Squads

The Offside9 World Cup XI (or XIs)

Posted on 26 July 2010

By Pedro Cifuentes

(Ed.: Offside9 is on vacation... but we're leaving you with one little tidbit to discuss.)

While Spain comes down from its high-flying clouds and gets used to being champions, we're getting back to the life we had before the World Cup began. Life may be what happens while you're busy making plans (as John Lennon said), but perhaps our friend Demetrio is the one who's really figured it out: life is what happens between World Cups. The players go on vacation, FIFA takes the tent down, South Africa asks itself what to do with a bunch of really nice stadiums... and the media publishes a bunch of top XIs of the tournament. We couldn't resist the temptation, either, and in fact we're offering two: the starters, and then the players who didn't make it to the semifinals but still left us with a wonderful taste in our mouths.

In this year's fashionable 4-2-3-1 formation, our ideal team is:

Casillas

Ramos, Puyol, Heitinga, Fucile

Van Bommel, Schweinsteiger

Muller, Iniesta, Forlan

Villa

And we're also remembering the players who added spice to our lives in the month of June but couldn't, however, savor the pleasures of the final rounds. This would be our ideal substitute XI (with a substitute 4-4-2 formation):

Kingson

Maicon, Heinze, Alcaraz, Salcido

Sanchez, Bradley, Honda, Boateng

Gyan, Vittek

Life's a bit of a lottery, of course, and so Xavi and Xabi Alonso can be left out because of the strictures of our chosen formation, and a player like Heinze - irregular, reviled, but at the end of the day one of the most solid in Maradona's squad - can gain a place in the side. And yes, we're putting Heinze in the center of defense, taking advantage of his flexibility and that of his boss's team.

P.S. We can't put Messi in the subs team. It would be disrespectful - he's still the best player in the world, if Xavi will allow him to step forward.

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