Football Fantasy XI: A Dream Team with a twist

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

After an exciting season coming to an end it was a very tedious task to pick a best eleven complying with the aforementioned rules and selecting players playing in their preferred positions. After a lot of thinking it was a very difficult task to put out this all star team.

Here is my Fantasy World XI in a 4-2-3-1 formation:

The team make up is as follows:

3 La Liga Players,

3 Serie A Players,

2 Bundesliga Players,

2 EPL Players, and

1 Ligue 1 Player

GK: Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid, La Liga)

Nationality: Belgian

Age: 21

Sent out on loan to Atletico Madrid for the second consecutive year, this young Belgian was instrumental in Atletico giving Real Madrid a chase for the second spot with 20 clean sheets and in turn bagging the Zamora trophy for the best goalkeeper in the league. His best performance came in the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid where he made a string of outstanding saves to help his team beat their famous rivals for the first time since 1999 and get their hands on the trophy at the Bernabeu.

RB: Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga)

Nationality: Poland

Age: 28

BVB won many hearts but still ended the season trophyless. One of their most consistent performers was Piszczek. Two goals and eight assists in 28 appearances isn’t a bad return for a wing back. Pacy and defensively sound, he along with his compatriot Jakub Blaszczykowski wreaked havoc on their opponents on the right flank.

CB: Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United, EPL)

Nationality: England

Age: 34

Written off due to a dodgy back and ageing legs this was a season of redemption for the United centre-half. One of the leading lights in the Red Devils’ 20th title charge, Rio Ferdinand rolled back the years. Whatever he lacked in pace and agility was made up by his judgement and immaculate reading of the game. A winning goal in Sir Alex’s last home game in charge at Old Trafford was the icing on the cake.

CB: Thiago Silva (Paris Saint Germain, Ligue 1)

Nationality: Brazil

Age: 28

At 42 million euros he became the world’s most expensive defender and he justified his price tag as PSG cantered to their first Ligue 1 title in 19 years. Although he was troubled by minor niggling injuries, he was way better than any other centre half in the league and showed everyone why he is one of the best in business.

LB: David Alaba (Bayern Munich, Bundesliga)

Nationality: Austrian

Age: 20

The double Austrian Footballer of the year has cemented his place in the winning machine of a team that is Bayern Munich. Consistent performances have seen him become one the best left-backs in the world. With an eye for the spectacular, Alaba scored five goals in this treble-winning season and one of them being the fastest Champions League goal of this season against Juventus.

RDM: Yaya Toure (Manchester City, EPL)

Nationality: Ivory Coast

Age: 30

The pundits call him The Human Train or The Colossus. His lung busting runs with imposing physicality were one of the reasons that City finished a respectable 2nd in the league and reached the FA Cup Final. He was particularly unstoppable against Real Madrid in their first CL group stage tie but somehow City’s shoddy defending conspired against them and they lost 3-2. Seven goals and five assists also marked one of his best seasons to date.

LDM: Arturo Vidal (Juventus, Serie A)

Nationality: Chile

Age: 26

One of the first names on any World XI, this tenacious and flamboyant midfielder at times solely dragged the entire Juventus team over the line. Hard tackles, superb penalties and a fantastic passing range make him the complete midfielder of the modern era. He was the Bianconeri’s top scorer and their best player as they cantered to a second successive Serie A title.

RAM: Stephan El Sharaawy (AC Milan, Serie A)

Nationality: Italy

Age: 20

As Ibrahimovic left Milan they were left without any match-winners and then stepped forward this young man. He blasted his way to the top of the scoring charts initially as Milan somehow stayed in the race for the Champions League spots before Super Mario arrived in January and took over. Sixteen goals this season and his best is yet to come. The sky is the limit for this talented wide man.

CAM: Francesc Fabregas (FC Barcelona, La Liga)

Nationality: Spain

Age: 26

The prodigal son returned home in 2011 but it was this season that he showed his true worth as Barcelona wrestled back the La Liga from Real Madrid with a record equaling points tally. This campaign saw him dictate the play with ease assisting eleven goals and also scoring eleven himself in the process. The high point of his season was his hat-trick against Mallorca which was also the first hat-trick of his career.

LAM: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, La Liga)

Nationality: Portugal

Age: 28

In a surprisingly underwhelming season for the Los Blancos he was one the few good things that happened. Despite complaining of “sadness” and missing out on the Ballon D’Or, he continued his scoring run of more than a goal a game for the Galacticos. Apart from being this season’s Champions League top scorer with 12 strikes he scored 34 goals in as many La Liga games and also assisted 10 times.

ST: Edinson Cavani (SSC Napoli, Serie A)

Nationality: Uruguay

Age: 26

The star player that the Partanopei needed to give them that extra push to challenge for Champions League places and also the Serie A has been Edinson Cavani. Lethal finishing with mazy runs behind and in between the lines of defence has seen him score hat-tricks against Roma, Lazio and Inter which took his goals tally to an unparalleled 28 in the league. Currently one of the best strikers around and fit to lead the line of any World XI.

What do you think about this team? Do you have a better team in mind? Make your own Football Fantasy XI and let the world see your Dream Team!