The best La Liga players of the 21st century

Midfield

Zinedine Zidane

In midfield there are a number of players worthy of gracing any world eleven; players such as Luis Figo and Yaya Toure haven’t even made the bench in this team.

This emphasizes the task at hand when picking a team such as this. I know that my selection here will not be to everyone’s agreement, but that is what blogging and opinions are for! I have gone with a three man midfield, comprising of a holding midfielder and two central midfielders, similar to the formations played nowadays.

I have chosen Claude Makelele, Xavi and Zinedine Zidane – controversial I know!

The first question you will be asking is how on earth I can leave Iniesta out!? Hopefully my opinions will shed light on my decision.

Firstly, Makelele, arguably the glue in the Galacticos machine, a tough tackling, mobile, holding midfielder. Another game changer and another who has led to the likes of Sergio Busquets and Michael Essien being moulded into “Makelele-esqe” players. Never a goal scorer or an assister of great proficiency (21 career goals suggests this), but a match winner never the less.

He’s not what I call a “Match of the Day player”, a player who will grab the headlines and plaudits and score wonder goals, but he is a water carrier, a player who does the dirty work when you need them most. Think Patrick Viera at Arsenal, Roy Keane at Manchester United, Javier Mascherano at Liverpool, Busquets at Barcelona – all successful teams need players who roll their sleeves up and break play down, because lets face it, even Barcelona don’t have the ball all the time.

He was never the technical type, as Perez said when he was sold to Chelsea in 2003: “We will not miss Makélelé. His technique is average, he lacks the speed and skill to take the ball past opponents, and ninety percent of his distribution either goes backwards or sideways. He wasn’t a header of the ball and he rarely passed the ball more than three metres. Younger players will arrive who will cause Makélelé to be forgotten.”

Makelele was sold, you’ll notice the decline at Real since that year and the improvement of Chelsea’s fortunes (both on the pitch and off it). I think Makelele was a world class player and this quote from team mate Zinedine Zidane, I believe, is a far more accurate portrayal, “Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine?”.

The two central midfielders I have plucked for are two of the greatest midfielders to grace the game, Xavi and Zinedine Zidane.

Where to begin with these two? Xavi, the diminutive pass machine of Barcelona, the heartbeat of one of the most successful teams ever, another Spanish centurion, another World Cup winner, another one man club, another supreme talent. The sublime technician is renowned for his laser-precise passing and innovation, notches up more passes in 90 minutes than other players manage in entire seasons, a master of keeping possession and a workhorse when he doesn’t have the ball, a must for every team.

Next up, three-time world player of the year, another world cup winner and yet another international centurion. Zinedine Zidane is often mentioned in the same breath as Diego Maradona and Pele, and is a real contender for the greatest player of all time. The thing about Zidane is how effortless he makes everything look – a 360 degree turn here, a drop of the shoulder there, his positioning, his ball striking, his vision, the list goes on. Owner of my vote for the greatest goal of all time after launching a volley over Hans Jorg Butt’s head into the top corner in the Champions League final of 2002, a great goal, but people forget, it was with his weaker foot.

Alas, Zidane signed off in acrimonious circumstances after his forehead made contact with Marco Materazzi’s solar plexus in the 2006 World Cup Final. However, they often say there is a thin line between genius and insanity, and there is probably not many footballers who can claim of having bucket loads of both.