Premier League 2010s Team Of The Decade
Many of the best players in the world have performed in the Premier League over the last 10 years, so many that it is very tough to come up with just 11 that fit into a starting XI for a Team of the Decade. No team has truly dominated the decade, with titles going to Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd and Leicester over the decade, and all those teams are represented in this immense side.
GK- David de Gea
Strangely one of the more clear-cut choices in this team is the goalkeeper despite Manchester United’s struggles of late, David de Gea has been consistently the best between the sticks for nearly the entire decade.
The Spaniard actually had a bit of a dodgy start at United, but found his feet and has been excellent for the vast majority of his time with the club since arriving from Atletico Madrid in 2011. He is nearing on 300 Premier League appearances for the Red Devils and has risen to fifth in the Premier League’s clean sheets list.
De Gea only has one Premier League title to his name but has been voted in the PFA Team of the Year five times and won the Man Utd Players’ Player of the Year three times, proving his individual excellent even if his team mates have let him down.
DF – Cesar Azpilicueta
A model of consistency at right-back or centre-back since arriving in the Premier League for just £7m in 2012, Cesar Azpilicueta will go down as a Chelsea legend for his performances over the decade.
The Spaniard has played at least 40 games in every season he has been at Chelsea, staying fit almost constantly and very, very rarely turning in a bad performance. He was not necessarily a guaranteed starter when he arrived at the club but is now the captain and never misses a match.
There has been a lot of change at Stamford Bridge since Azpilicueta signed from Marseille. He is the only player left in the first team squad that was there when he joined in 2012, but at 30-years-old there is no sign that he is about to be replaced any time soon.
The defender has won two Premier Leagues, two Europa Leagues, the FA Cup and two League Cups at Chelsea and the clubs Player or the Year once. Any manager would love to have such a reliable performer.
DF – Vincent Kompany (c)
An inspirational leader and fine defender, Vincent Kompany was a huge part of taking Manchester City from Premier League also-rans to challengers to champions over the last 10 years.
The Belgian was signed by Mark Hughes back in 2008 and started out as a defensive midfielder, but it was at centre-back that he became the rock that City were built on. He has played on a vast array of partners in central defence and has commanded them through to levels of performance that they would not be able to alone.
It is hard to remember a defender that has scored so many iconic and crucial goals for a club than Kompany, many of which were crucial to the four Premier League titles he has won with City. The 33-year-old has also claimed two FA Cups and four League Cups in a trophy-laden spell in England.
Although he missed plenty of games through injury in his last two years at the club, City have immediately struggled at the back since his departure in the summer of 2019.
DF – Virgil van Dijk
The giant defender may only have arrived in the Premier League in 2015 but his impact has been absolutely immense and he looks certain to lift the first league title of the new decade with Liverpool.
The Dutchman played two-and-a-half seasons with Southampton and was good enough to encourage Liverpool to spend £75m on him, which looks to be worth every penny. It is rare to see a defensive signing immediately make so much difference to a side, but the Reds went from dodgy to steadfast at the back almost overnight thanks to Van Dijk.
With rotating centre-back partners and very attack-minded full-backs, Van DIjk has an awful lot of work to do, and he has done it so well that he won PFA Player of the Year in 2018/19 and even came close to the Balon d’Or, losing out to Lionel Messi.
Van Dijk has the Champions League to his name and while he has no domestic trophies yet in England, it is hard to argue there has been a better defender than him this decade.
MF – Fernandinho
The Brazilian arrived in the Premier League in 2013 having played in the Ukrainian league for the previous eight years so he was something of a £34m gamble, but one that has entirely paid off for Manchester City. The defensive midfielder has been an absolute rock for the Cityzens, producing consistently excellent performances for both Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola, captaining the side on occasion and filling in at centre-back when necessary.
Three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and four League Cups and over 200 league appearances for Man City, Fernandinho would have been a great asset to any team over the last decade.
MF – N’golo Kante
Any manager in any team on the planet would want N’golo Kante in their side and two Premier League clubs have been lucky enough to have him over the last five years. The Frenchman has won the league title with Leicester City and Chelsea and was an integral part of both incredible teams.
Kante has had a remarkable few years, signing for Leicester from Caen in 2015 as an almost complete unknown and now becoming one of the most sought-after players on the planet and a World Cup winner with France.
This Team of the Decade is a slightly odd formation, but Kante’s energy allows us to play three centre-backs with the Frenchman and Fernandinho doing the work of defensive midfielders and full-backs.
MF – David Silva
Signing for Manchester City in June2010, the superb Spaniard has spent nearly the entire decade in the Premier League and has been consistently excellent throughout that time.
Silva has risen to seventh in the Premier League assists table and will be hoping to pass Steven Gerrard in sixth before he leaves City at the end of the season. At 33-years-old now he is just as potent a creative force as he ever was and City still look a much better team with him in than without.
He will go down as a Premier League great, a Manchester City great and a Spain great, having also lifted the World Cup and two European Championships with his country. With four Premier League titles to his name, his absence will be felt when he leaves in the summer of 2020.
MF – Eden Hazard
The Belgian’s consistency could be questioned while he was at Chelsea, but when he was at his best he was arguably the best player in the Premier League and was the driving force behind successful Blues sides.
Eden Hazard scored 110 goals in his 352 games at Chelsea across all competitions, lifting two Premier League titles, two Europa Leagues, the FA Cup and League Cup. He also claimed the PFA Player of the Year in 2015, when the Blues won the league title under Jose Mourinho.
There was one bizarre season in 2015-16 when he scored just four goals and was a long way from his best, but otherwise was a serious threat from 2012-19 in terms of scoring and creating chances.
FW – Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale may only have played three seasons in the Premier League over the last decade, but he was absolutely devastating in that time and he won the PFA Player of the Year award twice in those three years, more than anyone else over the decade.
The Welshman became one of the top players on the planet in the first few years of the 2010s, earning himself a move to Real Madrid after a spectacular 2012-13 season which saw him score 21 goals in 33 Premier League games for Tottenham.
He may not have picked up any silverware during his time in England, but that 2012 version of Bale is as dangerous as any player to play in the Premier League over the last 10 years with pace, power and the ability to finish from a wide range of positions.
FW – Sergio Aguero
Another Manchester City superstar who has dragged the club up to the upper-echelons of the sport, Sergio Aguero has been a reliable goal-scorer since he arrived at the Etihad in 2011. The Argentine has blasted his way up to sixth in the Premier League goal-scorers list and will likely surpass Thierry Henry and Frank Lampard into fourth by the end of this season.
Remarkably Aguero has only won the Golden Boot once, but he has notched 20 or more Premier League goals in a season six times, and that is while contending with a number of injuries and competition in the side from Gabriel Jesus.
It is very unlikely City would have won the four Premier League titles Aguero has lifted without his consistency in front of goal and he continues to be the most threatening striker in the league.
FW – Harry Kane
Having spent some of the 2010/11 season on loan at Leyton Orient, few would have expected Harry Kane to be in this team, but he has been absolutely sensational up front for Spurs since grabbing his place in the first team in the 2014/15 season.
Kane has twice won the Premier League Golden Boot and four times been voted into the Premier League Team of the Season thanks to his vast haul of league goals, which stands at 132 at the time of writing.
He has become England captain in this time, as well, netting 32 times in 45 games for his country, as he becomes arguably the best classic centre-forward on the planet.
By:- FREEBets.org.uk
Posted on:- 05/12/2019 - 14:09 PM