Fifpro World XI Reflections

by messixaviesta Sat Jan 14, 2012 6:58 am

What did you all think of the Fifpro awards selections this time?

I think I would probably change 5 out of the 11 chosen.

Iker Casillas - replaced by Manuel Neuer
Sergio Ramos - replaced by Eric Abidal
Gerard Pique - replaced by Thiago Silva
Xabi Alonso - replaced by Sergio Busquets
Wayne Rooney - replaced by Samuel Eto'o

by Albiceleste Sat Jan 14, 2012 7:59 am

I almost fully agree with your changes except instead of replacing Wayne Rooney with Eto'o I would put Robin van Persie instead, I haven't been really following Eto'o too much since his move to Anzhi but I know he has moved to a much weaker league.

As for van Persie, he has just been carrying Arsenal on his back this entire season and his goalscoring record is amazing as well and imo he deserved to be there instead of Rooney.

by BarcaKizz Sat Jan 14, 2012 1:39 pm

I agree with LM. RVP not Eto'o. Eto'o had a better start to 2010/2011 which is actually in the 2010 year. He then moved to Anzhi which is a nothing club. RVP has had an incredible calendar year and he deserves to join the others up front. I'd also be interested to see how close David Silva comes to making the cut...

At the back... I understand why Pique is there. He's seen as the important player in the Barca defence and therefore gets the nod. However, I agree Abidal was the better performer during last season. Perhaps the injury to Abidal and this season's performances from Pique got him the nod. Tbh, like Busquets though, I see Abidal as someone who would be seriously underrated by most journalists and players. This is why they didn't make it.

by CBarca Sat Jan 14, 2012 4:27 pm

messixaviesta wrote:

Iker Casillas - replaced by Manuel Neuer
Sergio Ramos - replaced by Eric Abidal
Gerard Pique - replaced by Thiago Silva meh, ummm I'm not sure about this one. IMO could go either way
Xabi Alonso - replaced by Sergio Busquets
Wayne Rooney - replaced by Samuel Eto'oIMO Gomez deserves this one. I think it's between RVP and Gomez and for me...He's had an even better calendar year than RVP in terms of goals and meanwhile his club is actually doing something. Full credit to RVP for being captain of a rather average (for their standards) Arsenal side...but Gomez takes the cake

by messixaviesta Sat Jan 14, 2012 11:05 pm

lm, kizz and CB, thanks for the wonderful replies. Here are my comments.

Robin van Persie - You all make a strong case for him no doubt but I think his shine has been more in the second half of the year which is less important than the first half of the year. Also he has not been able to take his team to trophies and played that many decisive roles in matches that make the season. The one that stands out is Chelsea vs. Arsenal but there are hardly others that I would mention. I would still go for Eto'o because he was so key to Inter winning Coppa Italia and also getting past Bayern Munich in the UCL. His move to Anzhi may have indeed hampered his chances. If not him then I am fine with Rooney because even though not very consistent in the first half of the season he was involved in some key moments and the one most worth mentioning is that he scored the equalizer in the UCL final and thus brought ManUtd back in the game for some time. Mario Gomez also doesn't have the titles but as CB says his entire year's consistency would probably be even higher than that of van Persie.

David Silva - Yes he's been great kizz but I just don't see how he could win this year. For him it's been totally about the second half of the year. Even there after all he couldn't even take ManCity to the UCL knock outs. Now if he wins the EPL then he may have a chance next year but one more point that goes against him is that in the Euro he may find limited opportunities due to the intense competition in the Spanish midfield and also having publicly spoken out against Del Bosque in the past.

Gerard Pique - Yes what you all say makes sense. Thiago Silva has been more consistent but Pique plays for the better team, wins the bigger trophies and performs in big games. He is seen as a very key player for Barcelona after the trinity by several pundits.

Eric Abidal - The point about being underrated is valid. Maybe spending a major part of the year injured also went against him. However I still cannot understand why Sergio Ramos was chosen. Maybe they could have gone for both Pique and T.Silva.

Sergio Busquets - Being underrated is a point for sure. This is something I will discuss in more detail by starting a new thread because I want to compare this with something else that's happened a few years back actually.

by CBarca Sun Jan 15, 2012 8:14 am

Wonderful comments JD

I can't understand why Ramos was chosen either. I mean, I guess he won the Copa Del Rey but...that's it, and he's way overrated.

Busquets and Abidal both underrated for sure.

by The Sanchez Sun Jan 15, 2012 2:46 pm

I thought Busquests should have got it for Alonso and Rooney was a shadow for at least more than half of 2010/11. He was going to leave because of his form and attitute. I thought Marcelo played better than Abdial overall plus Abidal's injury costed him.
I seriously underrated Vidic and I picked (on the website Thiago Silva instead of him though he was very thorough as I looked through the Man U's games, he was the only key defender for the Man U defense). Manuel Neuer wasn't a profilic player until he played against Man U when he made 'tremendous' saves.

by messixaviesta Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:24 pm

CBarca wrote:Wonderful comments JD

I can't understand why Ramos was chosen either. I mean, I guess he won the Copa Del Rey but...that's it, and he's way overrated.

Busquets and Abidal both underrated for sure.

Thanks CB. Out of the entire 11. it's Sergio Ramos who I find the most perplexing selection. Others at least I can understand in some way but that one is quite indigestible.

by messixaviesta Sun Jan 15, 2012 6:30 pm

paxtonpale wrote:I thought Busquests should have got it for Alonso and Rooney was a shadow for at least more than half of 2010/11. He was going to leave because of his form and attitute. I thought Marcelo played better than Abdial overall plus Abidal's injury costed him.
I seriously underrated Vidic and I picked (on the website Thiago Silva instead of him though he was very thorough as I looked through the Man U's games, he was the only key defender for the Man U defense). Manuel Neuer wasn't a profilic player until he played against Man U when he made 'tremendous' saves.

1. Busquets for X.Alonso - yes I agree but I do think that X.Alonso's selection has some merits of it's own

2. Rooney - had a poor start to 2010/11 as you say but that's in the previous year and shouldn't count. He's been doing well this season and was influential in the second half of last season as well.

3. Marcelo better than Abidal - no I don't agree with this. Marcelo may have done more going forward but on the whole I just can't accept this. Abidal's long absence probably cost him.

4. Central defenders - No question on Vidic. Thiago Silva deserved to be there. Pique is a little debatable but makes sense in some ways. If you look at the history of Fifpro the idea is to choose four top defenders without any need to choose two full backs at least. So if not Abidal then instead of S.Ramos or Marcelo I think they should have picked T.Silva.

5. Neuer - Acceptable point. Playing for a low profile club kept him out of the limelight but then he won the German cup and reached the UCL semi final. Also after moving to Bayern Munich he is doing very well. Lastly he is doing very well for his national team. It's debatable because Casillas commands great stature but I still lean a little towards Neuer.

by BarcaKizz Sun Jan 15, 2012 7:22 pm

Great comments.

JD, I also raised the suggestion elsewhere that if they weren't picking a specialist LB and instead picked Ramos, they should have simply been picking the best 4 defenders, whichever specific position they played. For me, this would have meant Alves, Vidic, Pique and Thiago Silva all being picked, which I think is quite fair. I've explained why I think Pique got there over Abidal. Unlucky for Abi, but Pique deserves it too I think, he is a rock in big games at least, and his role in our passing game is huge. At the end of the day when you ask people about the best defenders at Barca... 90% will say Pique before Abidal.

As a DM, I would pick Busquets for sure. However, they're simply picking midfielders I believe, last year it was Xavi, Sneijder and Iniesta; none of whom are DMs. If we compare influence in midfield between Busquets and Xabi Alonso its quite even. I would personally pick Busquets because I think he had his best season last year and was hugely influential. He was actually more consistent than Xaviesta. However, again... I'd say I'm in the minority. All you have to ask is who would the 'average Joe' choose: Alonso or Busquets, unfortunately Alonso would win 90% of the time, if only based on a reputation.

Reputation brings me to the final dodgy selection, Casillas. He got there riding his rep right up to the point he received the award because he didn't deserve it. He played superbly in the Classicos, but for what? To be on the losing side almost the whole time... to have his net rattled about 10 times. What did he win? A broken Copa del Rey. Neuer for me was far more influential and also consistently brilliant. Even Valdes was more influential and the Spanish LFP were able to recognise this.

As for the final striker... I don't know. I don't think Rooney deserves it. He was pretty influential to the end of the season, but I just don't think he was good enough. RVP, Gomez and Falcao! all had fantastic records... Rooney barely scored 20 goals in a calendar year.

by matpol Sun Jan 15, 2012 10:41 pm

My short answer:

Casillas, Pique, Ramos, Alonso, Rooney out - Neuer, Thiago Silva, Abidal, Busquets, Van Persie in.

by Hamdyman Mon Jan 16, 2012 3:05 am

Tiago silva > instead of Vidic ,

Busquets or Schweinsteiger even > before Xabi Alonso in my opinion, i can see Alonso upped his passing game much but these two cut it before him in my opinion.

and Obviously Rooney had another over hyped award... a line of strikers had a better 2011. scratch

you name it... Falcao, Aguero, Neymar, Gomez, RVP..... that was a huge surprise for me to be honest.

by messixaviesta Tue Jan 17, 2012 2:52 am

BarcaKizz wrote:Great comments.

JD, I also raised the suggestion elsewhere that if they weren't picking a specialist LB and instead picked Ramos, they should have simply been picking the best 4 defenders, whichever specific position they played. For me, this would have meant Alves, Vidic, Pique and Thiago Silva all being picked, which I think is quite fair. I've explained why I think Pique got there over Abidal. Unlucky for Abi, but Pique deserves it too I think, he is a rock in big games at least, and his role in our passing game is huge. At the end of the day when you ask people about the best defenders at Barca... 90% will say Pique before Abidal.

As a DM, I would pick Busquets for sure. However, they're simply picking midfielders I believe, last year it was Xavi, Sneijder and Iniesta; none of whom are DMs. If we compare influence in midfield between Busquets and Xabi Alonso its quite even. I would personally pick Busquets because I think he had his best season last year and was hugely influential. He was actually more consistent than Xaviesta. However, again... I'd say I'm in the minority. All you have to ask is who would the 'average Joe' choose: Alonso or Busquets, unfortunately Alonso would win 90% of the time, if only based on a reputation.

Reputation brings me to the final dodgy selection, Casillas. He got there riding his rep right up to the point he received the award because he didn't deserve it. He played superbly in the Classicos, but for what? To be on the losing side almost the whole time... to have his net rattled about 10 times. What did he win? A broken Copa del Rey. Neuer for me was far more influential and also consistently brilliant. Even Valdes was more influential and the Spanish LFP were able to recognise this.

As for the final striker... I don't know. I don't think Rooney deserves it. He was pretty influential to the end of the season, but I just don't think he was good enough. RVP, Gomez and Falcao! all had fantastic records... Rooney barely scored 20 goals in a calendar year.

Thanks kizz. Nice to see that you follow this with a good amount of interest and have knowledge of it's past as well.

The explanation about Pique is spot on. In 2010 they chose three central defenders - Pique, Puyol and Lucio which was very fair because none of them deserved to be omitted. At times in the past there have been cases where all four awarded were central defenders.

Very acceptable comments about X.Alonso. In comparison to Busquets one point in his favor is of course the stature. The second point is that X.Alonso is seen as the lynch pin behind the improvements made by the Madrid midfield during the last few months. He still isn't able to face us but he is doing a lot of other things correctly. On the other hand our midfield is still unquestionably considered the best and is called a Xaviesta midfield. Yes as you say there is no specific slot for a DM which makes it difficult for a DM to make it here. hamdy has suggested Schweinsteiger but I don't agree. If it was 2010 it would be a good claim but the German didn't have a great season this time around and has only recently come back into form. He was eclipsed in Bundesliga by Nuri Sahin.

Yes Casillas did win it on reputation. I do think Neuer deserved it. Valdes was a strong contender. Reputation is a big factor in Fifpro. It's quite clear that the football world considers Casillas as the number one goalkeeper of the last few years whether we like it or not.

I agree about Rooney's goal tally but while the tally matters it's often when you score the goals that counts a lot. Some of Rooney's strikes were crucial none more so than the UCL final equalizer. Falcao would have been my choice if his second half of the year was comparable to the first half.

by messixaviesta Wed Jan 18, 2012 5:25 am

Not sure who all are interested but tomorrow the Uefa team of the year 2011 will be announced. Here's what I think the results will be having read quite a few expert and fan opinions today. This is not same as what I had voted for though.

Goalkeeper - Iker Casillas ( but it's a very close toss up with Manuel Neuer )

Right back - Dani Alves ( almost sure to win with Philipp Lahm as the closest challenger )

Central defenders - Gerard Pique ( almost sure to win ), Nemanja Vidic ( will probably edge out Thiago Silva )

Left back - Marcelo ( will probably beat Eric Abidal )

Right midfield - Nani ( Arjen Robben has had a poor year but he is still getting good number of votes. Mario Goetze is much less favored that I thought. Gervinho is moderately favored as well. )

Central midfield - Xavi ( should be a landslide victory )

Attacking midfield - Andres Iniesta ( I desperately hope so but the competition from David Silva is really severe. Mesut Ozil is also strong but probably behind these two. Wesley Sneijder has some support but didn't have a great year. )

Left midfield - Angel di Maria ( Very closely contested with Gareth Bale. Eden Hazard has a chance. Juan Mata probably doesn't have much of a chance. )

Forward - Lionel Messi ( almost unquestionable ), Cristiano Ronaldo ( the thread from Robin van Persie is surprisingly strong )

Coach - Josep Guardiola ( should be a comfortable victory in spite of Sir Alex Ferguson among the competitors )

There are some big surprises in the nominations. Fifpro winners Wayne Rooney, Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos have not even been nominated. Yes I do think S.Ramos not getting a nomination is fair but X.Alonso probably deserved one. Another big surprise is that even Sergio Busquets is not nominated. Not sure on what basis they decide which player to put in which category because some players are placed in different categories from year to year. Lastly in case you were not aware Jose Mourinho has not been nominated. Very Happy

by Adit Wed Jan 18, 2012 6:00 am

How did casillas won it on reputation ?

Do i remind he was MOTM in the single final Barca under guardiola ever lost??

Same people who asks "what has we won? a copa del rey " brags in next line "neur deserves it better"..who has won nothing....Double standard at it best.

Also its for calender year 2011,that includes this season as well.

You can go on check what ever statistics or wonder saves or shot to save ratio or number of MOTM performace by a GK or what ever thing you need.casillas has been the best GK this season so far.

I think he is by far the best this season so far..

i cant think of any errors this season,one goal i think he couldve done better was against Rayo were he saved a shot but ended up in a oppo players legs..not even near to his fault again lol..

Casillas has been top 4 performer for us this season so far due to our sub par defense and shift midfield covering.He already made some what 5-8 wonder saves this year lol which a normal keeper will do in his entire career.

And Neuer was rarely tested this year,eventhough he flopped against Borussia Mgladeche as he was responsible for all 3 goals conceded.

And lol valdes,what has he done? i havent seen him being in top 10 performer for Barcelona in a long time.Which game was he even close to becoming MOTM?

And He made numerous errors this year like Boetneg goal vs Milan where Valdes used hillarious "guessing technique" (same technique he used against RVP goal in Emirates ) and was far from convincing in all clasicos played..

by messixaviesta Wed Jan 18, 2012 2:49 pm

Adit wrote:How did casillas won it on reputation ?

Do i remind he was MOTM in the single final Barca under guardiola ever lost??

Same people who asks "what has we won? a copa del rey " brags in next line "neur deserves it better"..who has won nothing....Double standard at it best.

Neuer won the 'DFB Pokal' in 2011 which is the German equivalent of the 'Copa Del Rey' which Casillas won. I would certainly say he was the best goalkeeper of 2010-11 and second place is debatable between van der Sar, Valdes and Casillas but your point about the second half of 2011 might have some merit.

by messixaviesta Thu Jan 19, 2012 3:37 am

9 out of my 12 predictions proved correct.

Of the ones I got wrong my second choice prevailed in them.

The ones I got wrong are :-
1) Thiago Silva - it was expected to be very tight and he finally beat Nemanja Vidic.
2) Arjen Robben - thought it would be Nani and it's surprising that Robben has been selected in spite of a poor year. He probably did deserve it once at least in the past but his selection this time is a little hard to digest.
3) Gareth Bale - edged out Angel di Maria. I think di Maria might have deserved it a little more but Bale had the hype factor in favor of him.

It could be that the ManUtd players lost out on votes from not just neutrals but even their own fans as a repercussion of the shock UCL group stage exit.

Xavi received the maximum number of votes of any candidate in the poll ( including Lionel Messi ) and was also chosen captain of the team.

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