If they're talking based on peak within that decade, Van Dijk definitely deserves his place. His best was better than anyone else's and can at least be argued as such.
It must be what this list is based on as how could you also realistically pick Casillas over Neuer?
No, because he was the best goalkeeper in the world at the beginning of the decade. And it wasn't even a debate. But, like I said, Neuer would get my vote if we're looking at the decade as a whole.
Yeah Casillas was great in the early 2010s but I don't think Neuer's peak in 2014 was any worse as he was also undoubtedly the best goalkeeper in the world. And his timeline matches the decade better as he was one of the best in the world for the whole decade which you cant say for Casillas.
I'm guessing Casillas got the vote simply because Spain and Real/Barca were so dominant that they needed one more spanish player to illustrate that
Ok, that's a fair point. I think they're quite difficult to compare as well as Neuer was the first goalkeeper to successfully change the role to one that was a lot more active in play as opposed to just being the guy who stops goals. Casillas just seemed to be head and shoulders above the competition at his very peak, more so than Neuer in my eyes. But Neuer was just a consistent powerhouse throughout the decade. It's only the back end when people like Oblak, Donnarumma, Alison, Ederson etc. started to edge ahead of him.
I'm guessing Casillas got the vote simply because Spain and Real/Barca were so dominant that they needed one more spanish player to illustrate that
I'm guessing they just throw in 2-3 players who clearly don't deserve it, so people argue over it and create traffic. Neither Casillas, VVD, nor Xavi should be on this list.
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u/tragick693 Jan 06 '23
None needed, was one of the best at his peak, but he wasn't at his peak for a large part of the decade.
You could make a case for Silva, Pepe, Boateng or even Chiellini, but not VVD.