the impact they have had for their clubs this season.
Agree or disagree with our list, have your say in the comments section.
