Now that the 2022/23 LaLiga season has officially come to a close with all the European places decided and the teams heading to the Segunda aware of their fate, it’s time to take a look back at the season that was by naming a final Team of the Season.
As expected, champions Barcelona dominate this XI, having sewn up the title quite some time ago with their 2-1 head-to-head win over eternal rivals Real Madrid.
But not everything is about the “Big 3” as several underrated standouts made the team, including one star from now-relegated side Espanyol.
GK Marc-André ter Stegen, Barcelona: Thibaut Courtois would have been the pick in any other season, and Elche’s Édgar Badía was also exceptional despite his club’s horrible season. But it would be disingenuous to pick against Marc-André ter Stegen.
The world-class German bounced back harder than anyone else in LaLiga, going from disappointment back to one of the elite goalkeepers in world football. Ter Stegen had the best save percentage in all of Europe’s top five leagues at 84.7 percent, registering a clean sheet in a stunning 68.4 percent of his starts. Ridiculous.
LB Alejandro Baldé, Barcelona: Celta Vigo’s underappreciated Javi Galán, Valencia’s José Gayà, and even Rayo Vallecano youngster Fran García merited consideration here. However, the 19-year-old Barcelona star Alejandro Baldé HAD to be the pick at left back in this LaLiga Team of the Season. Baldé was superior from to start to finish, producing the best one-on-one defending in the entire league at the position while making an impact on the ball. His progression was key to Barcelona’s success on that left-hand side, and he grew into a decisive passer in the final third.
CB Ronald Araújo, Barcelona: A nasty defender to go up against, Ronald Araújo plays the game the right way at the center back position – and even at right back as part of the anti-Vinícius Júnior system Xavi deploys. Araújo is one of the elite on-one-one defenders in world football, capable of marking out the best wingers and strikers in the game. He had a special season at the heart of the, statistically speaking, best defense in European football.
CB Andreas Christensen, Barcelona: Yet in the biggest games, Andreas Christensen was even more impressive. As much as I wanted to pick players outside of Barça like David García and Yeray Álvarez, the reality is that these two Blaugrana stars were the best in the business in 2022/23.
Christensen’s accurate passing and contributions to the build-up play far surpassed anyone else in LaLiga. His covering and reading of the game were brilliant, making him the perfect complement to Araújo. Christensen proved to be one of the best signings in LaLiga this season as a free agent.
RB Juan Foyth, Villarreal: An all-Barcelona defense is only stifled by Juan Foyth of Villarreal. Like Araújo, Foyth proved he could shut down one of the world’s best players in Viní Jr. With all due respect to youngster Iván Fresneda, Foyth was the best defender on the right flank in LaLiga. A number of strong attacking options merited consideration here, such as Girona’s talented youngster Arnau Martínez, but Foyth’s defending was so good that it could not be overlooked.
CM Frenkie de Jong, Barcelona: Pedri also had a phenomenal year but Frenkie de Jong ended up being the best midfielder on Barcelona despite facing heavy criticism – including internally – prior to the start of the 2022/23 season. De Jong was essential to La Blaugrana winning LaLiga with his press resistance, ball-winning, and undying ability to find the right pass at all times. He set the tempo for Barcelona alongside veteran Sergio Busquets, proving to be the true engine of the team with his progression. De Jong is becoming the perfect midfielder for this historic club.
CM Aleix García, Girona: Yet the best midfielder in LaLiga was none other than Girona’s Aleix García, who did his damndest to push the newly-promoted underdogs all the way up to a European place. Nobody had a better all-around season in the middle of the park than García. Only 25 years of age, García was the biggest breakout star of the 2022/23 LaLiga season, averaging more than two key passes per game while playing solid defense. He was at the heart of everything good about Girona.
CM Sergi Darder, Espanyol: It’s a shame Espanyol are going down, because they had a couple of LaLiga’s best players in the 2022/23 season. Nobody, though, was better than Sergi Darder, who was nearly as impactful as García from an all-around perspective. He’s long been one of the best midfielders in European football despite receiving a fraction of the recognition; the average fan probably has no clue who he is. Darder had six goals, three assists, 2.1 fouls drawn per game, 1.9 key passes per match, 1.8 dribbles completed per game, and 1.8 tackles per contest. Talk about making a difference.
LW Vinícius Júnior, Real Madrid: There was no other option on the left wing. Vinícius Júnior was by far the best player at the position. He is the most exciting player to watch in LaLiga and probably in the entire world. He turns games on their head with his skill and incisiveness, and if his striker wasn’t so disappointing this season, his numbers would have been even better. Real Madrid need to sign a 9 who can help accentuate Viní’s strengths, much like Karim Benzema did in 2021/22. Viní is the definition of a franchise player. That goes for LaLiga, too. Protect him from racism!
ST Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona: Anyone disparaging Robert Lewandowski or minimizing his quality in any way needs to have their football takes shipped into the sun. Lewandowski is the greatest striker of our generation from the perspective of his professionalism, consistency, and technical quality.
The same people who said Lewa was merely a goal-scoring mercenary had never actually watched him in the Bundesliga, and he completely shattered that narrative definitively with some of the most intelligent and unselfish play of any 9 in 2022/23. His hold-up play, quality of passing, and movement off the ball suited Barcelona perfectly in just his first season with the club.
There is no LaLiga title without Lewa’s 23 goals and 7 assists. Imagine how much more he could have scored if the wingers held up their end of the bargain throughout the season.
RW Antoine Griezmann, Atlético Madrid: The best player in LaLiga right now, even above Vinícius Júnior and Robert Lewandowski. Griezmann lifted Atlético Madrid up from a difficult start to the season, yet again proving to be an absolute legend of this league. The Frenchman made so many people who disrespected him look like absolute fools, producing technical wizardry from another planet.
Griezmann had 15 goals and 16 assists, averaging 2.2 key passes per game as the primary creator and goal-scorer for Los Rojiblancos. In addition to all of that, he worked his ass off for Diego Simeone defensively. Honestly, Griezmann needs to be on the Ballon d’Or shortlist. He had an even better season than Lionel Messi did at PSG, by the way.
