If you could pick a 23-men squad for a tournament RIGHT NOW

[elnino99]

how would your squad look like:

3 GK
2RB
2LB
4CB
3 W
2 CDM
2 CM
2 CAM
3 ST
-----------------------------------------------------
here is mine
GK: Buffon, Casillas, Reina
RB: Maicon, D.Alves
LB: Evra, A.Cole
CB: Chiellini, Vidic, Nesta, Terry
W: Ronaldo, Messi, Ribery
CDM: Essien, De Rossi
CM: Xavi, Fabregas
CAM: Iniesta, Gerrard
ST: Torres, Rooney, Drogba

with a starting eleven of:
--------------------Buffon----------------------
Maicon------Chiellini-------Vidic-----------A.Cole
--------------------Essien----------------------
Messi---------------Xavi------------------Ronaldo
----------------Gerrard-------------------------
------------------------Torres------------------

[yashar_fasihnia]

GK: buffon, casillas, julio caesar
defense: puyol, chiellini, vidic, terry, dani alvez, lahm, ashley cole,
midfielders : essien, yahya toure, senna, fabregas, xavi, lampard, kaka, ribery, C.ronaldo, messi
forwards: drogba, torres, villa

-having puyol and lahm in the squad gives more flexbility in choosgin players for the defense line cos of their ability to play in more than one position. so, having 3 fullbacks is enough cos lahm can switch sides and puyol can play RB in worst case scenario as a 4th fullback if required.

-i just realized the world is sooooo short in worldclass left footed midfielders at the moment!

[elnino99]

GK: buffon, casillas, julio caesar
defense: puyol, chiellini, vidic, terry, dani alvez, lahm, ashley cole,
midfielders : essien, yahya toure, senna, fabregas, xavi, lampard, kaka, ribery, C.ronaldo, messi
forwards: drogba, torres, villa
-having puyol and lahm in the squad gives more flexbility in choosgin players for the defense line cos of their ability to play in more than one position. so, having 3 fullbacks is enough cos lahm can switch sides and puyol can play RB in worst case scenario as a 4th fullback if required.
-i just realized the world is sooooo short in worldclass left footed midfielders at the moment!

good list and also reasoning for inclusion of Lahm and Puyol.
however I think 3 DM ain't the best option, since each teams employs one DM (destroyer) type maximum. you never seen midfield pairings like Essien-Toure. and as I made a thread in the football forum a while ago, the CB pairing must offer balance and calmness. playing 2 no non-sense centre halves is a suicide in today's modern football. one of them must be able to work with the ball on his feet, get forward and spread the ball on high lines. from your line up Chielini and Puyol are capable of doing that and in my opinion one must start alongside a no non-sense like Vidic.
Senna has gone down after the euros and have lost his place to Xabi in the national team, not sure about his recovery, if he is fit he will definitely be up there. Fabregas, Xavi and Lampard are way too similar. but currently I would take Xavi and Cesc since I watch them every week. Especially Cesc is fabulous. and I know, we don't have a REAL LEFT FOOTED player, good thing all the wingers are able to switch positions and use both feet. Ryan Giggs in his prime would get in, and Arshavin might have a case too

[Team Melli Fan]

a mix of the world xi from fifa 09 & fifa 10 (im too lazy to write every1s name)

but especially IBRAHIMOVIC

[HuSsAiN]

Goalkeepers:Buffon,Casillas, Akinfeev
RB: Maicon,Lahm
4CB: John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Vidic, Puyol
3 W: Messi, Ronaldo, Robben
2 CDM: Essien, Yaya Toure
2 CM: Xavi, Fabregas
2 CAM: Iniesta, Gerrard
3 ST: Rooney, Torres,Drogba

Starting eleven - 4-3-3

---------------Casillas--------------------------

---Maicon----Ferdinand----------JT-----------Cole

-------------------Essien----------------------

------------Xavi-----------------Iniesta----------

-Ronaldo--------------------------------Messi

---------------------Torres----------------------

two centre backs that are solid, hardly get anything behind them.. two attacking full-backs but also good defending.. very quick.. essien breaking up the play, and starting attacks.. got a good range of passing, and everyone knows how well xavi and iniesta keep the ball.. the two wingers are the two best players in the world, and for me Torres IS the best striker in the world.

[yashar_fasihnia]

good list and also reasoning for inclusion of Lahm and Puyol.
however I think 3 DM ain't the best option, since each teams employs one DM (destroyer) type maximum. you never seen midfield pairings like Essien-Toure. and as I made a thread in the football forum a while ago, the CB pairing must offer balance and calmness. playing 2 no non-sense centre halves is a suicide in today's modern football. one of them must be able to work with the ball on his feet, get forward and spread the ball on high lines. from your line up Chielini and Puyol are capable of doing that and in my opinion one must start alongside a no non-sense like Vidic.
Senna has gone down after the euros and have lost his place to Xabi in the national team, not sure about his recovery, if he is fit he will definitely be up there. Fabregas, Xavi and Lampard are way too similar. but currently I would take Xavi and Cesc since I watch them every week. Especially Cesc is fabulous. and I know, we don't have a REAL LEFT FOOTED player, good thing all the wingers are able to switch positions and use both feet. Ryan Giggs in his prime would get in, and Arshavin might have a case too

my formation is going to be 4-3-3 which yahya toure can do fine in. if not, then i will probably go for 4-4-2 diamond if essien has to play or even senna although i think essien can handle 4-3-3 as well if needed.
i think xabi alonso is over rated, specially with his performance in madrid.

at the moment, we dont have a realy world class patrick-viera type of DM who can focus more on distribution and transition, so if needed, a central midfielder like cesc can be paired next to the destructive DM.
although i must say, toure has shown some qualities of these ball distributions in barca.
i was thinking of putting pirlo in there but given his current age and with the options available, i think if required, i can put up fabregas next to him which i doubt cos like i said, my preferred formations are 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 diamond, both of which requires only 1 DM. the creativity and transition can be handled partially by the DM (he may not be the best at it, but he can definitely do to a good level) and partially with the fullbacks-wingers-side midfielders combinations and over laps.

as for defense, i prefer all rounder experienced CBs over picking a combo of specialized CBs and i disagree with the whole notion that one CB should always be no-nonsense. bext example is italys cannavaro, nesta and maldini combos which was one of the best in recent years and none of them are really a no-nonsense defender. as long as the defenders have the gift, but at the same time, are intelligent, well organized and good game readers, i think they will do a fine job. having a no-nonsense player, so back in defense on the contrary can cause a lot of trouble for u at times with bad fouling near the penalty area or receviing yellow and red cards, which clearly vidic is the best example for
to me, puyol is one of the most aggressive and no-nonsense defenders in the world as well but at the same time, doesnt take it to extreme and uses intelligence, well timed tackling and game/move reading to beat the opponent. and chiellini is a wall, i reallyyy like his game, his intelligence, his anticipation, his coordination with the rest of the defense line/GK and his game reading.
nesta is still a great defender but not the same anymore and he is slowing down with age, otherwise i would definitely pick him over vidic.

as for cesc, xavi and lampard being too similar, here are my 1 arguments:
1)i have 3 of the worlds best speedy, technically skilled wingers: messi, ronaldo and ribery. plus i also have kaka who is skilled and fast but not a winger
2)remember this is a tournament, u need to have atleast 2 players of each style.
3)i have chosen these 3 mostly based on their high intelligence, great vision and ability to lead a team and make a difference through team work. what kind of player do u suggest i should bring in and leave out atleast one of them? i have strong target forwards, i have speedy technical skilled wingers, i have solid aggresive DMs, i have high work rate, fast and sharp full backs. i dont see wat im missing??

in general, i think intelligence and game reading in football is a factor which is very under-rated in us football fans. a player with average talent, but great intelligence can be a great asset to any team (best examples zidane and lampard who are not very skilled). i prefer such a player over a talented player with average intelligence and the reasons are:

1)when u have talent, everyone has to cope with u and if they dont, u have to rely on urself for ur best game. but when u have a high iq and a smart player,u can cope up with any kind of players around u and can follow ur coaches tactical requirements and instructions and do them properly. it makes u more tactically adaptable.
its no coincidence that south american footballers in general are not very tactically adaptable, because they are mostly talented than intelligent players. but u take european players, they are not as talented, but very tactically flexible and can play different formations, perform different tactics, and can settle easier in different teams and under different coaches.

2)talent can only save u when u r young. once u start getting older, ur talent reduces and u start losing ur edge.
but intelligence never fades away, it only expands with experience. hence u can perform on top level for higher number of years if u maintain a high level of committment and training ofcourse.

3)intelligence and efficiency have a direct corelation. efficiency is the key to success in anything in this world = minimum input, maximum output.
intelligent players make the best use of their surroundings including their team mates and their opponents situation, so its difficult to cover all weak points. talented players mostly rely on their own specialization to do something which may or may not always work because the opponents are not stupid either and they study ur moves, ur talents and after a while learn to neutralize u easier, and hence ur efficiency goes lower.


but anyways,,, u tell me, wat modifications do u deem necessary to my squad?

[chuck bass]

GK: Casillas, Buffon, Akinfeev

DL: Evra, Abidal
DR: Alves, Ramos
CB: Puyol, Pique, Chiellini, Vidic

CDM: Toure, Essien
CM: Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas
CAM: not going to be used so 1 extra CM and 1 extra winger
W: Messi, Ronaldo, Silva, Arshavin

S: Zlatan, Torres, Villa


--------Casillas
Alves - Puyol - Pique - Evra
----------Toure
-----Xavi----Iniesta
Messi-----Zlatan-----Ronaldo

[Kasra.]

GK: Julio Cesar, Casillas, Buffon
RB: Maicon, D.Alves
LB: Evra, ?????
CB: Chiellini, Vidic, Samuel, Terry
W: Ronaldo, Messi, Ribery
DMF: Essien, Gatusso
CMF: Xavi, Fabregas
AMF: Sneijder, Gerrard
ST: Torres, Ibrahimovic, Eto'o

[Demis-11]

Im gonna do one with the Greek League

GK: Tzorvas, Nikopolidis, Sifakis
DF: Mellberg, Torosidis, Katsouranis, Majstorovic, Zewlakow, Seitaridis, G.Papadopoulos
MF: Dudu, Galletti, G.Silva, Ninis, Karagounis, Smolarek, Kumordzi, Muslimovic
ST: Diogo, Cisse, Salpingidis, Verpakovskis, Johnson

[IranSoccer#8]

GK: buffon, casillas, julio caesar
defense: puyol, chiellini, vidic, terry, dani alvez, lahm, ashley cole,
midfielders : essien, yahya toure, senna, fabregas, xavi, lampard, kaka, ribery, C.ronaldo, messi
forwards: drogba, torres, villa
-having puyol and lahm in the squad gives more flexbility in choosgin players for the defense line cos of their ability to play in more than one position. so, having 3 fullbacks is enough cos lahm can switch sides and puyol can play RB in worst case scenario as a 4th fullback if required.
-i just realized the world is sooooo short in worldclass left footed midfielders at the moment!

ARDA TURAN!!

[shayan_esteghlali]

3 GK
2RB
2LB
4CB
3 W
2 CDM
2 CM
2 CAM
3 ST

GK: Casillas, Reina, Valdez
RB: Dani Alves, Sergio Ramos
LB: Abidal, Cole
CB: Puyol, Pique, Terry, Vidic
W: Messi, Silva, Arshavin
CDM: Nekounam, Toure
CM: Xavi, Fabregas
CAM: Kaka, Iniesta
ST: Torres, Villa, Higauin

-----------Casillas--------------
Dani-----Puyol--Pique-----Abidal
------------Nekounam----------
----------Xavi-----Iniesta------
Messi--------Villa----------Silva


-----------Valdez-------------
Ramos---Terry-Vidic-------Cole
------------Toure-------------
----Fabregas-----Arshavin-----
-------------Kaka-------------
---------Torres-Higuain--------

[Hichkas]

3 GK Casillas, Buffon, Czech
2RB Maicon, Bosingwa
2LB Lahm, A.Cole
4CB Puyol, Demichelis, Terry, Chiellini
3 W Messi, Arshavin, Robben
2 CDM Toure, xabi Alosno
2 CM Xavi, Iniesta
2 CAM Ribery, C.Ronaldo
3 ST Drogba, Torres, Zlatan