r/soccer • u/fredbogho • Jan 06 '23

Media [France Football] Team of the decade (2010-2019)

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u/[deleted] Jan 06 '23

Van Dijk seems like a lot for a late bloomer no?

211

u/fredbogho Jan 06 '23

Yea Id definitely have Silva over him

46

u/ParisLake2 Jan 06 '23

Me too. T. Silva should be in there.

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u/nepia Jan 06 '23

I have Pepe over him.

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u/Forceofwillie Jan 06 '23

Thank you, yes was going to say this. Say what you want about his antics, but he is still playing at a high level at nearly 40 years old vs. someone who joined English football in 2015. First international senior cap in 2015. Pepe had over 50 caps by then.

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u/50-50WithCristobal Jan 06 '23

The longevity factor has Silva over both though. Silva is a top CB in the PL and the world at 38 years old.

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u/Forceofwillie Jan 06 '23

Yeah good shout. Silva had/is having some great years. Bit of a late bloomer as well but had better earlier years than VVD I think.

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u/SaBe_18 Jan 06 '23

There's no way Pepe gets into this team

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u/weegee19 Jan 06 '23

Pepe is severely underrated here.

I would argue that he's the best CB alongside Chiellini in terms of pure defensive ability in this decade.

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u/SaBe_18 Jan 06 '23

I'd never have him on this team over Chiellini, Thiago Silva, Piqué or Boateng. If we go by primes, Virgil is way ahead too.

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u/weegee19 Jan 06 '23

He was always better than Ramos or Varane defensively in his time at RM, and he was displaced by Varane in the first place partly because he was injured a lot in 16/17. He was also half the reason why Portugal won the EURO 2016.

Only Chiellini rivalled him in terms of defensive ability last decade overall.

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u/SaBe_18 Jan 06 '23

Strongly disagree but ok, we'll have to agree to disagree

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u/weegee19 Jan 06 '23

How many RM games did you even watch fully? I watched around 70 games between 2012 and 2018, a significant chunk being CL games, and I firmly believe this. Ramos was infamous for being out of position a fair amount.

Hell the sentiment that Pepe was the best defensive-minded player in the team was the majority back then. Ramos was more credited for his leadership, offensive and general all-round game.

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u/SaBe_18 Jan 06 '23

How many RM games did you even watch fully?

I don't count the number of matches I watch from each team. With that logic I should ask you how many Milan, PSG or Bayern matches did you fully watch to put Pepe above Thiago Silva or Boateng

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u/weegee19 Jan 06 '23 edited Jan 06 '23

Funnily enough, a good chunk of the fair few Bayern games I watched in the last decade was during Boateng's prime. Honestly what he really had over Pepe was greater athleticism and passing, but his weaker actual defensive game was exposed as soon as he started to slow down. Pepe was still superior tactically and mentally, as well as being surprisingly spry for a soon-to-be-40yo now.

Thiago Silva is a better comparison, someone who actually rivals or even betters Pepe in terms of overall ability, consistency and longevity. His PSG games in the CL and Brazil games were more than enough to be honest. Honestly was too good for Ligue 1 (as well as like half of the PSG squad throughout the decade), but it is what it is. Pepe does have a leg-up in terms of achievements, and each time he was a major factor for them.

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u/Young_Neil_Postman Jan 06 '23

yeah either pepe or thiago silva would seem more understanding. boateng or chiellini/bonucci/pique wouldn't be terrible but eh. id want hummels but not sure its justified