So recently Fifa pro came out with their shortlist of who they believe would be the World 11, consisting of 1 goalkeeper, 3 defenders, 4 midfielders, and 3 forwards. What I intend to do is breakdown the list that fifa chose, and give reasons to consider that player as part of the top 11 or reasons not too.
In evaluating players, I will take this into consideration, was that player injury free for most of the season? What level did that player play at, was it the top league? And how good players skills are for their position, such as how a forward finishes. Bonus points are also given if a player does something that is not associated with their position, such as a defender who scores, or a forward who defends.  I have also included notable players omitted from the list, who I thought deserved a mention.  I however have removed them from consideration as they were not on the official list put out by Fifa.

The final World XI will be announced at 5th October 2007.
Goalkeepers:
Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/ Juventus) If Buffon had moved on to another team, than I probably would have no trouble putting him as the best keeper, but because he was for the most part facing the best the Serie B had to offer, I feel I cannot put him as the best goalkeeper in the world given he wasn’t facing the best opposition possible, day in and day out.

Iker Casillas (Spain/ Real Madrid) Of all the goalkeepers Fifa picked I would pick Iker, because I felt he had the most complete season. Iker is also very conisistent, and has to be a very good goalkeeper with the way Real defends sometimes.

Petr Cech (Czech Republic/ Chelsea) Between Petr Cech and Buffon, you have the world’s best two goalkeepers. It was quite evident when Cech went down, how sorely he was missed during that time. Had Cech not been injured it could have been enough to help Chelsea overtake Man U for the title.

Nelson de Jesus Silva 'Dida' (Brazil/ AC Milan)- I don’t really understand how Dida made this list, for one he was injured for a good part of the season, and when he did come back AC Milan chose to start Zeljko Kalac in his place. Fortunatly for Dida, Kalac was worse, and he won his place back.

Edwin van der Sar (Holland/ Manchester United) Van Der Sar did what he had to do in net for United to win, nothing more nothing less. I didn’t feel he was outstanding, but he didn’t put Manchester United in a position to lose either. He won the EPL GK of the year, but I felt Tim Howard was more deserving of it.

Notable Omissions Tim Howard(USA/Everton), Jose Reina(Spain/Liverpool)

Midfielders:
David Beckham (England/ Real Madrid) Beckham is a great player, but it is hard to put Beckham in the top 11 for many reasons. One there are many players much better than him, two he was benched for a large portion of last season, and three he on top of being benched missed a lot of games through suspension and injury. Also consider this, when Real won the title, they clinched it on the final day when Reyes scored two goals, Reyes came in for the injured David Beckham.

Anderson Deco (Portugal/ Barcelona) I rate Deco very high, but unfortunately the midfield of Barcelona is both deep and very talented. Deco should move to an EPL team like Chelsea or a team like Valencia.

Micheal Essien (Ghana/ Chelsea) Probably the most complete player in the world. His preferred position is a box to box midfielder, who is defensive minded, but can also shoot from distance. He showed his versatility by also playing right back and central back for Chelsea when injuries hit them. Essien also scored some timely goals last year, one against Arsenal to tie it, and one against Valencia to put Chelsea into the semifinals of the Champions league.

Gennaro Gattuso (Italy/ AC Milan) Probably the best holding midfielder in the world. Gattuso earned the nickname the snarling dog because of the way he plays. If there was no Gattuso, Pirlo would not have done nearly as well for both Italy, or AC Milan.

Steven Gerrard (England/ Liverpool) In competition with Essien for the most complete player in the world. While Essien has played more positions, Gerrard is given more freedom to roam all over the field, he also does well to give defensive cover. Gerrard also has a much better goal scoring tally then Essien does.

Andreys Iniesta (Spain/ Barcelona) A very creative midfielder, I feel Iniesta doesn’t always get the respect he deserves, mainly because he is overshadowed by his larger than life teammates. Iniesta is an excellent passer, as well as with the ball at his feet. When he is in the middle he can control the game, and speed it up or slow it down as he sees fit.

Ricardo Kaka (Brazil/ AC Milan) Regarded by many as the best player in the world. Kaka doesn’t run he glides across the ground, blessed with a great shot, and probably one of the fasted player in the world with the ball at his feet. He carried AC Milan on his shoulders as they won the champions league.

Frank Lampard (England/ Chelsea) A consistent goal scorer at Chelsea, he regurly scores more goals than most forwards. His big knock is he and Gerrard can not play in the same midfield together. It should also be pointed out that Lampard has missed very few games in his time at Stamford bridge.

Claude Makalele (France/ Chelsea) If stats alone were used to judge a player, than Makalele would be considered a failure. Fortunatley for him, stats don’t tell the whole story, Frank Lampard, and Zinadine Zidane both have had very successful careers, due in large part to the defensive work that Makalele has done. He does all the little things that allow other players to succeed.

Andrea Pirlo (Italy/ AC Milan) A player who pulls all the strings for a world cup winning national team, as well as a champions league trophy. Often overshadowed by players like Totti, and Kaka. He is also one of the best free kick takers in the world.

Juan Roman Riquelme (Argentina/ Villareal/Boca Juniors) A temperamental player who can both amaze and disappoint depending on what day it is. He led the way in a very good Argentine football team at Copa America. However the fact that he couldn’t win the Argentine first division against Veron’s Estudianties is a strike against him.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/ Manchester United) An immensely talented player, who still has his best days ahead of him. On his day he is unstoppable, unfortunately I feel he disappears too much in big games. I will give him a pass in the FA Cup final, because he was exhausted, but still needs some more consistency to be considered the worlds best.

Paul Scholes (England/ Manchester United) Apparently found the fountain of youth. Had an excellent season, in which he pulled the strings for the United midfield. Has great vision on the field, and a motor that doesn’t end.

Clarence Seedorf (Holland/ AC Milan) Four champions league trophies, and four league titles with three different teams speaks for themselves. Equipped with a blistering shot, he has formed a great partnership with Kaka.

Xavi (Spain/ Barcelona) Along with Iniesta, he is often overshadowed by the bigger names at the club, however Xavi seems to also do the little things that help a team win, if not so much get noticed.

Notable Omissions Cesc Fabregas (Spain/ Arsenal), Gilberto (Brazil/Arsenal), Pablo Aimar (Argentina/Real Zaragoza), Elano Blumer (Brazil/Manchester City), Diego (Brazil/Werder Bremen), Michael Carrick(England/Manchester United) Frank Ribery (France/Bayern Munich), Hamit Altintop (Turkey/Bayern Munich), Florent Malouda(France/Chelsea) Robinho (Brazil/Real Madrid) Ryan Giggs (Wales/Manchester United)

Forwards:
Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria/ Tottenham Hotspur) He was a revelation last year in his first season at Tottenham. Blessed with a great first touch, he has the size of a prototypical target striker, but the touch of a central midfielder. Forged an excellent partnership up front with Robbie Keane.

Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast/ Chelsea) It was pretty much a tie between Drogba and Ronaldo for the EPL player of the year. In the end Ronaldo ended up winning it because his team won the league, but that shouldn’t take away from the year Drogba had. He had faced a lot of criticism the previous year about his diving, but reacted by scoring 30 goals in all competitions last year and silencing his critics. He also played very well for the Ivory Coast in a very tough group.

Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon/ Barcelona) If not for his injury he would definitely be considered one of the best strikers in the world.

Thierry Henry (France/ Arsenal) Same as Samuel Eto’o if not for injury he would have had a great campaign. Even though he missed over half the season Henry still finished as the leading scorer for Arsenal.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden/ Inter) A personal favorite of mine, Zlatan and Berbatov to me are very similar players, however I feel that Zlatan is a faster player. The one negative for Ibrahimovic is his attitude. Still you can’t ignore the fact that he led the frontline for one of the greatest Serie A campaigns ever.

Filippo Inzaghi (Italy/ AC Milan) A predator of the highest degree, Pippo loves to walk the line and is constantly caught offsides for doing it, but all he needs is one chance, and he will put it away. Just ask Liverpool

Lionel Messi (Argentina/ Barcelona) Last year was Messi’s coming out year, including two like for like replicas of goals scored by Maradona. The goal against Getafe was amazing, while I feel he received too much flack for his version for the hand of god. While cheating shouldn’t be encouraged, I feel it is the refs job to make sure that doesn’t happen on the field.

Ruud van Nistelrooy (Holland/ Real Madrid) Rejuvenated his career at Real Madrid, he led La Liga in goals, and was instrumental in Real lifting their first trophy in three years.

Ronaldinho (Brazil/ Barcelona) I feel Ronaldinho deserves to be in the midfield section, but since Fifa made the list I will leave him right here. At the moment he seems to be struggling, and on review last year wasn’t nearly as a good a year as the 2005-2006 season. It started with a poor World Cup, and a slow start to the La Liga season. There were flashes of why Ronaldinho became known as the worlds greatest player, but I think at this point that title belongs to Kaka.

Ronaldo (Brazil/ Real Madrid/ AC Milan) Has been battling injuries, and being benched at Real Madrid. Once he moved to AC Milan he began to find his scoring touch, however it was too little too late. We probably will never see the Ronaldo of the 02 World Cup again.

Wayne Rooney (England/ Manchester United) Feelings about Rooney seems to be very universal at very overrated. I however feel he is underrated. While Rooney seemed to have a quiet year last year, he did score 24 goals in 51 games he started in all competitions last year. However I feel you cannot just judge Rooney solely on goals scored, he hustles back and plays good defense, and works his #### off to get to loose balls, certain things statistics don’t tell.

Carlos Tevez (Argentina/ West Ham United) I think very highly of Carlos Tevez, see what Rooney does and you can apply it to this player. However Tevez took a long time to get regular playing time at West Ham, and even longer to register his first goal. He did save West Ham from relegation, but I however don’t feel a few months of good play merits a spot on the World 11, maybe in a year or two.

Luca Toni (Italy/ Fiorentina) Quietly scored 16 goals in Serie A, and 2 in the World Cup, which was a massive drop off from the 31 he scored for Fiorentina the previous season. A great forward but I feel falls short of being considered the worlds best.

Francesco Totti (Italy/ AS Roma) Had an excellent season in which he scored 32 goals in all competitions. He bleeds his teams colors and says he will never play for another team, you have to respect that kind of commitment.

David Villa (Spain/ Valencia) Was involved in a lot of speculation as to whether he would head to a team like Chelsea during the transfer window. He didn’t and you should look for Valencia to have a big season because of him. I don’t know too much about him, but the few times I have seen him play I was very impressed.

Notable Omissions Diego Milito(Argentina/Real Zaragoza), Hernan Crespo(Argentina/ Inter Milan), Julio Cruz(Argentina/Argentina), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar(Netherlands/Ajax), Freddie Kanoute(Mali/Seville) Benni McCarthy(South Africa/Blackburn), Robbie Keane(Ireland/Tottenham Hotspur), Nicolas Anelka (France/Bolton), Kevin Doyle(Ireland/Reading), Miroslov Klose(Germany/Bayern Munich), Fernando Torres(Spain/Liverpool)

Now in picking my top 11, I aimed to pick my best group without any consideration of how they would play together, I also tried to focus on the last year, and not their careers as a whole, however that will always play some part in the decision making process. Without further ado here it is. . .

Goalkeeper Iker Casillas, with Cech and Buffon either injured or playing in lower leagues, I felt Casillas wins on default. I actually don’t feel he is the best goalkeeper in the world, but with the way the list came out, I felt he was the only one I could pick. My personal pick would be a tie between Buffon and Cech.

In defense the three that I would choose are Eric Abidal, Marco Materazzi, and Fabio Cannavaro. I chose these three because all three were very influential in helping their teams win their respective leagues. Materazzi just barely notched out Terry because of Terry’s being injured, and Materazzi’s scoring record last year.

In midfield, I would pick Kaka, Essien, Gerrard, and Gattuso. I feel there is no need to explain my first three choices, but doubt many would pick Gattuso. However I think he is one of the most underrated players, and was an integral part of winning two of the most prestigious and coveted cups in the world, in the world cup and champions league.

At Forward I would pick Drogba, Francesco Totti, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, just barely edging out Ruud Van Nistelrooy.

So there you have it, my World XI, tell me what you think, was I even close?