2016 awards: Winners and losers from an unforgettable year in football

As 2016 draws to a close, we reflect on the best, and worst, from a fascinating year in world football.

Theme of 2016: David slays Goliath

Turns out Cinderella's wasn't the only glass slipper kicking around.

The past year will long be remembered for a collection of various accomplishments, but what made them truly remarkable is that many are bound by a common element: The unlikeliness of their occurrence.

Leicester City and Portugal, for their Premier League and Euro 2016 triumphs, respectively, garner most of the attention, but they don't stand alone.

Hibs won the Scottish Cup for the first time in 114 years. Wales, in its first-ever European Championship, made the semi-finals. Iceland now has a special place in your heart - unless you're from England. Sorry, England.

Heck, FC Rostov missed out on the Russian title by two points. RB Leipzig is pushing Bayern Munich this season, while Nice sits atop the heap in France.

None of it makes sense, and it's absolutely glorious.

Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo

Lionel Messi provided more breathtaking individual moments, Luis Suarez found the net at a frightening clip, Antoine Griezmann truly announced himself on the scene as a world class force, and Paul Pogba became the most expensive player in the history of the sport.

And still, Cristiano Ronaldo stood out among them all over the last 12 months.

The Portuguese got his hands on (another) Champions League crown, helped his country taste European glory for the first time, added a fourth Ballon d'Or to his hefty collection, and capped it off by scoring a hat-trick to lead Real Madrid to the Club World Cup.

Winning is nothing new for Ronaldo, but this was different. Even the skeptics - of which there will always be many - could sense it.

After leaving the Euro 2016 final in tears due to a knee ligament injury, it was impossible not to admire the way he emerged from the bowels of the stadium to act as defacto coach on the touchline, roaring out instructions, and willing his team to an eventual victory.

In those minutes, it felt as though the 31-year-old did more for his legacy than he could ever do actually playing the game and banging in the goals.

Team of the Year: Leicester City

By now, you know the story.

The escape from relegation; the outrageous, seemingly insurmountable odds; the ragtag squad made up of journeymen, castoffs, and misfits who, in some cases, were mired in the lower echelons of various leagues in the not-too-distant past. And all of it overseen by a manager whose reputation for being the perennial bridesmaid preceded him.

The typical Premier League contenders faltered, the likes of Robert Huth, Wes Morgan, and Jamie Vardy went supernova and enjoyed the best season of their lives at the same time, N'Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez dominated, and Lady Luck smiled on the King Power Stadium a bit, too.

It was the perfect storm of events, and it led to the most unlikely league triumph the sport has ever seen, and likely will ever see.

Heartfelt Moment: World unites for Chapecoense

Tragedy always has a way of bringing people together, and that's precisely what happened in the wake of the devastating plane crash that claimed the lives of 71 people last month in Colombia, including 19 members of Brazilian side Chapecoense.

The plane, which had 77 people on board when it crashed into the Colombian mountainside, was carrying the unheralded Brazilian club to Medellin for the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final, where victory over Atletico Nacional would have completed one of the most remarkable fairytale stories South American football had ever seen.

In the wake of the crushing tragedy, the football world at once morphed into a family with a singular goal. Tributes were held at every stadium, teams across the world offered to loan players to Chapecoense, others asked that they be immune from relegation while they rebuild, and some held charity matches with proceeds going to the grief-stricken club.

CONMEBOL ultimately awarded Chapecoense the Sudamericana title.

For a sport ridden with cynicism - be it surrounding FIFA, the financial influence on the game, or any number of various other reasons - there was something beautiful about the way everyone pulled in the same direction when a member of the footballing community was in such desperate need of support.

Biggest Disappointment: Argentina fails, again

Pour one out for Lionel Messi, man.

The diminutive magician will go down as the greatest player of all-time once he hangs 'em up - anyone who says otherwise is wrong and shouldn't be trusted - but not even he has been able to overcome whatever supernatural force is stopping Argentina from winning an international tournament.

The 2014 World Cup eluded him, as did the 2015 Copa America title.

But the Copa America Centenario was supposed to offer a chance at redemption. Another meeting with Chile in the final was to be the perfect antidote; putting the proverbial demons to bed for good, as it were.

Instead, just as he did the year prior, Messi found only more anguish with the uber-talented Albiceleste.

And this time, to make matters worse, he ballooned a terrible penalty over the bar in the shootout loss.

As if the wound needed to be rubbed with salt.

Following the crushing setback, and very much in the heat of the moment, he claimed he would retire from international football, only to make his return to the team shortly after.

Worst Meltdown: Salty Solo slams Sweden

After the United States - the three-time defending Olympic gold medalist - was bounced from the women's tournament at Rio 2016 by an unheralded Swedish side in the quarterfinals, goalkeeper Hope Solo launched a scathing attack on Sweden's ultra-defensive tactics, taking a shot that reeked of sour grapes.

"I thought that we played a courageous game. I thought we had many opportunities on goal. I think we showed a lot of heart. We came back from a goal down. I'm very proud of this team," Solo told Grant Wahl after the 4-3 loss on penalties.

"But I also think we played a bunch of cowards. The best team didn't win today. I strongly believe that."

Solo, never far from controversy, was suspended six months and had her contract terminated by U.S. Soccer as punishment for the comments - though, as she noted afterwards, her outspoken stance in the USWNT's fight for equal pay almost definitely influenced the decision to suspend her.

Regardless, her decision to scold a team for winning in an undesirable fashion was the weakest criticism of the year.