League Focus: The Bundesliga Team of the Season

In the past, a major cup final - be it domestic or European - has seen the participants resist the temptation to play an expansive, free flowing attacking game of football in the fear of being caught out by their opposite number should the encounter become that much more open. 

However, had there been any script set aside for the match up between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund during Saturday’s Champions League final, of which the Bavarian side ran out 2-1 victors at Wembley, then it’s fair to say the Bundesliga duo cast the workings of the UEFA writers into a red and yellow cauldron of fire in what has been described as the most memorable final since Liverpool’s Steven Gerrard-inspired heroics against AC Milan in Istanbul.

It brought an end - DFB-Pokal final aside - to a year when the Bundesliga has deservedly secured the plaudits of many a football connoisseur, with Germany’s upper echelon combining both the aesthetically pleasing football of the Primera Division with the power of the Premier League to devastating effect. 

Bayern have returned to their place at the summit of league, while Dortmund have won over many an admirer, be it through their brand of football or the charm of the charismatic Jürgen Klopp. With Bayer Leverkusen and FC Schalke 04 joining them as the German representatives in the Champions League next season, it’s difficult not to get excited about the return of Germany as one of Europe’s powerhouses, meaning WhoScored.com’s Bundesliga team of the season was always going to be a tough one to break into.

Goalkeeper

While Bayern conceded just 18 goals all season, Manuel Neuer’s average rating fell below that of Greuther Furth’s Wolfgang Hesl. The Kleeblätter may’ve finished bottom of the Bundesliga, but in securing three man of the match awards - with the team as a whole only picking up six over the season - the exploits of the goalkeeper mustn’t be overlooked, with Hesl making an average of 4.17 saves per game; only Ron-Robert Zieler (4.29) of Hannover 96 made more. Hesl also saved two penalties all season in the Bundesliga, a figure that no goalkeeper bettered despite having made just 17 appearances over the year.

Defence

Bayer Leverkusen’s Daniel Carvajal enjoyed a highly successful debut campaign in Germany following his summer switch from Real Madrid as the Werkself return to the Champions League following a year out of the competition. The young full-back contributed with one goal and seven assists, with only Tony Jantschke (33) and Javier Pinola (27) blocking more crosses than the 21-year-old this season (23). Consequently, Carvajal’s impressive record in defence, making 3.4 tackles and 3.7 interceptions per game, with Real Madrid set to exercise the buy-out clause in his contract this summer.

One of only six outfield players to have started every Bundesliga game this season, Heiko Westermann made the most clearances (248) and played the most forward passes (1022) of any player over the campaign as Hamburg secured a seventh placed finish. Making 3.7 interceptions and winning 4.2 aerial duels per game, both of which were the highest for the Rothosen this term, further highlighted his expansive defensive capabilities. 

Partnering the powerful German is VfL Wolfsburg’s Naldo, with the Brazilian the second highest rated player for Die Wölfe. No player made more clearances off the line than the 30-year-old (2), while his six goals account for 12.7% of the club’s 47 in the Bundesliga this season, also rendering him their fourth highest goalscorer for the season. Picking up four man of the match awards further aided his cause here, while an average of 3.4 interceptions per game was the highest of any defender at the Volkswagen Arena this term.

Making up the four man defence is Freiburg’s Oliver Sorg, who started all but two games of the domestic campaign for Christian Streich’s side. While securing his place in the Bundesliga team of the season won’t make up for their final day failure to land a Champions League spot, the 22-year-old still intercepted the ball the most times (132) this season, while making 3.4 successful tackles and completing 1.7 dribbles per game.

Midfield

The only FC Schalke 04 representative, winger Jefferson Farfán was instrumental in Die Knappen securing their fourth placed finish this season, and with it returning to the Champions League. His six goals and six assists - a direct contribution of 20.7% of Schalke's 58 league goals this term - aided in seeing the Peruvian's average rating reach a 7.8, while only Gonzalo Gastro (48) and Hiroshi Kiyotake (39) made more key passes from set pieces than Farfán (30) this season.

Soon to be of Bayern Munich, Mario Götze takes place in the middle of the park and the German was the highest rated Dortmund player this season. His creative capabilities were severely missed in the Champions League final, regardless of the exploits of Reus, with only future teammate Franck Ribéry (21) creating more clear cut opportunities than Götze (15) this season. With his nine assists and 10 goals meaning the 20-year-old directly contributed to 23.4% of Dortmund’s goals this term, his input will be sorely missed by Klopp’s side next year.

Partnering Götze in midfield is Wolfsburg’s Brazilian fulcrum Diego, with the midfielder proving to be a lynchpin in the middle of the park, while also netting 10 goals over the season, making him their top scorer this year. A prolific campaign for the Brazilian saw him play the most accurate through balls (18) and complete the most successful dribbles (129) in the Bundesliga in his 32 starts for the club, making him Wolfsburg’s highest rated player over the duration of the season. 

Completing the midfield quartet is Bayern’s Franck Ribéry, fresh from collecting his Champions League winners’ medal having provided the key pass to Arjen Robben for Mario Mandzukic’s opener. Such have been the impressiveness of his displays this season that the Frenchman is the highest rated Bundesliga performer of the campaign, and deservedly so, having created the most clear cut opportunities (21), provided the most assists (14) and picked up the most individual man of the match awards (11). In turn, Ribéry directly contributed to 24.5% of Bayern’s 98 Bundesliga goals in just 24 starts.

Attack

The talk of the transfer world at the moment, Robert Lewandowski is supposedly set to move to Bayern over the coming weeks and the powerful Pole is deserving of his place in the team of the season, completing the Dortmund triumvirate with aplomb. Lewandowski ended the campaign with 24 goals to his name; only Bayer Leverkusen striker Stefan Kießling (25) netted more. Moreover, no player won more penalties than the 24-year-old (3), not to mention only Kießling scoring more clear-cut opportunities (21) than the Dortmund frontman (20).

Unsurprisingly, it’s Kießling who supports Lewandowski as the second striker in the 4-4-2 here, with the Bayer ace finishing the season as the Bundesliga’s top scorer (25). His strikes made up 38.5% of the side's 65 league goals this season, while the Germany international also won the most aerial duels (183) and scored the most headed goals (8) in his 34 starts for the Werkself. That's not to mention the fact that he fired away the most shots on target (62) over the campaign, meaning his place at the summit of Bayer’s top rated players is unsurprising, such has been his impact this season.