LONDON (AP) - Atletico Madrid took team of the week honors in the Associated Press global soccer 10 poll after winning the Spanish league for the first time since 1996.
Uruguay defender Diego Godin, who equalized for Atletico in the 1-1 draw at Barcelona, made it a double by leading the player vote. Godin was joined in the top 10 by teammate and midfielder Koke at seventh.
“Not only did Atletico hold off Barcelona and Real and never lost at home to win La Liga, they have also managed to reach the Champions League final against their derby rivals while operating on a far smaller budget,” Shintaro Kano of Kyodo news agency said.
Atletico received 179 out of a possible 180 votes from the 18-man panel.
The voters also picked Bayern Munich’s German Cup final victory for the domestic double ahead of Arsenal’s comeback win in the FA Cup final to end a nine-year trophy drought.
Juventus was fourth for achieving a Serie A record for points, and Sevilla fifth for winning the Europa League.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico will look to complete a double when it plays city rival Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Lisbon on Saturday.
Real prepared for that match with a 3-1 win over Espanyol, and polled eighth.
Bayern beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the German Cup final, and Arjen Robben’s opening score earned him fourth in the poll.
“A year on from delivering the crucial goal in the Champions League final, Arjen Robben did the same in the German Cup final,” Richard Jolly of ESPN in England said.
Arsenal came from two goals down to win the FA Cup 3-2 against Hull on Saturday. Two scorers were in the top 10 in Aaron Ramsey (third), who scored the winner, and Santi Cazorla (ninth).
“Aaron Ramsey has been the hero for Arsenal time and again this season, and Saturday was no different,” voter Julian Bennetts of Hayters news agency said. “Two goals down within eight minutes against Hull, he scored the winner as Arsenal ended their trophy drought in nervous, fraught fashion.”
Juventus reset the record points total across Europe’s major leagues to 102 with a 3-0 win against Cagliari - and received the same number of votes this week to finish fourth.
Sevilla was fifth after winning the Europa League final 4-2 on penalties against Benfica, after the match finished 0-0.
French champion Paris Saint-Germain was a place lower after its 4-0 rout over Montepellier set a French league points record of 89, and a win record of 27.
Lille was ninth after beating Lorient 4-1 to earn a preliminary Champions League spot, and Hamburg was 10th after avoiding relegation from the Bundesliga.
In the player vote, Udinese striker Antonio Di Natale was second for his hat trick in his side’s 3-3 draw with Sampdoria. The 36-year-old was going to retire at the end of the season but after scoring 17 goals in the Serie A, he has reversed his decision.
Following Ramsey and Robben, Sevilla goalkeeper Beto was fifth for starring with two penalty saves in the Europa final.
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For week ending May 19:
Teams:
1. Atletico Madrid, 179 points.
2. Bayern Munich, 128.
3. Arsenal, 117.
4. Juventus, 102.
5. Sevilla, 85.
6. Paris Saint-Germain, 53.
7. Napoli, 42.
8. Real Madrid, 38.
9. Lille, 25.
10. Hamburg, 21.
Players:
1. Diego Godin, 123.
2. Antonio Di Natale, 87.
3. Aaron Ramsey, 85.
4. Arjen Robben, 84.
5. Dries Mertens, 52.
6. Beto, 42.
7. Koke, 41.
8. Andrea Pirlo, 40.
9. Santi Cazorla, 38.
10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 26.
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