The Guardian's Pick Your World Cup Dream Team

[Ikki]

World Cup dream team: pick your all-time XI | Football | The Guardian

Go to the above link and pick a team on the players they've chosen to nominate. Mine is:

 

[duffer]

4-4-2? Going old skool

 

[Uppercut]

Kahn

Carlos
Passarella
Beckenbauer
Alberto

Maradona
Matthaus
Zidane
Cruyff

Pele
Ronaldo

 

[Ikki]

4-4-2? Going old skool

Didn't give me a choice. Would have gone 4-3-3 and probably picked a couple different players if they were available.

Looking back on my team, I guess I haven't picked the players who were best at the actual World Cup but a team I'd like to take to a World Cup, if all of them were eligible to be on the same team.

 

[wpdavid]

Didn't give me a choice. Would have gone 4-3-3 and probably picked a couple different players if they were available.

Looking back on my team, I guess I haven't picked the players who were best at the actual World Cup but a team I'd like to take to a World Cup, if all of them were eligible to be on the same team.

You're not kidding with Messi and Gullit in the side.

Always tempting though. Ever since the 1988 Euros, I'd have Van Basten as my all time centre forward. but I don't think he did a thing in a WC.

To a lesser extent Platini, who I absolutely worshipped in the 1984 Euros, but didn't shine quite as brightly in any of his three WCs.

I'll have a go later.


EDIT
Interesting that Beckenbauer is being viewed as a defender. I'll have to look at the WG side from the early 1970s to see whether they played two central defenders behind him. My memory reckons he played as a libero in front of or behind the back four depending on the state of the game. Might be wrong though.

 

[Tom Halsey]

Beckenbauer started as a midfielder and became the libero but I'm not sure on dates. He was definitely still in midfield in 1970 as he was playing opposite Bobby Charlton in that game so the switch was at some point after then.

EDIT: This was bugging me so had a quick Google.

"The beauty of the ploy was, as explained in Soccer: The World Game: "The role of sweeper appeared a perfect launching pad, since the sweeper himself was never marked, lurked deep at the back, and could pick his moment to surge upfield." Bayern were quickly convinced of its value, but the West German manager Helmut Schoen was more cautious. Despite Beckenbauer's requests he was not allowed to play the way he wanted to for his country until the European Championship Finals of 1972, by which time he had been an international for seven years."

http://www.ifhof.com/hof/beckenbauer.asp

 

[superkingdave]

Did it on the BBC site

Zoff

Thuram, Beckenbaur, Maldini

Mathaus, Garincha, Jairzinho, Boniek

Pele, Muller, Maradona

 

[watson]

Me too. Gone for an uncompromising 'Total Football' side;

Dino Zoff (Italy 1982)

Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany 1974)
Paolo Maldini (Italy 1994)
Franco Barasi (Italy 1982)
Claudio Gentile (Italy 1982)

Michel Platini (France 1982)
Alain Giresse (France 1982)
Johan Neeskens (Holland 1974)
Gerson (Brazil 1970)

Pele (Brazil 1970)
Johan Cruyff (Holland 1974)

 

[watson]

While I'm thinking of Total Football here is 10 minutes of the infamous Holland V Brazil match of 1974 (doesn't matter that the commentary is in Dutch as it's pure entertainment anyhow). Features a great goal by the greatest Dutch midfielder of them all, Neeskens, and the only copybook Rugby League tackle on a soccer field. Why there was only one red card given by the Ref beats the hell out if me;

 

[Ikki]

You're not kidding with Messi and Gullit in the side.

I know, I only realised it seeing Uppercut's team.

 

[wpdavid]

Me too. Gone for an uncompromising 'Total Football' side;

Dino Zoff (Italy 1982)

Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany 1974)
Paolo Maldini (Italy 1994)
Franco Barasi (Italy 1982)
Claudio Gentile (Italy 1982)

Michel Platini (France 1982)
Alain Giresse (France 1982)
Johan Neeskens (Holland 1974)
Gerson (Brazil 1970)

Pele (Brazil 1970)
Johan Cruyff (Holland 1974)

Wonderful team. Very close to my own preferences, with a mainly Italian defence behind a Dutch/Brazilian/French front six.
Good to see someone else remembers and treasures the memory of Gerson and Giresse, but I couldn't quite stretch to including them in my side.
And I like your moral stance against including the cheating druggie Maradona.

However, I'd probably have to pick Maradona in the best team I have seen at WCs
And my personal favourite would be Socrates, even if the Guardian didn't see fit to include him.

At the expense of Giresse and Gerson, I suppose.
If I can't have Socrates, the Gerson stays.



I'll have to try and put together a side from the players who I never saw due to being before my time.

 

[watson]

Wonderful team. Very close to my own preferences, with a mainly Italian defence behind a Dutch/Brazilian/French front six.
Good to see someone else remembers and treasures the memory of Gerson and Giresse, but I couldn't quite stretch to including them in my side.
And I like your moral stance against including the cheating druggie Maradona.

However, I'd probably have to pick Maradona in the best team I have seen at WCs
And my personal favourite would be Socrates, even if the Guardian didn't see fit to include him.

At the expense of Giresse and Gerson, I suppose.
If I can't have Socrates, the Gerson stays.



I'll have to try and put together a side from the players who I never saw due to being before my time.

I liked the idea of including at least a couple of Frenchman from the 'Magic Square', but yes, Giresse could easily make way for Maradonna as they were similar types of player.

Socrates and Gerson were the 'brains' behind their respective Brazilian sides, so that swap could work as well.
However, Gerson and Pele combined beautifully in attack during the 1970 World Cup, so why break the partnership? The same goes for Neeskens and Cruyff. The two Dutchman were genius together.

It was tough to leave out Wolfgang Overath as the accuracy of his left boot guided W. Germany to victory in 1974, but the side has enough play makers as it is, plus I didn't want to disrupt the natural French, Dutch, and Brazilian combinations in the middle of the field. Incidently, since superkingdave selected Muller as a striker then I reckon that Overath should be playing left-midfield in his team rather than Boniek.

I look forward to seeing your team wpdavid.

 

[wpdavid]

Growing up, it was an article of faith that Banks and Moore were the best in the world in their respective positions, so they have to play.
Which frees up Beckenbauer to play in midfield, probably as the DM, which combines the best of the two roles he played over the years.

If I was going for a team to beat all-comers, the rest of the back four would have to be Italian.
If we're going for players that I've enjoyed watching, then Carlos Alberto and Ruud Kroll play at full back. Maybe having Beckenbauer as DM allows that.

Choosing a centre back isn't easy, as most of the best central defenders who stick in the memory played behind the centre half - Baresi, Passerella plus Moore and Becks of course. I honestly think that Puyol is as good as anyone I've seen in that position. Either that or pick someone like Gentile, but I don't think he actually played in central defence.

Further forward, Pele, Cruyff and Maradona have to play.
I agree with Watson about Neeskins.

Which leaves me needing someone on the right.
I'm going to cheat, as I never saw him play, but.by all accounts Garrincha fits the bill.

So it looks like this:

Banks

Carlos Alberto
Puyol
Moore
Kroll

Garrincha
Beckenbauer
Neeskins
Cruyff

Pele
Maradona




EDIT
As for a team of players I never saw, it would have ended up as Hungary from 1954 plus Garricha instead of whoever played on the right for Hungary.
Truth is I don't really know enough about the great Uruguyan teams of the past to cherry pick.

 

[watson]

Growing up, it was an article of faith that Banks and Moore were the best in the world in their respective positions, so they have to play.
Which frees up Beckenbauer to play in midfield, probably as the DM, which combines the best of the two roles he played over the years.

If I was going for a team to beat all-comers, the rest of the back four would have to be Italian.
If we're going for players that I've enjoyed watching, then Carlos Alberto and Ruud Kroll play at full back. Maybe having Beckenbauer as DM allows that.

Choosing a centre back isn't easy, as most of the best central defenders who stick in the memory played behind the centre half - Baresi, Passerella plus Moore and Becks of course. I honestly think that Puyol is as good as anyone I've seen in that position. Either that or pick someone like Gentile, but I don't think he actually played in central defence.

Further forward, Pele, Cruyff and Maradona have to play.
I agree with Watson about Neeskins.

Which leaves me needing someone on the right.
I'm going to cheat, as I never saw him play, but.by all accounts Garrincha fits the bill.

So it looks like this:

Banks

Carlos Alberto
Puyol
Moore
Kroll

Garrincha
Beckenbauer
Neeskins
Cruyff

Pele
Maradona




EDIT
As for a team of players I never saw, it would have ended up as Hungary from 1954 plus Garricha instead of whoever played on the right for Hungary.
Truth is I don't really know enough about the great Uruguyan teams of the past to cherry pick.

Yeah nice team. Think that Cruff and Maradona should be swapped around as Cruyff was more of an out and out striker than Maradona. Playing Beckenbauer in the midfield is a clever idea so as to accomodate your preferred back four.

Just realised that Barasi and Beckanbauer are both potential sweepers in my team. But out of the two I think that Barasi was better in that particular role, so Beckanbauer can sit in the middle of the defence with Maldini and Gentile in their natural left and right back positions.

 

[wpdavid]

Yeah nice team. Think that Cruff and Maradona should be swapped around as Cruyff was more of an out and out striker than Maradona. Playing Beckenbauer in the midfield is a clever idea so as to accomodate your preferred back four.

Just realised that Barasi and Beckanbauer are both potential sweepers in my team. But out of the two I think that Barasi was better in that particular role, so Beckanbauer can sit in the middle of the defence with Maldini and Gentile in their natural left and right back positions.

Yeah, I think that Cruyff and Maradona would play all over the park anyway. It certainly wouldn't turn out like the 4-4-2 that I've listed.

Perhaps a more honest pick would have seen Platini along side Neeskins instead of Beckenbauer, but they're all great of course.

 

[fredfertang]

He picked the short fat cheating junkie

 

[wpdavid]

He picked the short fat cheating junkie

Yeah, I know.

 

[watson]

He picked the short fat cheating junkie

Steady Fred. Unlike cricket, soccer is just a game.

 

[Goughy]

If having these players available isnt a time to experiment then I dont know when is. Going for the controversial dual sweeper system

You can keep Pele and Maradona. Chuck 'em the ball and let them play.

________________________ Banks __________________________

_______________ Baresi ___Moore ____Beckenbauer ___________

Carlos Alberto ___________________________________Roberto Carlos

____________________ Lothar Matthäus ______________________

_______________ Zidane _____Zico _____ Platini _______________

_________________________ Cruyff___________________________