FC Barcelona: Picking Barcelona's Best XI

It’s been a difficult season for Victor Valdés who looks set to miss out on the Zamora trophy for the first time in five seasons. After a rocky start (who can forgot that mistake against Angel Di Maria?), Valdés was heavily criticised by his own fans – to such an extent that some were pleased when he announced his intention to leave Barcelona upon the expiry of his contract. However, Valdés has won the majority of the fanbase back with a string of steady performances, culminating in an impressive performance for Spain against France; now, all of sudden Culés want Valdés to stay – and with good reason too: he remains an integral part of the team.

Similar to Valdés, Dani Alves has taken more than his fair share of criticism this season – personally, I think that average rating is a little low. Despite being linked with a summer switch to Paris Saint-Germain, Alves reiterated his commitment to the Catalans – although to think that anyone ever could is absurd. The Brazilian full-back gives it his all each and every time he takes to the field and while Martin Montoya is talented, there will never be another player quite like Dani Alves. Does he make errors? Of course; but has he really been Barcelona’s 14^th best player in 2012-13?

The game-by-game breakdown really illustrates the story of Gerard Piqué’s season: he may have suffered an early blip, but he didn’t let it ruin his season. Instead he rediscovered his form and has been one of the first names on the team-sheet ever since. Piqué needs just one more goal to match his personal record for goals scored in a single season (last achieved in 2010-11 when Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League if anyone’s curious) and overall, while he has room for improvement, I think this will go down as a successful year for Gerard Piqué.

Isn’t it ironic? There are some supporters who think that Puyol’s time at the top has come to an end, but over the course of the season, Carles Puyol has been voted as Barcelona’s best defender – and deservedly so. A beacon of consistency, Puyol rarely has an "off-night" at the heart of defense – and lest we forget that Puyol got the Tito Vilanova era off to an excellent start with a third-minute header against Real Sociedad. Now, if only we could find a way to keep Puyol injury-free...

Signing of the summer? With little competition from Alex Song – who cost the equivalent of 1.35 Jordi Alba’s – it’s clear that Alba has established himself as not only the signing of the summer, but possibly of the decade so far (at least from a Barcelona perspective). Maybe it took him a little longer to settle into the side than we expected, but who can argue with the results? Five goals and five assists in 35 appearances at left-back; Barcelona are definitely better off with Jordi Alba in their starting XI.

6.87? Isn’t that a little low? Aside from the "main three", Sergio Busquets has probably been Barcelona’s best player in 2012-13 and without his talents, the Blaugrana probably wouldn’t be in such a commanding position. It might not be evident from looking at the statistics, but Busquets is perhaps one of the most important parts of the Barcelona machine – just ask Alex Song.

Xavi is reportedly injured, and could miss next week’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final first-leg clash with Paris Saint-Germain. You don’t need me to tell you that’s bad news. Just look at what he did to AC Milan (in what was his best performance of the season so far); this wasn’t some relegation-threatened team struggling for form, this was one of the best teams in Europe; and Xavi made them look ordinary. The game-by-game breakdown hints at a recent dip in form (almost certainly caused by this troublesome thigh injury) – but even so, we have no-one who can even come close to replacing Xavi in midfield; it comes as no surprise to see Xavi in Barcelona’s "Best XI".

However, can we say the same about Cesc Fàbregas? A divisive figure amongst Culés; some notable Barcelona fans are huge fans, others make their disdain for Fàbregas clear; but whether you like him or loathe him there is no denying that Fàbregas is an excellent player. Statistically, he is one of Barcelona’s best players and while there are question marks over his consistency, Fàbregas remains a crucial part of Tito Vilanova’s strongest XI.

Ultimately, Barcelona failed to produce when it mattered last season, crashing out of the UEFA Champions League and losing the La Liga title to bitter rivals Real Madrid. I’m sure I’m not the only one who wonders whether it would have played out differently if David Villa hadn’t broke his leg in the Club World Cup. El Guaje made a triumphant return with a goal against Real Sociedad and he hasn’t looked back; notching 14 goals in 31 appearances this season. At face value, it isn’t a particularly good record – at least by Villa’s high standards – but when placed into context it means that Villa averages a goal every 111 minutes; easily enough to secure a place in Barcelona’s strongest XI.

55 goals and 16 assists in 43 appearances; you know, I’m not sure whether Messi really deserves a place in Barça’s "Best XI"... All joking aside, Messi picked up exactly where he left off last season and if he can lead Barcelona to a historic double, we will have witnessed the best individual season in the history of the sport.

Rounding off the starting XI we have the Best Player in Europe – as voted for by 53 UEFA journalists. Iniesta has been in exceptional form all season long; creating goal after goal for his teammates – including a jaw-dropping haul of three assists (and a goal) against Levante back in November. Forget Cristiano Ronaldo, this has been the season that Andrés Iniesta secured his place as the second best player on the planet.

It all started so promisingly; just what happened to Pedro? As his international form demonstrates, Pedro is just as talented as he ever was, but for one reason or another, he simply hasn’t been able to consistently deliver the goods for Barcelona. There have been notable exceptions – his brace against Espanyol, the goal and assist against Real Sociedad, and to a lesser extent, his performance in the first-leg of the Supercopa – but for the most part, this season has been a largely forgettable experience for Pedro and as a result, his starting place may be under threat.

The statistics on the right-hand side say it all – Barcelona were good in pre-season, have been excellent in La Liga, but their form in the UEFA Champions League and cup competitions could be/have been better. On the other hand, virtually no team in World Football can boast such an enormous win ratio; and as they demonstrated against AC Milan, Barcelona remain the team to beat on the European stage.

Tito Vilanova has already won the most important battle this year; it’s simply a bonus that he may also return to lead Barcelona to glory. You know what they say: "absence makes the heart grow fond" and it’s perfectly applicable here – Tito hasn’t received the highest marks this season, but after a lengthy spell away it’s safe to say that everyone has realised just how important he is to this team.

Heavily (and unfairly) criticised during his time in charge, Jordi Roura will be relieved to move back into his role as assistant coach; although I think he deserves a higher rating than the 6.49 he ultimately “earned” in his time in charge.

Unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi has received the most "Man of the Match" awards this season - more than all other Barcelona players combined.