With much of the qualification process almost complete and South Africa 2010 looming large, it would make sense to assess some of the world’s best custodians who will be present during the World Cup. Goalkeepers such as Petr Cech will be excluded from the discussion since their nation failed to qualify for next summer’s big event.

During World Cup 2006 in Germany, Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon was in outstanding form and played a significant role in the Azzurri’s triumph. The Juventus goalie performed a miracle save to keep out French star Zinedine Zidane’s header from securing in all likelihood France’s victory in 2006. Buffon was beaten only twice during the tournament, once courtesy of a freak own-goal by Cristian Zaccardo and the second time from the penalty spot through the legendary Zidane. The goalkeeper is closing in on Italy’s goalkeeping icon Dino Zoff’s 112 caps for la Nazionale. Buffon will once again be very critical for Italy’s chances in South Africa 2010 just as he was in Germany 2006 and his current form bodes well for Marcello Lippi’s side. He seems to have regained his outstanding form following a solid start to the season with Juventus and Italy.

Another name to keep in mind is that of Brazil’s number one Julio Cesar who like Buffon also features in the Italian league. The Brazilian goalkeeper has become an impenetrable wall during Internazionale’s domination on the domestic front and has received praise from both Brazil’s coach Dunga and his rival Buffon. Julio Cesar has often performed miraculous saves and has been a great contributor to the Brazilian cause with his country conceding a mere 11 goals in 18 appearances in the qualifying stage. His form will play a significant role in Brazil’s progress during next summer’s World Cup.

Both Buffon and Julio Cesar will face stiff competition from Spain’s Iker Casillas during South Africa 2010 in the quest to claim the title of the event’s best goalkeeper. The Real Madrid custodian was instrumental in his country’s triumph in Euro 2008 and has often performed admirably for Los Blancos. However, in recent times, his performances have been inconsistent as evident by his blunder against Milan in the Champions League which allowed Alexandre Pato to sneak in a goal for the Rossoneri. On most days, Casillas exudes confidence and puts in some impeccable displays though there is a slight downward trend in his current performances . The fact that Real Madrid’s defense has leaked goals the past two seasons does not do the Spaniard justice yet he also has been at fault on a number of occasions. It is true that even the best goalkeepers make the occasional mistake or commit a rare blunder but both Buffon and Cesare have proven to be more consistent in recent times.

Those three goalkeepers were actually named along with Petr Cech as part of the best five goalies by none other than fellow professional and custodian Sebastien Frey who represents Fiorentina in the Italian league. The Frenchman was not included because he is unlikely to be in South Africa 2010 even if the French national team makes it due to the fact that Raymond Domenech does not rate him highly. It is a shame because Frey can be quite outstanding when in form as witnessed in la Viola’s games during this season. Another noteworthy mention goes to the Republic of Ireland’s shot-stopper Shay Given who is a solid and consistent player but probably ranks a step below the likes of Buffon, Cesar and Casillas.

1st of all, Happy New Year to you and may 2009 be as exciting and intriguing as 2008. This past year was witness to some great moments and some truly historic performances from Liga De Quito’s monumental Libertadores victory to Spain shaking off their underachievers label with their impressive Euro 2008 title to Argentina repeating as Olympic champions. Many great players kept us suspended to our chairs or sofas or bar stools and made us realize that soccer players are the true sports magicians. As a fan of offense the 2008 WCB World XI will have a 3-5-2 look to it. That said, here are the magicians the 2008 WCB World XI:

Goalkeeper:
Iker Casillas

This is a no brainer, Real Madrid’s portero is the best in the world and my choice for Ballon D’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year, refer here. He was brilliant in the Euros as he anchored a Spanish defense that was not given enough credit for La Furia Roja‘s championship.

Defense:
On the right Barcelona’s Dani Alves.
 
The Brazilian defender has been the best & most used of Barcelona’s ’08 summer signings. He is obviously an attack minded right back (what Brazilian defender isn’t) but he is an underrated defender and for all his attacking, he is not a defensive liability.

In the middle is Manchester United’s Nemanja Vidic. 
 
Sir Alex’s Serbian Minister of Defense, Vidic might be Fergie’s best signing since he acquired Ruud Van Nistelrooy from PSV in 2001. It is quite possible that Vidic is Manchester United’s most valuable player even more than Cristiano Ronaldo. Not only is he a rock in the back, he’s shown a knack for scoring timely goals ask Hull City, Sunderland, and Gamba Osaka.

On the left is another Blaugrana defender, Catalan icon Carles Puyol.
 
The Barcelona captain is a natural center back but he’s so good that he can play any position on the backline and has. His partnership with Valencia’s Carlos Marchena in the middle of the Spanish defense was critical in Spain’s Euro success. Puyol managed to keep Barca’s backline serviceable when Lillian Thuram & Gabi Milito were consistently getting burned during the 07-08 season. You can’t have a a Best XI defense without Carles Puyol.

Midfielders:
Let’s begin with the central midfield and the men that back up the attacking players.  They don’t get as much attention as the attacking players but their teams would suck without them. 

Xavi
 
The player of the tournament for Euro 2008 and many people’s choice for the Ballon D’Or.  He is not spectacular but he does everything well. He has been Barcelona’s savior on many occasions and is mainly responsible for Barcelona being able to play in the Champions League despite the drama surrounding the team during the 07-08 season. 

Sebastián Battaglia

Boca Juniors were recently crowned Apertura champions after a dramatic 3-team playoff.  The fact they made it to that point is a credit to coach Carlos Ischia and Battaglia.  Without goal scoring icon Martin Palermo and public bickering amongst teammates, Battaglia helped to keep the team together on & off the pitch.  With a young group of talent forced into action, Boca’s #5 was the veteran presence in the midfield that helped Los Xeneizes become champions. El Pibe De Oro needs to include him for Los Albicelestes in World Cup qualifying.

In Part II, we’ll reveal the guys who get the goals, glory, and the women.  The attacking players will be revealed in Part II as well as the DT.  

We are coming up on that time of the year when the next three months we will dress up as someone or something, eat some turkey or some bird till we get fat, and open some presents from our families that we will probably return 2 weeks later. It is also the time when the major awards in football will be awarded.

The Ballon D’Or given to the European Player Of The Year and FIFA World Player Of The Year have been “kissing cousins” since the FIFA award’s inception in 1991.  In fact, 10 of the last 17 Ballon D’Or winners have won the FIFA award including the last 3 winners.  Only 3 times since 1991 has the Ballon D’Or winner not finished in the Top 3 of the FIFA award voting. It is likely this year once again, the winner of the Ballon D’Or will also win the FIFA P.O.Y., so let’s look at the 3 best candidates. 

Cristiano Ronaldo
 
The Portuguese superstar was a virtual lock for both awards at the end of the club season. His play carried Manchester United to the Premiership and a 3rd European Cup. He scored in the Champions League final but got cute with a PK, lucky for him John Terry messed up too. 42 goals in 49 total matches is a great feat but his steam ran out at the 2008 European Championship where he was ineffective to say the least. Maybe he was tired from the club season, whatever the case his lock on both awards were broken.

Iker Casillas

The Real Madrid goalkeeper is the best at his position in the world right now. He also has a double winning La Liga with Los Merengues and then capturing the European Championship with Spain. He was brilliant in Euro 2008 keeping a clean sheet throughout the knockout stage and his PK saves versus Italy in the quarters propelled Spain to the title. In addition, who knows how many points he saved Real Madrid throughout the course of the La Liga season.

Xavi
 
Xavier Hernández Creus does not have as much hardware as the Ronaldo or Casillas this year but he is just as valuable. The man known as Xavi won the European Championship with Spain and was named the player of the tournament.  He didn’t win anything with Barca but they might be in the UEFA Cup if it weren’t for him.  He scores timely goals and is the prototypical midfielder connecting the defense to the offense.  That is why the Blaugrana will lock up the Catalan star contractually for the rest of his career.

Since we’re lumping both the FIFA P.O.Y. & Ballon D’Or together, the winner should be:
Iker Casillas

Cristiano Ronaldo is a VERY close 2nd, Iker gets the nod because he did it at both the club and national team levels. If there were no international competitions this year than Ronaldo is a runaway winner but that’s not the case. Show the netminders some love, its hard being a good keeper at Real Madrid besides no keeper has won either award.

Award Winners – Part II.  Next up the candidates for South American Player Of The Year.