With the domestic calendar now brought to an end following the culmination of the La Liga season last weekend, it’s the preparation for the new campaign that teams across Europe will focus on for the summer. Be it strengthening the core of the team or adding that one player to move from a Europa League to a Champions League finish, the coming months are pivotal for any team.
Last year, those who pay particular attention to Ligue 1 saw Paris Saint-Germain put their abundance of riches to good use in bringing in the likes of Ezequiel Lavezzi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva, not to mention the addition of Lucas Moura in January, as they secured their first league title since 1994 in impressive fashion.
This year, Monaco announced their return to the top flight of French football with the signings of James Rodriguez, Joao Moutinho and Radamel Falcao having secured the Ligue 2 title, as chairman Dmitry Rybolovlev looks to flex his financial muscles in the pursuit of seeing Les Rogue et Blanc make an immediate impact in France’s upper echelons.
The domestic and continental exploits of PSG and now Monaco’s spending capability has seen the attention of football fans shift back to France once again and as teams aim to compete with the biggest and best Ligue 1 has to offer, WhoScored.com have taken the opportunity to calculate the team of the season from the French league.
Goalkeeper
While Paris Saint Germain conceded the fewest goals this season (23), Bastia’s Mickaël Landreau was the highest rated goalkeeper of the campaign with an average of 7.1, having played all but four games this season, for both I Turchini and former club Lille. The 34-year-old completed the most accurate long balls of any player in Ligue 1 this season (293), while keeping nine clean sheets all year, five of which were with Bastia; an average of one every 3.8 games.
Defence
At right back is PSG captain Christophe Jallet, with the Frenchman accumulating an average rating of 7.4. Jallet was a key member of Carlo Ancelotti’s side as Les Rouge-et-Bleu landed their first Ligue 1 title since 1994, with only midfield pairing Blaise Matuidi (3.3) and Thiago Motta (2.8) making more tackles per game than Jallet (2.6) in a successful year for the French capital side.
The first centre back to make an appearance in the team of the season is Montpellier’s veteran defender Hilton. La Paillade may’ve failed to defend their Ligue 1 crown, but the Brazilian was an influential and calming presence in the defence, with only Cédric Kanté of Sochaux making more headed clearances (198) than the 35-year-old (184), while only two players - Kanté (339) and AC Ajaccio’s Yoann Poulard (314) - made more defensive clearances (311).
Partnering Hilton is Bordeaux colossus Lamine Sané, fresh from his side’s 3-2 Coupe de France win over Evian Thonon Gaillard after a somewhat disappointing Ligue 1 campaign for Les Girondins. On a personal level, however, the Senegal international was imperious in the heart of the back line, with the 26-year-old winning the most aerial duels (149) of any player in the French league this season.
Making up the back four is Toulouse youngster Serge Aurier, with the Ivory Coast international enjoying a successful debut campaign with Les Pitchouns and ending the season with an average rating of 7.3. Only Adil Hermach made more interceptions (3.7) and tackles (3.7) per game, as Aurier finished the year with 3.1 and 3.5 in each respective category. He was also Toulouse’s third highest rated player behind Etienne Capoue (7.5) and Adrien Rabiot (7.33).
Midfield
Rémy Cabella of Montpellier is the first name to appear in the midfield, with the 23-year-old helping himself to the most assists (8) for the former champions this season, not to mention adding a further seven goals, helping push his average rating to a 7.4. The winger was a key member of René Girard’s side as only Florian Thauvin attempted more dribbles (149) this season than Cabella (124).
In the middle of the park, first off is Toulouse's prized asset Etienne Capoue following another impressive campaign for the Ligue 1 side. Earning his place in the recent France squad following a successful season, Capoue ended the year with an average rating of 7.5, coming as a result of his heading ability, winning 118 of his aerial duels - only Lamine Sané (149) and Salif Sané (141) won more - while only Didier Digard (892) and Aurélien Chedjou (851) played more forward passes than Capoue (814) this season.
Partnering the powerful Frenchman is PSG’s Blaise Matuidi following an all-action campaign that saw the 26-year-old emerge as one of Europe’s best defensive midfielders. With an average rating of 7.4, Matuidi made the most interceptions (131) in Ligue 1 this season, while only Maxime Gonalons (139) made more tackles than the France international (123) as PSG landed only their third top flight title.
Completing the midfield quartet is Lille winger Dimitri Payet, with the France international ending the year with an average rating of 7.4. While Les Dogues failed to secure Champions League football for next season, Payet was imperative to the attacking plans of Rudi Garcia’s side, creating the most goals (13) of any Ligue 1 player and attempting the most through balls (48). Meanwhile, no player scored as many goals on the counter attack (3) than the 26-year-old this season.
Attack
The first striker on the list, unsurprisingly, is PSG’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The Sweden international saw his rating reach 7.9 - the highest in Ligue 1 - in the year where he became the first player to score 30 goals in a domestic campaign since Jean-Pierre Papin in the 1989/90 season. Ibrahimovic won the most individual man of the match awards (13) this year, scored the most clear cut goalscoring opportunities (18) and no player scored as many goals from direct free kicks (3) as the 31-year-old.
Partnering the PSG frontman is Lille striker and former Chelsea man Salomon Kalou, as the Ivorian attained an average rating of 7.2. His debut season for the Ligue 1 side following his release from the West London outfit may not have seen the forward make an ideal start to life in France, but his 14 goals saw the club come close to securing a Champions League place, only to fall at the final hurdle, not to mention finishing as Les Dogues' top scorer. The 27-year-old also completed the most dribbles per game for Lille this season (1.5), while only Dimitri Payet had more shots per game (3.6) than Kalou (2.5).
@Shine Im right with you except for Matuidi. He was essential ! Motta always injured. Verratti getting red every times. Beckham a bit too old. Pastore exiled on a side. Chantôme ? hummm. He was the boss in the midfield. And Maybe it's the OL fan who is talking but I prefer by far Lacazette on the right side. He's the most complete offensively, defensively and he has an impressive speed.
Ridiculous list. Thiago Silva has to be on there, as PSG could not have won the league without him. Who the hell is Sane? Should be Perrin+Silva. Aurier hardly played at LB, so he doesn't belong. Maxwell should be there instead. Seriously, Kalou? Aliadiere should be on instead. And Gonalons+Cheyrou instead of Matuidi and Capoue. Matuidi was not an important player for PSG, they could have easily won without him. And Valbuena is better overall than Payet. Valbuena has 20 caps, Payet has 3
I'm surprised to not see Thiago Silva out there.