The finest starting XI from the 2013/14 competition.
The 2013/14 Champions League season came to a dramatic conclusion on Saturday as Real Madrid beat city rivals Atletico Madrid 4-1 after extra-time.
It was Los Merengues’ first triumph in the competition since 2002 and adds to head coach Carlo Ancelotti’s already impressive CV.
So fanatix thought it was the ideal opportunity to look back over the tournament and pick out the finest starting XI, with statistics courtesy of WhoScored.
Roberto, Olympiakos
Surprisingly the Greek club made it out of their group and then nearly caused an upset by knocking out Manchester United in the last-16 after taking a 2-0 lead in the first-leg.
In the end the Red Devils overturned the result, but not before Olympiakos’ Spanish goalkeeper had impressed everyone with his performances.
Branislav Ivanovic, Chelsea
Up until being dumped out of the competition by Atletico, Jose Mourinho’s side were in usual defensive solidity mode.
This was spearheaded by the ever improving Ivanovic, who is continuing to add a more attacking edge to his game.
Alex Sandro, FC Porto
This man is on the Blues’ radar due to his impressive performances for Porto over the past 12 months and makes it into this squad despite the fact the Portuguese side didn’t make it out of their group.
Sandro provides the ideal balance for a full-back between defence and attack, although continues to struggle to break into Luis Felipe Scolari’s Brazil team.
Gerard Pique, FC Barcelona
It seems that the glory days of Pep Guardiola and Barca dominating European football are gone, but there are still some truly world-class stars at the Nou Camp.
One of those is Pique, who among a Catalan defence that is often leaky is the one that remains resolute at the back.
Marquinhos, Paris Saint-Germain
Became the second most expensive defender of all time last summer when joining PSG from AS Roma in a £30.1m deal.
The Brazilian has impressed since then and still being only 20-years-old means Marquinhos could well turn out to be worth the fee.
Arjen Robben, Bayern Munich
Now Guardiola is at the Allianz Arena rather than Catalonia it appears the Spaniard’s unique brand of dominant football is now set to take Germany by storm.
Although Bayern were knocked out by eventual champions Madrid, four goals and four assists from Robben shows he is among the best.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
The Portugal captain finally crowned what has been an unbelievable period with Los Blancos since the then world record £80m transfer from United in 2009.
Ronaldo also broke Lionel Messi’s record for most goals in a single tournament with an impressive 17 strikes – including the fourth for Madrid in the final.
Toni Kroos, Bayern Munich
This Germany international has been in the newspapers for different reasons in recent times, with the future of Kroos still undecided.
However, there is a reason there is so much interest in the 24-year-old and that is because he is brilliant almost anywhere in midfield.
Thiago Motta, Paris Saint-Germain
It’s been a career of rise and falls for this South American, who now aged 31-years-old appears to be at the peak of his career.
Although PSG have not quite found their place on the European stage despite continued dominance in Ligue 1, players like Motta will help them achieve it.
Lionel Messi, FC Barcelona
Many have stated that it has been a poor year for Messi, yet despite not winning any silverware and losing the Ballon d’Or gong to Ronaldo, the Argentine has still scored goals aplenty.
This term the 26-year-old netted eight times in seven games and will look to spearhead Barca back to European glory.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paris Saint-Germain
If it hadn’t been for a certain superstar at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu this Swede could have been the Golden Boot winner in the Champions League.
Ibrahimovic scored 10 goals in eight matches, but continues to miss out on adding the elusive European trophy to his impressive cabinet.
SEE ALSO: The 50 best players of 2013/14!
