FIFpro World XI 2014 Defenders Shortlist Revealed: Dani Alves, David Luiz, More

FIFA and FIFPro, the worldwide players' union, have unveiled a 20-man shortlist of defenders for the FIFPro Team of the Year award to be presented at the Ballon d'Or ceremony in January.

However, despite being voted for by tens of thousands of professionals worldwide, the shortlist has already prompted much consternation from football fans on social media given some high-profile absentees.

FIFA tweeted a graphic of the 20-man list:

The shortlist reads as follows:

Name	Club	Name	Club
David Alaba	FC Bayern	Vincent Kompany	Manchester City
Jordi Alba	Barcelona	Philipp Lahm	FC Bayern
Dani Alves	Barcelona	Marcelo	Real Madrid
Jerome Boateng	FC Bayern	Javier Mascherano	Barcelona
Dani Carvajal	Real Madrid	Pepe	Real Madrid
David Luis	PSG	Gerard Pique	FC Barcelona
Filipe Luis	Chelsea	Sergio Ramos	Real Madrid
Diego Godin	Atletico Madrid	Thiago Silva	PSG
Mats Hummels	Borussia Dortmund	Raphael Varane	Real Madrid
Branislav Ivanovic	Chelsea	Pablo Zabaleta	Manchester City

Perhaps the most obvious absentee is Champions League runner-up and La Liga winning centre-back Miranda, who has also forced himself into a crucial role in the Brazil national side since the summer World Cup.

His Atletico teammate Juanfran, another key member of what was an excellent back-four unit, can also consider himself highly unlucky not to have been raised as a candidate, while the terrific Chelsea pairing of John Terry and Gary Cahill are conspicuous in their absence.

Norway-based football writer Jonas Giaever was among those to voice his amazement at some of the selection calls:

While not everyone will agree on which defenders have been the best in the world this year, it is hard to justify the inclusion of Dani Alves, David Luiz or even Thiago Silva over such candidates based upon the past 12 months.

Luiz, for instance, was unable to start regularly for Chelsea before making critical errors in the knockout stage of the World Cup, yet finds himself selected above the duo who kept him out of Jose Mourinho's side.

While Raphael Varane has enjoyed a good start to the season and played well in this year's Champions League final, meanwhile, that he managed just 14 league appearances last campaign also means his selection is surprising.

Michel Euler/Associated Press

Once more when looking at the nominees, it is hard not to feel that the FIFPro selection is heavily biased in favour of Real Madrid and Barcelona—a feeling solidified in the context of Iker Casillas' inclusion in the goalkeeper shortlist at the expense of David de Gea.

It is only two years since Radamel Falcao was the only non-Real Madrid or Barcelona player to make the FIFPro selection in 2012, while last year's team saw six players from the Classico duo despite Bayern Munich's historic treble. Only three players from the German side made the final XI.

Christof Koepsel/Getty Images

The importance of such awards, including the Ballon d'Or is open for debate when such decisions are being made. It may be the selection of players worldwide, but some of the nominations leave their ability to judge open for debate.

Once more based upon the 2014 nominations thus far, it would appear reputation is king when it comes to FIFA and FIFPro awards, with actual performance levels firmly second best.