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FIFPro World XI: Were some players unfairly overlooked?

This year saw the FIFA World XI squad picked purely from the Spanish first division. But many have been questioning whether or not the choice not to look elsewhere was a fair one

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FIFPro World XI: (back L-R) Ronaldo, Marcelo, Ramos, Pique, Dani Alves, Casillas, (front L-R) Falcao, Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and Xabi Alonso

The supremacy of Real Madrid and Barcelona as footballing titans was again highlighted last night at the Fifa Ballon d’Or Gala with the announcement of the FIFPro World XI squad. All eleven of the players named in this year’s edition came from La Liga and included ten players from the two top teams in Spain. Ramadel Falcao (Atletico Madrid) was the eleventh, who also plies his trade in La Liga, to make it a full house of players who play their club football in the Spanish top flight.

The final team was as follows:

GK: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)

DEF: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Marcelo (Real Madrid)

MID: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Xavi (Barcelona), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

ATT: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid)

What has had many football fans talking is the lack of players from other European leagues. Granted, there is no doubt that La Liga oozes players with immense amounts of talent and with regards to the six Spanish players, becoming the first team to retain a European Championship after 44 years without a major honour is a massive achievement.

However, there are some who would argue that the Spanish theme that runs through the FIFPro setections comes at the cost of the omission of a few players who more than deserved a place in the final XI.

Not many would argue about Iker Casillas’ inclusion in the squad for the fifth year running. Having led his country to retain their European Championship crown in Poland and Ukraine in the summer, it is no surprise that the Real Madrid shot stopper made it into the final XI.

Cech.jpg However, Petr Cech’s (and Manuel Neuer’s to a certain extent) performance outshone all other goalkeepers in the 2011 Champions League campaign. Cech played in 13 of Chelsea’s games leading to the final, the most of any goalkeeper in the tournament that year. He faced 222 shots, 93 more than Napoli’s Morgan De Sanctis in second place. He conceded just 12 goals despite facing numerous penalties, including a save from Arjen Robben’s spot kick in the final to keep them in the game, and two shootout saves to set up Drogba’s match winning penalty.

 

An area that certainly could have included some players from other nations was the defence. Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique was involved in just 22 league games for Barcelona last term, scoring two goals and playing in a total of 38 games in all competitions for the Catalan side.

Kompany.jpg Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund stars Vincent Kompany and Mats Hummels undoubtedly deserved a mention, having both helped their sides to domestic league victories.

Kompany captained the Citizens to their first league trophy since 1968 and was by far one of the best defenders in the world last season. He was recognised for this exploits when he was named the Premier League Player of the Season for 2011/12.

Hummels also won the German Cup with Dortmund, sealing the double for Die Schwarzgelben, and has been an influential force in their Champions League campaign this season.

Chelsea full back Ashley Cole should probably have also got some credit for his outstanding performances on the left for both his club and country. Arguably the world’s best in his position, along with Petr Cech, Cole won the Champions League back in May, an achievement of which none of the final FIFPro XI defenders can boast.

In midfield, although it would be extremely harsh to say that Xabi Alonso, Iniesta and Xavi were undeserving of a place, the oversight of Juventus playmaker Andrea Pirlo is tough to ignore.

Juventus went the whole 2011/12 season unbeaten and finished as Italian champions. Pirlo was pivotal in midfield for the Old Lady, ending the season with the most assists (13) and a pass completion rate of 86.8%, yet the 33-year-old went without inclusion in the World Team of the Year.

RVP.jpg Finally, it would suffice to say that despite coming up against the likes of four-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo and Atletico Madrid marksman Ramadel Falcao, the absence of Manchester United striker Robin van Persie came as a surprise to some. His 30 goals in 38 league games for Arsenal was the most of any player in the Premier League and helped the Gunners to a third place finish ahead of North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Now playing under Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, Van Persie has shone in a United shirt scoring 20 goals in 26 appearances in all competitions so far this season. His goal scoring ability is certainly up there with the best and he will probably feel slightly hard done by regardless of the competition he faced.

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Defoe vs Falcao: The Stats this season

AVB compares Defoe to Falcao and hails his Tottenham striker as one of the best strikers he has ever worked with. But do this season's stats say the same thing?

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Defoe v Falcao: Head-to-Head

 

In the wake of Jermain Defoe’s brace against West Ham on Sunday, 35-year-old Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas has publicized his belief that the Spurs front-man is in the same league as the much desired Atletico Madrid goal machine Ramadel Falcao, with whom he worked with during a season at Porto.

Villas-Boas explained, “Jermaine knows how to score goals.” But along with this statement, the Portuguese admitted his inexperience in the management game.

“I don’t have a lot of experience. The experience I have with a couple of strikers, but I put him up there with the rest of them.”

Having not managed any of his four previous clubs for longer than a year, Villas-Boas still has a lot to learn. However, it is still widely known that he won both the Portuguese domestic title and Europa League with his Porto Side in the 2010/11 season, making him the youngest ever manager to win a European title.

His less-than-fruitful time at Chelsea with strikers Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres saw the duo score just three goals apiece by January last season. Torres is still floundering at Stamford Bridge and has scored just six goals in 20 games – including the Super Cup – for the Blues.

Jermaine Defoe has been one of the in-form strikers this season and has managed to net 10 goals in his 19 appearances for Spurs. The Tottenham manager likened his spark of individual brilliance for his goal against West Ham on Sunday to the finishing of that of the Colombian Falcao.

Falcao plies his trade in the Spanish Liga Primera, where he has score 11 goals in twelve appearances for Los Rojiblancos and sits third in this season’s top goalscorers behind Lionel Messi (19) and Cristiano Ronaldo (12). Known as “El Tigre”, the Colombian remains a principal target for big spenders Chelsea, who will be looking to find someone who can find the back of the net.


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Time to Buy Under Benitez

As Rafael Benitez moves into his new office at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground, he will be seriously pondering his next moves as manager of the currently under-performing European champions.

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Benitez joined Chelsea as their new manager yesterday and will be expected to make some big money moves in January.

 

Benitez joins the ranks amid very tempestuous times at Stamford Bridge, with alleged disputes in the changing room following Chelsea’s last league game under Roberto Di Matteo, a 3-1 loss to West Brom, and a fan backlash in response to the dismissal of the Italian manager.

Therefore to ease any ill feelings that might reside in west London at the moment, it remains imperative that Benitez ensures his first movements in charge of Chelsea remain positive ones.

Positions to strengthen

Defence:

There is no denying that Chelsea need to make plans for the inevitability of John Terry being put out to pasture. Instrumental as he is as a centrifugal force for the Blues, his suspension and injury absences have certainly put the spotlight on serious defensive frailties.

Despite having a quality centre-back in Gary Cahill, he arguably lacks the leadership that Terry brings to the plate. The lack of experience at the back combined with David Luiz’s inconsistency has been costly for Chelsea in recent weeks so when the transfer window opens in January, Benitez should at least take that into consideration.

Strikers:

Another area in need of some renovation is their choice of strikers. As it is, the only out-and-out strikers that Chelsea possess are Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge.  Torres has scored just four goals in his twelve league appearances this season but despite not performing to the potential he showed at Liverpool, he has been the preferred option as their lead striker. Sturridge on the other hand has made just five appearances and netted just once.

Possible targets:

Linked to a move to Stamford Bridge in January is Atletico Madrid hitman Ramadel Falcao, who remains their primary target. He does, however, have a £44m buy-out clause on his contract but considering Roman Abramovich forked out the readies for Torres last year, money is obviously no object and Atletico’s dire financial situation could also work in the Russian’s favour.

Two other possibilities for Benitez would be Napoli’s Edison Cavani and Porto’s James Rodriguez. The former has scored an impressive eight goals in eleven league outings for Napoli this season and would certainly bolster their threat in front of goal. Rodriguez has a similar record for Portuguese Primeira Liga leaders Porto. Having played in eight of their nine league games this season, he has converted a handy six goals.

The options are there for Benitez, we’ll look forward to the January transfer window to see how he does. Let’s just hope he can get the best out of his team (especially Torres) until the transfer window opens.

 

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Will Atletico’s Europa League win encourage English clubs to take the competition more seriously?

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For the second successive season Radamel Falcao determined the destination of the Europa League trophy after inspiring Atletico Madrid to a 3-0 victory over much fancied Athletic Bilbao. In an exciting climax to the competition, the Colombian put the Bilbao defence to the sword with two classy strikes before Diego completed the scoring with a cool finish.

Winners: Atletico Madrid beat their Spanish rivals Bilbao to lift the Europa League trophy in Romania Continue reading →

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