Near Post Blog

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this, and I think want to get away from the 4-4-2 formation. I know that I said a couple of days ago that I wanted to stick to that formation, but after analyzing the players available, I want the best team possible, not necessarily the classic 4-4-2. So, with that being said, I’m going to go with a 4-2-1-3, with two holding midfielders, an attacking midfielder, and three attackers, consisting of a center forward and two wingers. I think this only makes sense with the players I’ve seen in the past decade.

Today, I’ll be awarding the two holding midfielders and the attacking midfielder, and here they are:

Attacking Midfielder: Zinedine Zidane. I felt like this was between Kaka and Zidane, but with Zidane’s exploits at the international level, I think he just edges it. Zidane came out of international retirement to take France to the World Cup Final in 2006, being award the Golden Ball along the way, all while being famously red-carded for headbutting Marco Materazzi. But, even though his final game was marred by controversy, I think Zidane is one of the top 3 players of all-time, as it stands right now.
- Champions League winner in 2001/02
- Euro 2000 winner
- Euro 2000 player of the tournament
- FIFA World Player of the Year in 2000 and 2003
- UEFA Team of the Year 2001, 2002, 2003

Naming the holding midfielders is a bit like naming the defenders, as stats aren’t always evident because these players do the mopping up behind the attackers, and help take the pressure off the back four. With that being said, what I was looking for when naming the two players in this position was success of the player’s club(s). A successful team means reflects well on the defensive midfielder, as this player holds everything together and give stability to the side.

Holding Midfielder: Patrick Vieira. This guy is a winner, and is probably the most skilled player to play in the holding roll since Dunga made it popular back in the early 90’s for Brazil. Vieira was won at every club he’s been a part of, including Arsenal, Juventus (though this title was revoked in 2006), and Inter Milan. Vieira also has a very good goalscoring record, which is highly uncommon of a holding midfielder. Interestingly enough, Vieira is tied atop the English Premier League record book with two other players, having been shown a red card nine times.
- Premier League winner in 2001/02, 2003/04
- Serie A winner in 2005/06 (Juve), 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09 (Inter Milan)
- Euro 2000 winner in 2000
- PFA overall Team of the Decade
- 2001 Confederations Cup Top Scorer

Holding Midfielder: Gennaro Gattuso. Again, a winner. You can’t quantify what Gattuso has meant to AC Milan or the Italian national team in numbers. But, what you can say is that every team he has played for this decade, has had tremendous success. Gattuso won’t dazzle anyone with talent or ball skill, but what he will do is neutralize the opposing team’s best player and work harder than anyone on the pitch.
- Serie A winner in 2003/04
- UEFA Champions League winner in 2002/03, 2006/07
- World Cup winner in 2006
- FIFA World Cup team of the tournament in 2006