With the current year drawing it’s final few breathes what better time is there to decide on a definitive la Liga dream team for 2011? So as I sit here munching away on my last turkey sandwich of the festive period all I need to do is choose between which Real Madrid and Barcelona players I think would work best together. Valdés or Casillas, Busquets or Alonso, Ronaldo or Messi, blah blah blah blah blah.
Don’t worry, this tired old debate wears thin with yours truly as well. Instead my starting XI contains a very important stipulation: only players from outside the top two clubs can be included. Believe it or not, there is actually some top quality to be found further down the league table that deserves a mention despite maybe not receiving the same level of international plaudits as their counterparts in the Camp Nou and Bernabéu do.
I’ve gone for a 4-2-3-1 formation, in the fashion of Real Madrid’s structure, with over lapping wingbacks covered by two deep playing midfielders, while the three attacking midfielders are left to their creative devices further up the pitch.
Roberto (GK): Granada
Granada FC have by no means set the world alight this season but haven’t been a pushover either, boasting a pretty decent home record for a recently promoted side. Although firepower is lacking, Fabri’s team is pretty sturdy at the back, and is impressively tied with Valencia’s for having conceded the third fewest goals so far this season (16). Part of the reason for this robustness in defence is down to having Roberto between the sticks. His catlike reflexes and commanding presence have kept his team in many a game this year, as Atlético, Sevilla and Zaragoza can testify, and had the Spaniard been born any other nationality, he’d surely be in contention for an international call up.
Juan Valera (RB): Getafe
I feel awful. Not one member of this season’s fairy tale side, Levante, makes it into my side. I would loved to have thrown Javi Venta in but alas, although the ex Villarreal man is having a wonderful season, he’s clearly in the autumn of his career and I’d be wary of his old legs’ stamina working the flanks over 90 minutes. Therefore, a more spritely Valera gets the shout. Strong defensively but even better when going forward, the former Atlético player always seems to have acres of space to run into and is an excellent crosser of the ball.
Guillherme Siquera (LB): Granada
Another sure-footed full back, this Brazilian is enjoying his first season in the Spanish top flight with much aplomb. As mentioned above Granada has a stubborn back line but Siquera also adds a bit of South American flair to the Cármenes outfit. He and Arda (more about him later) will compliment each other well on the left flank.
Emir Spahic (CB): Sevilla
New coach Marcelino’s pragmatic approach to the game hasn’t exactly been the return to the easy-on-the-eye football Sevilla fans have been yearning for, and what’s more the goals have dried up somewhat. One thing the manager has been successful with since taking charge though is shoring up the traditionally leaky defence - one that conceded 59 league goals last season. At the heart of this improvement is new signing Emir Spahic. At 31 the veteran is no spring chicken but his solid performances since moving from Montpellier have shown that he has plenty of life left in him. Towering in the air and good with possession Bosnia’s second most capped player in history is everything this team is looking for in a centre half.
Adil Rami (CB): Valencia
Another masterstroke in the transfer market by Unai Emery saw this towering hulk of a man make his way to Mestalla from French side Lille. Not averse to throwing his weight around and also possessing a surprising amount of pace and agility for a big fella, he’s quite handy with the ball at his feet to boot. His adjustment to life in Spain has been impressive, as has his introduction to what is sure to be a long international career – the correlation between him coming into Laurent Blanc’s side and Les Bleus’ recent revival in form is hardly a coincidence.
Éver Benega (DMF): Valencia
Another Valencia man into the mix and it’s hard to argue against this one - the nickname El Elegante is pretty self-explanatory after all. At his best when sitting in a holding role, this former Boca Juniors player acts like the conductor of midfield, pulling the strings in the middle of the park and controlling the pace and rhythm of the game. In a deeper position he can get plenty of the ball, allowing him to distribute it accordingly, either by spraying it wide, playing it short, through the middle or over the top. Whatever he chooses to do it always seems effortless, so he gets a most assuring of nods from this fantasy manager.
Javi Martínez (DMF): Club Athletic
Although having played the majority of this season as a centre back on Marcelo Bielsa’s orders, Martínez broke onto the scene as a defensive midfielder and knows the position well. More than capable of doing the scrappy work to frustrate opponents’ attacks, this seasoned Spanish international would make life much easier for Banega alongside him. Don’t be fooled into thinking that doggedness is all he brings to the table though, apart from his strong ability to intercept and win the ball he can also act as a catalyst for counterattacks due to his natural instinct to pass forwards.
Santi Cazorla (AMF): Málaga
This bucktoothed and affable Andalusian was the pièce de résistance during Malaga’s summer spending spree and, although Pellegrini’s project has been slow getting off the ground, El Cuín has remained as classy as ever and at a plucky 5’5’’ has been head and shoulders above the all the other new arrivals to La Rosaleda. Former teammate Marcos Senna compared his departure from Villarreal to losing a finger, and looking at the Yellow Submarine’s plummeting form since his exit it’s easy to see why. Smart, versatile and technically superb he is a menace to any side he faces, which has not gone unnoticed by Del Bosque, who has called upon his services for the national team of late, no mean feat considering la Roja’s abundance of world class talent. With Banega and Martínez marshalling things behind, he would have licence to push on further forward, where he would best be utilised, as was witnessed during the glory days of last season when the trio of him, Borja Valero and Giuseppe Rossi tantalised and delighted fans and neutrals in equal measure.
Arda Turan (LMF): Atético Madrid
There was some stiff competition for this left midfield slot, what with Levante’s Juanlo having the season of his life and Malaga’s wonder kid, Isco showing all the signs of being a star in the making, however, it’s the Turkish maestro who makes the cut. His first season in the Calderón has so far entailed all the chaos and instability any new signee should come to expect from the south Madrid club, yet where others usually lose themselves amidst the sea of backroom debacles and in-house fighting, Arda has done something quite peculiar for an Atleti player: consistently play well. Already leading the colchonero charts for most assists (5) (which will be important for our loan man up front) he is now finding his own name on the score sheet more and more as well. A combination of things, including a tireless work ethic, great decision-making and a penchant for a long range shot when it’s on, has endeared the former Galatasaray captain to this blogger.
Iker Muniain (AMF): Club Athletic
The second member to make it into the team from the Bilbao club is prodigious Lion Muniain. Under the guidance of Joaquín Caparrós, and now Bielsa he has become an omnipresent fixture in the Athletic team-sheet, coupling the mandatory toughness required by the Basque outfit - a necessary component when you’re the most fouled player in the league – and an intelligence way beyond his 19 years. This old head on young shoulders reads the game remarkably well, always tuned in to harass opposition defences with intricate passing and penetrating runs, and is at his most dangerous when given freedom to roam. Therefore, he’d more than likely work well with a similarly multitalented player like Cazorla along side him.
Roberto Soldado (FW): Valencia
Without question Spain’s most in form striker at the moment, Soldado has found the back of the net no fewer than 17 times this season in all competitions. His nickname, el Guerrillero (the Guerrilla) implies that he lays low only popping up now and then to score, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. A constant thorn in the side of opposition defences he’s not only capable of scoring a wide range of goals, from the ugly to the sublime, but also of bringing others into play. While Del Bosque might be hesitant to use him in his squad, I sure as hell am not!
Bring it on Mou and Pep!
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