Fantasy Team of the World Cup

Well, here's my rather patriotic team of the World Cup. I just really enjoy watching Australia's No. 4, the man Guus calls "Timmy Cahill". Plus I couldn't bring myself to pick Fabio Grosso, despite his excellent play towards the end. I did pick Cristiano Ronaldo though, so I do have the mandatory whiny, cheaty player in my squad. Sorry Dean, but he was Portugal's spark.

Admittedly, my memory of the group matches isn't so good, but I wanted to include players from teams that didn't make the semis. Unlike FIFA.

The manager of the team was the hardest of all! Naturally I wanted to give it to Guus, but I didn't agree with his starting lineups so much. I thought "Phil" Scolari of Portugal was astute, but was fixated on playing without strikers. (He would have been perfect for the England job in that respect!) Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany) and Marco Van Basten (Netherlands) were active and prominent, but couldn't quite live up to fans' expectations. To use a cliché, the best managers win the tight matches and Italy certainly won those, so Lippi gets the nod from yours truly.

Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) (gk)
Philippe Lahm (Germany)
Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)
John Terry (England) (c)
Lucas Neill (Australia)
Robin Van Persie (Netherlands)
Zinedine Zidane (France)
Tim Cahill (Australia)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Miroslav Klose (Germany)
Hernan Crespo (Argentina)

Jens Lehmann (Germany) (gk)
Rafael Marquez (Mexico)
Steven Gerrard (England)
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
Thierry Henry (France)

Manager: Marcelo Lippi (Italy)