Tag Archives: ronaldinho

a dream called “merteshavin.com”

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Player websites are one of the interesting enigmas of 21st century soccer culture.

Per Mertesacker and Andrei Arshavin

per and andre could be the new schwarzenegger and devito.

Most modern footballers — in their endless efforts to market themselves to maximize potential earnings — need a personal website to serve as the face of their public personas for both fans and potential suitors alike.

But two big problems plague player websites:

  1. It’s difficult to gauge how much of one’s personal life is posted on the site so that you don’t turn off anyone who could potentially exploit your image to shell their product in exchange for baskets of money, but still make it interesting enough that fans will want to visit in the first place (which in turn helps potential sponsors determine your value).
  2. They tend to be crap.

So why do most player websites are awful?

Some players’ websites end up sucking because their “really talented nephew” designed it for them, or one of their old buddies — who learned HTML back in high school — threw it together as a favor. While cheap and a great way to keep your closest fans feeling “involved”, these types of sites end up looking like a 90′s era Geocities website with cursor-trailers and revolving soccer ball icons. While I’m not sure that Nemanja Vidić and Chautémoc Blanco let a confidant build their sites for them, I am sure that they need to pay someone to make a new one for them like yesterday.

arshavin and mertesacker

just regular pictures of these guys standing next to each other is funny enough, but a whole website full of them would be better.

Meanwhile, there are other players’ websites who are decently-designed and look clean and professional, but are still terrible because they’re never updated. Just as an a note to Rohan Ricketts and Owen Hargreaves, remember that when I visit your site, I want to learn about what you have going on right now… not what you had going on seven months ago.

That’s not to say that there aren’t some good ones out there. In typical German fashion, Bastian Shweinsteiger and Christoph Metzelder have solid, clean designs. Australia’s new Al Jazira signing Lucas Neil has a proper site. There are stars of approval for Kun. And Ronaldinho was bound to have a good site, what with all of his Nike marketing guidance.

But two of my favorites sites, hands down, have to be those of Arsenal’s Russian attacker Andrei Arshavin (arshavin.eu) and his new German teammate, Per Mertesacker (permertesacke.de). Which is odd, considering that both of them could probably be heaped into at least one of the categories above.

While Arashavin’s site won’t be winning any design awards, it is palatable. It’s also rife with poor English translations, though that actually makes for great fun when reading it with John Malkovich’s “Teddy KGB” accent from Rounders. Sure, it’s regularly updated, but the Andrei’s golden goose is the reoccurring “Ask Andrey” series of updates. In these, fans can literally ask him anything and he will literally answer with anything back. These posts are famous in the footballing blogosphere — featuring prominently on Yahoo! Sports’ Dirty Tackle blog — and are well worth the occasional read.

Per Mertesacker's Website

per website is epic-ly german.

Mertesacker’s site, on the other hand, is one of my favorites solely because it’s a visual monstrosity of such epic proportions that I can’t help but love it. It’s one of those it’s-so-bad-it’s-goodscenarios, for me at least. It’s so quintessentially German that the only thing it’s missing is a picture of Per posing with David Hasslehoff. I mean, just take a look at all of the colors puking out of the screenshot of his homescreen to the left. Unfortunately, the site’s all in German, so we don’t know if his site is as unintentionally funny as Andrei’s is. Though with all of the ridiculous poses, it’s still fair to label his site as “craptasticly awesome”.

But imagine this: what if you could combine the best of both Arshavin’s site (completely random awesomeness) and meld it together with the best of Mertesacker’s site (ridiculous design and pictures)?

You’d have the best damn footballer’s site ever… that’s what!

The world’s first two-player website, which we could call MerteShavin.com… and before you ask, yes, the domain is still available. At this point I imagine you’re probably starting to question my sanity right now, but just me hear me out.

andrei arshavin

why hello there!

Look at everything that Arshavin brings to the table:

  • Standing at just 5’7″, he’s practically a midget.
  • He’s Russian, which on it’s own, naturally causes him to be odd and peculiar.
  • His large repertoire of silly faces, such as the picture to the right.
  • He seems to be outgoing yet very opiniated, as evident in ridiculous his blog postings.
per mertesacker

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Now look at everything Mertesacker brings:

  • He’s stands 11 inches taller than his teammate, tallying in at 6’6″.
  • He’s German, which on it’s own, means he’s probably a bit stiff and peculiar.
  • His large repertoire of silly faces, such as the picture to the right.
  • He seems to be outgoing and open for anything, as evident by his ridiculous website.

The two are probably the perfect compliments to one another, like Danny Devito and Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1998′s Twins. It’s an undeniable fact that the masses love the short-guy/tall-guy duos: in the movies with Billy Crystal and George Muresan, on the stage with comedian’s Penn & Teller, and even on TV with reality shows.

This new website could catalog the adventures of Andrei and Per as they travel around Europe, dressed in the same clothes, playing pranks on Arsene Wenger. There could be videos of the two practicing their midget toss goal celebrations, clips of the pair attempting various obstacle courses, or pictures of Per lifting Andrei up on his shoulders so they could rescue stranded kittens from trees. I would especially love to see them both dressed in adidas velour track suits, bucket hats, sunglasses and giant gold chains acting like LL Cool J while holding hands. Why I would love this, I’m not too sure, but I would like to here arguments on how it wouldn’t be awesome. Hell, even if the site just posted regular training/game pictures demonstrating their severe height gap, I would still get a huge kick out of it. The possibilities truly are endless.

So now that you’ve been fully convinced, you should join me in my efforts to convince the Gunner duo to make this dual site a reality. Since I don’t have any personal connections to either player, their agents or the club, I figure there is only one good way to approach this…

We’re going to have to ask Andrei about it on his blog every week until it become a reality.

And if nothing else, at bare minimum, we’ll at least get a silly response.

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ten words or less #28

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ronaldo trains with the brazilian national team ahead of his last game for brazil

fat ronaldo looks on as he "trains" with the seleção for the last time.

Summer has arrived with a vengeance in Southwest Ohio. Sweltering temperatures normally reserved for August have plagued those of us living in the humid Ohio/Miami Valley region, causing us to suffocate on the air so thick and heavy that Cristiano would trip over it.

Researching for the blog has been a welcome excuse for me to sit on my couch and enjoy the air conditioning over the last week or so, and today’s post is the beneficiary of said sloth. So if you’re trying to escape the summer heat, why not sit back and check out some of the interesting bits of soccer blabber from around the tubes.

The Gold Cup TV schedule. You should watch it. – totalsoccershow.com

How to build a stalker: step one… – kickette.com

Donor hair: Chicharito, Neville, Fabio, Park, Kuszczak, Berbatov, Obertan? – redcafe.net

Pienaar has to be thinking, “Great… always the same kit.” – footballshirtculture.com

The highlights of the tactical evolution from 2010-2011. – guardian.co.uk

FIFA adds racism to their stable of “awesomeness.” – msn.com

Before Ronaldo. After Ronaldo. - youtube.com

I want to hang these up in my house… tonight. – kckrs.com

i’m coming home

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Perhaps it started off as a homecoming; an alternative to hawking one’s fading talents for a few more substantial paychecks in Eastern Europe (Welcome to Tashkent, Uzbekistan!), the Middle East (I have sand in my eye again) , Asia (You can taste the smog) or MLS (It’s nice here, but where are the fans?).

elano blumer celebrates his return to santos

coming back to brazil, despite during his peak years, has rejuvenated elano.

As a Brazilian star, why not come home and end your playing days where you built your legend? Be close to your family. Enjoy the beach. Maybe check out your old favorite brothel… well, maybe they should get some advice from Ronaldo about that first. Whatever the reason, I can only imagine that it’s a lot more comfortable than being in some far-flung locale. Unless your Roberto Carlos, who just can’t seem to make up his mind about whether he wants to play at home or not.

Older European-based players moving back to Brazil has been the norm for quite some time. It works out great for some, for others, they slowly disappear into the Brazilian mist. And really, it makes a lot of sense that they do. Many players return home as they inch towards retirement. One last hurrah at their old stomping ground, then retire to a nice little pad outside of your old neighborhood.

But over the last year, it hasn’t just been the old men coming home. While we’re still seeing the about-to-retire sect return to Brazil, we’ve also seen a host of “big name” young players coming back in the prime of their careers.

Ronaldinho leaving Milan for Flamengo at the peak-ish age of 30 is probably the most famous example of this increasing trend. Though his rapid decline in ability from his glory days at Barcelona may take some of the luster from this example.

Robinho is likely a better example. Though his was only a temporary return and was a necessity in order to keep the spoiled little bastard from rotting on the Manchester City bench, wouldn’t you think that some side in Europe might fancy a 6-month rental? Since the answer to that question has to be yes (he can’t be that big of a prima donna, right?), that means that Little Rob rebuffed those advances in favor of going back home. But why?

rivaldo works out in bunyodkor's squalid weight room

coming home early means you won't have to employ yourself in some foreign land with weight rooms that look like they're in a high school basement.

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but up until about five years or so ago, Brazil was essentially (massive generalization warning) a giant slum. So for a player coming home from a financially rewarding European pilgrimage, playing a year or two more in Brazil wasn’t something that would substantially contribute to one’s bottom line.

Today’s a different story though, as players are no longer being paid just peanuts to leave the glitz and glam of Europe… they can now return to see paydays above, at or near their European wages. Five years ago that wouldn’t have been possible, but with the Brazilian economy raging like the fire of billion burned rain forest trees, the clubs started throwing cash around like a Lil’ Wayne video. This can also help to explain why emerging talents like Neymar have hung around the homeland a little longer than most of his predecessors.

Whether or not this is sustainable trend in a possible bubble economy with a rich tradition in corruption is another topic all together.

But money alone can’t be the reason for such a large migration to the Brazilian homeland.

As mentioned in my last round-up post, Brazilian flair and the value it brings is on the decline. In general, it used to be a double win for a European club to bring in a Brazilian player. For one, he would wind up being one of the better players in your squad. And secondly, the acquiring of a Brazilian player would be inject an “oooh-ahhh” factor into the club and make their fans salivate. However, Brazilian players aren’t anymore a sure-thing and often can be the subject of frustration for supporters.

So coming back to Brazil can allow a player the chance to resuscitate a stalling career. It’s fair to say that it would be a bit easier in Brazil, with far less scrutiny, expectation and pressure

robinho was at home in santos

robinho was able to kick start his flagging career in brazil too.

Robinho found himself in just this situation at City, and his return to the old continent has been marginally better after his ego boosting encore at Santos (at the age of 23). Serial-idiot Adriano has had multiple returns (at 26 and 29) to Brazil to do battle with weight, attitude, and self-esteem… though they’re all battles he has seemingly lost. Other examples abound too:

  • Cicinho (aged 27) spent 6 months on loan from Roma at his former club, São Paulo. He’s now back in Europe, on loan again at Villareal.
  • Easily my favorite example is Elano’s return to Santos (28). I’ve been a big admirer of the curly-haired midfielder since his days at Shakhtar Donetsk, and was disappointed that he was shunted during his time at Cit-eh. But he has resumed his development and is playing wonderfully again, easily one of the standout performers for the Seleção in recent friendlies.
  • Luís Fabiano (30), also just cemented a return to São Paulo from Sevilla. In doing so, he also crushed my hopes of Tottenham finally signing their first quality international striker since Berbatov.

Ultimately, the reasons for top players returning during their prime all vary based on each player’s circumstances. We haven’t even examined causes like homesickness, but then again, that’s an issue that probably plagues players regardless of their home country.

Look around Europe now: with a host of european-based players maybe not able to reach the high bar of expectations set by some of their fellow compatriots, maybe we’ll see this trend continue.

Anderson, Denilson, and Jô: are you debating this very idea right now?

With the comforts of familiar surroundings, the prospects of a decent wage, and the lessoned levels of expectation, maybe they should be.

i’d wear those

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We’re taking a small departure from my normal subject matter in this post,straying away from the headlines that are dominating other blogs. It’s a somewhat difficult thing to do right now in the world of football, considering the closing of the transfer window (another ho-hum window I might add… van der Vaart to Spurs the “shocker” of the window) and the retardation that is an international break just weeks into the season (unfounded rumor: del Bosque is in cahoots with someone to make sure Torres stays hurt).

let's talk about boots, baby.

So what’s this new topic of discussion that I want to cover today?

Boots… football boots.

Deep at heart, I’m a huge nerd — as if this blog wasn’t proof enough of that on it’s own. But believe it or not, once upon a time, I was once much more of one. Allow me to explain the depths of my nerdiness.

For those of you who grew up playing soccer here in the States, odds are you had a Eurosport soccer catalog delivered to your door every month. Most kids would leaf through it, find a few things they like, and then they would be done with it.

I on the other hand would scrutinize every single page, looking over it inch-by-inch so I could see everything in that damn magazine. Not only would I’d pick out and circle my favorite shoes and training wear that I would never be likely to receive… but I’d do it for each brand. Prices, specs and colorways would be committed to memory. For the next few days after each edition would landed in my mailbox, you could find me on the family computer drawing my favorite jersey and boots using Microsoft Paint.

Yeah… I told you I was a nerd.

Needless to say, I have a profound love for soccer kits, boots, equipment and apparel. I love the art in the design of the products, their marketing ploys and logo placements. For some people, they love the shape and the lines of car. I get geeked about the lines and shape of new soccer shoes.

So with all of that in mind, I thought I’d give you a glimpse into my super-dork mind and share my all-time favorite soccer boots. Not that this is particularly useful for anyone or anything, but it gives me the excuse to pour through the web looking for tokens from my childhood.

Trust that you will find absolutely no shoes from Reebok or UnderArmour on this list, as they make crap products that are more heinous than you’re average wannabe WAG. Sorry, but I’m judging you if you wear them. And if any of your other favorite(s) didn’t make the list, feel free to reply and convince me as to what I should have included.

Nike Mercurial Vapor III (2006)
worn by: Cristiano Ronaldo

nike mercurial vapor III

on looks alone, the vapor iii's are probably my all-time favorites.

Gifted to me by WSOTP favorite Chris Rolfe (Hurray for having tiny feet!), these boots made me feel like all of those kids from back in the day that said their Jordan’s made them run faster, jump higher, and have my own massive gambling addiction. When wearing these kicks, I felt like I could run a thousand miles an hour and have a first touch that rivals Messi’s. I couldn’t, but I at least felt like I could. This shoe’s fantastic lines alone just made them look fast.

Admittedly, it was a hard choice choosing which model of the Vapors I liked best, especially since I personally owned four different pairs of them (Vapor I’s in black synthetic and black k-leather, Vapor II’s in orange, and the Vapor III’s in the above white). The pair above won out becuase a) they’re ridiculously white — something I highly valued at the time — and b) they were the most comfy.

Adidas Accelerator Liga (1998)
worn by: Raúl 

i loved the looks of this boot, but i have to admit that something always looked funky about the tongue.

One of the few shoes on this list that I never had the privilege of wearing, I love the curling/swerving look of this boot. Throw in the ridiculously huge “adidas EQUIPMENT” logo on the heel and tongue, and you have the makings of a transitional modern classic. A few of my friends sported these back in the day, and I remember the k-leather feeling softer than any other leather I had ever felt before. Needless to say, I enviously eyed their feet at practice day after day… secretly plotting a way to swipe them. Sadly, I never succeeded.

Lotto PU Tacto (2000)
worn by: me, my senior year of high school

my p.u. tacto's helped me down arch-rivals moeller way back the fall of 2000.

Arguably the most comfortable boot I’ve ever worn, I rocked these for my senior year in high school. They hold a particularly warm place in my heart since they wear on my feet when I bagged the solitary varsity goal in my high school career. Extremely supple and very reactive, these were the first boots to feature separate heel and forefoot outsole plates — a feature that also made them remarkably light (for the time). I also loved these because nobody wore Lotto in the States, so I felt like a trailblazer. Oddly enough, I couldn’t find a single picture or reference to any pro player ever wearing this boot. So perhaps I’m a really big trail blazer.

Puma v1.06 (2006)
worn by: Samuel Eto’o

rolfe never let me wear these... bastard.

I loved these shoes, from a distance at least. Another gift from Rolfe, though these were passed down to his older brother, who as my roommate at the time, refused to let me wear them (I got the “shaft” and had to put up with another pair of Vapor III’s… boo hoo right?). They were the only shoe on the market at that time that could challenge the Vapors when it came to weight. However, that’s not what helped them on to this list. What really put them into my favorites was their design: these served as the launching point for Puma’s renaissance and subsequent avalanche of awesome designs that started to spill from their doors in the mid Naughties. Just whatever you do… try to ignore this color scheme.

Nike CTR360 Maestri (2010)
worn by: Cesc Fàbregas

i'm currently sporting this magnificent piece of industrial design.

There’s no way this list would have been complete without first putting up my current boots. The “shoe that Cesc built” is hands down the best synthetic shoe I’ve ever worn. Lightweight, well cushioned, and providing excellent touch and control qualities, the 360′s boast an extremely supple upper that could easily be confused for a k-leather. And while I would love to sport a pair from Elite Series, I just can’t justify spending such a hefty portion of monthly paycheck on football boots for my Sunday league team. Either way, I love this colorway much more than the current crop of neon and silver nightmares.

Adidas Adipure II (2009)
worn by: Frank Lampard

the all black adipures... hard.

A departure from my longstanding preference for white kicks, I loved the murdered out Adipures. You could perhaps best describe the entire Adipure line as “classic with a modern edge.” The shoe clearly pays homage to the Adidas’ classic Copa Mundial (see the toe box stitching and general overall shape), the shoe features a myriad of improvements such as the external heel counter and bladed stud configuration. All of that combined make the Adipure II’s one of the best natural, out-of-the-box feeling boots i’ve ever put on.

Umbro Xai (2001)
worn by: Michael Owen

umbro xai

the xais are perhaps the hardest boots to find pictures of on the internet.

I never in a million years thought I would wear these shoes. At their release, these were the most expensive soccer shoes on the planet ever. But when a senior on my college team realized he’d bought them too small, I hit the jackpot. Super comfy with a very durable k-leather upper, they featured “rubberized leather” strips that allowed you to put excellent spin on the ball without the added weight from Predator-like rubber fins. Were they worth the $200+ price tag? Probably not, but it was a quality boot that looked good and made me feel more important than I really was.

Nike Tiempo Ronaldinho (2007)
worn by: Ronaldinho

nike timepo ronaldinho

is it offensive to say this boot is much more attractive than the player they were designed for?

This was another shoe where I didn’t have any trouble deciding if it was on my list or not, but struggled to decide which colorway I liked the best. Dished out by Nike in four flavors (black, off-white, brown and red), I actually managed to rock two of the models (I couldn’t ever find the brown in my size, and never wanted to sport the reds). Ronaldinho’s first signature boot borrows much of its design from the days of old, with lines that give it a very classic silhouette. You could easily picture a player from the 1950′s digging them. My only complaint? The boots’ extremely thin and supple kangaroo leather did make them very prone to blowing out — a flaw that found it’s way to all three pair that I managed to lace up.

ten words or less #4

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the regular four year reports  that the business world suffered a drastic decrease in productivity due to the world cup are starting to spill out, and those monitoring the economy are probably breathing a sigh of relief now that the tournament is over.

fret not though my dear readers, as i’m still finding plenty of ways to be unproductive with footballing news continuing to stream in. there are too many gems out there not to be unproductive and share!

i contributed to this, my guess is you did too. – mashable.com

you read it here first… after i read it here – mls-daily.com

cheating cephalopod… he’s probably on the juice too. – mirrorfootball.co.uk

the king is dead. long live the king. – gaurdian.co.uk

footballers when they were kids. unsurprisingly, lampard was a fatty. – betfairfootball.com

even with “legend” backing, this guy is still a moron. – american.com

do you love random, useless world cup stats? i do. – optasports.com

dreamed of seeing mike tyson in a peterborough united kit? – dirty tackle

karma is a bitch

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i have to admit that i have been overly focused on the USMNT in the last few weeks. it’s not like i don’t have my reasons though. i mean i am american, and i do support my own national team first and foremost. and for a change, the national team is relevant in the national sports landscape, so i’m getting way more news about the team than i had in years past.

selling your soul to the devil isn't exactly worth it now... right gio?

but there is so much else going on with the upcoming world cup, let alone the rest of the world of football, that i’m beginning to feel a little one dimensional at the moment. so let’s change it up a little.

the story of this world cup (so far) can be easily summed up with one word: snubs.

there are some ridiculously major names that have been snubbed off their world cup rosters. i wrote a piece a while back that outlined the best players that wouldn’t be going to the world cup, but that was mostly about players whose teams didn’t qualify.

well we could easily construct another list just as long with even more great players who were simply cut from their country’s world cup squad. these are players like theo walcott and adam johnson from england (i’m still raging that capello didn’t take johnson, and i think he’ll regret it when he finally puts shaun wright-phillips in), pato and ronaldinho from brazil (not surprising though), zanetti and cambiasso from argentina (this is further proof of maradona’s lack of brain), benni mccarthy for south africa, and totti and giuseppe rossi for italy.

maybe we could get an “alterna-cup” with a team of these guys playing against my original column’s roster? i would definitely watch that game.

but what really interests me about this new list is the very last name i mentioned. the exclusion of villareal striker giuseppe rossi wasn’t a huge shock, but at the same time he performed really well for italy in the confederations cup last summer. remember his goals against the USMNT? i certainly do, and also certainly remember him celebrating like a 12-year-old little girl and rubbing it in our faces.

if you were wondering if i sounded bitter in that last sentence, you’re right. but why?

well just in case you didn’t know, rossi was born in new jersey to italian parents. after being snubbed by the US olympic development program at the state level (take this time to un-swallow your tongue), gio used his dual citizenship with italy to represent italians at the u-16 through u-21 levels. he’s also one of the hottest properties in europe right now, and i would be shocked if the yellow submarines don’t cash in on him this summer.

his desire to play for the full azzuri team was so strong that he turned down a chance to play with the USMNT at the 2006 world cup. needless to say, we seriously dropped the ball at the beginning of his career.

but his decision to turn down his birth nation left me hating him just a little bit… at least as a person. on the pitch, i think he’s a fantastic footballer and the most talented player our country has ever produced (sorry landon and clint… perform like he does at the level he does, and i’ll reconsider).

and that’s what really chaps my ass about the entire situation. you see, rossi is currently a fringe player for the italians. he’s still young (only 23) and has a fantastic opportunity to advance his game and make it into the 2014 tournament and beyond. but that’s assuming that another young player doesn’t crop up between now and then and steal his place, which is a very real possibility.

had he played for the US, he would be a guaranteed starter and one of the biggest stars of the show. we wouldn’t have to be freaking out about charlie davies not making the squad if that were the case. he would have gotten to play in probably three world cups, maybe even four. and if playing in the world cup is the ultimate goal, then his ship could possibly have sailed.

i do get why he did it, though. and i doubt that playing in a world cup is his primary motivation. if i could, i would rather play for a world class national side that has a chance to win world cups. the US is still years away from being considered that class of a team.

but i can still feel bitter, because he turned us down like a jerk.

so that’s why when i saw that rossi didn’t make italy’s final 23-man squad, i couldn’t help but smile. i know i should probably feel a little bad for him, as i would certainly feel crushed if i were in his position. but turning your back on my national team is something that i can’t exactly forget.

karma is a bitch sometimes, and i’m sure rossi is feeling the burn right now.

enjoy your couch like the rest of us, gio. and when you watch the USMNT play, i hope that you have a tiny voice in the back of your head saying, “what if… what if…”

the decade that was – part 1

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it’s that time of year where everyone starts reflecting back on the year that was, and 2009 has certainly been a fun one as far as the football world is concerned. but we get the added benefit this year in that it’s the end of a decade, one where we’ve had some incredible stories and players grace the world’s stage.

as seems to be the case with all of the major news outlets, pundits and bloggers, everyone is putting out their year end lists for the best/worst of the year and decade. i’ve decided that i want in on all of the fun, and will be joining the party. only i’m not going to trouble you with the best and biggest of just this year. no, i’m doing it for the whole damn decade. we’ll do this in two parts:

  1. my best XI of the decade.
  2. the biggest stories of the decade (click here to read part two)

——————————

let’s dive right in to my team of the decade. i wanted to piece this together like it’s an actual team, so we’re going to choose a formation and run with this. for the sake of keeping my sanity, and based on the players i’ve chosen, i’m going to go with the traditionalists 4-4-2. don’t be insulted if you don’t like the formation.

zidane: my selection as the best player of the decade... even if he does headbut people

goalkeeper: gianluigi buffon
italy / juventus
though i thought this position would be hard, it was actually quite easy. buffon lead his italy side to a world cup title at germany 2006, where his team only gave up a staggering 2 goals in the entire tournament (shockingly, one of which was to the USMNT). but in addition to his world cup glory, buffon really earned his selection by his exploits in serie A for juventus. he’s been the club’s starting keeper since 1996, leading them to 4 serie A titles in the 2000′s. however, two of those were stripped due to match fixing allegations, and the club were subsequently relegated to serie B. there was an exodus of the club’s top players for the 2006-2007 season, but buffon stuck it out and lead his side back to the top flight… so he get’s bonus points for being a trooper, too.

left back: roberto carlos
brazil / real madrid, fenerbahçe
my favorite player growing up, i modeled my my own playing style after roberto carlos, so i felt a little biased picking the brazilian for this list. but how couldn’t i? his title credentials during the decade would alone earn him a spot: 2002 world cup champion, three spanish la liga titles, and two champions league titles. throw in his absolutely amazing free kicks, and the fact that he scored 61 goals for his clubs as a freaking defender, and it’s nearly impossible to not include him on this list.

center back: paolo maldini
italy / a.c. milan
sure, i’m playing him a little out of position. but let’s face it, the man could play anywhere on the back line. honestly, there’s a good chance that maldini is the best defender to have ever lived, let alone play during the 2000′s (and the 80′s and 90′s for that matter). he helped milan win two champions league titles during the decade, in addition to a serie a and italian cup title, while he’s deputized the italian side’s defense since 1985. although my most standout memory of the guy came from a friendly against the chicago fire a few years ago where chris rolfe put a move on him and he fell over as rolfe scored.

center back: fabio cannavaro
italy / parma, inter milan, juventus, real madrid
normally when you think of a center back, you think of a tall player who can win the ball in the air. not cannavaro, who despite being only 5’9″, was one of the finest defenders of his generation. he was exceptionally athletic and fantastic at reading the game. serving as a defender who not only could chase players down, cannavaro could also cut off angles and direct an entire team’s defensive strategy. he was rewarded for his talents in 2006, after being the standout player on the italian’s world cup winning side, by being awarded the 2006 fifa world player of the year — the only defender to have ever won the award.

old man maldini was still bad ass enough to make to be one of the decade's best players

right back: gary neville
england / manchester united
though certainly maligned by the press for his numerous press boycotts, neville’s talent is undeniable. he’s been a staple of the united line up since the mid-90′s, though he’s had some injury struggles during the last few years. none the less, neville has helped the red devils to five premier league titles,  an FA cup and a champions league title this decade.

defensive midfielder: patrick viera
france / arsenal, juventus, inter milan
do you remember the panic in the eyes of arsenal fans when viera decided to leave? and though the meteoric rise of cesc fàbregas is due in part to viera’s departure, arsenal haven’t won a trophy since the big frenchman left. viera was the captain and driving force in arsenal’s invincibles period, and he was also one of the most inspiring players in france’s 1998 world cup winning side. it’s hardly a coincidence that viera’s arrivals at juventus’ and inter milan’s rises in prominence.

offensive midfielder: zinedine zidane
france / juventus, real madrid
zidane is one of the greatest players of all time; the perfect mix of skill, intelligence and passion (which is bordering on rage). don’t believe me? watch the documentary “zidane: a 21st century portrait”. as 17 different cameras exclusively follow the oft misunderstood zidane in a match for madrid, you get to see all sides of this legend: his quiet nature, his brilliant goal creating abilities, and his anger as he is foolishly sent off. buy — don’t rent — this movie if you love the game; you won’t be dissapointed. oh yeah, and his resume is okay too: twice a world player of the year, world cup winner, champions league winner (including the brilliant winner against bayer leverkusen in the final), and league titles at both juventus and madrid.

i always thought that zidane was a top class player, but it took me seeing him play in person to truly appreciate his greatness. sitting in chicago’s soldier field, i watched zizou intentionally play slower than all of the opposing players from chivas de guadalajara, and he was making absolute fools of them. as the mexican defenders scrambled about at a thousand miles an hour, zidane seemed to be on a walk in the park, playing brilliantly simple touches, passes and dribbles. this is the reason i choose him as not only a member of my best XI for the 2000′s, but also as the player of the decade.

left wing: ronaldinho
brazil / grêmio, paris saint- germain, barcelona, a.c. milan
so what if he is now a shell of the player that taught us what “joga bonito” was. think back to the beginning of the decade, when ronaldinho’s fancy tricks, playful nature, and breathtaking play led brazil and barcelona to the pinnacle of the sport. for the first four years of the 2000′s, ronaldinho gaucho was a force in the sport. he inspired millions of us to go into our backyards/streets and try to do things with the ball that we’ver never done before. and while having so much fun, he captured a boatload of honors: a world cup title in 2002, also twice a world player of the year, two la liga titles, and a champions league winner’s medal.

right wing: cristiano ronaldo
portugal / sporting lisbon, manchester united, real madrid
you know, i struggled to put ronnie on this list… in the same way that i contemplated putting messi in this spot as well. there rises to the top of the game have been meteoric, and both are by far the most dominant players in the world at the moment. but i felt that putting either of them here would compromise this list because they’ve only recently come to sit at their thrones at the top of the game. but then i thought more about it, and decided what the hell. i’m giving it to ronaldo though, because he’s been at this level a bit longer than messi. ronaldo has been sublime the last few years, and his sheer output of goals in the last four seasons has been almost unprecedented (104 goals in 167 appearances). he helped manchester united to three premier league titles, an f.a. cup, and a champions league trophy, not to mention a second champions league final. and, honestly, how can you leave a player of this list that cost $132 million dollars? oh yeah, you can’t.

jar jar binks... i mean ronaldinho... also made the cut for my team of the decade

striker: thierry henry
france / arsenal, barcelona
although his star has faded a bit since his days at highbury (partially thanks to his handball debacle against ireland), henry at his peak was awe inspiring to watch. sublime is the word that comes to mind when thinking of him, and henry made it look so easy. his nose for goal was, often times, mesmerizing. i watched maybe 20 of his strikes on youtube, and singled out these two (#1 & #2) as the cream of the crop, although i easily could have included ten. and though he was responsible for putting my spurs to the sword on many occasions, and then made his dream switch to real madrid’s hated catalan rivals, it is and was always a joy to watch him play.

striker: ronaldo
brazil / inter milan, real madrid, a.c. milan, corinthians
a team of the decade would not be complete without t o fenômeno on the pitch. what can you say about ronaldo that hasn’t already been said? he was a beast on the pitch, scoring goals like they were going out of style. though he only won one of his three world player of the year awards during this decade, let’s not forget that he wont it after he had reconstructive knee surgery. there’s hardly any argument that he wasn’t one of the most feared strikers in the world during most of this time, and he was particularly prolific while playing for real madrid.

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so there you have it, my best XI for the 2000′s. it was by no means any easy task of picking this list, as i had to leave off so many fantastic players (messi, john terry, claude makélélé, ryan giggs, cafu, steven gerrard, kaká, oliver kahn, raúl, luís figo, etc.). disagree with any of my selections? let me know about it!

and be sure to check back for the second portion of this post, with my selections for the biggest stories of the decade up next. (click here to read part two)