The Noughties' XI

It’s nearly been a decade since I started following football. For someone with considerable football viewing experience, I still find myself fumbling for cheeky one-liners when posed with questions ranging from the history of that " wee club in the north-east" to who scored the winning goal in Arminia Bielefeld's first win of the 2007-08 season to what Henrik Larsson believes is in store for him after retirement (I know the answer to that last one, by the way). I do find these pieces of information quite fascinating in their own right, but fail to understand the reason behind allowing oneself to be stranded under the debris of statistics. I find myself more interested in those deft touches, those subtle flicks, those passes which have accuracy written all over them, those periods of play where all else loses meaning, consuming you with its overwhelming nature, considering the perspective wherein football is billed as being just a game. That and the emotional tumult (i.e. all the howling and scowling and fervent abusing) that is associated with being a Manchester United fan.                                                                                                                         
 This column is intended to render itself as a platform to showcase the travails of an ordinary guy with Jogo Bonito- the Beautiful Game. The analysis here should not be expected to be of a clinical nature. It would be rather normal to expect that these articles would be overflowing with views of a lopsided nature. And to further add weight to this contention this first piece is based on the most rudimentary of football related articles- a fantasy team.  This team includes only those players whose footballing prowess I have witnessed (on TV of course).  Attempts have been made to refrain from picking players solely from teams whose footballing styles I admire. This is evident from the fact that 2 French players and quite a number of players who have represented Real Madrid at some point in their careers, whereas I harness feelings of indifference towards the French national team and truly despise the Real Madrid school of thought. Here is the list of players I would have loved to see play as a team:

  

·      Gianluigi Buffon: The recent Roma vs. Juventus match, which ended in what has to be said was an embarrassing defeat for the defending champions, was a vindication of the fact that Buffon is still the best goalkeeper around. On a rare day when his teammates were totally at sea, Gigi Buffon held the fort like a true leader. His technical finesse, his commitment to his team’s cause and his obsession with winning make him one of the finest players of his generation.

·     Paolo Maldini: Truth be told, I haven’t seen Maldini at work as much as I would have liked to. And admittedly I was unaware of the fact that he spent most of the better days in his career at left-back. But whatever glimpses I have had of his genius were at centre-back partnering the next player in this list. It wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration to say that Milan’s pages in history would lack much of its sheen if it were deprived of the services of this legend.

·    Alessandro Nesta: I had lost interest in Italy’s 2006 World Cup Campaign on learning of Nesta’s injury. Although posterity would label this as a foolish decision, Nesta’s value to any side he appeared in was beyond quantification. Arguably the greatest centre-back of the previous decade, his partnership with Maldini made for delectable football viewing.

·     Philipp Lahm: I am not a huge fan of the workhorse-like efficiency that German football is famous for. But Lahm, the true embodiment of this footballing philosophy, is just too remarkable a player to be excluded from this list. The German’s impressive work rate is only matched by his astute ability to foster attack while ensuring his defensive duties are not neglected.

·    Roberto Carlos: The man, who is renowned for his mind-blowing free kicks, was adept at forging key partnerships in offense. His incredible track record speaks for itself and he is one of the greatest Latin American left-backs of all time.

·  Claude Makélélé: Zinedine Zidane remarked on learning of Makélélé’s sale and the subsequent buying of David Beckham by Real Madrid: “Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?” Such was the influence of this player, that pundits have dubbed the defensive midfield   position as the ‘Makélélé Role’. Without Makélélé, all this hype generated over the greatness of players like Lampard and Terry by the Chelsea faithful would have found no basis whatsoever. A player who truly deserved greater recognition.

·       Paul Scholes: Ok I’ve got to put this out there – Scholes is without even the slightest iota of doubt the greatest United player, if not the greatest Premier League player of the Sir Alex Ferguson era. Scholes is a midfielder of the most unique genesis – his footballing capabilities make his role difficult to classify, his calming influence on his teammates speaks volumes of his genius, his ability to hold the ball for long periods of play is unequalled and the quality of his passes is the stuff of legend.

·   Ryan Giggs: Wikipedia describes Giggs as the most decorated player in English football history. For anyone who has even a speck of doubt about his talent and influence, the goal he scored against Arsenal in the FA Cup final of the historic treble winning season for United should silence all such opinions. He has played in all positions in midfield and the depth and vision he possesses is of an exemplary nature.

·      Zinedine Zidane: The complete player. No one, in my opinion has ever controlled a football better than this man. His ability to read the game and skillfully turn matches on their head with his unique vision ensured a treat for connoisseurs of the game and a nightmare for defenders. Zidane could create, score, pass the ball around beautifully, hold the ball if needed and conjure sheer magic through set-pieces. The greatest player I’ve had the fortune of witnessing.

·      Luís Figo: Figo was an incredibly gifted player whose abilities as a winger and a playmaker saw him rub shoulders with the best of his contemporaries. When in full flow, he overshadowed them all tearing apart the best of defenses single-handedly. I consider him a player of greater quality than his compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo, since he encountered defences of a more competent and complete nature in his time.

·       Raúl González: I haven’t seen anyone who was/is as well-rounded a striker as Raúl was in his prime. This guy could literally do anything – his killer instincts, his aerial prowess, his ability to shoot from tight angles and his clinical finishing posed some serious problems for defenders. Whenever critics started doubting Raúl the player, Raúl the champion emerged stronger, each time sending out fitting replies to these cynics.

I have decided to refrain from naming a manager for this team as the task of choosing a manager for this set of players is way more difficult than choosing the final XI, and therefore beyond me. And as for substitutes, in fantasy need there be any such thing as injury or fatigue?

-Shankar R