Picking a World Football Worst XI for December

With the new year will come new hopes, dreams and expectations, while for some clubs, players and fans, it'll simply be a sense of relief that December is over.

There were some shocking performances around world football throughout the month, so what if we were to take the worst offenders and create some sort of hellish team of December's worst players?

Well, it'd look a little like this.

Roman Burki

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The reason Freiburg are spending the winter break at the bottom of the Bundesliga is because of goalkeeper Roman Burki, who may have made some decent saves over the season but is currently remembered for just one moment within it.

With Freiburg 2-1 up in stoppage time and set to condemn Borussia Dortmund to the foot of the table for the next month, Burki horrendously sliced a clearance straight to Hannover forward Joselu, who promptly turned a 2-1 win into a 2-2 draw for Burki's side, with the foot of the table coming as a result.

Guglielmo Stendardo

It's a bit harsh to put a player in this team based solely on one missed chance, but this miss from Atalanta's Guglielmo Stendardo was no ordinary moment.

Add to this the fact Stendardo was then part of a defence that conceded six goals in their next two games to head closer to the Serie A relegation zone and, yes, we think we've got cause enough.

Wes Morgan

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Having ended November with an own goal in a defeat to QPR, the Leicester City captain then began December with a red card in a loss to Liverpool.

This kind of stellar commitment to haplessness makes Morgan a shoo-in for our team, and the "defender" takes his place at the back following Leicester's awful recent form.

Paul Konchesky

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With Morgan suspended for the Foxes' trip to Aston Villa, the red card reins were picked up by left-back Paul Konchesky, who was sent off with 10 minutes remaining of the 2-1 defeat.

That red card was later rescinded, and so after playing in a defeat to Manchester City, Konchesky was able to take his place in the team for the trip to West Ham. The result? A bizarre back pass that only succeeded in serving as a perfect through ball for Andy Carroll to give the Hammers the lead.

Emiliano Insua

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The inclusion of Emiliano Insua in this team alongside Konchesky means that we've got two left-backs, but that really is the least of this XI's worries.

Insua, like Konchesky formerly of Liverpool, can these days be found at Rayo Vallecano on loan from Atletico Madrid, but his record there isn't the greatest. Rayo have lost all of the last five games in which he has featured (three in December), conceding 16 goals and scoring just two.

Esteban Cambiasso

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Completing our trio of Leicester City players is the Foxes' headline summer signing Esteban Cambiasso, who started December by missing an open goal which would have put his side 1-0 up in a match against Liverpool (they eventually lost 3-1).

That set the tone for an underwhelming month for the Argentinian, who was dropped from the side for the Boxing Day loss to Tottenham as boss Nigel Pearson sought more pace in his midfield.

Michael Krohn-Dehli

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Back in Spain, Celta Vigo are currently on an even worse run in La Liga than the aforementioned Rayo Vallencano, and they have slipped from their previous highs to eighth in the division following five successive defeats.

Experienced Danish midfielder Michael Krohn-Dehli hasn't been able to halt that slide, and he'll be someone who'll be relied upon to improve if one of the season's surprise packages are to get better in the new year.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

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Borussia Dortmund's dreadful form meant that at least one of their players was always going to make it into this team, and unfortunately for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, he's the unlucky one.

The Armenian midfielder is undoubtedly a tremendous talent on his day, but as is the case with pretty much all of his team-mates this season, his day simply hasn't come around often enough this season, leaving them second to bottom of the Bundesliga in December.

Kyle Lafferty

As with Stendardo, it is pretty harsh to include a player in this team based solely on just one moment, but just look at this free-kick from Norwich City's Kyle Lafferty in a Championship match at Wigan Athletic on December 6.

Antonio Cassano

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One of the finest Italian players of the modern era, this is nonetheless turning into a season to forget for Antonio Cassano.

The 32-year-old forward's Parma side sit bottom of Serie A at the winter break following a dismal run, with Cassano failing to score in his last eight appearances, including all three in December. He'll be desperate for a change of fortune in 2015.

Nolito

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Nolito's five goals in his first eight games of the season shot Celta Vigo toward the top few places in La Liga and the 28-year-old former Barcelona and Benfica forward into the Spain squad for the first time.

He hasn't scored in nine appearances since, though, including a scoreless December that has also seen him booked three times and Celta lose every game.