Team of the Year 2009
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
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Ahead of the unveiling of the UEFA.com users' Team of 2010 at 12.00CET on Wednesday, we end our look back at a decade of selections with last year's team dominated by FC Barcelona.
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The UEFA.com users' Team of the Year 2009 was dominated by all-conquering European champions FC Barcelona.
Josep Guardiola's side had swept all before them in the previous 12 months, becoming the first side to achieve the treble of Liga, Copa del Rey and UEFA Champions League titles in 2008/09. By the time the Team of the Year was announced, they had added the UEFA Super Cup, Spanish Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup for an incredible sextuple.
Barcelona were irresistible, and a record 320,000 UEFA.com users agreed as they named six members of the side in their Team of the Year. Daniel Alves and Carles Puyol lined up at the back, with Xavi Hernández and Andrés Iniesta in midfield behind a front pairing of Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimović, a summer 2009 signing from Italian champions FC Internazionale Milano.
For good measure, the man who enjoyed such a memorable first 18 months at the Blaugrana helm, Guardiola, oversaw this talented blend. He needed little introduction to three other members of the side, with Iker Casillas named goalkeeper for the third successive season and Real Madrid CF team-mates Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo deployed in an attack-minded midfield.
Ronaldo scored an incredible 30 goals in 2009, helping Manchester United FC win the Premier League and reach the UEFA Champions League final – where Barcelona beat them 2-0 – before his switch to the Santiago Bernabéu. Former United team-mate Patrice Evra also made the cut at left-back and Team of the Year mainstay John Terry, of Chelsea FC, partnered captain Puyol at the heart of the defence.
UEFA.com users' Team of the Year 2009
GK: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid CF & Spain)
RB: Daniel Alves (FC Barcelona)
CB: John Terry (Chelsea FC & England)
CB: Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona & Spain)
LB: Patrice Evra (Manchester United FC & France)
RM: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC/Real Madrid CF & Portugal)
CM: Xavi Hernández (FC Barcelona & Spain)
CM: Kaká (AC Milan/Real Madrid CF)
LM: Andrés Iniesta (FC Barcelona & Spain)
FOR: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)
FOR: Zlatan Ibrahimović (FC Internazionale Milano/FC Barcelona & Sweden)
Coach: Josep Guardiola (FC Barcelona)
