Saturday, March 20, 2021

Top 10 Real Madrid Greatest Rightbacks

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index

Real Madrid is the most successful club in soccer's history.  They have won more titles in Europe than any other clubs. Of course, their players were among the greatest of all-time.  This post is about my Top 10 ranking of greatest rightbacks in Real Madrid's history.  But every fan has their favourites and opinions.  The ranking is extremely subjective.  Some player played in multi-positions.  Sometimes, people would even argue about the position of each player considered.  For this goalkeeper blog, I do not have this issue.

1st: Chendo (Spain) 
Chendo was a product of Real Madrid's academy.  He played his entire career with Real Madrid between 1982 and 1998.  He won 17 major trophies with the club. He was a part of the team that won back-to-back UEFA Cup titles in the mid-1980's.  He retired after the 1998 European Champions' League Final.  For international football, he had 26 caps for Spain.  He represented them at both World Cup Finals in 1986 and 1990., where he was the starter in 1990 edition.
Chendo
2nd: Michel Salgado  (Spain)
Known as a hard player,  Michel Salgado started with Celta before moving to Real Madrid in 1999, where he stayed until 2009.  In 2009, he joined Blackburn Rovers and played three seasons.  Salgado earned 53 caps for Spain between 1998 and 2006.  He went to Euro 2000 and Germany 2006, but missed Euro 2004 and Japan/Korea 2002 due to injuries.  He is married to Malula Sanz, daughter of former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz.
Michel Salgado  
3rd: Dani Carvajal (Spain)
Dani Carvajal went through Real Madrid's academy.  In 2012, he was sold to Bayer Leverkusen. In his only season there, he established himself among the best fullback in Bundesliga.  He returned to Real Madrid in a buyback clause in 2013. He was a contributor as Real Madrid won four Champions' League in his first 5 seasons.  At the time of writing, he is a member of the national team since 2014.  He went to the 2018 World Cup Finals.
Dani Carvajal 
4th: Marquitos (Spain)
During his career, Marquitos played for hometown's Racing de Santander, Real Madrid, Hércules CF, Real Murcia, Calvo Sotelo and Toluca de Santander. With the Merengues, he won six La Liga championships and five European Cups: in the 1955–56 edition of the latter, he scored a rare goal as he equalized 3–3 against Stade de Reims, in an eventual 4–3 success. He was capped twice for Spain.  Both his son and grandson also played for Spain.
Marquitos
5th: Atienza II  (Spain)
Atienza was born in Madrid and retired from professional football on 1 July 1960. Over the course of his career, he played for Real Zaragoza (1951-1954) and Real Madrid (1954-1959), winning La Liga and the European Cup thrice each for the latter. Already interested in art, he worked as an artist in the period between playing for Zaragoza and Madrid.  His older brother Adolfo Atienza also played for Real Madrid.
Atienza 
6th: Calpe (Spain)
Calpe played with Levante UD  from 1963 to 1965.  In 1965, he joined Real Madrid, being part of the squads during their Yé-yé era and winning five major trophies, including three league titles and the 1966 European Cup.  In 1971, he returnd to Levante, playing the vast majority of his second spell in Tercera División. The only exception to this occurred in the 1973–74 season, spent in Segunda División, and he retired from the game in June 1975.
Calpe
7th: Alvaro Arbeloa (Spain)
Alvaro Arbeloa started his career with Real Madrid, but he made a name with Liverpool in England before making a return to his mother club in 2009.  He helped Real Madrid to win their 10th European Cup in 2014.  For Spain, he was mainly used as a sub during Spain's glorious run at Euro 2008 and the World Cup in 2010, but he was their starting rightback at the 2012 European Championship.
Alvaro Arbeloa 
8th: Christian Panucci  (Italy)
Christian Panucci's breakout season was the season 1993-1994, when he played 19 games for AC Milan and won the 1994 UEFA Champions' League.  The highlight of his career was perhaps his three seasons with Real Madrid.  He helped them to win the UEFA Champions' League in 1998.  His longest stint was, however, with AS Roma.  At the international level, he had 57 caps with Italy, but his career was very rocky.  He never secured a regular place with the team.
Christian Panucci
9th: Joaquín Navarro (Spain)
Navarro moved FC Barcelona in 1941 from hometown club CF Gavà. 
Subsequently, Navarro joined neighbouring CE Sabadell FC in Segunda División, where he played six seasons.  In 1949, Navarro signed for Real Madrid.  He was a part of their 1956 European Cup winning team.  Navarro was the first Spanish player to be selected to a World XI FIFA team.  He played 5 times for Spain
Joaquín Navarro
10th: Isidoro San José (Spain)
Born in Madrid, Isidoro came from Real Madrid academy.  He was promoted to the first team in 1976.  He spent 10 seasons at the club.  He was a part of the back-to-back UEFA Cup in the 1980's, but by that time, he was a backyp to Chendo.  He spent a season with Mallorca before retiring. For Spain, he played 13 times between 1977 and 1979.  He played three matches at the 1978 World Cup Finals in Argentina.
Isidoro San José 

Honorable Mention
Isidro Sánchez García-Figueras, Clemente Fernández, Vicente Miera Rafael Lesmes, Manuel Torres, Quique Sánchez Flores, Jose Luis Peinado, Juan Carlos Touriño, Antonio García Navajas.

Ranking Explanation
-- Not everyone here were fullbacks.  Some players were right-sided centerbacks of a three-man defence.
-- Real Madrid bought Sergio Ramos from Sevilla to play as a centerback.  He spent roughy two seasons as a centerback before switching to rightback in 2007. During the 2010-2011 season, he moved back to the centerback position.  So I put him as a centerback where he is a legend with the club.  I probably placed him as the 5th rightback if I considered him.  He also won a World Cup with Spain as a rightback. 
-- Most people considered Chendo as the best ever rightback for Real Madrid. He served for the club from 1982 to 1998.  He was the undisputed starter for most of his time.  However, he was a backup by the time of the 1998 Champions League winning campaign, where he retired after the Final. 
-- The second rightback position was between Michel Salgado and Dani Carvajal.  In time, Carvajal will be named the greatest rightback even ahead of Chendo.  At this point, he still needs to spend more time with the club.  Salgado had played 10 seasons with the club. Dani rejoined the club in 2013 from Bayer Leverkusen.  
-- Salgado was married to Malula Sanz, the daughter of former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz.  Florentino Perez defeated Sanz to become the president of Real Madrid.  He continued to play for the club under Perez.
-- In 2004, a young Dani Carvajal was chosen to stand next club legend Alfredo di Stefano to laid the foundation stone of the new Valdebebas training ground.  Thus, he became a symbolic icon of the club's academy.
-- Alfredo Di Stefano led Real Madrid winning 5 European Cups in the 1950's.  The team played with a 3 men defence.  Three different defenders played on the right side.  Marquitos played in two of those years.  Rafael Lesmes, Manuel Torres and Angel Atienza played in the remaining years.
-- Marquitos's son Marcos was a winger who was also capped by Spain.  His grandson Marcos Alonso is currently with Chelsea.  He is a left wingback.  
-- From the 5th to 10th place, I do not have much preference.
-- Isidro Diaz was the father of Quique Sanchez Flores, who also played as a rightback under Jorge Valdano in the 1990s.  He made honorable mentions.
-- Sergio Ramos was moved to the centerback position after the return of Alvaro Arbeloa to Real Madrid in 2009.  Arbeloa was the starting rightback before the emerge of Dani Carvajal.  He was steady throughout his years.  I see him ahead of Christian Panucci.
-- Alvaro Arbeloa arrived in the summer of 2009, where Cristano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Esteban Granero, , Ezequiel Garay and Raul Albiol also arrived.  Xabi Alonso was also his teammate with Liverpool FC.
-- Christian Panucci was the first Italian to play for the club.  Half a season before his arrival, Real Madrid signed Carlos Secretário from Porto FC.  Panucci kept him from succeeding in Madrid.  He was an important member of the team that won the Septima (the seventh European Cup).
-- Both Nando and Luis Enrique also played in the position after Chendo's departure.  Nando was an ex-Barcelona player whose career here was unfulfilled.  Luis Enrique's transfer to Barcelona does not affect his selection, but I simply do not consider him a rightback.  Joaquín Navarro spent a season with Barcelona.  In that period, the rivalry between the two clubs have not intensified.
-- Four of the top ten came from the academy.  They were Chendo, Dani Carvajal, Isidoro and Alvaro Arbeloa.  
-- Juanfran wasa rightback of note in his prime.  However, he only played a handful of games here when he first turned professional.  His peak was with Atletico Madrid.  Of course, he was not considered.  In Real Madrid's history, he was remembered as the Atletico Madrid player who failed to convert his penalty against Real Madrid in the 2016 Champions' League Final.
-- With the exception of Christian Panucci, every player seriously considered are from Spain.  Danilo and Cicinho were the only foreign rightbacks that I could think of.  Both did not play much.  Jose Mourinho also used Michael Essien briefly in that position.
-- Essien had an injury prone career here.  He was on loan from Chelsea.
-- I used this as a reference.


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Sunday, February 28, 2021

What if Parisian nation team in World Cup 2018

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

8 Parisians were on the France's 2018 WC Team

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

Paris has been a major European hub of many things.  Since the turn of the millennium, the city(or Île-de-France) has became a major area where talented footballers were born.  It was estimated that 6% of all footballers playing in the Big Five European leagues were born over there.  The region provides more players in the 2018 World Cup Finals than any other city in the world.  A total of 16 players came from the area.  Seven of them were on France's World Cup winning team.  To put it into perspective, Catalonia also provided seven footballers for the World Cup winning team of Spain in 2010 and the Catalans of that World Cup Finals were well-documented and given plenty of recognition and credits.  Paris actually had more players on who went to the 2018 World Cup because eight other Paris-born players also went to the World Cup playing for Portugal, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia respectively.
Kylian Mbappé and Paul Pogba 
This blog team is my selection of an imaginary national team from Paris (or Île-de-France) for the World Cup 2018.  All players were born in Île-de-France. Alphonse Areola, Kylian Mbappe, Presnel Kimpembe, Benjamin Mendy, N'Golo Kanté and Steven Nzonzi were on the actual French national team that won the World Cup.  I am including Paris-born players who were capped by non-French national team.  

Team
GK: Alphonse Areola (PSG/France)
An academy graduate of PSG, he spent the early parts of his career on loan, enjoying spells with Lens, Bastia and La Liga side, Villarreal. During his stint with the latter, Areola broke the club record for the longest period of play without conceding a goal, remaining unbeaten for a period of 620. He also spent a season with Real Madrid. Since 2016, he has returned to PSG. He served as France's backup keeper at the 2018 World Cup Finals.
Alphonse Areola
GK: Benjamin Lecomte (Montpellier/France)
In 2010, Benjamin Lecomte made his professional debut with Lorient.  He moved to Montpellier in 2017.  Two seasons later, he joined AS Monaco.  In September, 2018, he received his first callup from the French national team.  He served as a backup against Germany.  At the time of writing, he has not played for France.

GK:Yohann Pelé (Marseille/France)
Yohann Pelé spent most of his career at Le Mans, making his debut in Ligue 2 in a 1–0 defeat at FC Istres in September 2002.  He later played for Toulouse between 2009 and 2012, and for Sochaux between 2014 and 2015.  In 2015, he joined Marseille.  He mainly was a backup to  Steve Mandanda, but he was a starter when Mandanda played for Crystal Palace. He played for the French Under-21 player in 2008.

RB: Kenny Lala (Strasbourg/France)
Kenny Lala started with Paris FC in 2010.  Later, he played for Valenciennes between 2011 and 2015 before joining Lens.  He joined Strasbourg in 2017. With Strasbourg, he was named on the 2018–19 Ligue 1 UNFP Team of the Year.  In January 2021, he moved to Olympiakos in Greece for 2.5 million euros.  

RB/LB: Youssouf Sabaly (Bordeaux /Senegal) 
Sabaly made his Ligue 1 debut with Evian in the 2013–14 season while on loan from Paris St-Germain.  He joined Bordeaux in 2017 without ever playing for PSG first team. He was a member of France victorious squad at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup, but he chose to represent Senegal at the senior level.  He went to the 2018 World Cup Finals.

CB: Mamadou Sakho (Crystal Palace/France) 
In 2007, Mamadou Sakho made his debut with PSG, where he was named UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2010–11.  From 2013 to 2017, he played for Liverpool FC, where he earned a cult status with the fans.  After a loan spell, he joined Crystal Palace in 2017.  From 2010 onward, he played 29 times for France.  He went to the 2014 World Cup Finals, but was only on the preliminary list for 2018.
Mamadou Sakho
CB: Presnel Kimpembe (PSG/France) 
Presnel Kimpembe made his professional debut for Paris Saint-Germain on 17 October 2014.  He established himself at the club around 2017.  He has presented both DR Congo and France at the youth level.  In 2016, he was first called by France at the senior level, but he did not make his debut until 2018.  He was a member of France 2018 World Cup winning team.  In Russia, he played 90 minutes against Denmark.

CB: Kurt Zouma (Stoke City/France)
Zouma began his career at Saint-Étienne, making his debut aged 16. He joined Chelsea for £12 million in January 2014, but was loaned back to various clubs. Between 2014 and 2017, he played for Chelsea and then, two loan spells before retirning to Chelsea in 2020.  He earned his first two caps in 2015, but he did not earn his third until 2018.

CB: Medhi Benatia (Juventus/Morocco) 
Born in France of Moroccan and Algerian roots, Medhi Benatia chose to play for Morocco. He first made a name with Udinese and then, AS Roma, where he was considered a top defender in the Serie A.  In the summer of 2014, he joined Bayern Munich.  In 2016, he returned to Italy to play for Juventus.  Since 2008, he has been representing Morocco.  He was a part of the team that went to the 2018 World Cup Finals in Russia.

LB: Benjamin Mendy (Manchester City/France)
Benjamin Mendy started with Le Havre in 2011.  Then, in 2013, he joined Marseille. He spent a season with Monaco whom he won the national championship in 2016–17. In  2017, Mendy joined Manchester City on a then world-record transfer fee for a defender.  He earned his first cap in 2017.  He was a member of France's 2018 World Cup winning team.
Benjamin Mendy
LB: Ferland Mendy (Lyon/France)
Ferland Mendy started with for Le Havre in 2013.  In 2017, he joined Lyon, where he spent two seasons.  He was named on the UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year for both seasons.  In 2019, he joined Real Madrid.  In November, 2018, he earned his first cap for France after Benjamin Mendy withdrew because of an injury.  He never represented France at the youth level.

DM/CM: Blaise Matuidi (Juventus/France)
Blaise Matuidi began his career with Troyes before joining AS Saint-Étienne. From 2011 to 2017, he played for Paris St Germain. In 2017, he joined Juventus. In 2020, he joined Inter Miami.  At the time of writing, he has represented France at the European Championship of 2012 and 2016 as well as the World Cup Finals in 2014 and 2018.  He has 84 caps.

 DM: N'Golo Kanté (Chelsea/France)
Kante made his senior debut at Boulogne and then spent two seasons at Caen. In 2015, he joined Leicester City winning the Premier League in his only season there. The following year, he joined Chelsea, winning the league again in his first season. He also won the PFA Players' Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year and became the first outfield player to win back-to-back English league titles with different clubs since Eric Cantona in 1992 and 1993.
N'Golo Kanté 
CM/DM: Steven Nzonzi (Sevilla/ France)
Nzonzi began his career with Ligue 2 side Amiens. Then, he played for Blackburn Rovers for three years.  From 2012 to 2015, he played for Stoke City.  He joined Spanish side Sevilla for a fee of £7 million in July 2015, and won the UEFA Europa League in his first season.
In November 2017, he made his debut for the senior France squad, and he was part of their team that won the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

LM/CM: Adrien Rabiot (PSG/France) 
Adrien Rabbit spent most of his career with Paris Saint-Germain, making his debut with the first team in 2012 and winning 15 major honours, including four consecutive Ligue 1 titles and a treble in 2015–16.  In 2019, he moved to Juventus in Italy. In 2016, he picked up his first senior cap after the European Championship of 2016.  At the time of writing, he earned 11 caps.

 CM: Paul Pogba  (Manchester United/France)
Pogba began his senior career with Manchester United, but he moved to Juventus.  In Turin, he won the Golden Boy Award for the best player under-21 playing in Europe.  He also led Juventus to the Final of the 2015 Champions' League Final.  In 2016, Manchester United broke the all-time transfer fees to sign Pogba.  At the time of writing, he was capped 43 times.  He led France to reach the Final of Euro 2016 and to win the World Cup in 2018.
Paul Pogba
RW: Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City/Algeria)
Born in France, Riyad Mahrez joined Leicester from La Harve in 2014.  He helped Leicester Town to win the Premiership in 2015-2016.  He won the PFA Players' Player of the Year, and was a member of the Premier League PFA Team of the Year as he helped Leicester City win the Premier League.  In 2018, he joined Manchester City. For the national team, he was eligible to play for France. He was selected to play for Algeria at Brazil 2014, but only played in one match. 

AM/LW: Yacine Brahimi (Porto/Algeria)
Brahimi began his career with Rennes. After spending the previous season on loan, he moved to the La Liga club Granada CF in 2013, and then to Porto for €6.5 million one year later. He represented France at all youth levels. In 2013, Brahimi switched his international allegiance to Algeria and made his debut for them a month later, also playing at the 2014 World Cup and the 2015, 2017 and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, winning the latter tournament.
 
LW/FW: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich/France)
Coman was a youth product with Paris St Germain.  He made his senior debut there before moving to Juventus in 2014.  In 2017, he joined Bayern Munich.  In 2015, he earned his first senior cap and was a part of Didier Deschamps' team at the European Championship in 2016.  He was considered one of the top young players there.

FW: Kylian Mbappé (PSG/France) 
Mbappe was a well-known youth player in France before making his senior debut with AS Monaco in 2015.  He quickly established himself as one of the best young players in the world.  In the summer of 2017, Monaco sent him to Paris St Germain on loan for a buyout option of around €180 million at the end of the loan. In 2017, he made his national team debut, becoming the second youngest ever French international.
 Kylian Mbappé 
RW/FW: Nicolas Pepe (Ivory Coast/Lille)
Pépé began his club career with Poitiers in the Championnat de France Amateur 2. He played for Angers and Orléans in 2015 before he signed for Lille in 2017, and was named to the UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year in the 2018–19 season. That summer, Pépé joined Arsenal for a club-record fee of £72 million, and won the FA Cup in his debut season.  Born in France to parents of Ivorian descent, Pepe chose to play for Ivory Coast. 

FW: Anthony Martial (Manchester United/France)
Anthony Martial came from the youth academy at Lyon. He played for both Lyon and Monaco before joining Manchester United in 2015. His performance with the Red Devils earned great review.  He won the Golden Bay award in 2015. He earned his foirst senior cap the same year.  He was a member of Didier Deschamps' team at the 2016 European Championship in France.

ST: Wissam Ben Yedder (Sevilla/France)
Having begun his career at amateurs UJA Alfortville, he joined Toulouse in 2010. He totalled 71 goals in 174 games for them, surpassing André-Pierre Gignac as their greatest league scorer of the 21st century. He moved to Sevilla in 2016, and scored 70 goals in 138 games in 3 seasons. A €40 million transfer to Monaco followed in 2019, and he was Ligue 1 top scorer in his first season back. At international level, Ben Yedder made his full international debut for France in March 2018.
Wissam Ben Yedder 
Players Pool
Jules Koundé (Bordeaux/France), Raphaël Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund/Portugal), Alexandre Letellier (Young Boys/France), Mamadou Samassa (Troyes/Mali), Bingourou Kamara (Strasbourg/Senegal), Saîf-Eddine Khaoui (Troyes/Tunisia), M'Baye Niang (Torino/Senegal), Moussa Sow (Shabab Al-Ahli/Senegal), Alfred N'Diaye (Wolverhampton Wanderers/Senegal), Amine Harit (Schalke 04/Morocco), Raïs M'Bolhi (Ettifaq FC/Algeria), Sébastien Corchia (Sevilla/France), Kévin Malcuit (Lille/France), Nordi Mukiele (Montpellier/France), Eliaquim Mangala (Manchester City/Everton/France), Ibrahima Konaté (RB Leipzig/France), Dan-Axel Zagadou (Borussia Dortmund/France/Ivory Coast), Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspurs/France), Amine Harit (Schalke 04/Morocco), Tiémoué Bakayoko (Chelsea/France), Mehdi Lacen (Getafe/Algeria), Jonathan Bamba (St.Etienne/France), Tanguy Ndombele (Lyon/France), Jules Koundé (Bordeaux/France), Jérémy Ménez (Antalyaspor/France), Lucas Digne (Barcelona/France).

Squad Explanation
-- When I first started this team, I envisioned it to be an "All-French" team.  However, there were some key injuries.  Some of the "non-French" players can fill holes that the team needed badly (see below). After a quick research, I decided to select Parisian-born footballers who played for other national teams. The criteria is now about the birthplace. 
-- I took five non-French players.  They were Youssouf Sabaly (Senegal), Medhi Benatia (Morocco), Nicolas Pépé (Ivory Coast), Yacine Brahimi (Algeria) and Riyad Mahrez (Algeria).  If I only took French players only, their replacements would be Nordi Mukiele (Montpellier), Jules Koundé (Bordeaux), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Jean-Kévin Augustin (RB Leipzig) and Moussa Sissoko (Tottenham Hotspurs). 
-- Paris sent 16 players to the World Cup Finals. The cities of Montevideo and Sydney had 10 footballers each while Buenos Aires sent 7. 

-- Paris is considered a melting pot.  Only four players selected were white players (I do not know their ethnicity).
-- Alphonse Areola, Kylian Mbappe, Paul Pogba, Presnel Kimpembe, Benjamin Mendy, N'Golo Kanté and Steven Nzonzi were on France's World Cup winning team.  
-- Wissam Ben Yedder, Kingsley Coman, Lucas Digne, Anthony Martial Adrien Rabiot,  Mamadou Sakho, Moussa Sissoko and Kurt Zouma were standby players for the French World Cup team.
-- Eight other Paris-born players went to the World Cup Finals, playing for other national teams.  They were Raphaël Guerreiro (Portugal), Medhi Benatia (Morocco), Amine Harit (Morocco), Youssouf Sabaly (Tunisia), Saîf-Eddine Khaoui (Tunisia), M'Baye Niang (Senegal), Moussa Sow (Senegal) and Alfred N'Diaye (Senegal).
-
-- Paris St Germain featured 8 players who at one point of his career joined them: Kylian Mbappé, Adrien Rabiot, Presnel Kimpembe, Mamadou Sakho, Youssouf Sabaly,  Alphonse Areola, Blaise Matuidi and Steven Nzonzi (youth career only).
Goalkeepers
-- Alphonse Areola was the obvious first-choice goalkeeper. A product of the Paris Saint-Germain academy and a member of France's World Cup-winning squad, he brought both pedigree and familiarity with the Parisian setup.
-- For the backup roles, I selected a pair of Ligue 1 regulars in Benjamin Lecomte and Yohann Pelé. Lecomte had enjoyed an outstanding season with Montpellier HSC, making over 40 appearances and earning his first French call-up in September 2018—though he did not play.  At the time of writting, he never recieved a cap.  Pelé, meanwhile, was Marseille's backup goalkeeper in 2017–2018 but featured regularly due to injuries to Steve Mandanda, including a starting role in the Europa League semifinal. At 36, he brought invaluable experience and had been Marseille's first-choice the previous season. His veteran presence edged him ahead of younger alternatives like Bingourou Kamara (Senegal) and Mamadou Samassa (Mali), both of whom were regulars for their clubs but lacked Pelé's big-match pedigree.
-- I also considered Raïs M'Bolhi (Algeria), who was perhaps the most recognizable name among the alternatives after his performances at the 2014 World Cup Finals. However, Algeria failed to qualify for Russia 2018, and M'Bolhi had started just one league game between 2015 and 2018—a clear sign that his best years were behind him.
Defenders
-- At right-back, Sébastien Corchia was initially a strong candidate—he had earned a France cap before the World Cup—but a serious injury from January to May 2018 ruled him out of contention. With Corchia unavailable, Youssouf Sabaly (Senegal) emerged as the best option. Born in Paris and a regular for his club, he offered reliability and international experience.
-- I also considered Kenny Lala, who would go on to be named Ligue 1 Right Back of the Year in the 2018–2019 season. I don't usually select players based on future achievements, but I made an exception given the limited alternatives. Two other Ligue 1 fullbacks caught my attention—Kévin Malcuit and Nordi Mukiele—though I was unfamiliar with both at the time. Both transferred to new clubs in the summer of 2018, with Mukiele commanding a €16 million fee and Malcuit €11 million. Malcuit also suffered an injury during the season, which further complicated his case. Ultimately, Sabaly's consistent form and availability made him the most logical choice.
-- At center-back, Eliaquim Mangala (Manchester City/Everton) would have been a certain selection, but injury ruled him out. In his place, I chose Presnel Kimpembe, Mamadou Sakho, and Medhi Benatia as my first three center-backs.
-- The final spot went to Kurt Zouma. On the surface, his selection appeared questionable—he had spent the 2017–2018 season on loan at Stoke City, who finished second from bottom with one of the league's worst defenses. He had also earned only two France caps, both in 2015. However, Didier Deschamps included him as a standby player for the World Cup, which suggested the coach rated him ahead of younger alternatives like Jules Koundé and Ibrahima Konaté. I trusted Deschamps' judgment.
-- I did seriously consider both Koundé and Konaté—they would go on to become well-known defenders by 2021—but in 2018 they were still teenagers. Koundé had only established himself as a Bordeaux starter around January 2018, while Konaté turned just 19 in May of that year. Both were likely too inexperienced for a World Cup. Benatia, by contrast, was a proven performer at Bayern Munich and Juventus, making him an obvious choice ahead of the youngsters.
-- Dan-Axel Zagadou had a breakout season at Borussia Dortmund, but an injury from March to May 2018 ruled him out. At just 19, he was also too young for serious consideration.
-- At left-back, I selected Benjamin Mendy and Ferland Mendy. Benjamin's place needed no explanation—he was the second most expensive defender in the world at the time of the World Cup. Raphaël Guerreiro was another Paris-born option, but injury-filled seasons made him unreliable. He did return to action in May 2018 and was selected by Portugal for the World Cup, but I preferred the Mendy duo.
-- Lucas Digne had more experience than Ferland Mendy, but he rarely played for Barcelona in 2017–2018, making just 11 league appearances. Ferland Mendy, though uncapped before the World Cup, was named in the UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year for 2017–2018 and was in far better form. Interestingly, both Benjamin and Ferland Mendy began their careers at second-division club Le Havre, are Senegalese by heritage, and are just one year apart in age.
Midfielders/Wingers
-- Among Didier Deschamps' midfielders for the 2018 World Cup, four were born in Paris: Blaise Matuidi, Steven Nzonzi, Paul Pogba, and N'Golo Kanté. Only one of his selected midfielders—Corentin Tolisso—hailed from outside the Paris area. Since I was building a Parisian national team, I needed a replacement for Tolisso and decided to add a single non-Parisian midfielder to fill that gap.
-- I weighed two candidates for the final midfield spot: Moussa Sissoko and Adrien Rabiot. Sissoko had endured a poor club season in 2017–2018, so I leaned toward Rabiot despite his well-documented disciplinary issues. In real life, Rabiot had refused to be a standby player after failing to make the French World Cup squad—a decision that reflected his troubled relationship with the national team setup. Nevertheless, many pundits believed he deserved a place in the Russia-bound squad.
-- At club level, Paris Saint-Germain had sold Matuidi in the summer of 2017 specifically to make room for Rabiot, and he largely lived up to expectations. His relationship with PSG had not yet soured to the point of exclusion—that deterioration came only after the World Cup. Given his talent and the context of his situation, I chose to overlook his disciplinary history and include him in my squad.
-- I also gave serious consideration to Tanguy Ndombele. He would later struggle at Tottenham Hotspur after the World Cup, but at the time of the 2018 tournament, he was an emerging talent at Lyon following an impressive season. However, I ultimately preferred Adrien Rabiot, who was more established at the highest level with Paris Saint-Germain and offered greater experience for a World Cup campaign.
-- Amine Harit (Morocco) was named Bundesliga Rookie of the Year for the 2017–2018 season, but unfortunately, I did not have room for him in the squad.
-- For right wing, I recruited Riyad Mahrez from Algeria.
-- For the left flank, I selected Yacine Brahimi (Porto/Algeria), who offered width and creativity on the left side. I also looked at Jonathan Bamba (Saint-Étienne/France), who was performing well in Ligue 1 but remained uncapped at the time of selection.
-- Other left-sided options were simply not viable. Hatem Ben Arfa did not play a single game in the 2017–2018 season, while Moussa Diaby had only just made his professional debut in 2018.
Forwards
-- Kylian Mbappé just finished his first season in PSG.  He netted 21 times.  
-- Anthony Martial scored 12 goals that season, but his form dipped significantly after Manchester United signed Alexis Sánchez in January 2018. His last goal came on January 22, and his playing time was severely reduced. By the time of the World Cup, he had scored just once in 15 international appearances—which explains why France overlooked him for the actual tournament. Nevertheless, I needed forwards, and his talent was too great to ignore. I also selected Nicolas Pépé, who had finished the season strongly, scoring 8 of his 13 goals from January onward.
-- Kingsley Coman was another gamble. He was injured from February to May 2018, raising fitness concerns. He made only a brief appearance in the DFB-Pokal Final on May 19, and I would normally have dropped a player returning from such a long layoff. However, I decided to take the risk. The alternatives, such as Jean-Kévin Augustin, were less proven, and Coman had the potential to be a star of the tournament if he could regain his fitness.
-- At the time of writing, striker Jean-Kévin Augustin is still uncapped.  He was RB Leipzig's second top scorer that season. I seriously considered him, but I opted for Coman and Martial who were more famous.
-- Wissam Ben Yedder was Sevilla's top scorer that season with 22 goals.  He was also one of France's standby players.

Formation
I started four players who started for France against Croatia at the 2018 World Cup Final.  Blaise Matuidi was playing as a left wing in the actual game. 







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Thursday, February 11, 2021

Top 10 Real Madrid Greatest Goalkeepers

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.


His Facebook and Instagram


Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index

Real Madrid is the most successful club in soccer's history.  They have won more titles in Europe than any other clubs. Of course, their players were among the greatest of all-time.  This post is about my Top 10 ranking of greatest goalkeeper in Real Madrid's history.  But every fan has their favourites and opinions.  The ranking is extremely subjective.  Some player played in multi-positions.  Sometimes, people would even argue about the position of each player considered.  For this goalkeeper blog, I do not have this issue.

1st: Iker Casillas (Spain)
Iker Casillas is Spain's most decorated goalkeeper and widely considered to be one of the greatest ever goalkeepers. He spent 16 seasons with Real Madrid and won three Champions' League with Real Madrid.  For Spain, he captained Spain into winning the World Cup in 2010 and two European Championships in 2008 and 2012.  He is capped over 150 times between 2000 and 2016, appearing in every major tournaments in that period. He also played for Porto at the end of his career.
Iker Casillas
2nd: Ricardo Zamora (Spain)
The first ever star goalkeeper in history.  He is also remembered for a spectacular last minute save he made in the 1936 Copa de España final while playing for Real Madrid against FC Barcelona. The award for the best goalkeeper in La Liga, the Ricardo Zamora Trophy, is named in his honour and he was voted one of the greatest players of the 20th century by World Soccer magazine. He was also Spain's most capped player for 45 years.
Ricardo Zamora 
3rd: Franisco Buyo (Spain)
Franisco Buyo at the time of his retirement was the third highest keeper in La Liga appearance record.  He spent over a decade with Real Madrid (1986-1997), winning 13 titles with them. Before Real Madrid, he played for Mallorca, Deportive La Coruna and Seville. He earned 7 caps for Spain between 1983 and 1992. He went to the European Championship of 1984 and 1988 as a backup.
Franisco Buyo
4th: Miguel Angel (Spain)
Miguel Ángel was born in Ourense, Galicia. During his career, after making his beginnings at handball, he played for AD Couto (later renamed Atlético Orense), CD Castellón and Real Madrid, having an 18-year spell with the latter club and being first choice from 1974 to 1978 and in two of his final three seasons; he conquered six La Liga championships, being an active part in four of those.  He had 18 caps. He was in the squad for the 1978 and 1982 FIFA World Cups. 
Miguel Ángel 
5th: García Remón (Spain)
Born in Madrid, Garcia Remón was best known for his spells with Real Madrid. He then began an interesting battle for first-choice status with Miguel Ángel González which would last for the vast majority of his stay in Madrid. Remón would start from 1971 to 1973 and 1979 to 1981.  At the international level, he earned two caps for Spain.
Garcia Remón
6th: Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)
Thibaut Courtois joined Chelsea from Genk in 2011, but he was sent away to Atletico Madrid immediately.  He won the Europa League in his first season and then, a Copa del Rey in his second season.  In his final season, Atletico Madrid reached the Final of the Champions' League, but lost to Real Madrid.  He was the starting keeper for Belgium at World Cup 2014 and 2018, and Euro 2016.
Thibaut Courtois
7th: Juan Alonso (Spain)
Juan Alonso was part of their European Cup victories in 1956, 1957 and 1958. He earned 2 caps for the Spain national football team. Alonso won the Ricardo Zamora Trophy during the 1954–55 season. At the end of his career he played a few matches for Real Madrid's second team, which then played under the name AD Plus Ultra in the second division.
Juan Alonso 
8th: Keylor Navas (Costa Rica)
After starting out at Saprissa he moved to Albacete, and then to Levante in La Liga.  After a great performance With Levante, he won the La Liga Keeper of the Year award for 2014 with Levante.  Then, he led Costa Rica to the quarter-final of the WC in Brazil.  After the WC Finals, he earned a transfer to Real Madrid.  With Real Madrid, he won 3 Champions League titles as their starting keeper.
Keylor Navas
9th: Antonio Betancort (Spain)
Antonio Betancourt played as a goalkeeper for Las Palmas before moving to Real Madrid in 1961. With Real Madrid, he had two spells with a more lengthy spell between 1963 and 1971. In between, he played for  Deportivo La Coruña. He was also capped by the Spanish national team. He went to the 1966 World Cup Finals in England as a backup to José Ángel Iribar.  
Antonio Betancourt 
10th:  Rogelio Dominguez (Argentina)
Rogelio Dominguez played around the same time as Antonio Carrizo.  He earned 59 caps for Argentina.  He missed the 1958 World Cup Finals because he moved to Real Madrid in 1957, and Argentina did not select overseas-based players.  He was on Argentina's 1962 World Cup team. With Real Madrid, he won two European Cups playing alongside Alfredo Di Stefano.  Before Real Madrid, he played for Racing Club in Argentina.
Rogelio Dominguez 
Honorable Mention
Bodo Illgner José Bañón, José Vicente, Diego Lopez, José Araquistáin, Santiago Cañizares, César Sánchez, Agustín.

Ranking Explanation
-- The criteria is mainly based upon their performance for Real Madrid, but I do not have a formula for ranking.  
-- Iker Casillas definitely suppressed Ricardo Zamora as Real Madrid's greatest ever goalkeepers.  A big part of Zamora's greatness came during his stint with Barcelona.  For Real Madrid, Iker Casillas was more iconic.  He won three Champions' League with Real Madrid. 
-- Francisco Buyo, Garcia Ramon and Miguel Angel were almost the same. Franisco Buyo was undisputed starter for a longer time.
-- Garcia Ramon had a rivalry with Miguel Angel for their duration of their careers in Madrid, and Miguel Angel spent 18 years while Remon lasted 15 years.   On this blog of mine, Remon is ahead of Miguel Angel because that blog is about Real Madrid under Miguel Munoz.  He spent longer time with manager Miguel Munoz.  For this blog, it is about the entire history of Real Madrid. Rogelio Dominguez also was ranked higher over there because of what he did for Miguel Munoz.
-- Thibaut Courtois was unranked when I created this in 2021, but I elevated him to the 6th position after he won the Champions' League Final in 2022.  His individual performance against Liverpool in the Final was probably the best ever for a Real Madrid goalkeeper in a EC/CL Final.  At the time of writing, he already played more games for Real Madrid than Keylor Navas. So it was obvious to rank him ahead of Navas. In time, he might go higher.  Francisco Buyo, Miguel Angel and Garcia Remon did not have the same international reputation as Courtois, but they were long time servant to the club. Iker needs no introduction while Ricardo Zamora was the club's first star player.
-- I might have overrated or underrated Keylor Navas, but he had three straight Champions' League titles.  Juan Alonso also won three European Cups.  I ranked him ahead of Navas, but I do not believe a single spot the between the two really mattered.
-- Agustin was an understudy of both Miguel Ángel and García Remón.  Basically, I selected him because he played with the ‘Quinta del Buitre’ (the ‘Vulture Squadron’).  He is the biggest question mark on the list.  I was deciding between him and José Vicente Train.
-- Rogelio Dominguez played in the same time as Amadeo Carrizo.  Dominguez actually played more than Carrizo for the Argentine national team.  He had 58 caps between 1951 and 1963, while Carrizo only had 20 caps between 1954 and 1964.
-- I also rewarded Juan Alonso and Rogelio Dominguez for European glories.
-- I didn't really know how to rank Bodo Illgner against others.  I previously rewarded him with the 10th place for bringing the Champions League home after 32 years, but he dropped off the list after Thibaut Courtois's epic Champions' League in 2022.
-- Diego Lopez played better than Iker Casillas in his time with Real Madrid. He did send Casillas to the bench. But I only put him on honorable mention. His career here was short.
-- Jerzy Dudek was a popular player within the locker room.  He was known as the unsung hero of the club even through he only played a few games in Madrid. However, I cannot put him on honorable mention because he was more of a "cheerleader".
-- The list consisted two goalkeepers who won a World Cup for their country respectively.  Iker Casillas captained Spain as they won the World Cup in 2010.  Bodo Illgner won the World Cup for West Germany in 1990.  He was not a member of Real Madrid at the time.
-- Santiago Cañizares lost his place to Bodo Illgner around the mid-1990's.  He was never a full time starter here.  In 1998, he moved to Valencia and achieved legendary status with them.
-- César Sánchez started as a backup for wonderkid Iker Casillas. He eventually became first-choice in the 2001-2002 season after a loss of form by Casillas.  He even started in the Champions League Final that year, but was substituted by Casillas after suffering an injury.  Casillas went on to won the MOTM in that final.
-- Agustín would be my 11th at the time of writing.  He played in the same time as García Remón, Miguel Ángel, José Manuel Ochotorena and Francisco Buyo.  He appeared in the 1985-1986 UEFA Cup Final after José Manuel Ochotorena was injured.
-- José Manuel Ochotorena was only the main starter for a single season, where he was injured and missed the UEFA Cup Final.
-- In time, we will see how we rank Thibaut Courtois.  As of 2021, his team has not achieved as much as the others in question.  He definitely would be 11th or higher.  The others have all spent longer time here and contributed more to Real Madrid's victories.
-- Julio Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful continental European singer in the world and one of the top record sellers in music history, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide in 14 languages.  He was a goalkeeper for Real Madrid Castilla in the Segunda División before an automobile accident ended his career in 1963.
-- I am not familiar with José Bañón.


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