European Team of the Season, 2025/14
European team of the season 2025/14
The final post of a very enjoyable 2025/14 domestic campaign – the usual XI (and back-ups) of the season. Usual team-by-team previews of this summer's World Cup contest will commence shortly…
Thibaut Courtois, Atletico
It's not often an on-loan player is the best in his role in Europe, but Courtois was sensational all season, even helping to eliminate his parent club on the way to the European Cup final. In an age where goalkeepers at big clubs are increasingly sweeping from their line and playing very proactively, Courtois (much like Atletico) bucked the trend. He was instead notable for his excellent reaction saves on his goalline and his command of the box when dealing with crosses. He barely made a mistake all season.
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Philipp Lahm, Bayern
Pep Guardiola's surprising decision to field Lahm as a holding midfielder means he didn't play right-back as regularly as in previous campaigns, but it still seems his natural position, and his obvious role in this European XI. While he became more renowned for his short passing and positional discipline in the centre of the pitch, he remains an extremely useful outlet when playing in his traditional right-back role, forever bombing forward on the overlap and playing incisive, intelligent passes into attacking positions rather than crossing the ball blindly.
Mehdi Benatia, Roma
The defensive signing of the season. Benatia always looked promising at Udinese, often in a back three, but his true quality has become even more obvious since his move to Roma last summer. He's simply a superb all-round centre-back – happy challenging in the air, comfortable moving out to the channels to close down opponents, and good at bringing the ball forward and starting attacks. His displays went a bit under the radar outside Italy, as Roma weren't involved in European competition, but in Serie A he was extremely consistent.
Diego Godin, Atletico
Both he and Miranda were superb all season, but Godin gets the nod because of two factors. First, because he was a greater aerial presence at the back, arguably the most crucial feature of Atletico's defensive play considering how deep they were usually positioned. Second, because he proved decisive at the other end too – his header at the Camp Nou effectively won La Liga, and his header in Lisbon very nearly won the European Cup.
David Alaba, Bayern
Like Lahm, he was sometimes fielded as a bizarre full-back-cum-central-midfielder by Pep Guardiola, and is entirely capable of playing both roles. A full-back with tremendous energy and stamina, but also great technical ability, ball retention skills and physical strength too. He's also remarkably calm when challenging for the ball – he didn't collect a single booking all season, an amazing record for a full-back.
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Gabi, Atletico
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