As another season in Spain draws to a close, Guillem Balague reveals his La Liga team of the season.
Guillem names his star XI of the season
In his final column of the season, Guillem Balague names his La Liga dream team from the 2007/08 campaign.
The team, set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation is as follows...
Goalkeeper - Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)
Nobody has received more shots than him, nobody has made more saves than him; that's the nature of Real Madrid. He has also become statistically the best goalkeeper in la Liga, but he's more than that. When he is asked to intervene in late stages in matches, he can be counted on. I would say he has been the player of the season.
Right-back - Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Sergio Ramos, who never felt he was a centre-back, has been moved to where he can tame his energy and his need and wish to go forward. He has been everywhere and still takes too many rushed decisions but he can handle that as a right-back. He will probably be one of the bright spots for Spain at the European Championship because he's not scared of anything and he brings that attitude to the team. He's been very influential, although recently he let everybody know he was a bit unhappy about the fact that some players had got a new contract when he hadn't. That's a black spot on what has been a really good season for him.
Centre-backs - Gonzalo Rodriguez and Godin (Villarreal)
Statistically, the centre-backs of Real Madrid have been better, but they change the centre-backs around and I'm still not convinced that Fabio Cannavaro would be in my team. In the meantime Godin and Rodriguez are exactly what Villarreal need. They are not the tallest, but are strong in the air and they can pass the ball once they recover it. That's what Villarreal need because they build from the back.
Left-back - Mane (Almeria)
Ask any director of football or any chief scout and they'll tell you it's difficult to find left-backs; but Mane's a little jewel. He's a tall guy who can play the ball left-footed and who is very good at putting crosses in. He's very aggressive defensively, but he goes forward and has good pace and ability. I really like him and I don't think he's going to be at Almeria for long.
Central midfielder - Marcos Senna (Villarreal)
He started the season as a more defensive player just in front of the back four which is where he will probably play with Spain. But since the arrival of Eguren he has gone forward a little bit more; he is a Brazilian midfielder after all, even though he has Spanish nationality. He scored one of the goals of the season, but if he tried he would score more goals. He's very good at stopping attacks, but he's also very good at building up and creating, so he's a great acquisition for Spain from that point of view. Manchester United wanted him two summers ago but it didn't happen and he was very disappointed, but now I think he's going to stay at Villarreal until the end of his career.
Central midfielder - Iniesta (Barcelona)
He has been the bright spot of Barcelona's season. He's stopped being the number 12 player - the one who played in every single game but most of the time from the bench - and he is with Lionel Messi the only one that can produce something in attack. He also has got the energy to cover lots of space. I wish he would learn a little bit more from Deco, especially without the ball, but he's got the right attitude. When I spoke to him earlier in this season he identified what was wrong with the side and
