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World Cup Draft Picks Thread *NO DISCUSSION*
Comments
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Eric Abidal
One of the best left backs in the world and also a masterful centreback for his country. Eric Abidal is just what I need behind Lukas Podolski. He is equally comfortable in either position which leaves me room to move things around at the back if that suits me later on. He has been consistently superb for both his club and country and I'm delighted to add him to my team.
Xabi Alonso
Carlos Tevez
Pepe Reina
Esteban Cambiasso
Lukas Podolski
Eric Abidal0 -
Simon Kjaer
Two things to consider with this pick. First, Kjaer is one of the rising stars of football and it's inevitable one of the big clubs will be in for him soon. More on this in a great write-up I found on him below.
Second, I have already picked Daniel Agger, and together at Denmark have formed a formidable partnership. They finished top of a qualifying group including Portugal and Sweden, and only conceded 5 goals in 10 matches, including 6 clean sheets. They were also magnificent against a star studded Dutch attack a few days ago, with Holland's two goals being extremely fortunate.Denmark were, for generations, characterised by adventure. They netted 26 goals in three outings en route to silver at the 1908 Olympics, built a free-scoring side around the astoundingly prolific Poul 'Tist' Nielsen, and wowed spectators with their attack-conscious side of the mid-1980s, which featured the likes of Allan Simonsen, Michael Laudrup, Jesper Olsen and Preben Elkjaer Larsen and became renowned for a 6-1 victory over Uruguay at the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico™.
Then came Peter Schmeichel. The hulking, cantankerous goalkeeper was, virtually, a permanent presence between the Danish sticks for 13 years from 1987. He helped his country abandon their outscore-the-opposition philosophy and evolve into a hard-to-beat side. He helped them enjoy their meridian: a UEFA EURO 1992 conquest.
Denmark’s qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ was also indebted to their mean defensive record. However, in June 2009, despite topping Group 1 in the European Zone, they were not expected to progress from an extremely tough pool comprising Sweden, Portugal and a much-improved Hungary.
It was definitely a dream debut. I couldn’t have wished for more than an away win over Sweden. Zlatan is a great striker with so much skill, but I managed to keep him in check. Simon Kjaer after helping Denmark beat Sweden 1-0
Morten Olsen’s team had a trip to their Scandinavian rivals, and the visit of a team invigorated by the return to fitness of Cristiano Ronaldo and the adoption of Brazil-born striker Liedson, forthcoming. Moreover, the Danes had been depleted by injuries, prompting their coach to hand little-known Palermo centre-back Simon Kjaer his international debut.
To suggest the 20-year-old was thrown in at the deep end is an understatement. He was, like a child without armbands, catapulted into the depths of the Baltic Sea, pitted against a ruthless predator by the name of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Sweden were expected to win. Ibra was expected to have a field day.
Kjaer had other ideas. He marked his illustrious adversary out of the game to help Denmark emerge 1-0 victors. "It was definitely a dream debut,” enthused Kjaer. “I couldn’t have wished for more than an away win over Sweden. They needed the victory, so they were pressing forward a lot, but we managed to keep a clean sheet. I was pleased with my performance. Zlatan is a great striker with so much skill, but I managed to keep him in check.”
Kjaer then turned in a man-of-the-match performance in a 1-1 draw with Portugal that left Denmark firmly on course to reach South Africa 2010, a feat they accomplished with one game to spare following a 1-1 draw in Albania and 1-0 success at home to Sweden. Olsen subsequently hailed the blond defender as a "very important player".
The rise to the prize
Kjaer made his professional bow with Midtjylland in 2007, and swiftly infatuated a selection of prestigious suitors, including Real Madrid. However, it was not in the extolled white of Los Merengues that he found himself performing from the start of 2008, but in the obscure pink of Palermo, who paid €4m to secure his services.
Dominant in the air and very difficult to get past, Kjaer immediately made a first-team place his own and helped I Rosanero finish eighth in the 2008/09 Serie A. He began the current campaign in impeccable form, too, and was duly crowned Danish Footballer of the Year for 2009.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that, at just 20, I would be on a list of winners that includes Peter Schmeichel and the Laudrup brothers. I’m incredibly proud and happy." Simon Kjaer on winning the Danish Footballer of the Year award for 2009
“I have always dreamed about winning this award, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that, at just 20, I would be on a list of winners that includes Peter Schmeichel and the Laudrup brothers. It’s the ultimate prize in Denmark. I’m incredibly proud and happy. It has given me confidence and belief that I can achieve much more in football.”
At club level, a giant of the sport is likely to hand Kjaer the chance to fulfil that goal, with AC Milan, Chelsea, Juventus, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid among those who have shown an interest in prising him from Sicily. On the international front, his objective is to help Denmark advance from a competitive Group E, which also includes the Netherlands, Japan and Cameroon, at South Africa 2010.
"The World Cup will be an incredible experience for me,” said Kjaer. “I’ve dreamed of playing in the competition since I was a boy. We have a tough group but we’re confident we can reach the knockout phase.”0 -
Ill admit this guy is not the most popular at the moment and yes in the last year or 2 he has lost a bit of his pace but that is only the reason he is going as a 6th rd pick and not a 2nd or 3rd round one imo. The guy is still a bit of a genious with the ball at his feet capable of some unbelievable feats of skill. Along with that like my last pick he also gives me some versatility being able to cover both upfront and a wing forward position in a 451/433 system which is important for me at this stage of the game, therefore i give you...
GK: Iker Casillas
RB/CB: Branislav Ivanovich
CM: Gennaro Gattuso
CM: Juan Roman Riquelme
WF/ST: Thierry Henry
ST: Gonzalo Higuain0 -
My next pick is Nigek De Jong of Manchester City and Holland. I have decided that it's time for a good central midfielder. De Jong is a fantastic screeing midfielder, he gives the back 4 great protection, stops opposition attacks and also is a more than capable passer of the ball. Man City didn't pay £20 million for him because he's a donkey. He has 43 caps for his country and both Bert Van Marwijk and Marco Van Basten have deemed him pivotal figures in their teams. He gives my team a decent bit of bite and strengthens the spine of the team.0 -
Took ages to choose who I wanted in this position but I'll take one of France's most valuable players.
Jeremy Toulalan
His combination of hard work,neat distribution and strong tackling will provide a platform for my attacks.He has proven to be one of Lyon and France's best performers and is a very consistent player0 -
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Sergio Busquets
Im in the market for a defensive midfielder and who better to pick than the man that does it for Barcelona:
Busquets has his critics but in the holding position for Barcelona and Spain alike he has proved his merits and continues to play ahead of the likes of Yaya Toure and Cesc Fabregas for this reason.
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Going wide, going for pace and goals.
Juan Manuel Mata
Pace, technique and creativity with a goal scoring threat.
People bang on about Silva on the wing, this is the guy who shoved him out of that place at club level.
Delighted to add him to my side and will provide a real goal scoring threat.0 -
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My first defender, Gianluca Zambrotta, gives me great flexability since he can play either left or right back. His tackling ability is top class and he is also known to make important runs forward. I gladly welcome Zambrotta to my World Cup XI.
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A player capable of fitting nicely into my 4-5-1 come 4-3-3. With him and Aguero acting as trequarista style attackers I feel confident in my team being able to score plenty of goals. I've liked what I've seen from this man and although he only plays for Lille, I expect him to be making the jump to a big European club soon, having been linked heavily with Arsenal in the past.
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Round 6 - Arturo Vidal
With players disappearing in certain positions, I decided to go with someone who has great versatility in the form of Chile's Arturo Vidal.
The 23 year old was one of the standout players in his country's opening group game, and has been playing very well in the Bundesliga for Bayer Leverkusen.
He is equally comfortable at right back or in the holding midfield role and could also do a job at centre half if really needed.
For now he will occupy the right back spot.
Given
Vidal
x
Lucio
x
x
Lampard
x
x
Di Maria
Milito
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GREGORY VAN DER WIEL
The Dutch Right Back adds even more defensive strength to my team. His pace and attacking ability down the right flank will compliment Ashley Cole on the opposite flank.
1. Petr Cech
2. Gregory van der Wiel
3. Ashley Cole
4. Giorgio Chiellini
8. Mark van Bommel
10. Cesc Fabregas0 -
Alex Song
Delighted this guy is still available to be my holding midfielder. Arsene Wenger suggested he may be the most improved player in the Premier League. He certainly is Arsenal's most improved one in my view. He was a big loss for Arsenal in the Champions League against Barca when they got hit with several injuries, perhaps the most significant, and when he is out the team tends to struggle.
His international record is also pretty great. He was named young player of the tournament for Cameroon at the African Cup of Nations in 2008, and also made the team of the tournament that year. He repeated the feat by again being named in the team of the tournament in 2010. Song was surprisingly left out of Cameroon's opening match against Japan which they lost, and this has seen Le Guen get a ton of abuse. Eto'o has since suggested Le Guen will have a lot to answer for. I'd be surprisised if Song is left out again.
In my team Song will sit just ahead of Puyol and Samuel giving me a very solid spine to my team. Still have work to do but as long as things go my way in Round 7, which I've been gearing towards, I think I will be set up very nicely.
Pick 1: Didier Drogba
Pick 2: Carles Puyol
Pick 3: Walter Samuel
Pick 4: Andrei Arshavin
Pick 5: Hugo Lloris
Pick 6: Alex Song
_________________Lloris____________________
_____X_______Puyol________Samuel_________X
__________________Song___________________
______________________________Arshavin_____
_________________Drogba____________________0 -
Round 6 - Pick 115
John Heitinga
I don't have the heart to do a write up now after losing my Alex so I'll just say this.
Established international and club defender. He also offers me versatility as he can play at right back, centre back and defensive midfield.0 -
Pretty sure he hasnt been picked.
Gabriel Heinze
An established International defender since he made his debut in 2003,at the tender age of 25 he's made 66 caps since then,winning an olympic medal and a Copa America along the way.
He's played for two of the biggest clubs in the world Real Madrid and Manchester United winning league titles at both aswell as another league title in France.His ability to play either centre back or on the left should prove invaluable to picking the rest of my team.
GK
Dani Alves---Ramos----CB
Heinze
RM
Ballack
CM
LM---
Robinho
David Villa
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I choose you - Juan Silveira dos Santos
75 caps for Brazil and still a regular in what has become one of the best drilled and organised defenses in International football. He has also been performing at the highest level in European football for the best part of a decade. I think he'll be a great addition to a defense, which, let's face it, i've neglected thus far, but one i'm confident will still have plenty of quality.
GK
RB
Juan
CB
Evra
Fletcher
CM
Ozil
Gourcuff
Ronaldo----
ST
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I give you...Carlos Salcido.
i'm not exaggerating or overplaying my pick in saying that he has been Mexico's stand-out man so far in this World Cup. he tore Sagna a new one last night (though i obviously confess France were generally fairly sh*te). but still.
75 caps for Mexico; at 30 years of age, he's at just about the peak of his powers.
there are very few, if any left backs left in the game that can offer what he can.
he's also an ever present for PSV since he joined in 2006, regularly flagged up as one of their star players, winning two league titles with them.
he will give me width, a different dimension to my attack, and is a strong solid player in defence.
delighted.
??????
???????
Terry
Nesta
Salcido
Xavi
Krasic
Anelka
pay no heed to the formation yet, as I've not decided!0 -
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It was really hard to choose between positions for this round, but I believe that there are too few wingers left to let this go another round, so I give you: Maxi Rodriquez.
He was the most experienced international remaining on my shortlist for this position, an important feature of picking players in this draft. At club level he made his name first with Espanyol and subsequently Atletico Madrid in La Liga. For both club and country he has a pretty decent return for a winger: he enjoyed 120 appearances for Madrid scoring 31 goals (a goal under every 4 games) and he has earned 38 caps for Argentina, scoring 12 goals (a goal every 3 games).
One of those goals was the memorable volley against Mexico in World Cup 2006 (see video below).
Delighted to have Argentinian teammates as my flanking duo.
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There are many players worthy of the mantle ‘World Cup Legend’ when you’re not bound by any time frame. Go back throughout the years and you have several legendary teams; your Brazil, Netherlands, Germany of the ‘70s, England of the ‘60s etc. But when I was looking at some of those individual players (not going to name names, regardless of how obvious some of them are) something was a little off. In the end I concluded that I didn’t feel comfortable picking a player that I had never seen play for myself. Sure, there are YouTube videos and epic tributes to these players all over the internet, and they can give you a holistic view of any given player; but I wanted to pick somebody who had wowed me for years, somebody I’ve had the pleasure of watching and being in awe of (I’m not suggesting everyone should adopt this principle, it’s just a personal preference). As a 23-year old, therefore, I give you the greatest player I’ve had the pleasure of seeing play: Zinedine Zidane.
I could be here all day giving Zizou the write up he deserves, but I won’t be too long-winded about it. In club football he scored 95 goals in 506 appearances from midfield. After making his name with Bordeaux and Juventus, Real Madrid broke the world’s transfer record in 2001 by taking him to the Bernabau from Juventus for around £46 million. He began to pay this fee back in his first season, not least by scoring an absolute screamer of a volley against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champion’s League Final (see video below). His final trophy tally with Madrid was 1 Intercontinental Cup, 1 European Super Cup, 1 Champion’s League, 1 Spanish League Title and 2 Spanish Super Cups.
For France, Zidane is part of an exclusive list of players who have won a World Cup (1998) and European Championship (2000). In total for les blues, Zidane earned 108 caps, scoring 31 goals. It’s a shame our last image of the 3-time FIFA World Player of the Year was walking down the tunnel having been sent off in the 2006 World Cup Final; but then again, who among us hasn’t thought of nutting Marco Matarazzi?
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Maradona thanks.
i'll try and do the write-up later, not that i really need to. you all know him. you all know how good he is.
legend.
1. Xavi
2. John Terry
3. Nicolas Anelka
4. Alessandro Nesta
5. Milos Krasic
6. Carlos Salcido
7. Diego Maradona0 -
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Total Football comes to The Boards World Cup Draft!! I give you Johan Cruyff
The man is an absolute legend.An honours list as long as my arm,including 3 European Cups in a row and and the Ballon D'or a joint record 3 times.Probably one of the greates players never to win the World Cup although he helped Holland to the final in 74 and picked up the player of the tournament award along the way.Aswell as winning nearly everything as a player for Ajax and Barcelona,he went on to manage both picking up a another cabinet full of trophy's.
He was also voted IFFHS European player of the century.
And lets face it,who here hasnt tried to perfect the Cruyff turn!!?
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Round 7 - Pick 125
Edison Arantes do Nascimento
This draft came at a great time for me as I've just finished reading Pelé's autobiography again. Being fifth pick in this round I though there was no way I'd be able to get a chance to pick The King and so had myself geared towards picking another player in his position but I'm delighted I've been able to get my hands on him now. He will be occupying the no. 10 role in my team, playing just off Rooney. He is the only player in history to have three World Cup Winners Medals and was also voted 'Footballer of the century' by FIFA. Pele is going to bring even more pace and power to my forward line, adding to what Rooney already brings, combined with the guile and trickery of Silva and van der Vaart either side of him leaves me with a formidable forward line.
Pelé is also a prolific goalscorer himself scoring 1087 goals for his club Santos in 1120 appearances spanning a career of 18 years. He is also one of a select few to have won consecutive World Cup's, winning with Brazil in 1958 and again in 1962.
Troph Cabinet:
- Santos
o Campeonato Paulista: 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1973
o Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1959, 1963, 1964, and 1966
o Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa (Taça de Prata): 1968
o Taça Brasil: 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1965
o Copa Libertadores: 1962 and 1963
o Intercontinental Cup: 1962 and 1963
o South-American Recopa: 1968
o Recopa Intercontinental: 1968
- New York Cosmos
o NASL Champions: 1977
Brazil
- Roca Cup:
o Winner (2): 1957, 1963
- FIFA World Cup:
o Winner (3): 1958, 1962, 1970
He also has a massive collection of individual awards:
* Santos
o Campeonato Paulista top scorer (11): 1957-1965, 1969, 1973.
* BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality:
o Winner (1): 1970
* FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (Best Player):
o Winner (1): 1970
* Athlete of the Century, elected by world wide journalists, poll by French daily L'Equipe: 1981
* Inducted into the American National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1993.[37]
* Knight Commander of the British Empire: 1997 [38]
* Athlete of the Century, by Reuters News Agency: 1999
* Athlete of the Century, elected by International Olympic Committee: 1999
* UNICEF Football Player of the Century: 1999
* Time Magazine One of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century: 1999 [39]
* FIFA Player of the Century : 2000
* Football Player of the Century, elected by France Football's Golden Ball Winners : 1999
* Football Player of the Century, by IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics: 1999
* South America Football Player of the Century, by IFFHS International Federation of Football History and Statistics: 1999
* Laureus World Sports Awards Lifetime Achievement Award from South African President Nelson Mandela: 20000 -
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"Der Kaiser" Franz Beckenbauer
I've been crossing my fingers for this guy and thankfully he has reached me. I said back in Round 3 when I picked my second central defender that I felt most teams in this contest would have formidable attacks, but that not every team would have the defence to withstand it. That is why I set my sights on a sweeper system. Two gutsy, hearts-on-their-sleeves, tough central defenders in Puyol and Samuel, with the elegance of the great Beckenbauer behind them.
Looking at some of the teams already, they have formidable attacks and I think many teams will struggle to contain them but I'm hoping mine can give them a run for their money.
This is how I'd deploy my players against the strong teams in the game. I'd go for a 5-4-1 sweeper (libero) with Song holding.
______________Lloris__________
___________Beckenbauer_________
__X______Puyol_____Samuel_____X
_____________A. Song_______________
___X___________X___________Arshavin___
____________Drogba____________
This requires Song to remember to sit and protect whenever Beckenbauer goes on a roaming run forward, hence why I went for a holding player last round. The advantage of this is its flexibility. If I'm faced with some of the stellar teams amongst the Draft I can set up with the 5-4-1 above, confident that I have effectively four lines of defence: Song in the holding midfield role, my back four including Puyol and Samuel as the conventional defence, Beckenbauer as the sweeper, and Lloris as the last line of defence if the above three lines are breached.
If I'm playing teams I feel lack a major threat, I can lessen Beckenbauer's sweeper responsibilities, tell him to move him forward alongside or just above Song, and effectively apply a 4-2-3-1 formation like so...
______________Lloris__________
__X______Puyol_____Samuel_____X
______Beckenbauer_____A. Song_________
___X__________X___________Arshavin___
____________Drogba____________
In the 5-4-1 system, the above is what the team would be like whenever Beckenbauer has the ball. I think the advantage of this is that the likes of Arshavin and the other attacking midfielders will have license to attack, with Song and the full-backs I choose instructed to be wary of opponent's attackers. Then I can let Drogba up top do his stuff with whatever comes his way.
My aim is to use my defence to win the game. I'm hoping that my team will be one of, if not the, most impressive in the game.
As for why Beckenbauer, well he's widely regarded as the best sweeper (libero) of all time hence my pick. He's a leader. His class and credentials are well known. Two-time European Footballer of the Year, only player to captain three European Cup winning teams, World Cup winner, European Championship winner, won several league titles and so on. He has basically done it all! He scores goals too. 14 for West Germany in 103 appearances, 60 for Bayern Munich in 427 matches in the Bundesliga, 21 in 132 games for the New York Cosmos.
I'll let James Richardson plug him further:
If you've read this far, cheers. As I put a bit of thought into this one. My team thus far:
Pick 1: Didier Drogba
Pick 2: Carles Puyol
Pick 3: Walter Samuel
Pick 4: Andrei Arshavin
Pick 5: Hugo Lloris
Pick 6: Alex Song
Pick 7: Franz Beckenbauer
Current system (subject to change of course):
___________________Lloris____________________
________________Beckenbauer______________
_____X_______Puyol________Samuel_________X
__________________Song___________________
________X__________X____________Arshavin_____
_________________Drogba____________________0 -
EUSEBIO
From: http://www.planetworldcup.com/LEGENDS/eusebio.htmlEusebio da Silva Ferreira, also known as "The Black Pearl", was born in Lourenco Marques, Mozambique in 1942. He was brought to Portugal in 1961 by Benfica's coach Bela Guttmann who flew down to Africa personally to check Eusebio out after being tipped by Sao Paulo's coach. Guttmann was so impressed with what he saw that he decided to buy Eusebio from his local club for £7500 straight away.
In one of his first games for Benfica, Eusebio scored a hat-trick against Pelè's Santos. The Black Pearl continued to impress in the European Cup of 1962 where he netted twice against Real Madrid in the Final in the 5-3 win.
Eusebio was simply a one-man-attack; speedy, skillful and powerful not too dependent of supply lines from midfield to be successful. He caused trouble for all defenders and was unstoppable in the Portuguese league where he scored more than a goal per game - 319 in 313 appearances. He helped Benfica win 10 Portuguese league championships and 5 domestic cup titles. On the personal side he was six times topscorer in the Portuguese league and twice Golden Boot winner as topscorer in European football - 1968 and 1973 - and in 1965 he was European Player of the Year (Golden Ball winner).
In 1966 Portugal qualified to the World Cup for their first time. It turned out be some highly successful weeks in England for Eusebio & company. Portugal's #13 managed to show off his class to the world and scored nine goals becoming topscorer in the tournament. In the first round groupstage he tore Brazil apart with a memorable performance scoring twice to eliminate the 1958 and 1962 champions. More success followed even though North Korea led 3-0 at one stage against Portugal in the quarterfinal, Eusebio scored four times to rescue his country in the 5-3 win. The green and red lost to England in the semifinal - Eusebio was in tears after the match - but beat the Soviet Union in the bronze-match to complete a fine tournament. People in England were so impressed by Eusebio's performances that he was immediately added to Madame Tussaud's collection of waxwork.
Unfortunately Eusebio would never play in another World Cup again even though he took part in both the 1970 and 1974 qualifying series. Like many other stars of that era, Eusebio headed out west to America to play in the North American Soccer League towards the end of his career, he made appearances for a number of clubs in Mexico and USA. Eusebio retired in 1978 and is today regarded as one of the greatest strikers in the history of the game.0 -
Say what you like about Michel Platini now, in his prime he was one of the most gifted players to have stepped out onto a football field. His passing, shooting, and dead-ball skills were among the greatest the game has ever seen.
These skills helped the French talisman to captain his country to two semi-final appearances at two different World Cups, in 1982 and 1986, but his zenith came at the 1984 European Championships.
Platini scored nine goals, including two perfect hat-tricks, and dominated all five games to help Les Bleus to their first international trophy. Individually, Platini was named the Player of the Tournament and the top scorer, showcasing his dominance.
The three time Ballon d'Or winner hasn't endeared himself to football fans since his retirement, but one should not forget the mastery of Platini the player.0 -
Pick 6 - Paolo Maldini
Quite simply the best looking defender I've seen play.
An absolute rock, Maldini played AC Milan for his entire career, which spanned three decades. In my opinion he had every possible attribute required of a defender and was a talisman for both club and country. His 126 international caps is a record.
Honours you say? Ok, well I hope you've got a good scroll wheel on that mouse.
Milan
* Serie A: 7
1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
* Coppa Italia: 1
2002–03
* Supercoppa Italiana: 5
1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2004
* European Cup/Champions League: 5
1988–89, 1989–90, 1993–94, 2002–03, 2006–07
* UEFA Super Cup: 5
1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007
* Intercontinental Cup: 2
1989, 1990
* FIFA Club World Cup: 1
2007
Individual
* Under-21 European Footballer of the Year: 1
1989
* FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament: 1
1994
* UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 3
1988, 1996, 2000
* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2
1990, 1994
* UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match: 1
2003
* Serie A Defender of the Year: 1
2004
* FIFA 100: 1
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2
2003, 2005
* ESM Team of the Year: 4
1994–95, 1995–96, 1999–2000, 2002–03
* FIFPro World XI: 1
2005
* UEFA Champions League Best Defender: 1
2007
* Italy captain: 1
1994–2002
* UEFA Champions League Achievement Award: 1
2009
* AC Milan all-time highest number of appearances: 1
902
* UEFA Champions League Record of most appearances: 1
168
* Serie A highest number of appearances: 1
674
His ability to play on the left or in the middle suits me down to the ground, and if I do pick up a solid full back he will make a formidable partnership with Lucio.
A shoe-in for the captain's armband as well.
Team so far -
Given
Vidal
Lucio
x
Maldini
x
Lampard
x
x
Di Maria
Milito
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Watch this video. Name a more natural goalscorer.
I need a talisman. Someone who can have a bad game and still find himself ending up on the scoresheet. He's not been chosen yet probably due to his nationality, too close to home maybe. This man boasts a record of 30 goals in 63 appearances for England and is the leading scorer in Premier League history.
Alan Shearer is the complete forward... as far as strikers go, everyone tries to emulate him. In his prime he refused a move to United due to his Toon loyalty. He is well and truely the greatest English striker since Dixie Dean and it will be quite a while until someone boasts a better scoring record in the Premier League than Shearer does.
He's hit Volleys from 30 yards, scored endless penalties, was a true leader and never showed any fear. When he had the ball, the last person I would have wanted to be was the goalkeeper. He possessed a rocket of a shot to go along with his physique and natural goalscoring instincts.
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going to add to my team with another striker, and I am goiong for a good one....
Gerd Muller
One of the top scorers in world cup history.
# German top scorer: 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978
# European top scorer: 1970, 1972
# World Cup top scorer: 1970
# European Championship top scorer: 1972
# Eurochampionscup Topscorer 1973 ,1974 ,1975 ,1977
# German Footballer of the Year: 1967, 1969
# Voted best Player 40 Years Bundesliga 1963-2003
# European Footballer of the Year: 1970
# World Football's Greatest Goalscorer of All Time (awarded in 2000)
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Marco van Basten
This round proved to be my hardest choice yet, from round one I knew I was going to pick a striker in the world cup legends round and by the time my pick came round I had it narrowed down to 4 forwards, this guy won out because he has to be the best player to lead my forward line.
Being a 'legends' round this fella fits the bill perfectly, just looking at his achievements makes me wish I was around to see him play:
FIFA World Player of the Year: 1992
World Soccer Player of the Year: 1988, 1992
UEFA Best Player of the Year: 1989, 1990, 1992
IFFHS Best Player of the Year: 1988, 1989, 1990
Onze d'Or: 1988, 1989
Onze d'Argent: 1987, 1992
Bravo Award: 1987
UEFA European Championship 1988 Top Scorer and Best Player with 5 goals
European Footballer of the Year: 1988, 1989, 1992
Dutch Footballer of the Year: 1984–85
FIFA 100 (List of the greatest living footballers picked by Pelé): 2004
European Golden Boot: 1985–86
European Silver Boot: 1983–84
European Cup Top Scorer: 1989
European Cup Silver Top Scorer: 1993
Dutch League Top Scorer: 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87
Serie A Top Scorer: 1989–90, 1991–92
Serie A Silver Top Scorer: 1988–89
World Golden Boot: 1985–86
He was unfortunate enough to only make it to one world cup with his career being cut short by injury, but while he was playing he left himself an ever lasting legacy.
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I select
Garrincha
FIFA considers him the best Brazilian player ever after Pelé. He is also widely regarded as the best dribbler in football history.Brazil never lost when Pele and he were in the same side.
Known for his remarkable ball control, imagination, dribbling skills and ability to create something from nothing, Garrincha also possessed a ferocious shot with either foot and was a gifted dead ball specialist known for free kicks and corners taken with the outside of his foot. However, it was his astonishing dribbling skills he was most famous for, a skill he retained throughout his career. Examples of his shooting ability are his goals in World Cups against England in 1962 and Bulgaria in 1966. He was also able to turn on himself at top speed and explode at unusual angles, which he used to great effect. The numerous attacks and goal opportunities he generated through individual plays would often end up in an accurate pass to a teammate in a position to score. This occurred in the first two of Brazil's goals in the 1958 World Cup final and the second goal against Spain in the 1962 tournament. He was also an excellent header of the ball despite his relatively short stature.
He is one of a few players to have scored direct from a corner, a feat he managed to do 3 times in his career.
Unfortunately,his personal problems put George Best to shame.He drank heavily,was involved in several crashes,one of which resulted in his mother-in-law's death, and is known to have fathered at least 14 children.He died at the age of 49, and his funeral drew thousands of people.
One of the most skillful players ever, his role in my team will be vital and his talent will unleash Luis Fabiano and Dzeko up front0 -
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I present you my captain, my playmaker, my penalty taker, the most vital cog in my side, a legend among men. A warrior. Okay might have over done the last few superlatives but really this guy was immense throughout his career. This round is for World Cup legends. He played in 5 world cups, the only outfield player ever to do so. 150 caps. And he won these caps when they weren't thrown around like confetti like nowadays. The man lifted the wolrd cup in 1990, he won the European championship in 1980, hell he even won every single competition he participated in except for the Champions League. Despite Clive Tyldsley's highly ignorant comments, I did care and felt so sorry for the man as the one trophy he never won slipped away from his grasp in 99, through no fault of his own.
I'm going to play Lothar Mattaus as a defensive midfielder beside Nigel De Jong with license to burst upfield and score goals like he so often did throughout his career. My team is really shaping up excellently with just a goalie, a centre half, a winger and a left back to be found. Truly delighted to have got him. Really chuffed. HIs list of honours makes quite some reading.
Club Playing Honours
Borussia Mönchengladbach FC Bayern Munich- Bundesliga: 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1993–94, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000
- DFB-Pokal: 1986, 1998
- DFB-Ligapokal: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
- DFB-Supercup: 1987
- UEFA Cup: 1996
- Fuji-Cup: 1987, 1988, 1994, 1995
- UEFA Champions League: runner-up 1987, 1999
- Serie A: 1989
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1989
- UEFA Cup: 1991
- FIFA World Cup: 1990, runner-up 1982, 1986
- EURO Cup: 1980
- U.S. Cup: 1993
- Ballon d'Or: 1990
- Onze d'Or: 1990
- FIFA World Player of the Year: 1991
- World Soccer Awards Player of the Year: 1990
- German Footballer of the Year: 1990, 1999
- FIFA 100
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Arsenal fans, who's your daddy? adding to Thierry Henry in the last round i give you my Dutch Legend...Dennis Bergkamp
okay ill let Wiki explain why i choose this man over perhaps argueably more illustious names from the football history books.Bergkamp played most of his best games as a support striker, where his tactical awareness and deft passes made him a great exponent of the game from the 'hole'
this is exacltley what i need in my team and where he will play, behind Higuain with Henry and one other making up the 3 in a 4-2-3-1 formation.He was selected by Pelé as one of the FIFA 125 greatest living players and is widely regarded as one of the English Premier League's all-time greatest players. In 2007 he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame, the first and thus far only Dutch player ever to receive the honour. He has also finished third in the FIFA World Player of the Year award twice among numerous other honours
he was also capable of moments of magic like the following
Team so far
Iker Casillas
???
Ivanovic
???
???
Gattuso
Riquelme
????
Bergkamp
Henry
Gonzalo Higuain0 -
Roberto Baggio
It was my belief that the best player for each team would come from this round, and as such, you should fill your most important position from this pick. Playing a 3-3-1-3 with all my play going through my trequartista, this was my most important position.
Quite simply, Roberto Baggio is the best natural trequartista the world has seen. His World Cup scrapbook has seen him score in three seperate tournaments (the only Italian to ever do so), and he has a Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards to his name.
He has been voted into both Juventus and Italy's all time XI, as well as a spot on FIFA's All Time Dream Team XI.0 -
Romário de Souza Faria
Romario
Brazil 70 caps 55 goals
PSV 109 games 98 goals
Barcelona 46 games 34 goals
Total 522 games 366 goals
I don't need to say anything about this pick. One of the greatest of all time and I'm shocked that he is still available, I was certain he was a top 6 pick in this round. The man just loves to play football and he was unstoppable during the 1990's. He was compared to Pele and Maradona in his heyday, he was the superstar of world football during the 1990s. Just have a look at his goals record above again and look at what he won below and his individual honours are below that.
Team honours
World Cup Winner 1994
World Club Championship Winner 2000
Campeonato Carioca: 1987, 1988
Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2000
Copa Mercosur: 2000
Eredivisie: 1989, 1991, 1992
KNVB Cup: 1989, 1990
Johan Cruijff Shield: 1992
La Liga: 1993-94
Campeonato Carioca: 1996, 1999
Copa Oro: 1996
Copa Mercosur: 1999
Qatar Crown Prince Cup: 2003
FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997
Copa América: 1989, 1997
Individual Honours
FIFA World Footballer of the Year: 1994 (also runner-up 1993)
World Cup Golden Ball Winner: 1994La Liga top scorer: 1994
Rio de Janeiro State League's top scorer: 1986, 1987, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
Olympic Games's top scorer: 1988
Dutch League's top scorer: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992
Dutch Cup's top scorer: 1989, 1990
UEFA Champions League's top scorer: 1990, 1993
The best South American top player of the Spanish League (EFE trophy): 1994
Onze d'Or (top player of the year for the Onze Mondial french newspaper): 1994
Confederations Cup's top scorer: 1997Rio-São Paulo Tournament's top scorer: 1997, 2000
Brazilian Cup's top scorer: 1998, 1999
Copa Mercosul's top scorer: 1999, 2000
Brazilian league's top scorer: 2000, 2001, 2005
Top player of the Intercontinental Cup's final: 2000
Bola de Prata (Placar): 2000
South American Footballer of the Year: 2000
FIFA 100
Please watch and enjoy this video of Romario. Its not the best quality but he was just so awesome you will enjoy it.
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Paulo César da Silva Barrios
Paulo da Silva
The rock at the heart of the impressive Paraguayan defense and it was a choice between him and a player who it turns out was already gone. Steve Bruce has been impressive picking up South American players and this guy has been very impressive when I've seen him play. He reminds me a lot of Franco Baresi when I watch him, I'm not saying he is as good as the master but he plays a similar tough, leading role and keeps everybody on their toes. He managed an assist in the last game which is rare as he usually stays back. He is the leader of the defense and I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more of this guy both in this World Cup and in the Premier League next year.0 -
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pretty sure ill regret not getting a defender now but instead ill take another World cup winner for my midfield...Mauro Camronesi
Team so far
Iker Casillas
???
Ivanovic
???
???
Gattuso
Riquelme
Camronesi
Bergkamp
Henry
Gonzalo Higuain0 -
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I select
Diego Lugano
Of all the players in Oscar Tabarez’s squad, Diego Lugano perhaps best embodies the famous garra charrua, Uruguay’s famous fighting spirit. Lugano’s tough man-marking, strong aerial ability and commanding voice make him a natural leader.0 -
Alexander Frei
At times Frei can be a somewhat ungainly presence. But you simply can't quibble with his workrate and more crucially his goalscoring record (40 in 73 International appearances). Frei will fit my team perfectly, offering a direct target with the ability to find the net in a variety of ways.0 -
Jame Carragher
Time again to strengthen up my defence and who better to do it at this stage of the game than this man. No matter what anyone says about Carragher he is still one of the top defenders in the game today, may well have lost some of his pace but as he has proven time and again his superb positioning more than makes up for it
After declaring his intention to retire from international football this summer England pleaded for him to return to the fold as it would be a shame to have such a talented footballer playing regularly in a position they lack depth in and not take him to south africa.
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Really sorry for the confusion with me picking a previously picked player....checked the list and am sure this lad hasn't already been picked
William Gallas.
France are a joke at this WC but Gallas is still a very good CB to be getting at this stage of the game0 -
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