Just-Football’s Confederations Cup 2009 Team Of The Tournament (Italian Free Zone)

It nearly happened. USA came so close to shaking up football’s natural order in this 2009 instalment of the Confederations Cup. They ended Spain’s long unbeaten run, a feat nobody thought possible (I saw a price of 16/1 on Betfair pre-match) and went 2-0 up against Brazil in the final. But ultimately, whether through a lack of quality or belief, tiredness or simply inexperience, Bob Bradley’s side fell away just 45 minutes away from a major upset.

It has been a really enjoyable tournament in South Africa. We’ve had upsets, comebacks, late winners, great goals (how about Katlego Mphela’s second against Spain?!) more upsets and superb entertainment, and what’s more it’s been a pleasure and a delight to see the sheer unbridled excitement of the fans in South Africa as the real thing, the 2010 World Cup, draws ever closer. Forget all the pre-tournament negativity, if the Confederations Cup was anything to go by it’s going to be a blast.

As we always like to do with the major tournaments on Just-Football, we present to you our team of the tournament. We’re going for a 4-3-1-2 formation on this one as is the prevailing fashion in football right now, with an attacking midfielder sitting in front of a middle three and behind the front two. Let us know what you think…

Team of the tournament:
(Formation 4-3-1-2)

GK: Tim HOWARD (USA)
There was ample competition in this category with Essam El-Hadary, Iker Casillas, Julio Cesar and Itumeleng Khune all prominent, but it is hard to ignore the immense contribution Tim Howard put in for USA over the two weeks. His presence alone was a huge contributing factor to the States’ calmness and solidity at the back, and his influence and organisation of the defence were definitive aspects of USA’s path to the final. Pulled off some outstanding saves, especially against Spain to keep USA in the game, and was exceptional all-round.

RB: MAICON (Brazil)
Solid in defence and an absolute train going forward, the Inter Milan defender is fast establishing himself as one of the best right backs in the world. His darting runs down the right hand side caused opponents all sorts of problems, particularly Italy who just couldn’t seem to handle him, and the Brazilian also weighed in with a goal against USA.

CB: Oguchi ONYEWU (USA)
This competition could prove to be the making of Onyewu. The Standard Liege centre back excelled throughout; even in USA’s early defeats he stood out. Agile, sturdy and built like he should be playing in the NFL, it is plain to see why several clubs in the Premier League and around Europe are circling. The performance he put in against Villa, Torres and co vs Spain proves he has the ability to play at a high level.

CB: Aaron MOKOENA (South Africa)
A good tournament for the Bafana Bafana captain as he helped lead his nation to a fine overall showing. It was thought pre-tournament that South Africa would struggle desperately but Mokoena marshalled the backline superbly well and used his obvious leadership qualities to spur the team on, particularly in times of doubt. Steven Pienaar was the man everyone looked to for inspiration, but Mokoena was the rock. Bodes well for Portsmouth prior to his move there.

LB: Andre SANTOS (Brazil)
The Corinthians full back displaced Kleber in the starting lineup after making his first ever appearance for the national team against Egypt and never looked back. Does not get forward as often or as dynamically as his opposite full back Maicon, but adds physical prowess and positional awareness to Brazil’s defence. At 26 Andre Santos is not exactly a spring chicken, but in this competition he has impressed enough to suggest that Dunga might begin to consider him a regular heading into 2010.

MF: Steven PIENAAR (South Africa)
Arguably the player of the tournament for me. In South Africa’s first game against Iraq the team looked drab and weary. The players seemed out of ideas and lacking confidence. The minute he stepped onto the pitch however, Pienaar restored life to an ailing side. His enthusiasm, technical ability and calming influence rubbed off on everyone around him. Not only was he brilliant but he drew an extra level out of the likes of Teko Modise and Bernard Parker, spurring them on to 4th place and, almost, an unlikely upset against Spain. Pienaar had a really good season for Everton in England and in South Africa he just carried that form on.

MF: Xabi ALONSO (Spain)
Another player performing well off the back of a good season on Merseyside, Xabi Alonso pulled the strings at the heart of Spain’s midfield throughout the competition and was one of the few players not to let his level drop in the embarrassing defeat to USA. An important cog in Vicente Del Bosque’s side, Alonso sat tight in front of the defenders and spread the play around with his range of long and short passes. The Liverpool man also had the distinction of scoring the winner to ensure Spain finished with a bronze medal.

MF: Michael BRADLEY (USA)
If you are a regular listener of BBC Radio 5 Live’s World Football Phone-in you will probably have heard the show’s US correspondent Sean Wheelock rave about Michael Bradley at some point or other. Now I know why. An energetic and tenacious midfielder, Bradley’s selfless running and immense hard work were crucial in helping USA make it to thei
r first major international final. A debatable red card against Spain meant he missed out in that final, but Bradley’s abilities clearly quell any attempts to make out that his inclusion in the national team is as a result of some form of nepotism.

AMF: Mohamed ABOUTREIKA (Egypt)
Really I can’t get enough of Mohamed Aboutreika. While his decision to shun playing in Europe in order to stay in his homeland might be considered by some as admirable in this Euro-centric, money-chasing, modern era of football, I can’t help but consider it a shame we don’t get to see this supreme talent more often. It leaves one wondering just what his level would be had he played in Europe at his prime.

Once again Aboutreika had a superb tournament. Kaka’s equal in the Brazil vs Egypt game, the best player on the pitch against world champions Italy, and decent but poorly utilised by Egypt coach Hassan Shehata in the Pharaohs’ 3-0 defeat to USA, when played too deep to have any impact. The problem when Aboutreika plays for Egypt is that, as against USA, he sometimes plays on a level way above most of his peers, his incisive through balls and array of clever flicks passing his teammates by. Nonetheless his grace and poise on the ball put him, in my opinion, in the upper echelons of the world football’s finest players, an argument supported by Gabriele Marcotti.

CF: Luis FABIANO (Brazil)
Five goals, responsible for the comeback against USA in the final and a Golden Boot winner to boot. Luis Fabiano may not quite have been at his dynamic best in this competition but the Sevilla forward was lively, alert, committed and did the most important thing for any striker: score goals. Whether an instinctive tap-in like the one against Italy or a piece of creative brilliance like his first goal in the final, Fabiano showed us exactly why he is the man currently wearing the famous Brazil number 9 shirt.

CF: Mohamed ZIDAN (Egypt)
It was a real shame Mohamed Zidan got injured against Italy and was forced to miss the rest of the tournament, because up to that point the Egyptian striker looked like being one of the stars of the competition. Burst onto the scene with two well taken goals against Brazil in the opening game, but unlike in the African Cup of Nations in 2008 when a good start went straight to his head (openly encouraging comparisons to his great namesake Zinedine while getting a ‘Z’ shaved in his hair was not his finest hour), this time he kept focussed. His technique and guile were a real handful for Cannavaro and co against Italy. Egypt’s demise coincided almost perfectly with Zidan’s injury.

SUBS:
Julio Cesar (Brazil)
Jay De Merit (USA)
Lucio (Brazil)
Fernando Torres (Spain)
Bernard Parker (South Africa)
Tsepo Masilela (South Africa)
Kaka (Brazil)

What do you think of our team? And what was your team of the tournament? Comments welcome, whether you agree or disagree.

Best XI, Confederations Cup, Kaka, Luis Fabiano, Maicon, Michael Bradley, Mohamed Aboutreika, Oguchi Onyewu, South Africa, Steven Pienaar, Tim Howard, Xabi Alonso