FIFA PRO Team of the year 2013

Sidney · January 13, 2014, 08:55:42 PM

Quote from: Rossie11 on January 13, 2014, 08:18:03 PM
Barca got a record 100 pts in the league without a coach for most of it.
Messi got 46 league goals.
I am a pool fan but to say Suarez or god help us Bale was better than him is stretching it
Do people only watch Barca in 2-3 games in Champs league and make a conclusion
their players are crap??
Xavi should not be on it but messi iniesta and alves were best players in their positions.

Messi scored 45 goals in 2013 while Suarez got 41 I think. However Suarez got more from play as a signoificant chunk of Messi's came from penalties (at least 10) whereas I think only one of Suarez's goals came from a penalty.

Suarez has carried an otherwise average Liverpool team on his back for the whole year and dragged a struggling Uruguayan team to World Cup qualification. The Premier League is also a more competitive league than the Spanish league where most teams simply roll over and have their bellies tickled against the big two.

On that basis, Suarez deserves to be picked for a 2013 team ahead of Messi.

Alaba was one of Bayern Munich's real stars this year and is the best left-back in he world. Alves doesn't even play left-back. How Alves has been named at left back ahead of Alaba is baffling.

Rossie11 · January 13, 2014, 09:21:50 PM

Likewise lahm playing in midfield since pep took over...

rodney trotter · January 13, 2014, 10:54:45 PM

Fair play to Ronaldo, not often a player who didn't win a medal in that year year wins the ballon d'or http://t.co/Dwmfzmcu17

nrico2006 · January 14, 2014, 08:31:55 AM

Quote from: Sidney on January 13, 2014, 08:55:42 PM
Quote from: Rossie11 on January 13, 2014, 08:18:03 PM
Barca got a record 100 pts in the league without a coach for most of it.
Messi got 46 league goals.
I am a pool fan but to say Suarez or god help us Bale was better than him is stretching it
Do people only watch Barca in 2-3 games in Champs league and make a conclusion
their players are crap??
Xavi should not be on it but messi iniesta and alves were best players in their positions.
Messi scored 45 goals in 2013 while Suarez got 41 I think. However Suarez got more from play as a signoificant chunk of Messi's came from penalties (at least 10) whereas I think only one of Suarez's goals came from a penalty.

Suarez has carried an otherwise average Liverpool team on his back for the whole year and dragged a struggling Uruguayan team to World Cup qualification. The Premier League is also a more competitive league than the Spanish league where most teams simply roll over and have their bellies tickled against the big two.

On that basis, Suarez deserves to be picked for a 2013 team ahead of Messi.

Alaba was one of Bayern Munich's real stars this year and is the best left-back in he world. Alves doesn't even play left-back. How Alves has been named at left back ahead of Alaba is baffling.

How many games did Suarez and Messi each play? Alves shouldn't be on the team and neither should Ramos. Fair play to Ronaldo for winning, but a fit Messi would have won it again.

Applesisapples · January 14, 2014, 10:07:51 AM

Quote from: Sidney on January 13, 2014, 06:27:42 PM
The omissions of Suarez and Bale are laughable.

Not as laughable as there inclusion would be.

Applesisapples · January 14, 2014, 10:12:41 AM

To say that Suarez, good as he is is better than Messi is a joke. Messi's consistent record speaks for itself, he brings more to a team than goals. Barca with a fit Messi and a coach would not have gone down 7-0 over two legs to Bayern.

Sidney · January 14, 2014, 10:32:05 AM

Quote from: Applesisapples on January 14, 2014, 10:12:41 AM
To say that Suarez, good as he is is better than Messi is a joke. Messi's consistent record speaks for itself, he brings more to a team than goals. Barca with a fit Messi and a coach would not have gone down 7-0 over two legs to Bayern.

Suarez's performances in 2013 were better than those of Messi. That should be the only criteria for selection.

Based on that my selection would have been:

Neuer
Lahm
Silva
Dante
Alaba
Ribery
Iniesta
Bale
Suarez
Cronaldo
Ibrahimovic

Sidney · January 14, 2014, 11:02:01 AM

Quote from: nrico2006 on January 14, 2014, 10:40:37 AM

As for Suarez being better or having a better year than Messi, that is a joke. Messi had been doing all year what Suarez has done the past few months, only with more goals to show for it.

I've had a look at the stats again and Suarez actually scored more goals in 2013 than than Messi did.

Suarez actually got 43 while Messi got 42.

Suarez got 14 Premier League goals from January to April, and 19 from September to December. 2 in the Europa League and 8 for Uruguay.

8 of Messi's goals came from penalties whereas only 2 of Suarez's goals did.

So in terms of goals scored from open play or free-kicks, Suarez got 41 to Messi's 34.

How, therefore, is it a joke, to say that Suarez had a better year than Messi? Rather, it's a joke to say otherwise based on preconceived notions of who is the better player, when the statistics don't back you up.

Dinny Breen · January 14, 2014, 11:22:38 AM

When Suarez starts to score regularly against the top 7 or even in the UCL in can enter this conversation, currently he is nothing but a flat-track bully, a pretty good one at that mind.

Sidney · January 14, 2014, 11:31:23 AM

Quote from: Dinny Breen on January 14, 2014, 11:22:38 AM
When Suarez starts to score regularly against the top 7 or even in the UCL in can enter this conversation, currently he is nothing but a flat-track bully, a pretty good one at that mind.

When Messi gets his team to a World Cup semi-final then we can talk.

imtommygunn · January 14, 2014, 11:34:13 AM

a) that was 4 years ago

b) if it was him that got them to the semi finals then why did Forlane get player of the tournament.

Or maybe you're referring to his handball...

Sidney · January 14, 2014, 11:37:47 AM

Quote from: imtommygunn on January 14, 2014, 11:34:13 AM
a) that was 4 years ago

b) if it was him that got them to the semi finals then why did Forlane get player of the tournament.

Or maybe you're referring to his handball...

Yet people are making a similar argument about why Messi should included in a team of the year 2013 ahead of Suarez, when I've clearly shown why Suarez had a better year 2013 than him.

rodney trotter · January 14, 2014, 11:38:07 AM

Ramos would have been a debatable enough selection, does well to complete 90 minutes, decent player though. Probaly a bit of bias towards la liga, remember the whole team consisted of players from la liga last year. First year a player from the Bundesliga or Ligue 1 was selected on the team. Messi is still a genius

Ronaldo was the firat player since Figo in 2000, to win the Ballon D'or without actually winning a trophy in that year
Club/country. 69 goals 59 games for Ronaldoin 2013 with Madrid.

Dinny Breen · January 14, 2014, 11:46:18 AM

Quote from: Sidney on January 14, 2014, 11:31:23 AM
Quote from: Dinny Breen on January 14, 2014, 11:22:38 AM
When Suarez starts to score regularly against the top 7 or even in the UCL in can enter this conversation, currently he is nothing but a flat-track bully, a pretty good one at that mind.
When Messi gets his team to a World Cup semi-final then we can talk.

The UCL and EPL much higher standard than International Football.

thewobbler · January 14, 2014, 11:53:42 AM

You fellas are all mad.

If you and your best mate sat down to name the best starting XI for the club you both support, then it would be different.

The chances of any one of 500 odd people from around the world defining what actually is the best team, when they've maybe seen some of the nominations only once or twice over the calendar year, is categorically none. So we've now got 500 multiplied by none. Which is none.