Sadly, if not really unexpectedly, no Irish player made the cut.
If you’re feeling particularly aggrieved at the (not really) shameful ignorance of Irish players, however, you could sabotage the Uefa.com users’ Team of the Year by selecting what you believe is the weakest XI out of the 40 players nominated.
In truth, however, that would be a fairly difficult achievement because it’s hard to argue with the fact that all of the players nominated by a team of writers including Graham Hunter, Andy Brassell and Andy James are there on merit.
Ballon D’Or nominees Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery are all in there, while the selection of the likes of Philipp Lahm and Arjen Robben (two of nine Bayern Munich nominees), Falcao and of, course, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, should come as no surprise.
The Premier League is represented by Manchester United duo David de Gea and Robin van Persie, Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero of Manchester City, Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic and Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, while Uefa themselves acknowledged that man of the moment Aaron Ramsey was unfortunate to miss out.
The team itself will be decided by readers of the Uefa.com website and if you’d like to have a stab at what you think should be the final XI, you can do so (using a choice of five, yes five, different formations) over here.
Uefa.com Team of the Year nominees
Goalkeepers: Petr Cech, Thibaut Courtois, David de Gea, Manuel Neuer
Defenders: David Alaba, Giorgio Chiellini, Dante, Mats Hummels, Branislav Ivanovic, Philipp Lahm, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Filipe Luis, Vincent Kompany, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Thiago Silva
Midfielders: Gareth Bale, Ilkay Gundogan, Isco, Paul Pogba, Mesut Ozil, Menaja Matic, Blaise Matuidi, Marco Reus, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Yaya Toure
Forwards: Sergio Aguero, Edinson Cavani, Diego Costa, Falcao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robert Lewandowski, Mario Mandzukic, Jackson Martinez, Lionel Messi, Thomas Muller, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robin van Persie
