UEFA Champions League Last 16: One Player to Watch on Each Team

The final sixteen teams for the UEFA Champions League knockout stage have been set, but not without a few surprises.

A few high-profile teams were left out of the round of 16 including both Manchester clubs, last season's Europa League winners Porto, Ajax and Borussia Dortmund.

With the exclusion of some big clubs who were expected to make the next round, some lesser known teams got in like Basel and Cypriot team APOEL.

For those two teams and the other 14 involved in the knockout stage, the have a star player who is able to lead them to the final in Munich in May.

Here are 16 players, one from each team, that you should keep an eye on for the rest of the Champions League season.

Mario Gomez

Mario Gomez has been in top form all season long for Bayern Munich.

Gomez has scored 21 goals in all competitions so far this season with six in the Champions League group stage.

The German international is looking to help Bayern win the competition in their home arena in Munich in May, something that is very possible for the leaders of the Bundesliga.

Marek Hamsik

The man who clinched Napoli's round of 16 berth is a highly sought after talent that is beginning to shine on the brightest stages in world football.

Hamsik, at only 24, is the captain of the Slovakian national team and one of the key players for Napoli.

The Slovakian captain may not be playing on the pitch at the Stadio San Paolo for much longer though as bigger-name teams are keen to buy him away from the club. His performance in the round of 16 may help those big teams make their decision easier on whether to pursue him in the summer.

Wesley Sneijder

It has not been a great season so far for Inter Milan as they sit near the bottom of the Serie A table but the Nerazzuri did win Group B in the group stage of the Champions League.

One man who can help turn the less than spectacular season around is Sneijder.

The Dutchman has been one of Inter's top players for a while and was the star during their run to the Champions League title two years ago.

Seydou Doumbia

Doumbia was the leading scorer in group play for CSKA Moscow as they were able to finish second behind Inter in Group B.

The young Ivorian is a part of a very talented roster that includes Alan Dzagoev, Vagner Love and Keisuke Honda.

Doumbia has scored 24 goals in 30 games in the Russian Premier League this season and he netted five in the group stage for CSKA.

Oscar Cardozo

Cardozo led Benfica to the top of Group C and avoided all of the final matchday drama that occured in Basel.

The Paraguay national has been a part of the Benfica squad for five seasons now and has always been a go-to guy when it comes to scoring goals.

Cardozo has not scored below 17 goals in a season and already has seven this season, with two of them coming in Group C matches.

Marco Streller

Streller is the captain of one of the surprise teams in the knockout stage, FC Basel.

With a win over Manchester United in the final matchday, Streller and company marched on to the next stage.

The Swiss international has scored a total of 68 goals in over a decade with the club.

Now with Streller at the helm of an experienced and youthful crew that includes Swiss great Alexander Frei and newcomer Xherdan Shaqiri, Basel could be poised for a long run in the knockout round.

Gonzalo Higuain

Everyone knows about Cristiano Ronaldo and how much of a scoring threat he is, but Gonzalo Higuain has provided the same deadly scoring threat for Real Madrid this season as well.

The Argentine has already scored 12 goals in 14 games for Madrid and is on pace to easily score 30 goals overall this season.

With an undefeated mark in Group D and the lead in La Liga so far, this Madrid team could be hoisting a few trophies with Higuain and company scoring the goals to help win those trophies.

Hugo Lloris

There has to be at least one goalkeeper on the list.

Lloris has been between the pipes for Lyon since 2008 and has been a star for them ever since.

With success not coming as easy as usual in Ligue 1 for the past few seasons after their dominance at the top, they have not won the French league title since the 2007-08 season.

But the tides may be turning at the Stade de Gerland with the incredible comeback that the team produced on Wednesday, overcoming a seven-goal differential to jump past Ajax and advance to the knockout stage from Group D.

Daniel Sturridge

When Chelsea signed Fernando Torres in January, they believed he would be their top forward for a long time to come but that has not worked out so well.

Enter Daniel Sturridge, the 22-year old Englishman who entered the Chelsea starting lineup this season after spending the second half of last season on loan at Bolton.

With Torres not living up to expectations, Nicolas Anelka wanting to leave and Didier Drogba beginning to age, Sturridge has been the perfect fit at forward for the Blues. He is finally getting enough playing time to be able impress fans and critics alike.

Eren Derdiyok

Derdiyok is another one of Europe's young talents perfecting his game in the German Bundesliga.

But instead of playing for youth-laden Borussia Dortmund, who did not advance past the group stage, the Swiss national plays for Bayer Leverkeusen, who finished second behind Chelsea in Group E.

This season, Derdiyok leads the team with six Bundesliga goals as they look to climb up the Bundesliga table from sixth place and advance far into the Champions League knockout stage.

Robin Van Persie

Robin van Persie may be the most valuable player to his team on the whole continent.

Without the Dutchman's stellar performances, the Gunners may be nowhere near the knockout round of the Champions League and top six in the Premier League.

20 is the number of goals van Persie has put up in league and continental play and he has finally got the rest of his team on a scoring roll with him. Thomas Vermaelen and Mikel Arteta have begun to score more for the Gunners.

Loic Remy

Remy has been a big part of the recent success at Marseille.

The Frenchman transferred to the Stade Velodrome in 2010 and made an impact on the score sheet ever since he move from Nice.

With 18 total goals last season and now eight total already this season, Remy has paired well with Andre Ayew and Andre-Pierre Gignac up front for manager Didier Deschamps.

Ailton

Ailton and his teammates from APOEL Nicosia have been the surprise of the tournament so far.

The Cypriot club topped Group G, beating out three perennial players in Europe in Porto, Zenit and Shakhtar Donetsk.

The Brazilian has netted three goals in the group stage and four more in the three previous rounds that APOEL played in to get to the group stage. They are now into the knockout round.

Danny

Danny has been roaming around the midfields of Europe for a while now and it is surprising a bigger club has not picked him up from Zenit St. Petersburg.

While with Zenit, the Portuguese midfielder has made a number of appearances in continental matches and is now being recognized by the Portuguese national team as well.

The 28-year-old has a chance to shine during the rest of his club's time in the Champions League. This summer in Poland and Ukraine, he will be fully rested and fit due to the scheduling of the Russian Premier League.

Andres Iniesta

If there is one player left in the competition that knows how to score a big goal in a big game it is Andres Iniesta.

The midfielder has scored big goals on numerous occasions for Barcelona in the Champions League and for Spain in the past two major world tournaments.

With Barcelona being the favorites going into the group stage, it is only a matter of time before they need Iniesta to pop up out of nowhere and score a clutch goal in the knockout stage.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Another year, another Champions League knockout stage that features the 6 foot 5 inch Swede.

Ibrahimovic has played with the big clubs in Italy and Spain since 2004 and has been a staple in Europe's top club competition.

The Swede has bounced around from club to club in the past few years but he still knows how to score. That is why AC Milan took him from Barcelona in 2010. Ibrahimovic has a total of 30 European goals in 11 seasons in European competitions, including four goals in four games this season in the Champions League.