Wertung der Fußballer: Bayern Munich 2015/16

This can be viewed as the summit of Pep Guardiola’s era at Bayern Munich. The 2015/16 Bayern Munich team was truly formidable, but unfortunately this did not showcase in Europe as we crashed out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals due to a loss on away goals to eventual finalists Atlético Madrid. Nonetheless, that Atlético Madrid team under Simeone was excellent at precisely that: frustrating attacking machines and hitting them on the counter.

For those unfamiliar, FIFA has a player rating system from 1-99. Players from 50-65 can be considered reserve or lower division players. 65-75 are usually younger players with high potential or other lesser players. 75-85 roughly are those that one would consider top level players, and from there on all players beyond are considered world class. The rating cap is around 93-95, as no player has exceeded a 94 rating since Ronaldinho and Iker Casillas (95 each) all the way back in 2005.

Now, let’s look at what Bayern Munich’s ratings should have looked like in my opinion after the 2015/16 season a.k.a. their FIFA 17 ratings. The change denoted in the bracket showcases the change from the FIFA 16 rating given in the previous article. New transfers will retro-actively be given a new FIFA 16 rating. You can read about the 2012/13 season here, the 2013/14 season here, and the 2014/15 season here.

Goalkeepers

Manuel Neuer - 92(-1)
Neuer often bailed out the backline and remained godly, but when you’re at that high of a rating you must have some sort of glory to back it up, which Neuer was unfortunately without this season.

Sven Ulreich - 77(-3)
Ulreich sat on the bench the entire season. Really not much to add.

Tom Starke - 73(-3)
Same goes for Starke.

Defenders

Jérôme Boateng - 86(-3)
Boateng would not reach the same heights he did previously, often being mistake-prone, and not getting as much game time due to injury.

Joshua Kimmich - 74
Kimmich’s debut in FIFA would see him sat with a 74 rating. He was more than solid in the centre of defense, often playing almost as a deep-lying defensive midfielder — a hint of what was to come — in Bayern’s advanced 4-3-3.

Javi Martínez - 84
Javi would see himself in a role similar to Kimmich, and would perform it better but not enough to warrant an upgrade.

Medhi Benatia - 85(-1)
A lack of playing time sees Benatia’s rating decrease, although he was certainly excellent when employed.

Serdar Tasci - 76
Tasci was the strangest transfer I may have ever seen. Okay, not, we were begging for central defenders and he was a good loan option, but he barely played.

Holger Badstuber - 79
Badstuber continued to be a serviceable team player.

David Alaba - 85(-3)
Alaba wasn’t up to his usual standards this season, but he wasn’t poor by any means.

Juan Bernat - 83(-)
Bernat was more than serviceable when played but was not played a lot.

Philipp Lahm - 86
Lahm was fine, I guess. Not an exceptional season in any way but he continued to be quietly excellent. His playing time was once again split between midfield and defense.

Rafinha - 84(-2)
Rafinha looked good this season, but not as good as he did in the 14/15 season.

Midfielders

Xabi Alonso - 87(-1)
Alonso continued to be world class, but not as good as his debut season.

Thiago Álcantara - 86(+5)
Thiago finally got a season with acceptable game time, and he was just fantastic throughout.

Sebastian Rode - 75(-4)
Rode was subpar even when coming off the bench.

Arturo Vidal - 89(+1)
Vidal was severely underrated this season, and frankly a little over-hated later on. His ability box-to-box led the team in Thiago’s absence, often carrying the ball from Kimmich and Alaba to Thomas Müller and Douglas Costa.

Attackers

Mario Götze - 85(-2)
Götze was starved of game time due to fitness issues, mainly serving on the wings when fit.

Franck Ribéry - 87(-5)
Ribéry was injured for the majority of the season, and was world-beating even when he did play.

Arjen Robben - 89(-4)
Robben was similarly injured for a large portion of the season and did not perform to his usual standard when fit.

Thomas Müller - 91(+2)
This was Müller’s best season under Pep, finding his stride as a goalscorer after a couple years of relative quietness. You could argue to say he was a midfielder but I’d include him in the attacking unit.

Kingsley Coman - 86(+9)
The first of Bayern’s new wing contingent, Coman was mercurial this season. While his end product may not have been top notch, he very much proved his worth as a player who can win duels out wide and open up space for Müller, Vidal or Lewandowski elsewhere.

Douglas Costa - 88(+5)
Douglas Costa was frankly insane this season. Dribbles, long shots, passes, he did it all. Genuinely ridiculous.

Robert Lewandowski - 90(+2)
This was the beginning of Lewandowski’s rise to the peak of world football. Those who don’t watch Bayern may say he has only become elite in the last year or so, but we know better.

What do you think of these ratings? Are there any you would change? Have I had more howlers than EA? (If you answer yes I will be under your bed tonight). The discussion is open as always.