Snap shot: UEFA.com Team of the Year 2001
Monday, November 23, 2015
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Ahead of Tuesday's launch of the UEFA.com users' Team of the Year 2015, we look back to the very first edition, 14 years ago, and ponder what has happened to your 2001 best XI?
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Goalkeeper: Santiago Cañizares (Valencia & Spain)
After hanging up his gloves with Valencia in 2008, Cañizares took to punditry – not for football but for rally driving. Better still, the former Spanish international, who also kept goal for Real Madrid and Celta Vigo, has subsequently driven in over 50 races in Spain and this year ventured into NASCAR – at the wheel, of course. He is now considered one of Spain's top football analysts and last year wrote a guide for parents whose children play competitive football.
Right-back: Cosmin Contra (AC Milan & Romania)
Merciless as a player, Contra does not deal in half-measures as a coach either. His philosophy is all-out attack, a method which earned him the Romanian Cup – and a return to European football – with Petrolul Ploiesti two years ago. This remains the highlight of an embryonic coaching career which started in his home town of Timisoara. He has since had spells at Getafe in Spain and Guangzhou Evergrande in China. Turns 40 next month.
Centre-back: Sami Hyypiä (Liverpool & Finland)
Hyypiä played for Liverpool until spring 2009 to complete a decade on Merseyside. He had two further seasons at Bayer Leverkusen before retiring and turning his hand to coaching, taking over as Bayer interim boss in spring 2012. He then got the job on a permanent basis but was sacked two years later. An ill-starred stint at Brighton and Hove Albion followed, before he took the helm of Zürich in the Swiss Super League.
Centre-back: Patrik Andersson (Barcelona & Sweden)
After winning the 2001 UEFA Champions League with Bayern, Andersson joined Barcelona. Three years later he went home to Malmö but had to retire in summer 2005. In recent years, he has helped Manchester United scout in Scandinavia as well as being tournament ambassador for UEFA Women's EURO 2013. He currently resides in Stockholm, where he is board member and co-owner of several companies, and also organises training camps for Swedish youngsters at former side Barcelona.
Left-back: Bixente Lizarazu (Bayern München & France)
Diminutive and attack-minded Lizarazu won almost all there was to win at club and international levels, including the 1998 FIFA World, UEFA EURO 2000 and the 2001 UEFA Champions League. A loyal player, he had eight seasons each at Bordeaux and Bayern. Witty and chatty, he soon took to life in the media after ending his playing days and is now a pundit on TF1 for France's games. Has also practised jiu-jitsu and MMA (mixed martial arts) to a high level and is a keen skiier and cyclist.
Right midfield: David Beckham (Manchester United & England)
Trendsetter, ambassador, trailblazer, model and club owner – Beckham has not exactly sunk into the shadows since retiring in May 2013. The former England captain hung up his boots having enjoyed high-profile success at home, in Spain, the United States and, to a lesser degree, Italy and France. Last year he bought a Major League Soccer franchise in Miami, with the team due to begin playing in 2016 or 2017. Who knows what may come next for the most famous footballer on the planet.
Central defensive midfield: Patrick Vieira (Arsenal & France)
Arsenal may have finished the 2000/01 campaign without silverware, but Vieira's excellence continued. A world and European champion at the age of 25, he lifted three Premier League titles and four FA Cups with the Gunners, the penalty which secured the 2004 trophy proving his last kick for the club. He also claimed Scudettos with Internazionale Milano and Juventus. Worked for a long time in the Manchester City youth setup following retirement but will soon take over at sister club New York City.
Central attacking midfield: Zinédine Zidane (Real Madrid & France)
Zidane made the switch from Juve to Real Madrid in summer 2001 for a world-record €69m fee. He was the heartbeat of the Galácticos generation at Madrid, the crowning moment coming with THAT volley in the 2002 UEFA Champions League final. A regular charity worker since his retirement, the three-time FIFA World Player of the Year rejoined Madrid in 2010 and performed various functions before being appointed Carlo Ancelotti's assistant in 2010. He is now in charge of the club's reserves.
Left midfield: Kily González (Valencia)
The Argentine was the driving force behind Valencia's successive UEFA Champions League final appearances and although he never picked up Europe's top prize, he did win the Liga in 2002. An Italian adventure with Inter followed before he headed back to Argentina, playing for San Lorenzo de Almagro and his beloved Rosario Central, where he retired in 2011. The former winger now works for the club as an adviser and is often spotted fervently cheering on his boyhood team from his own box.
Striker: Thierry Henry (Arsenal & France)
Henry was still only 22 when Les Bleus were crowned European champions in 2000. He had signed for Arsenal from Juventus the previous year and went on to become the club's all-time leading marksman with 228 goals. He left in 2007 and had stints with Barcelona and New York Red Bulls before a brief return to north London on loan. Now works as a high-profile television pundit in England as well as under mentor Arsène Wenger in the Arsenal youth system.
Striker: David Trezeguet (Juventus & France)
Scorer of France's silver goal in the UEFA EURO 2000 final, 'Trezegol' also enjoyed a stunning 2001 and was the UEFA Champions League's top marksman for the season heading into the winter break. He is still held in the highest esteem at Juve, where he is the fourth-highest scorer in the Bianconeri's history, and duly returned to Turin in an ambassadorial position last month.
Coach: Gérard Houllier (Liverpool)
Houllier led Liverpool to an unprecedented five trophies in 2001 – the UEFA Cup, FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FA Charity Shield – but then underwent life-threatening emergency heart surgery in October that year. He stayed at Anfield until 2004 before interludes at Lyon and Aston Villa and a stint as a director at New York Red Bulls. Published his autobiography, I'll Never Walk Alone, last month.