World Football: Picking a World Superstar XI

It would be fairly easy to comprise a World XI solely around the current Barcelona XI; all of their players are among the elite at each of their respective positions.

However, doing so would completely ignore some of the talents at other European giants. Players such as Jack Wilshere and Mario Gotze are no doubt their country’s brightest prospects, yet remain a number of years away from really dining with the greatest.

There is no surprise really that the following XI come from Europe’s elite leagues: La Liga, Serie A, The Premier League and Bundesliga.

Victor Valdes

If it were not for the fact Iker Casillas broke into the Real Madrid team before Valdes did at Barcelona, then we would most likely be talking about the regular Spain number one.

As of yet, Valdes only has a handful of national team caps to him name. His domestic accolades, however, are quite phenomenal. He has won a record four Zamora trophies, which could equally be testament to the quality of the defence playing ahead of him. Under Pep Guardiola, he has won two Champions League trophies and another under Frank Rijkaard.

Seen as one of the senior players at Barcelona, Valdes never seems phased by the quality of his opponents. In fact, his tranquil mood during games might explain some of the outstanding performances we regularly see from him. I implore someone to find just a handful of matches from the past five years where Valdes was not performing at 100 percent.

Dani Alves

One of the finest attacking full-backs of the modern game. He works tirelessly for the Barcelona cause, harrying opponents when not in possession and being a threat going forward, providing natural width for the attack.

Alves does have a darker side to his game, however, often diving and looking to con the referee—sadly a characteristic of the Spanish Game.

As with any Barcelona player of the past four or five years, he does possess a number of domestic titles as well as two Champions League wins. He has recently taken over the right-back spot for Brazil following Maicon’s poor form—a position I expect him to keep as the more consistent of the two.

Lucio

Brought to Inter Milan by Jose Mourinho from the proceeds of the Zlatan Ibrahimovic sale, Lucio quickly formed an outstanding partnership with Walter Samuel. It would be a difficult task to put anything between the two monster centre backs, Lucio coming out on top on this occasion.

He has been a success wherever he has gone, winning domestic titles at Bayern Munich and winning the treble in his first season at Inter Milan.

Nemanja Vidic

Although Vidic’s arrival in England started with a bumpy few months, he quickly became one of the standout players of the Premier League.

Brought in from Spartak Moscow for just over £7 million, Vidic is seen as one of those bargain signings that possibly over-delivered. His partnership with Rio Ferdinand has been the cornerstone of the Manchester United defence for a number of years, helping them to three consecutive Premier League titles and three appearances in the Champions League final in four years.

Philip Lahm

This season marks a return to left full-back for Lahm following the arrival of Rafinha. The Bayern and Germany captain, however, is equally adept at playing the right full-back role. In fact, I find it difficult to find a player who is so defensively adept at playing both roles.

Lahm was given the German captaincy before the 2010 World Cup, an act that came into question. He did, however, deliver on the international stage, leading his country to third place and continuing his fine domestic form which led to selection in the World Cup all-star team.

Bastian Schweinsteiger

It was only three summers ago that Schweinsteiger was seen to be surplus to requirements at Bayern Munich. Often playing out on the left side of midfield, he seemed to have lost his way. He wasn’t performing to a level that was expected of a player of his calibre and a move to England was suggested.

A move into the centre of midfield seemed to bring out the best in Schweinsteiger. He became a regular in a midfield two, his power and creativity allowing him to become the driving force for the team.

Xavi

One of the greatest passers in modern football, Xavi acts as the engine room for this current Barcelona side. Acting as vice-captain to Carles Puyol, he personifies everything that is beautiful about the game.

Possibly one of his standout performances for Barca was in the 2009 Champions League final, where he and Andres Iniesta performed fantastically in midfield, playing one-twos with each other over a mere few feet in order to play their way out of trouble. That game the Manchester United midfield barely got a sniff of the ball.

It would be fair to say that Xavi has only really unlocked all his footballing potential under Pep Guardiola, who has allowed him the freedom to dictate Barcelona’s game. One of the most decorated footballers in history, he is the benchmark for the archetypal creative midfielder.

Wesley Sneijder

Real Madrid must be kicking themselves for letting this one get away.

Arriving at Inter Milan in 2009 for a meager £12 million, Sneijder has become the player around whom Inter have built their team. He is comfortable in a number of midfield positions and able to provide goals, assists and set-piece specialty.  Sneijder is comfortable using both feet and has earned himself superstar status with his achievements at Inter.

Far surpassing his midfield compatriots, he is now the creative outlet for the Dutch National team, guiding them to the 2010 World Cup final and finishing runners-up.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The former World Player of the Year and the most expensive player in history has already lit up La Liga in his short time in Spain, surpassing the 100 goal mark for Real Madrid.

Ronaldo is often cited as the most complete player due to his build, ability to score comfortably with both his head and feet and the possessor of awesome long-range shots and free-kicks.

He, too, has won almost everything at club level, only looking to add La Liga title to his incredible list of achievements. The player—flanked by a wealth of superstars at Real Madrid—has all the tools to once again sit atop the footballing mountain.

Lionel Messi

It would be outrageous to exclude Messi from any world XI list. Easily the standout footballer of his generation, and only at the age of 24, he may achieve the status of the greatest of all-time if he continues to perform at this level.

The world knows about Messi’s achievements as a player with Barcelona and individually, but he is yet to achieve success on the international stage. Possibly it’s the supporting cast at Barcelona that vastly outperform those who play for Argentina, or maybe it’s just the coaching staff for the national team that haven’t been able to get the best out of Messi as Guardiola has. I’m going with the former.

Its difficult to tire of a player of such ability and grace on a football pitch. Time will tell if he tires of his surroundings at Barcelona and will seek a move abroad. For now it’s unlikely, and the world should continue to enjoy Messi as player for as long as we have him.

Sergio Aguero

Rounding off this world XI is Kun Aguero. It was always going to be difficult to fill in the final striking option with others such as Wayne Rooney, David Villa and Gonzalo Higuain, who would so comfortably fit in with this team. But as Manchester City and the Premier League will soon find out, Aguero is a special player.

He quickly took over the reigns at Atletico following Fernando Torres’ departure and the fans adopted him as their second favourite son. One of the most exciting players to come to the Premier League, he tore apart Barcelona in 2009 alongside Diego Forlan and has continued to terrorize teams in La Liga.

At £35 million, Man City have an outstanding player, one who is ready-made to take over for Carlos Tevez and who will play a big part in their quest for the league title.