Football Fantasy XI - A Dream team with a twist - Team 7
Football Fantasy XI is a new series that has been kick-started here at Sportskeeda. The aim of the article is to make up a dream team of active football players, but with a twist.
There is a limit to the number of players based on various rules.
The rules are as follows:
a) No 2 players from the same club
b) No 2 players of the same nationality/country
c) At least 1 goalkeeper, 3 defenders, 3 midfielders, 1 striker
d) Either Messi or Ronaldo.
e) At least 2 players under 20 years of age
f) At least 1 WC-winning player
g) At least 1 player over 32 years of age
f) No more than 3 players from the same domestic league
Now that the rules are clear to you, here is my team. It was no easy task putting it together and required lot of permutations to be worked out using FIFA 13, Google, and the old pen and paper, trying to tick all rules simultaneously. Invariably, the addition of a player would violate one of the rules. Finally, I could negotiate through them and make a decent enough team to present.
Formation:
I have chosen a rather unconventional 3-2-3-2 with
i) a 3 man defense with one of them playing as the sweeper;
ii) 2 central midfielders for holding and for the passing range, simultaneously;
iii) 3 amigos feeding a striker duo
iv) 2 lethal forwards
Composition:
My team consists of 3 players from the Barclays Premier League, 2 each from La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and one representation from the Bundesliga and the Russian Premier League.
Team Line Up:
Goalkeeper – Igor Akinfeev (Club: CSKA Moscow, Nationality: Russia)
Relatively unknown to casual fans, Akinfeev has been in the Russian national team for almost 9 years now and plays for CSKA Moscow. He is no stranger to winning trophies either. 4 Russian League titles, 5 Russian Cups and a Europa League (formerly, UEFA Cup) count on his list of honors. He has also established himself as Russia’s number one goalie, and when one considers the fact that he is still only 27, a universally accepted young age for goalkeepers, it seems natural that he will develop into a top keeper soon, if he isn’t one already.
Defenders – LCB – Matija Nastasic (Club: Manchester City, Nationality: Serbia)
Nastasic was one of the breakthrough players in the Premier League last season. Exchanged for Stefan Savic, he was expected to end up like Savic. So, not many would have expected the young, relatively inexperienced Serbian to force his way straight into Mancini’s star studded line up. Not only did he make regular appearances, he successfully managed to dislodge Joleon Lescott as Kompany’s partner in central defense. Still about 20 years of age, he is one to watch out for in the future. Nemanja Vidic was another candidate for the position, but considering the age factor, Nastasic gets the edge.
Defenders – CB – Raphael Varane (Club: Real Madrid, Nationality: France)
One of Mourinho’s successes at Real Madrid is the emergence of this Frenchman at center back. Still just 20, Varane had earlier moved from France into the Real Madrid youth setup and now, he looks likely to displace the highly experienced and action packed Pepe at the position. A future star of Real Madrid, Raphael Varane is the second U-20 player on this list.
Defenders – CB – Thiago Silva (Club: PSG, Nationality: Brazil)
Thiago Silva’s transfer to PSG summed up the state of modern day football transfers. Days after signing a new contract with AC Milan, he moved to PSG citing their ambitions to win as the reason for doing so (AC Milan’s financial state also contributed to the move). But on the pitch, his performances have not been ones to complain about, and he is considered as one of the world’s best center backs at present.
Central Midfielders – Andrea Pirlo (Club: Juventus, Nationality: Italy), (Captain)
This player HAD to be included. He was the first name on this team sheet. Putting opponents to shame with his range of passes, vision and positioning, he has been the catalyst in Juventus’ back to back Serie A triumphs, and one of the key reasons for their re-emergence as genuine Champions League contenders. He has made AC Milan’s decision to release him look stupid, and is still carrying on without injuries or dips in form for Juve. A World Cup winner and a player aged above 32, he satisfies both criteria simultaneously, and given a choice, I would make him the captain of this team.