European Team of the Season: MC - Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich)
As Bayern cantered to another Bundesliga title, the orchestrator of their success and indeed their play was in little doubt. While Lewandowski ended the campaign with the Golden Boot once more and there was a renaissance from Ribery and, in particular, Robben, Thiago Alcantara was at the heart of everything for the Bavarians.
A Pep Guardiola prodigy, it took the Catalan's departure for the Bayern fans to see the best of their metronomic midfielder, who steered clear of injury for the first time in Germany to prove just what he is capable of. 26 league starts was not only at least ten more than in any other season in Munich but also the most in any campaign in the Spaniard’s career, who was simply outstanding given a consistent run in the team.
Now 26, this was a season in which Thiago had to show progression and boy did he manage that, averaging a frankly remarkable 94.9 passes per game - the second most in Europe’s top 5 leagues - with 90.2% accuracy. Meanwhile, tallies of 6 goals and 5 assists, with a further 2 and 3 respectively in the Champions League, were both career highs.
His vision and creativity heralded 1.8 key passes per game while his poise and agility helped towards 2.2 dribbles per game, though it was his defensive output that was perhaps most impressive. The former Barca man proved last season that he can break up play effectively, with an average of 2.8 tackles second only to Arturo Vidal at Bayern this time around, but it was his anticipation of an opposition pass that improved to an incredible degree.
Indeed, a solid average of 1.5 interceptions per game last season leapt to a sensational 4.6 in the league in 2016/17. That wasn’t only the best for Ancelotti’s men, the best in the Bundesliga, but a record across Europe’s top 5 leagues. For a player so renowned for his ability on the ball, this was the season Thiago established himself as the continent’s best all round midfielder, achieving a massive WhoScored.com rating of 8.28 in the process.
