Real Madrid are La Liga 2019/20 champions! (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)
Los Blancos clinched the title for a 34th time, so naturally have a dominant presence in the XI
Another epic season in La Liga drew to a close on Sunday as Real Madrid were once again crowned champions of Spain after dethroning Barcelona.
Leganes, Mallorca, and Espanyol were relegated from the top-flight, whereas Granada made history by qualifying for the Europa League for the very first time.
There’s plenty to dissect and reflect upon, but let’s content ourselves for now by looking at the best player from each position.
So here’s the 2019/20 team of the season in La Liga:
Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
After a catastrophic debut season with Los Blancos which also led to many label him as one of the most disappointing signings of the season, Courtois went on to resurrect himself this term with top-notch performances. He was back to his usual best and produced numerous vital saves. The Belgian shot-stopper also finished the league with the highest number of clean sheets (13) and the least amount of goals conceded (20), to win the elusive Zamora trophy, the first Real Madrid ‘keeper to clinch the prize since Iker Casillas in 2008.
Right-back: Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid)
For someone who famously dubbed himself a ‘fail’ after the miserable 2018/19 season, Carvajal enjoyed something of a renaissance. Not only did he manage to keep himself fit, but also hit the throttle again. The Spaniard laid six assists – the most he’s managed in a single season, whilst also being solid defensively. He boasted an admirable 77% success with tackles, and also made the most number of blocks (20).
Centre-back: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Real Madrid were uncharacteristically stoic this season, maintaining the best defensive record in the league by conceding only 25 goals, and the leadership of Ramos has an undeniable role to play in it. Not only was he tremendous at the back with crucial tackles and clearances, but also made his presence felt upfront by netting 11 times! He dispatched several penalties during the home stretch of the campaign to win some important points along the way, and quite remarkably, only nine players in La Liga this season struck more goals than the centre-back!
Centre-back: Diego Carlos (Sevilla)
The Andalusian outfit had a fine season, finishing fourth and also conceding the third-least amount of goals. An integral part of that obdurate defense was Carlos, who’s now being eyed by several Premier League teams.
Roped in from Nantes just last year, he made the step up from Ligue 1 to La Liga with little hesitation. He averaged five clearances per game, while his aerial prowess can be ascertained from the 2.8 duels average he maintained. The fact that he also started 35 games, the most in the squad after only Jesus Navas, is a testament to how important he’s become to Sevilla already.
Left-back: Sergio Reguilon (Sevilla)
After struggling for regular game time with Real Madrid, the 23-year old sought pastures anew with Sevilla, and duly emerged as the best left-back in the division. His dribbling quality was particularly eye-catching as he strode forward to terrific effect, and also laid 40 key passes, the most for a defender bar one. Besides, he also got directly involved in six goals.
pic.twitter.com/wFNjziHzPy
<p>— B/R Football (@brfootball) <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/22/la-liga-2019-20-best-xi-season/"https://twitter.com/brfootball/status/1283877390943494147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>July 16, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
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<h3>Right-back: Daniel Carvajal (Real Madrid)</h3>
<p>For someone who famously dubbed himself a ‘fail’ after the miserable 2018/19 season, Carvajal enjoyed something of a renaissance. Not only did he manage to keep himself fit, but also hit the throttle again. The Spaniard laid six assists – the most he’s managed in a single season, whilst also being solid defensively. He boasted an admirable 77% success with tackles, and also made the most number of blocks (20).</p>
<h3>Centre-back: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)</h3>
<p>Real Madrid were uncharacteristically stoic this season, maintaining the best defensive record in the league by conceding only 25 goals, and the leadership of Ramos has an undeniable role to play in it. Not only was he tremendous at the back with crucial tackles and clearances, but also made his presence felt upfront by netting 11 times! He dispatched several penalties during the home stretch of the campaign to win some important points along the way, and quite remarkably, only nine players in La Liga this season struck more goals than the centre-back!</p>
<h3>Centre-back: Diego Carlos (Sevilla)</h3>
<p>The Andalusian outfit had a fine season, finishing fourth and also conceding the third-least amount of goals. An integral part of that obdurate defense was Carlos, who’s now being eyed by several Premier League teams.</p>
<p>Roped in from Nantes just last year, he made the step up from Ligue 1 to La Liga with little hesitation. He averaged five clearances per game, while his aerial prowess can be ascertained from the 2.8 duels average he maintained. The fact that he also started 35 games, the most in the squad after only Jesus Navas, is a testament to how important he’s become to Sevilla already.</p>
<h3>Left-back: Sergio Reguilon (Sevilla)</h3>
<p>After struggling for regular game time with Real Madrid, the 23-year old sought pastures anew with Sevilla, and duly emerged as the best left-back in the division. His dribbling quality was particularly eye-catching as he strode forward to terrific effect, and also laid 40 key passes, the most for a defender bar one. Besides, he also got directly involved in six goals.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/22/la-liga-2019-20-best-xi-season/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Saul, Garcia, Oyarzabal, and Messi </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-483250" src=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/22/la-liga-2019-20-best-xi-season/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1901,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2020%2F07%2F1198497056.jpeg" alt="La Liga" width="3200" height="1901" srcset="https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2020/07/1198497056.jpeg 3200w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2020/07/1198497056-768x456.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Lionel Messi and Saul, La Liga 2019/20 (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Central midfielder: Saul (Atletico Madrid)</h3>
<p>It was quite a disappointing season for the <em>Rojiblancos</em>, but Saul would still be content with the campaign he’s had at a personal level. The Spaniard was an indomitable presence at the center of the park, breaking opposition play with crucial tackles (95) and imposing himself in the air too. He regularly charged out of his line to drive his side forward, whilst also netting six times himself, a personal best.</p>
<h3>Right Winger: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)</h3>
<p>In what’s apparently his ‘worst season’ in years, the Barcelona ace manages to hit <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/22/la-liga-2019-20-best-xi-season/"https://everythingbarca.com/2020/07/21/lionel-messis-blockbuster-season-comes-worst-time-barcelona/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">25 goals and make 20 assists</a> regardless. He’s also the first player since Thierry Henry in 2003 to register 20+ goals and assists in a single campaign, as Messi was once again an unrelenting source of brilliance even as the team went through the motions.</p>
<p>Despite missing a couple of games at the start due to injuries, there was no stopping the skipper from picking up his seventh Golden Boot too, surpassing Telmo Zarra’s record to add another feather to his bulging cap.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lionel Messi is the first ever player to win the Pichichi trophy in seven separate seasons.</p>
<p>LM7. <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/22/la-liga-2019-20-best-xi-season/"https://t.co/MKBZl6hwLY">pic.twitter.com/MKBZl6hwLY
<p>— Squawka Football (@Squawka) <a href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/22/la-liga-2019-20-best-xi-season/"https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/1285220920139771904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>July 20, 2020</a></p></blockquote>
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<h3>Attacking midfielder: Raul Garcia (Athletic Bilbao)</h3>
<p><em>Los Leones</em> too had a very underwhelming campaign, finishing well below on 11th, but that certainly wasn’t due to a lack of effort on the part of Raul Garcia. The ex-Atletico star witnessed his best campaign yet, scoring 15 goals. As the league progressed, he smoothly transitioned from an attacking midfielder to an unrelenting striker and successfully filled the void left by Aritz Aduriz, who was constantly sidelined with hip injury before eventually retiring.</p>
<h3>Left Winger: Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad)</h3>
<p>Real Sociedad stormed back into Europa League after securing a sixth-place finish in the table, its highest since 2017. One of the players to have an important role to play in the endeavor was Oyarzabal, who continued his development into a world-class winger. With 10 goals and 11 assists, the 23-year old was a reckoning force in the vanguard, and also helped <em>La Real</em> into its first Copa Del Rey final since 1988!</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/22/la-liga-2019-20-best-xi-season/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Karim Benzema and Gerard Moreno </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-483249" src=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/22/la-liga-2019-20-best-xi-season/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1066,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fplayingfor90.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2020%2F07%2F1227691262.jpeg" alt="La Liga" width="1600" height="1066" srcset="https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2020/07/1227691262.jpeg 1600w, https://playingfor90.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2020/07/1227691262-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Gerard Moreno for Villarreal, La Liga 2019/20 (Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Striker: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)</h3>
<p>Nobody really expected Benzema to make the kind of impact he’s actually had since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, after all he was merely tailored to aid the Portuguese in accomplishing one record after another. And yet, the striker successfully made the step up last year, netting 21 times even as <em>Los Blancos</em> went through the motions.</p>
<p>The Frenchman has since gone on to repeat the trick, scoring an identical amount of goals whilst also weighing in with eight assists. He’s now thriving as the main man in the attacking vanguard and just how instrumental he’s been to Real’s fortunes in the title triumph cannot be overstated, especially in the home stretch of the campaign after the restart.</p>
<h3>Striker: Gerard Moreno (Villarreal)</h3>
<p>Seems like Spain have an unmistakably formidable striking force on their hands going into the Euros next year. With 18 goals, Moreno was in the form of his life and even finished as the most prolific Spanish player in La Liga this season.</p>
<p>He was the driving force behind the Yellow Submarine’s revival and helped the side get back into Europe with an admirable fifth place finish. Statistically too, this was his best season yet as the 29-year old appears to be getting better with age like a fine wine.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Arteta wants Aubameyang's contract sorted" data-url="https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/20/arsenal-arteta-sort-aubameyangs-contract/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/22/la-liga-2019-20-best-xi-season/"https://playingfor90.com/2020/07/20/arsenal-arteta-sort-aubameyangs-contract/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Arteta wants Aubameyang's contract sorted </a> </div>
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<p>What makes into you La Liga team of the season?</p><!—pageview_candidate—>">