With New Year hangovers subsiding it seems a relevant time to recap on the year gone by, looking at the statistical leaders of 2013 over a variety of categories in Europe's top 5 leagues.
Most Goals
We start at the business end, and Cristiano Ronaldo had a year to remember netting at least 9 more league goals than any other player (38). The Portuguese beat the likes of Suárez (29) and Messi (28) to the top scorer accolade with the duo missing out at various points over the year due to suspensions and injuries respectively. Meanwhile, Edinson Cavani (28) just edges out his new PSG teammate Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is joined on 27 by Atletico's Diego Costa, with 19 of the Brazilian-born forward's strikes coming in the current campaign.
Most Assists
When it comes to assists there is also a clear leader, evidencing why Arsene Wenger forked out a club record fee for Mesut Özil. The German picked up 17 in 2013, the last 7 of which have come since joining Arsenal, three clear of closest rival Franck Ribéry. The top two creators in La Liga may come as more of a shock with Sevilla's Ivan Rakitic and Atletico's Koke tied on 13, while veteran playmaker Francesco Totti proved his worth at the ripe old age of 37, sharing a tally of 12 assists with Wayne Rooney.
Most Shots Per Game
It's little surprise that top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo fired off the most shots per game last year, with 7.1 taking his overall tally to a massive 234. Next up is the equally self-assured Mario Balotelli, whose tally of 18 goals came from an average of 5.8 shots per game, with Suárez (5.5) close behind. Interestingly both Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale had an identical number of shots (4.9 per game) from an identical number of appearances (26), though the former netted 9 more goals, while Ibrahimovic rounds off the top 6 on 4.5.
Most Key Passes Per Game
The player to create the most chances per game in 2013 was Manchester City's David Silva, proving just how crucial he may be to Pellegrini's side's title charge this season. The Spaniard averaged 3.7 key passes per game, pipping Marseille's Mathieu Valbuena to second (3.3) and Totti (3.2) in the top three. Having ranked top for assists Özil’s appearance in this leaderboard is understandable (3.1), while Rakitic also makes the top 6, joined on 3 key passes per game by Bayer Leverkusen's Gonzalo Castro.
Most Successful Dribbles Per Game
It's Ribéry who came out on top in terms of successful dribbles per game, with 4.6 on average over the course of the year. He leads the way of 3 Bundesliga players completing the top four, with Fiorentina's Juan Guillermo Cuadrado (4.2) sandwiched between Diego of Wolfsburg (4.5) and Julian Draxler of Schalke (4.1). Lionel Messi comes in in fifth, just ahead of the direct running of Spurs' Andros Townsend (4 per game), with 2013 representing a real breakthrough year for the winger.
Most Accurate Crosses Per Game
Atop the table for accurate crosses per game is wantaway Chelsea youngster Kevin De Bruyne (2.8), who impressed greatly during a loan spell with Werder Bremen. The Belgian midfielder is just ahead of Ivan Rakitic, whose reappearance here shows just why he is reported to be so highly sought-after in the current transfer window, while Norwich's Robert Snodgrass (2.6) completes the top three. Gonzalo Castro is another who crops up again, with the Serie A duo of Cigarini and Diamanti finalising the leaderboard.
Most Accurate Passes Per Game
Xavi's emergence as Europe's top passer is about as obvious as Ronaldo's standing in the shots stakes, with the Barca string puller averaging almost ten more accurate passes per game than any other player in 2013 (83.3). Bastian Schweinsteiger is his closest challenger (73.4), with 21-year old Marco Verratti showcasing exactly why he is backed to be Pirlo's successor in the years to come for the Azzurri, with 72.4 per game. Elsewhere Pep Guardiola's influence at Bayern is telling as two more of the European Champions’ stars - Thiago Alcántara and Philipp Lahm - sit either side of Verratti's PSG partner Thiago Motta (68.8).
Most Tackles Per Game
Relegated Fortuna Dusseldorf 'play-breaker' Leon Balogun averaged 5 tackles per game in the tail end of last season, while Sassuolo's young centre-back Luca Antei is just behind with 4.9 for the newly promoted Italian outfit. Of players to play over both campaigns Lucas Leiva is first, marginally ahead of Espanyol's Victor Sánchez (4.8), with the Spaniard joined by teammate Javi López (4.7) and all-action Juve midfielder Arturo Vidal (4.6) in the top six.
Most Interceptions Per Game
On loan Mallorca centre-back Geromel (Now in his native Brazil with Gremio) produced a European high of 4.9 interceptions in 2013 but he was unable to help the side avoid the drop. Luca Antei (4.4) is again in second place, showing why he is one to watch in 2014, while Paul Scharner was another who couldn't prevent his team from being relegated despite ranking highly here. Augsburg's Daniel Baier is top of those to compete over this season and last (4.1) and is the only player to have done so in the top 6, with Coulibaly of relegated Brest and new Marseille signing Benjamin Mendy (3.9) concluding the leaderboard.
Most Saves Per Game
We finish with a shout out for the goalkeepers that had their work cut out over the past year, with Verona's Rafael topping the pile with 5 per game to aid in his side’s superb start to life back in Serie A. Veteran Almeria stopper Esteban (4.9) has been almost as busy in La Liga, while Cardiff's David Marshall (4.3) completes a top three of newly promoted keepers. Julio César could not prevent QPR's slide into the Championship despite making 4.3 saves per game in 2013, with Mark Schwarzer just behind in his final season with Fulham and Wolfgang Hesl (4.2) of Greuther Furth scraping into our six.
Who were the best players in the 2013 calendar year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
