Personal 2014 World Cup Team of the Tournament

A month has passed by and it saddens me that the FIFA World Cup won't be around for another 4 years. What we have witnessed in Brazil in the past 31 days though, were nothing short of magic and shocks. Now the sad realization that I need to get back to Uni and start a new semester will definitely pull me down.

Many surely would have predicted Germany to be eventual champions and England having another humiliating tournament, but no one would have bet high on seeing Algeria progressing further than Spain. You never thought the Costa Rica would progress from a group with Uruguay, Italy, and England, let alone win it. But the shock of the tournament must go to Brazil losing 1-7 to eventual winners Germany in a Semi-Final in their own country. Surely that goes down to one of the most humiliating match they've played ever.

As even teams shining the competition, there were definitely players who did not do their reputations any harm, as listed below will be 11 players who personally, are those that performed brilliant in this World Cup. My XI will be fitted in a 4-2-3-1 formation because Germany used it to win the whole thing, and because I want to.

Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer (Germany)

Surely is now the best goalkeeper in the world. In a competition where most goalkeepers took the plaudits (Keylor Navas, Guillermo Ochoa, Tim Howard, Sergio Romero, Rais M'Bolhi... and I'm just naming a few here!), the German keeper performed the best, and his Golden Glove award was well deserved. At times, he would sweep attacks like Beckenbauer, but then make saves like Kahn. The ultimate definition of the ultra-modern goalkeeper.

Rightback: Pablo Zabaleta (Argentina)

Contrary to the competition of best goalkeeper, there weren't many rightbacks to choose from. But having said that, Zabaleta was incredibly solid at defending against wingers as well as marauding the opponents box. It was a close choice between him and Germany captain Phillipp Lahm, but my choice fell to the best fullback in the Premier League as Lahm only played at this position for 3 matches, while being mediocre in midfield.

Centreback: Mats Hummels (Germany)

2 years ago, I slotted him in my Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament, and he's still a favorite of mine to date. Not only did he kept goals from coming, he managed to score 2 as well. It also doesn't kill to have a face like Orlando Bloom too. If the Ballon d'Or was based on looks, he would be a close second to France's Olivier Giroud.

Centreback: Ron Vlaar (Netherlands)

An Aston Villa defender who could actually defend, and he only showed it in the World Cup. He's one of those few cases that club form means nothing for national team as he did his best Gandalf impression for the Dutch all tournament long because no one was getting passed him that easily. Of all the players who surprised me the most in this World Cup, it had to be Vlaar and his for Feyenoord team-mates in defense (Stefan de Vrij & Bruno Martins Indi) who were sought to be the weak link in the team. Kudos to Ron!

Leftback: Daley Blind (Netherlands)

Again, everyone would have different opinions who the best leftback was in the tournament. Others would pick Argentina's Marcos Rojo or Germany's Benedikt Howedes, maybe even someone out of the ordinary like Mexico's Miguel Layun, but mine goes to non other than the guy whose name sounds like a news tabloid written in Braille. 2 assists in Oranje's 5-1 thrashing of Spain, including a goal against Brazil, on top of a cheeky smirk to boot, he definitely takes my vote (but not my heart just yet. That still belongs to Giroud).

Centremidfield: Javier Mascherano (Argentina)

The nation's best player in the World Cup by a mile. While Di Maria was injured since the semifinals, Masch single handedly kept Argentina in the game against the Netherlands. Even if he mostly plays as a defender for club, he definitely is a natural defensive midfielder as shown by his leading performances in the knockout rounds. The only thing missing was a gold medal, but he'll get a lot of them back with Barcelona.

Centremidfield: Toni Kroos (Germany)

The gap left by Pirlo in the knockout rounds was filled marvelously by Toni. He might not have the greatest performance in the final, but he was almost certainly the German's best midfielder in the World Cup with mouth-watering deliveries that lead to goals, to scoring a quick double in the semis against Brazil. If I was to give the Golden Ball to anyone in the tournament, no one deserved it more than Kroos.

Attacking Midfielder: James Rodriguez (Colombia)

Honestly, although he cost €45M from FC Porto to AS Monaco, he was never in my radar apart on Football Manager. But a month after, despite not being a forward, and the most debatable first name pronunciation, won the Golden Boot award after scoring 6 goals in 5 matches, including the Goal of the Tournament in a Round of 16 match against Uruguay. Probably was a shame that his Colombia side could not reach the semifinals, otherwise Hamez (or Jaimz if you prefer) might have scored more.

Right Wing: Arjen Robben (Netherlands)

In the group stages, despite being 29 and bald, no one could keep up with his pace as defenders were left for dead in a foot race with Robben. On top of 3 goals and 1 assist, he won the decisive penalty against Mexico where he graciously fell on purpose and secured a Quarterfinal berth. Despite all the controversy surrounding him, he had a brilliant tournament which could have - and should have - scored more.

Left Wing: Lionel Messi (Argentina)

Despite given the Golden Ball award from FIFA and wasn't even Argentina's best player in the World Cup (see Mascherano), there is no doubt that his country would never go through past the Group Stages if it wasn't for their beloved captain that is Lionel Messi. Four time Ballon d'Or winner just edges out club teammate Neymar and former club teammate Alexis Sanchez for a spot for his heroics and influence through out the tournament, even if he was out-marked in every knockout match.

Centre forward: Thomas Muller (Germany)

If Karim Benzema's France won against Germany in the Quarterfinals, we might not be even talking about Muller. 2010's Golden Boot winner, Thomas started the tournament with a hat-trick against Portugal in a false-nine role, eventually leaving Brazil with a tally of 5. And when he wasn't scoring, he was either making them or making space for his teammates to score. Muller's intelligence in the final to create space for Gotze to score the winner was the perfect interpretation of a false-nine you would ever see. Probably Muller would have deserved that Golden Ball accolade more than Messi does, but Muller would not mind at all if he wins the biggest prize in the end - as a World Cup winner.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO basically that was my team. If you made it hear, thank you for reading and wouldn't hurt listen to your opinions.

Why are people complaining 2012's FIFPro XI?

I could make it easy for everyone and say that this year's FIFPro XI is more of a La Liga XI. But can anyone agree that this line-up is really hard to beat? Besides, every player in the world voted for their best XI of the year. The best players that lived up in 2012. The players themselves voted for it. Not people who call themselves "pundits" or "experts".

Top Row: Ronaldo, Marcelo, Ramos, Pique, Alves, Casillas.
Bottom Row: Falcao, Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Alonso.

At a glance, sure its a combination of Barcelona and Real Madrid with Falcao heading their team. Take another quick glance again, and you realize that most of the players on the list are their because of Spain's EURO 2012 triumph. I mean why else would 4 Barcelona players be on there when all they won last season was a Copa del Rey trophy? Apart from Lionel Messi being the best in the world (and winning a record 4th Ballon d'Or), the other 3 Catalan-based players were there on merit.

Again, "Why are all the players from one league? Don't they look at the other leagues?" These questions were the most frequently questions asked in Social Media outlets. However there is a debate on a couple of positions in that XI, especially Pique's, Marcelo's, Alonso's, and Falcao's cridentials.

Serie-A experts calling out for Juventus duo Andrea Pirlo and Giorgio Chiellini who both were at the center of Juventus' triumph where they went unbeaten, and Italy's run into the final of EURO2012. Bundesliga experts were shocked no Dortmund players, including Mats Hummels, was nowhere near the FIFPro XI, while Premier League enthusiasts insisted either Vincent Kompany or Robin Van Persie was fitted in the Dream Team. Not even a single Chelsea player - even for their surprising Champions League win - were there as well.

Zlatan: "Even I deserve a place in that line-up!"

Let me here say this - there are millions of athletes in the world at the moment. There are only 11 places available. 1 Goalkeeper, 4 Defenders, 3 Midfielders, and 1/3 Strikers (Face it, the other 2 places were always going to be filled by Ronaldo and Messi). You can argue all day long about who performed the best in 2012, but it's just an award of personal acknowledgement. All the players mentioned above were definitely debatable, but you can't argue much with this years' FIFPro XI. Why the players in that team are only from La Liga? Because the best players in the world ARE in La Liga. Even if that isn't true, we all now FIFA and Blatter is corrupt. We now he's secretly blowing Sandro Rossell and Michel Platini weekly.

Why don't we just acknowledge the beautiful game and get on with life? I know I'll do that.

My Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament

Every football fan in the world has gone through 3 weeks of entertainment mayhem with what we have witnessed what happened in Poland and Ukraine. UEFA EURO 2012 has now ended and will have to fill in the rest of our summers with something else to do than watch 16 teams kicking about a leathery spherical figure. 

We saw the surprising, the disappointing, and the inevitable. We saw how Netherlands and Russia bowed out of the tournament prematurely, with co-hosts Ukraine and Poland also just as disappointing. But we also saw how England managed to win a group they were predicted to finish bottom in, Italy beating pre-tournament favorites Germany in the semifinals, and how Denmark didn't become the whipping boys out of the 'Group of Death'.

But the inevitable events just had to happen. France fail to show up, Ireland going home with no points, and most importantly Spain defending their title with a 4-0 thrashing of Italy in the Final. We just knew those things were going to happen.

There were lots of players who showed what they were worth, but below are 11 players who stood out the most for me in every position. I will use a 4-2-3-1 formation since that formation was the most used by the teams this summer.

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas (Spain)

Saint Iker only conceded once throughout the tournament and he should be lauded for his impressive performance between the sticks. Spain's captain's inclusion was given a run for his money in this team by Italy's Gianluigi Buffon and England's Joe Hart, but Casillas was able to lead this side to 3 straight tournament victories and of course he played a big part of each of it.

Rightback: Glen Johnson (England)

To be honest, I was very skeptical of his inclusion after Kyle Walker injured himself and Micah Richards getting snubbed. His performances for Liverpool have declined but from all of the players in the England squad, he proved me wrong the most. He was far better in defending than I have ever seen him play ever. His inclusion above Portugal's Joao Pereira and Czech's Theodore Gebre Selassie in this team speaks volume on how I was surprised of how he performed.

Centreback: Sergio Ramos (Spain)

Cutting off his hair wasn't the only brilliant decision he made this summer. That chipped penalty in the semifinal shootout against Portugal silenced his critics since Real Madrid's Champions League semifinal exit. He did his defensive duties brilliantly despite being put of his normal right-back position for Spain.

Centreback: Mats Hummels (Germany)

Despite criticism early on his international career, his elegance in the center of Germany's defence helped the nation's cause. Pundits and fans alike were impressed by Hummels' performances even after a bad game against Italy where he was at fault in at least one of the goals conceded. Hope he bounces back from that semifinal outing.

Leftback: Jordi Alba (Spain)

Most analysts claimed this position were Spain's weak link for ages, but I myself certainly did not see that. I only managed to see him play a handful of times for Valencia and he wasn't that bad, but he certainly played way better for Spain and his move (back) to Barcelona doesn't look out of place. Due to Spain's formation of no strikers, everyone got a chance to attack and Alba took his in the final to score Spain's second of the game. I easily could have put either Germany's Phillipe Lahm or Portugal's Fabio Coentrao but Jordi here was something special. Barcelona next season would be frightening with him and Dani Alves bombing down the wings. *shivers*

Centremidfield: Andrea Pirlo (Italy)

During the Euro's, 70% of the male population would have experienced a man-crush towards Pirlo. At the age 33, his game is comparable to fine wine - becomes better with age. His assist for Di Natale in the opening match, his freak-kick scored against Croatia and a Panenka-esque penalty against England were only some of us men's reasons to fall for his skills. When someone gets mentioned in a dreamteam ahead of Xavi and Xabi Alonso, you know you've won loads of admirers.

Centremidfield: Sami Khedira (Germany)

I have never seen Sami Khedira play bad ever. In every game I've seen him play for Germany since the 2010 World Cup, he is always brilliant. It could be because he is one of the most consistent players in the tournament or because I rarely watch Real Madrid play. Either way, he definitely merits his inclusion in this team ahead of Steven Gerrard and his goal against Greece in the quarterfinals just sealed the deal.

Right Attacking Midfielder: Andres Iniesta (Spain)

Slightly cheating here on his position in this team because he didn't really play on the right for his country. Andres-Cesc-Silva switched places occasionally during the match so it was a bit hard to slot one of them in this team, but I decided to go with Iniesta for his pass for Cesc in the final that actually set up Silva. He was also named Player of the Tournament and deservedly so.

Centre Attacking Midfielder: Mesut Ozil (Germany)

Again, his inclusion was difficult due to challangers in the form of Cesc and Silva. The reason why I chose Ozil was for his vision in how he covered for Schweinsteiger's mediocre form in the knockout stages. 3 assists in the tournament added by a ruthless taken penalty against Italy in at the end of the game. He's only 23, I can't imagine how good he will be when he reaches his peak.

Left Attacking Midfielder: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)

I had this position reserved specially for him. His appointment of being made captain may raise a few eyebrows and his hairstyle changes may confuse a few stylists as well. But he did carry the team to semifinals albeit not on his own. Scoring twice in an important match against Netherlands showed the critics who said he couldn't perform during the big games were wrong. Even though he only manage to score 3 goals, he was Portugal's main goalscoring threat and he did it well considering Portugal doesn't have a well developed striker in their ranks.

Striker: Mario Balotelli (Italy)

What? No Torres? Yeah, No Fernando in this team. Sure he got the Golden Boot (which he totally deserved by the way), but all his goals came in 4-0 thrashings of Ireland and Italy. And with Spain usually not playing a striker should put his place in this team into huge consideration

Mario Balotelli also only scored 3 goals but all of his goals were worldclass and looked consistent throughout the tournament. A no-look volley against Ireland, a bullet header from close range against Germany, and a top corner finish also against Deutschland displayed he was the best. Mario Gomez didn't cut it in this team, he was good in 2 games and then came back into his normal international form. I could just wonder if only Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Sweden and Nicklas Bendtner's Denmark got through the group stages...

SOOOOOOOOOO this was my team. Thanks for reading. I now you may have other opinions but this is my blog, so I'll write what I want.