Our in-house expert has picked FootballIndia.com’s Dream XI from the World Cup in South Africa. It’s a good mix of some established players and a number of youngsters who have made their mark at the biggest stage.
Goalkeeper
Iker Casillas:
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Five clean sheets, a crucial penalty save off Oscar Cardoza in the quarter-finals and three match-winning saves in the final- all against Robben; make the captain of Spain the best goalkeeper. He may not have made large amounts of saves in the tournament but whenever he was called on Casillas did the job. He also became the second goalkeeper in history to lift the trophy as captain apart from winning the Golden Glove.
Other Candidates: Manuel Neuer, Maarten Stekelenburg, Eduardo and Eiji Kawashima
Defenders
Diego Lugano:
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The Uruguayan captain was immense for Los Celeste. The relentless pursuer helped Uruguay with three clean sheets in the group stages guaranteeing progress as group winners. He was sorely missed in the semi-finals through a knee injury when Netherlands scored three past Uruguay.
Gerard Pique:
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Statistically he was exemplary; a testimony to the way Spain, play the beautiful game. Pique’s role was vital for Spain when it came to ball retention and playing from behind. His diagonal switches to Villa were also important in the way Spain changed direction of play. The fact that Spain have let in only two goals proves his worth defensively too.
Maicon:
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The Brazilian is one of the best right backs at the moment alongside Philipp Lahm and Sergio Ramos. Not only did he bomb down the right wing at every opportunity but was absolutely water-tight in defence. Adding to that Maicon also took corners for Brazil one of which resulted in a goal for Juan against Chile in the quarter-finals. Having said that, his goal from the tightest of angles against a reluctant North Korean defence is something the World Cup will be remembered for.
Fabio Coentrao:
The 22-year old is just starting his career and going by his performance in the finals, he could well become a great left back in the years to come. Portugal bowed out in the Round of 16 conceding only one goal. But Coentrao was not only solid in defence he was positive in attack too.
Other candidates: Philipp Lahm, Lucio, Per Mertesacker, Carles Puyol, Sergio Ramos and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst.
Midfielders
Bastian Schweinsteiger:
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He rose to the challenge of leading the midfield after Ballack’s injury ruled him out. The force behind Germany’s 16 goals, Shweinsteiger ran the show in particular against Australia, England and Germany. He was involved in every good play created by Germany either directly or indirectly other than setting up a few goals.
Xavi Hernandez:
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Although it was Iniesta who scored the goals it’s hard to ignore Xavi’s importance for Spain. A pass completion rate of 93% in the final explains why Spain enjoys so much possession. He was the fulcrum of the Spanish team which translated defence into attack so smoothly. His back-heel that resulted in Villa’s goal against a top team like Portugal helped them progress.
Wesley Sneijder:
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He was at the heart of everything Netherlands did. Five goals and a wonderful assist for Robben’s goal against Slovakia made Sniejder the most important player for the Dutch. His vision to find openings for Robben and co. was top notch. With Van Bommel and De Jong backing him, Sneijder was left free to express himself, which he did.
Other Candidates: Mesut Özil, Andres Iniesta, Sami Khedira, Raul Meireles, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Keisuke Honda
Forwards
Diego Forlan:
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By far the best player of the tournament and rightly awarded as the Golden Boot winner. He mastered the Jabulani which defines his technical prowess. 68 games in total in the 2009-10 season Forlan didn’t let that affect his performance. He was the extra man in midfield when the ball was in the region and then linked up ever so well with Suarez and Cavani in attack. Not to ignore the fact that three of his five goals will feature in the top goals of the tournament.
Thomas Mueller:
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The young German had a tournament everyone expected off Rooney, Messi and Ronaldo. Five goals and three assists made him the Golden Boot winner for the 2010 World Cup. The combination of Muller, Özil and Klose worked to devastating effect for Germany. His match sharpness and awareness were really high principally the part he played in Podolski’s goal against England. May be things would have fared differently for Germany had he played in the semi-finals against Spain.
David Villa:
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Barcelona fans have already got a preview of things to come with Villa, Xavi and Iniesta involved in most of the goals scored by Spain. His goal against Honduras may well be the goal of the tournament. Joint top scorer with five goals, Villa ensured Spain got to the final after a disappointing start. He also made up for the lack of goals or none from Torres taking him to a goal within Raul’s all-time goal-scoring record for Spain.
Other Candidates: Miroslav Klose, Gonzalo Higuain, Robert Vittek and Lionel Messi