World beaters from FIFA WORLD CUP 2006. Review on Football World XI

Hufff . . . . The World Cup has come to and end-Two months of exciting action which saw many wonderful goals and many stars fading in the sky, some modest performances by big teams and some big performances by small teams.

It is this game Football which has brought the whole world to stand still, but how utterly mental game that it becomes from a physical game when it boils down to the game of death-penalty shootouts which has killed Countries like Argentina, England and now France en route. Who is the winner-It is not Italy but the game.

It is time to revel and remember the good moments from this world cup to pick the Eleven who matter the most as players who contributed to this world Cup for me.

Imagine the likes of those big Rs gone into the red- Ronaldo, Rooney and Ronaldinho and the injured Owen missing from my list. Imagine when Beckham could not bend it further, Imagine Lampard limping his way to theWooden boot.

Here is my Eleven which was really tough one to pick from the mammoth of players who shined and strived in FIFA 2006 Edition. I prefer the 3-4-3 lineup which gives better balance for the team where Mid-fielders play a very vital role in attack as well.

++++++++++++

Goal Keeper

++++++++++++

1.     Buffon Gianluigi (Italy) –He is the numero uno choice for the Goal Keeper because he is very intelligent among the lot and has the capability to assess shots brilliantly in close range. He also marshals his defense beautifully from the back.

His record in FIFA 06-Has had only one regular Goal against him.

+++++++++++

Defenders

+++++++++++

2.     Juan Sorin (Argentina) A Central defender and Skipper of Argentina can switch flanks and is simply the first choice for tackles. Great at passing as well.

75 Caps, 11 Goals

3.     John Terry (England) : Has had a good world cup and his best came against Ecuador and Portugal. This Chelsea defender uses his height and power very well

29 Caps, 1 Goal

4.     Fabio Cannavaro (Italy) : The strong wall of Italian defense wins over Roberto Carlos who messed it against France. The Juventus player is also Italy’s skipper and has had more than 25 tackles in this world cup, one of the highest.

99 Caps, 1 Goal

+++++++++++

Midfielders

+++++++++++

Mid-fielders are like the cogs of four wheels of a Vehicle very central in the whole game plan and their enormous contribution is often forgotten.

5.     Fransesco Totti (Italy) : Brilliant and masterly midfielder works between strikers and his passes could prove fatal to the opposition with the likes of Podolski and Klose in this team. His shooting, chipping and power behind the shots-amazing stuff. Has had wonderful tournament with 1 Goal and more than 70 Long Passes.

57 Caps, 9 goals

6.     Michael Ballack (Germany) : Master of midfield, Skipper of Germany is my first choice, fantastic long passing skills-111 of them in this world cup central to most of the goals that Germany scored,

71 Caps, 31 Goals

7.     Juan Riqualme : (Argentina): He is a beautiful Central playmaker full of touch and verve and brings nice contrast to the other two with his short passes-298 in this world cup.

36 Caps, 8 Goals

I had to show red card to one of the great playmakers Zinedine Zidane in the same class, very intelligent and very wily and on his day, he will be terrific to watch and he had his moment against Brazil in the World Cup. But when he decides that he can head humans to the Goal, then he has been shown way (disgracefully) by me as well. Till this Final I had him in this list.

8.     Andrea Pirlo (Italy) : Enormously gifted and came to the spotlight in the last two matches of the world cup, can be an ideal foil to the other three midfielders with 396 short passes, 139 long passes and one goal.

31 caps, 5 goals

++++++++++++++++++

Forwards (Strikers )

++++++++++++++++++

9. Fernando Torres: (Spain) : Young, athletic and has the knack of scoring goal after goal which is what matters as a striker. He is my choice ahead of Thierry Henry for his 3 lovely goals in this world cup.

34 Caps, 13 Goals

10. Miroslove Klose (Germany ) : Outstanding world Cup with the Golden boot with 5 Goals , On air and with his height this salto Klose is brilliant which dumped the Argentineans with his terrific header. His pace and ball sense is simply breathtaking.

61 Caps, 29 Goals

11. Lukas Podolski (Germany) :Poland has been cursing the loss of the two outstanding strikers from their land and he happens to be in my World X1 team as well because these two strike in tandem and their wavelength is very good. Podolski having scored 3 great Goals and fighting it out against Italy in SF cannot be left out of this striker lineup.

31 Caps, 15 Goals

++++++++++

Substitutes

++++++++++

12. Lehmann  (GK) Brazil’s Dida is a great Goalkeeper and is often called Monster but Lehmann coming back up against his superior as the first choice did superb work during penalty shootout against Argentina.

13. **Fabio Grosso (Italy) Defender

1. Roberto Carlos (Brazil) Defender

   
   




2. Michel Salgado (Spain) Defender

   
   




3. Zinadine Zidane(France) Mid Fielder

   
   




4. Shweinsteiger (Germany ) Mid Fielder

   
   




5. Patrick Vieira (France) Mid Fielder

   
   




6. Christiano Ronaldo (Portugal) FW

   
   




7. Tony Luca (Italy) FW

   
   




8. Heman Crespo (Argentina) FW

   
   




9. Thierry Henry ( France) FW

   
   




10. Luis Figo (Portugal) FW*

    
    

++++++++

COACH

++++++++

The toss up was between Klinsmann, Scolari and the Azzurri Marcello Lippi.LIPPIis my choice of a tactical coach who had brilliant world cup.

Thanks for reading and hope you have enjoyed the world cup. You can come up with your Team which could be very different from mine.