The above image is a common one in recent Spain games, but ask any Liverpool fan and you’ll be told Fernando is the best forward on the planet.  Ask any Premier League fan, and even the Evertonians will grudgingly agree that Torres is sublime.  But ask a Spaniard about his performances for the national team, and the response will probably be, “I prefer David Villa.”

He will be, at least for statistical reasons, correct in that judgement.  Torres, having played for La Furia Roja since the age of 19, has not made the same impression as David Villa has.  The latter became the country’s top goalscorer in an amazing 5 years since his debut at the age of 23.

No Spanish football fan cognizant in 2008 will ever forget the final of the European Championship in which Torres dinked the ball over Jens Lehmann after a long ball from Xavi, but Villa has simply done more in less time.  Or has he?

While it is true that Villa’s goal record is more impressive, Torres probably has an unfairly bad reputation as an international flop.  While he doesn’t score as often as he does for Liverpool, defenses are still terrified of his finishing, pace and movement.  When fit, he often draws defenders and creates the space into which Villa darts to claim the goals — and the reputation to go with it.

Now, this article isn’t meant to claim Torres isn’t underwhelming for Spain, but merely to show some reasons why he might be doing so.  Playing as David Villa’s foil is one of them.

Another reason might be that Spain’s style doesn’t suit Torres nearly as well as it does Villa.  Spain play like Barcelona: they possess and pass around the 18 yard box and wait until there is an opening.  This method suits quicker players, ones like Villa and Iniesta who can quickly change directions to be in tight space. (As an aside, this makes me wonder why the rumors are swirling that Barcelona are interested in Torres.  I doubt anything will come of it, but I digress.)

Shorter players like the aforementioned Blaugrana duo, the “culo bajo” types as they are inelegantly called in Spanish, have the ability to turn on a dime, essentially beating defenders with lateral movement.  Torres is a blindingly fast player — just ask Nemanja Vidic or any of the other Premier League defenders he has skinned in the past 3 seasons — but his movement is more direct, less lateral.

I’m not saying he can’t find space in a tight penalty box, but he is less likely to than someone like Villa.  And given the Spanish set up, the penalty box is often crowded as la Roja pass the ball around the outside, waiting for the right movement.

Now consider how Liverpool play.  It’s not quite the same approach; it relies less on lots of quick movement and more on fewer decisive balls.  This suits Torres far more, as he is physically more adept to scoring from these types of situations.  The decisive balls tend to be played from farther out, either as crosses from wide positions or longer direct passes from midfield (and no, I’m not accusing Liverpool of playing route one football, calm down).  I’m not sure if this style has a catchy name, but it is not the tiki-taka of FC Barcelona/La Furia Roja.

Torres is a supremely skilled finisher, and scores from many crosses into the box, with his head and feet.  However, the full extent of his pace is best illustrated in those situations where a long ball is played behind the defense and in front of the keeper.  In these moments Torres shows just how fast he can run.  Not since the heyday of Thierry Henry  has the Premier League seen a striker so deadly when given space between the back four and the keeper.  At full speed no defender can match him, and then it is usually a matter of finishing from one on one.

But Spain don’t play this way.  I’m not blaming them for not doing so either.  Any coach restricting Xavi and Iniesta to playing exclusively medium and long range passing to their center forwards would be an idiot.  But put in simple terms,the Spanish team doesn’t play the sort of balls Torres is so skilled at finishing so often as they do at Liverpool, and Torres suffers as a result.  But when they do play a direct weighted pass behind the back line and Torres is lurking, defenses should still beware.  Just ask Jens Lehmann, a witness to such a ball from Xavi that ended up behind him in 2008.

A number of players can stake a claim for being part of the best team in the world at this early period of the European domestic leagues. However, very few players standout the way those listed below have in terms of their contribution to their team, their role as leaders, and certainly their crucial involvement in their respective clubs.

Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon- the Juventus and Azzurri custodian is back to his best and his outstanding saves have ensured the Bianconeri remain on course to qualify from their group in the Champions League as well as continue to challenge Internazionale for the Serie A title. Buffon has conceded only one dubious goal in Europe against Bordeaux. He saved the Old Lady on numerous occasions both in the domestic league and Europe. A poll in a previous segment of the website revealed that 65% of our readers voted for Buffon as the goalkeeper expected to be the best in South Africa (Please refer to The Best Goalkeepers in South Africa article written on November 5, 2009). Buffon has also been instrumental in Italy’s qualification to South Africa 2010.

Defense: John Terry, Carles Puyol, Maicon Douglas and Giorgio Chiellini- (Please refer to The Best Defenders Headed To South Africa piece written on November 11, 2009)

- Terry is quite influential and anchors the Chelsea defense which has conceded a mere eight goals in 12 Premiership matches. He is one of the players Fabio Capello will be relying on to help England safely navigate through the group stage. Terry is one of the most respected and acclaimed defenders in the world. His name and that of Chelsea have been linked together since the Premier League titles began to arrive at Stamford Bridge during the Jose Mourinho era.

- Puyol is the captain of a Barcelona side which won the treble last season and has conceded only seven goals in 10 la Liga matches up to this point.

- Maicon is the flying right-back who not only retrieves the ball for Internazionale but often starts attacking moves from his flank. He is one of the Nerazzurri’s most prized assets. The Brazilian has more votes than Terry, Puyol and Manchester United’s Vidic put together in our poll in the article mentioned above.

- Chiellini is the player who adds steel to both Italy’s and Juve’s defensive line. He can score the occasional goal but is renowned for his solid tackling and tough approach to the game. He is expected to lead the line once Fabio Cannavaro retires. Almost half of our readers who voted in a poll chose Chiellini as the best defender heading to South Africa.

Midfield: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marek Hamsik and Xabi Alonso

- Lionel Messi is one of the main catalysts behind Barcelona’s treble last season and has continued his devastating form for his club having notched seven goals in la Liga this season. His performances with Argentina are not as impressive but then perhaps that is down to Diego Maradona’s ill management of the players at his disposal as well as his debatable choice of players and tactics. When firing on all cylinders, Lio is a nightmare for defenders.

- Cristiano Ronaldo could perhaps be the only player from the current best 11 to miss out on South Africa 2010. Despite injury, Ronaldo has already found the back of the net on five occasions in la Liga not to mention his four goals in the Champions League. He will be hoping that his country will overcome his absence to beat Bosnia to qualify to the World Cup. The Portuguese hold a 1-0 edge after the weekend home win against the Bosnians.

- Marek Hamsik is perhaps a surprise inclusion to many but he has been one of the rising stars in Serie A the past couple of years and has helped Slovakia qualify to next summer’s World Cup. Hamsik is a wanted man and elite clubs in Italy and Europe have shown interest in his capture. It will only be time before he is snapped up by a bigger club than Napoli. He has already scored seven goals in Serie A this season including his brace in the stunning come-from-behind victory against Juventus in Turin.

- Xabi Alonso has been severely missed by Liverpool which lost much of its midfield structure when it sold the player to Real Madrid. The negative results suffered by Liverpool cannot be attributed to the loss of Alonso alone but it is still a testament to his importance and value to any team he plays for. Alonso recently stamped his authority in the friendly match against Argentina and led his country to a win by scoring both of Spain’s goals.

Attack: Didier Drogba and David Villa

-Didier Drogba has already scored nine goals in 12 Premiership matches not to mention the assists for a Chelsea team on top of the Premier League. Drogba has the speed and physical strength to out-muscle most defenders in England and Europe. He is a scoring threat in any match and can pop up to score a goal at any moment. He also led his country Ivory Coast to next summer’s World Cup.

- David Villa has been in demand for the past couple of years yet he remained with Valencia and his goals have helped his club to fourth place in la Liga’s standings. Villa has already scored eight times in nine games played in the Spanish league. He is one of the most dangerous attackers in Europe and the world. He will partner Fernando Torres in a lethal attack as they attempt to add World Cup 2010 to Spain’s trophy cabinet after securing Euro 2008 for their country.

There are clearly other qualified players who can make the list yet all those mentioned above have played a key role for their club and/or country. All the players, except for Cristiano Ronaldo at this stage, will be participating in South Africa 2010.

Part II of WCB’s World XI will reveal the attacking portion of the team as well as the coach that puts it all together or keeps it together. Let us begin with the right side of the formation.

FORWARDS:
On the right side, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Everyone knows about the year he had with Manchester United and the trophies he won. As much as I don’t like his attitude, his numbers are undeniable. He singlehandedly carried the goal scoring load while Rooney and whomever else Sir Alex put in the lineup struggled. 42 goals in 49 games all from a right wing position. Can’t have a 2008 World XI without Cristiano Ronaldo.

In the middle, Mohamed Aboutrika

The Egyptian playmaker had a great year. He was instrumental in Al-Ahly winning its record 6th African club championship and led Egypt to the 2008 African Cup of Nations trophy as well. Aboutrika scored the trophy winning goal in the final against Cameroon. He is consistently tagged as the best African player playing in Africa despite a poor showing in the FIFA Club World Cup. Aboutrika will have to continue to play well for The Pharoahs in their march toward South Africa 2010.

On the left, Joffre Guerron.

Guerron made his name on the right side but since Cristiano Ronaldo is there and we couldn’t leave the face of Ecuador’s 1st ever Libertadores champion on the bench, I put him on the left. He’s a professional he should be effective either way. Guerron was named the player of the Copa Libertadores as Liga De Quito made history. He was shockingly left off the ballot when El Pais named Juan Sebastian Veron as South American Player of the Year. Guerron was WCB choice for the title of “Rey del Fútbol de América” and an easy selection for WCB World XI.

STRIKERS:
Lucas Barrios

Who? Those who know South America & more specifically Chile know who he his. This year for Chilean super club Colo Colo, the Argentinean striker scored 37 goals in 38 appearances and was the leading goal scorer in both Clausura & Apertura tournaments leading Colo Colo to the Clausura title. He was named by the IFFHS as the Best Goalscorer in the World for 2008 quite easily making him one striker on the WCB World XI.

David Villa

The Valencia striker was the leading scorer of Euro 2008 and for the 07-08 season finished 5th in the Pichichi standings with 18 goals in 27 La Liga appearances. Villa currently sits 2nd on the Pichichi list for 08-09 with 12 goals in 16 games for Los Che. He is the best Spanish striker right now, one of the Top 5 in Spain, and one of the Top 10 in the world. Villa has been rumored with a move to Manchester City to join fellow Spanish striker, Fernando Torres in the English Premiership. Wherever he plays he’s gonna be a consistent goal scoring monster.

DT/Coach:
This position was a decision between former Liga De Quito coach Edgardo Bauza, Spain’s Euro 2008 winning coach Luis Aragones, and Manchester United’s legend Sir Alex Ferguson. Finally, the coach of the WCB World XI is:

Edgardo Bauza

The man known as El Patón was the mastermind behind Liga De Quito’s historic Copa Libertadores win. As a player he was best known as a defender for Rosario Central in the late 70s & early 80s and was part of the Argentina 1990 World Cup squad that lost to West Germany in the final. Ironically, he guided Liga past two Argentine squads on his path to the Libertadores title beating Estudiantes in the Round of 16 and San Lorenzo in the quarters. Bauza famously couldn’t watch the PK shootout at the Maracana where his keeper Jose Cevallos saved 3 of 4 PKs to seal history as they defeated Rio’s Fluminense in the final. Bauza resigned his post after the FIFA Club World Cup where Liga finished 2nd but his icon status with Los Albos is secure.

So the World Cup Buzz World XI formation is:
Casillas
Dani Alves – Vidic – Puyol
Xavi – Battaglia
C.Ronaldo – Aboutrika – Guerron
L. Barrios – D. Villa

So there it is. The Best XI from all over the world for 2008. Its going to be interesting to see who is going to make the Best XI for 2009. Whomever makes the lineup you better believe they are going to be amazing. Enjoy 2009! Peace!