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Midfield
Left Central Midfield: Andres Iniesta
Iniesta was 26 at the turn of the decade, about to win a World Cup with Spain, and the beating heart of a brilliant Barcelona squad that was built around his creativity, Xavi's reliability and Leo Messi's genius.
He's 33 now, and still the first choice at Barca. He's helped them dominate the La Liga since 2010 in spite of some turbulence - Puyol retired, Xavi left, Pep took a sabbatical, but Iniesta was always there. Alongside Messi, he provided stability and familiarity during a period of time in their history that should have been more difficult than it was.
And he still hasn't lost his magical touch. He recently claimed that new mega money signing Philippe Coutinho wouldn't "kick him out of the team", and he's right. If anyone has the right to make a statement like that, its Iniesta.
With La Masia caught in something of a rut, his importance to the team is only going to increase. The recent lifetime contract means that he won't be leaving anytime soon (not that he would have either way), and it's easy to see him staying on in a coaching role when he retires.
Central Defensive Midfield: Sergio Busquets
The La Masia academy graduate is your typical, world-class midfield enforcer, but he's also a player with extraordinary tactical and technical skills, trained and honed by Pep Guardiola.
One particular quote by Vincente del Bosque completely captures the essence of what Busquets offers -
You watch the game, you don't see Busquets. You watch Busquets, you see the whole game.
Probably one of the most underrated players of his generation, he was the man who anchored the midfield while Xavi and Iniesta worked their creative magic along with Messi higher up the pitch.
While Guardiola's tactics relied heavily on the aforementioned trio for the final output, the Spaniard's tiki-taka style relied heavily on being able to maintain possession, and that is exactly what Busquets has done for Barca since breaking into the first team back in 2008.
During the early part of this decade, his maturity and tactical awareness were mind-blowing for his age, and if anything, he's only improved with time and experience.
Right Central Midfield: Toni Kroos
Kroos broke into Bayern's first team in 2010 after a good loan spell at Bayer Leverkusen. In the four seasons in Munich when he was a regular first-team player, he slowly developed into one of the most promising midfielders in Germany.
He managed to make himself important in a Bayern squad that had the likes of Lahm and Schweinsteiger. He won both the Bundesliga and the Champions League with them, managing to increase his stock day by day.
And then inexplicably, the Germans allowed him to leave for Real Madrid for a paltry €30 million. In Spain, he has become the best deep-lying playmaker in the world. Under Carlo Ancelotti and Zinedine Zidane, he's formed an incredible midfield partnership with Luka Modric that has seen the Los Blancos lift three UEFA Champions League titles in 4 years.
He's also helped his country win the World Cup, and will be a crucial player for them in the upcoming one. At the age of 28, he's relatively young for a player in his position, and will certainly be one of the world's best for the next 4 to 5 years.
