Europe said:
accesscrimea said:
and in a similar vein, the best team of the last decade was picked on the bbc website;
Goalkeeper: Oliver Kahn (Germany).
Right-back: Lilian Thuram (France).
Centre-back: Fabio Cannavaro (Italy).
Centre-back: Fabio Cannavaro (Italy).
Left-back: Philipp Lahm (Germany).
Right midfield: David Beckham (England).
Centre midfield: Zinedine Zidane (France).
Left midfield: Luis Figo (Portugal).
Striker: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal).
Striker: Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands).
Striker: Thierry Henry (France).
substitutes: Iker Casillas (Spain), Paolo Maldini (Italy) Sergio Ramos(Spain), Xavi Hernandez (Spain), Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic), Wayne Rooney (England), Fernando Torres (Spain).
Thats 16 whites and 2 blacks (the french players), and this is in a decade in which there are many non-whites playing in soccer at high profile levels.
Who's the other center back? Henry is mixed race also. These must be all European players. Beckham made it , even though he is one of the most criticized players. Peopls say he is overrated. I don't think so.
No Gerrard?
The second center back is - Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal)
Here are the chosen players again with a small commentary given in the article (not written by me) -
Goalkeeper: Oliver Kahn (Germany). A tough choice but four consecutive Uefa Best European goalkeeper awards (1999-2002) clinched it. His shot-stopping saw him awarded the gloves ahead of other excellent candidates such as Iker Casillas, Edwin van der Sar and Gianluigi Buffon.
Right-back: Lilian Thuram (France). Of course, he won the World Cup with France in 1998 but I'm selecting him for his outstanding performance in Euro 2000 and his constant excellence while at Parma and Juventus, even if he wasn't the type of speedy wing-back that is in vogue at many Spanish and Italian clubs. He could also play in the centre of the defence, which he often did for France.
Centre-back: Fabio Cannavaro (Italy). The Italian captain was 2006 world player of the year and instrumental in the Azzurri winning the World Cup that year. Outstanding at reading the game and the epitome of a firm but fair tackling. Still going strong and he's now his country's most capped player.
Centre-back: Ricardo Carvalho (Portugal): A rock solid central defender who was a cornerstone behind Portugal's improved performances at major championships. Enjoyed his best performances during the mid-2000s at Euro 2004 and when Porto won the Champions League but in recent seasons he has been very effective at Chelsea, despite his current injury problems.
Left-back: Philipp Lahm (Germany). Possibly my most controversial choice for some people but he has never failed on the big occasion and was in the team of the tournament at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008. Compact, quick and a superb crosser. Europe's answer to Roberto Carlos.
Right midfield: David Beckham (England). It's not all hype, he can play a bit as well. Good pace and few players can cross with such pinpoint accuracy as Becks. He's also arguably still the best dead-ball specialist in Europe, if not the world.
Centre midfield: Zinedine Zidane (France). It all ended on a sour note in the 2006 World Cup final but let's remember the good times when he was indisputably the world's best playmaker. His left-foot volley which won Real Madrid the 2002 Champions League is also, in my opinion, possibly the best goal of the last decade.
Left midfield: Luis Figo (Portugal). The Beckham-Zidane-Figo triumvirate was one that played together regularly at Real Madrid for two seasons between 2003 and 2005 and in that time they didn't actually win a thing, but this team is obviously more about individual ability and accomplishments, and Figo was equally comfortable as an advanced right-sided or left-sided midfielder.
Striker: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal). Won everything there was in terms of individual honours at the end of the 2007-08 season, when he was with Manchester United. Real Madrid valued him so highly that they were prepared to pay a world record transfer fee last summer. A dazzling runner and dribbler on his day and there is the sense that after recent injuries and the upheaval of his his move, he is returning to his best form of two years ago.
Striker: Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands). The only man to top the scoring charts in both the Netherlands, England and Spain. He has never failed at a club, despite several long-term injuries. Great ball skills, which often get over-looked because of his clinical close-range finishing.
Striker: Thierry Henry (France). It could be argued that Henry has too often failed to show what he was capable of for Les Bleus but his performances for Arsenal and, to a certain extent, Barcelona, have more than compensated for that.
.........Obviously this team is highly subjective and many people would have differing opinions on it, but even so, the players that were left out that could have been in it are all white too (ie - Nedved, Villa, Gerrard, Puyol, Buffon, Giggs).
Messi isnt there as hes not been around long enough to be in a ´team of the decade´, but without doubt hes the most slippy player out there at the moment. He has the Maradona ability to wait until the very last split second in which the defender had commited himself, and then somehow,with lightening movement of the feet, flick the ball to the side, or over the defenders foot, leaving him rooted to the spot as Messi accelerates past him like a human Ferrari towards the goal.
Messi fits very well in Barcelona which has an array of great passing and intelligent players who suit his own style of play (and he suits there style - all in all producing the best team in the world at the present moment). Barcelona (75% white) can slice through defenses like a hot knife to butter, and like no other team in the world can do. Always a joy to watch!
youve probably seen it already but these 2 great and uncannily similar goals by Messi and Maradona examplifys how Messi beats defenders.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYet49BToLw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYet49BToLw&feature=related
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