This was supposed to be the first “fusion article” in LCB history (between FourThreeThree, Yorugua and Me) – but once those guys  found out that it would feature Nacho, they wanted no part of this, I’m kidding, FourThreeThree wanted more time to analyze the players while Yorugua was sore about a canceled horse race and told me his heart just wasn’t in it. So to make a long story short, this article ended up being something completely different. I guess the fusion article will have to wait for another time, but anyway here’s my proposal, what If I asked you to create an All Star squad with one condition? What if that one condition were that on your All Star Eleven you would have to include 4 Uruguayans players, how would you manage to do so? Well I have tried and I am pretty happy about my line up, we’ll see if you guys like it.

I included the following Uruguayans: El Nacho (Of course!), Diego “Ruso” Perez, Martín Caceres, & Diego Forlán. I then included the following players, Mohamed Zidan, Shunsuke Nakamura, Lassana Diarra, John Terry, Luisão, Sergio Ramos & Julio Cesar.

Stars you might not know:

I’ve wanted to do a Nakamura article for a long time, if you’re not familiar with this excellent Japanese player, now might be the perfect opportunity to make his acquaintance.

He’s also the best dead-ball specialist I have ever seen (Yes better than Beckham & El Chino!)

Who is Mohamed Zidan? Just a pure striker with amazing footskills who shows no mercy when facing the goalkeeper. God forgives… Zidan doesn’t.

I wish I could have used either Xavi (instead of Ruso) or Gael Clichy (instead of Caceres) but there is a method to my madness, I needed to use 4 Uruguayans for this experiment to work. I would have preferred Cristiano Ronaldo or Kaká  over Forlan. But I have to say that I am more than  happy with Nacho as my All Star playmaker. I know most of you must be bored with Nacho by now but why did I go with Nacho? I found it unnecessary to explain it but as Yorugua questioned this inclusion, I feel I should  I explain it. While Kaká is blessed with passing skills and amazing footwork plus speed — he’s not really a pure playmaker, if there is a weak point to his game, it’s that sometimes he disappears from certain matches (see Real Madrid vs. Lyon) whereas a player like Nacho might be slower, colder and less skillful with the ball, he possesses  more technique and game vision than the Brazilian, plus he’s a demon at organizing a team, returning to my All-Star eleven, having a player like Nacho instead of the safer pick (Kaká) would allow my boys to never run out of ideas which is very positive. So yes Nacho’s guarantees a cerebral football,  he’ll be omnipresent, always participating, imposing his style of football, that’s what I like the most about him. Ok he plays in the heart of the central circle and from time to time he will advance in order to assist meanwhile  Kaká already plays some metres forward and is a hell of a lot more threatening, but I’m not actually in a hurry to score goals, my “conductor” (playmaker and or offensive organizer) can control the game and translates a football match based on ball possession dominance into something we can understand ––– I strongly believe goals will eventually come (see Real Madrid’s era Galáctica). Kaká is a player who has to be “in the moment” to be effective. Nacho on the other hand is a 90 minute player (like the great Zidane used to be). You might argue and say he plays for a mediocre league nowadays but I thought he was great before that move, therefore I still subscribe to the idea that the player is still great, my argument is that a bad transfer doesn’t make a player weak overnight, and he has never been given a real opportinity. I might be right or wrong but it’s my viewpoint, that’s my way of seeing this wonderful game, he plays the kind of football that delights me, a thinking man’s football.

Now why Nakamura and not Iniesta/Gerrard there? Heck why not Messi at striker?! I didn’t want to be so obvious with my selections but more importantly, I stayed true to my idea of using Four Uruguayans and surrounding them with the best complimentary players out there who also happen to be World Class! So my players fit my system, Nakamura  is my ace in the hole, his set-pieces will also save my team should the team find itself in a close match, plus he’s a very smart player.

I know most of you would have expected a pro-Barcelona line-up in an All Star side, but you see, I’m not so predictable, learn to expect the unexpected with me baby (even though there’s one exception to the rule and most of you already know it). If anybody has the latest version for the “PC Football Manager” game, we might be able to put this theory of mine to a test? We might be able to test our teams and let our readers know the results. A YouTube video could work as proof, maybe even FIFA 2010 could be a smart choice as well for this (but I’m more partial to “football manager” because it has been used by some prestigious coaches).

Bottom line, if you found it too difficult to add Uruguayan players to your All-Star Eleven, then how on earth are we going to win the World Cup?

   

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