2010 World Cup Best Eleven Team

Here's my best eleven 2010 World Cup team based on performance during the Cup. I'm lining up a 4-4-2:

Goalkeeper: Mark Paston (New Zealand). OK I'm having some fun here. If he had played in more matches, he probably would have been exposed and he had a laughable attempt at a clearance. But he did play well and he did not make mistakes that led to goals. Besides it's intriguing to even think of someone from NZ. There were relatively unknown goalkeepers who played very well (Stekelenburg, Enyeama, Kawashima) but each of them on one occasion seemed to lean the wrong direction as the Jabulani ball swerved. There were well known keepers who did well (Casillas, Cesar) but they made mistakes that led to goals and cost their teams (in Brazil's case catastrophically). I would choose Neuer of Germany though Stekelenburg was impressive. The overall goalkeeping was disappointing.

Defenders: How about choosing the entire back line of Spain? You could do a lot worse than Puyol, Pique, Ramos and Capdevila. They play well individually and play well as a unit. Spain conceded only 2 goals, one of which was the fiasco against Switzerland. Casillas seemed about 10 degrees off so it was especially important that the defensive line performed admirably. I suppose I wouldn't be too upset if Philip Lahm or Diego Lugano came off the bench to join the defense.

Midfielders: Not surprisingly, Spain enters the mix again with Andres Iniesta and and Xavi. Bastian Schweinsteiger has to be included though one could easily make the case for his teammate Thomas Mueller. But I'm going with unconventional choice (seriously) with Keisuke Honda (Japan). I know Wes Sneijder scored more goals than Honda but Sneijder was also surrounded by more talent. I also think midfielders need to possess and distribute the ball which Sneijder didn't do much. Honda had two goals but could have easily had three if had shot instead of passed during Japan's third goal against Denmark. Honda scored a beautiful goal from a free kick and orchestrated creatively from Japan's midfield. He looks like a worthy successor to Shunsuke Nakamura

Forwards: David Villa faded in the final games but he carried Spain's offense in the earlier matches. He tied for the lead in the golden boot contest but lost out on the tiebreaker of assists. I'm rounding out the best eleven with Diego Forlan who had an amazing tournament. His creativity, deft control, well placed corners, free kicks and candidate for shot of the tournament (against the Netherlands) were matched by his leadership and will to move his team forward. Also a scorer of five goals, he played with grace throughout the Cup. I wonder if Manchester United wants him back.