World Football’s Most Overrated Eleven

This is by Bobby Hare from our partner site This is Futbol. Check out the latest blogs on European Football at thisisfutbol.com – ed

It happens to every football fan at some stage. There’s this player, and it seems that every single person on Planet Football rates them. Except you. You can’t fathom why he receives endless adulation and incessant platitudes from every Tom, Dick and Sally that you talk football with. And whilst you’re enveloped in this state of utter bemusement, you start to question yourself. Is it just me?

Herein lies the fundamental beauty of football – it’s all opinions. So keep that in mind before you rush to ridicule me for what I’m about to write. Here’s my team of footballers who, quite frankly, I just don’t understand what all the fuss is about. They’ll be set up in a retro 4-4-2 formation (remember those days?), naturally.

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid and Spain): Christ, I’ve started with a good ‘un – a World and European champion. But bear with me. In my eyes, this fella is the epitome of someone whose reputation precedes him. As with many a modern goalkeeper, he’s capable of pulling off the odd gravity-defying stop. But when you scratch beneath the surface, he’s generally rather an iffy ‘keeper. Casillas doesn’t inspire confidence when coming to collect crosses, nor does he distribute the ball as well as two of his Spanish counterparts – Pepe Reina or Victor Valdes. In Spain, he earned hero status for his penalty heroics against the Paddies in the 2002 World Cup and subsequently the notion of anyone displacing him as their number one is met with widespread scorn. If you’ve watched him closely over the past couple of seasons, you’ll notice that he’s building a pretty decent repertoire of gaffes.

Right Back: Daniel Alves (Barcelona and Brazil): Alves could only truly thrive in Barcelona’s side, where the emphasis on attack is so great and where the lack of possession afforded to the opposition renders his defensive duties little more than a footnote. Good job, because defensively he’s about as solid as jelly on a bouncy castle. Okay, but he attacks with real gusto, right? Well, there’s no denying that he motors forward to great effect, but his final ball is mixed at best. Don’t even get me started on the general, all round cheating that has long been emblematic of the man.

Centre Back: John Terry (c) (Chelsea and England): Overlooking his leanings towards the ‘crap human being’ end of the spectrum, Terry is and has always been overrated. His chest thumping style was always going to earn him plaudits in England, a footballing nation that values perspiration over inspiration. When Jose Mourinho was in charge at Chelsea and they were winning the Premier League at a canter, posting record shattering defensive statistics along the way, it was Terry that was largely credited for that parsimony.

But for me, there are a couple of key caveats: 1) Ricardo Carvalho, who at his best, carried Terry by bailing the former England skipper out with his exceptional pace and reading of the game. As an aside, how much could Chelsea do with the Portuguese now? 2) Chelsea’s generally defensive outlook with Claude Makelele patrolling the area around the back four, meant that their team was compact and exceptionally difficult to break down. Essentially, Terry enjoyed safety in numbers.

Compare this to Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand at Man United, who excelled for a sustained period between 2006 and 2009 despite never being afforded the protection of a destroying midfield player and being part of a cavalier side that habitually left the back four exposed thanks to their attacking travails. Now that Chelsea have regressed somewhat, Terry has been exposed for what he is: a limited, last-ditch merchant with the turning effect of an oil tanker being driven by Rik Waller. That said, he’s better than Paulo Ferreira.

Centre Back: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool): Let me set my stall out. I like Jamie Carragher. Any professional player who takes the time to call TalkSport and offer out Adrian Durham deserves a pat on the arse. But I’ll not let that cloud my opinion of him as a footballer. A lot of what was said about Terry is equally applicable here. Carragher has earned plaudits down the years for a style of play which has, to all intents and purposes, consisted of last ditch challenges and wrestling style suplexes. These tactics have been employed by a man desperate to mask the fact that he has less pace than a dead snail. His longevity and his long-standing affiliation to one club should be commended. As should the fact that he actually comes across as a genuine, passionate and down to earth bloke. But for a short period, people were talking about Carragher as one of the best defenders in the world, which is frankly laughable. He is another central defender who can thrive in a defensive team that is set up to play deep and compact. As soon as Liverpool try to open up and play more expansive, Carragher becomes a big liability.

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