History - The FIFPRO World 11 of 2011

In 2011, Barcelona reconquered the Champions League, arguably the strongest club competition on the planet. Five Barcelona players found themselves in the World 11, joined by four Madrid players. The two teams met each other in their national competition’s final.

Manchester United’s Rooney and Vidic tried to beat Barcelona in the Champions League final at Wembley, but even though the English striker scored, they had to relinquish the title to the Spanish team.

Thank you

Andres Iniesta, Daniel Alves, Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic thanked their colleagues for voting them onto the World 11.

The List of 55

For the first time in the seven-year history of the World 11, a player from a non-European club had made the List of 55 Most Voted Players: Neymar, the Brazilian forward of South American champions Santos.

Barcelona was the team with the most players on this year’s list. The reigning European and Spanish champions saw twelve players nominated, one more than their arch rivals Real Madrid.

Goal keepers

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus, Italy), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid, Spain), Manuel Neuer (Bayern München, Germany), Edwin van der Sar (Manchester United, The Netherlands), Victor Valdes (Barcelona, Spain)

Defenders

Eric Abidal (Barcelona, France), Daniel Alves (Barcelona, Brazil), Ricardo Carvalho (Real Madrid, Portugal), Ashley Cole (Chelsea, England), Patrice Evra (Manchester United, France), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United, England), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City, Belgium), Philipp Lahm (Bayern München, Germany), Lúcio (Inter, Brazil), David Luiz (Chelsea, Brazil), Maicon (Inter, Brazil), Marcelo (Real Madrid, Brazil), Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan, Italy), Pepe (Real Madrid, Portugal), Gerard Piqué (Barcelona, Spain), Carles Puyol (Barcelona, Spain), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid, Spain), Thiago Silva (AC Milan, Brazil), John Terry (Chelsea, England), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United, Serbia)

Midfielders

Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid, Spain), Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur, Wales), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona, Spain), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona, Spain), Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona, Spain), Kaka (Real Madrid, Brazil), Frank Lampard (Chelsea, England), Nani (Manchester United, Portugal), Mesut Özil (Real Madrid, Germany), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus, Italy), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern München, Germany), David Silva (Manchester City, Spain), Wesley Sneijder (Inter, The Netherlands), Yaya Touré (Manchester City, Ivory Coast), Xavi (Barcelona, Spain)

Forwards

Sergio Agüero (Manchester City, Argentina), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France), Edinson Cavani (Napoli, Uruguay), Didier Drogba (Chelsea, Ivory Coast), Samuel Eto’o (Anzhi Makhachkala, Cameroon), Radamel Falcao (Atlético Madrid, Colombia), Mario Gómez (Bayern München, Germany), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan, Sweden), Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina), Neymar (Santos, Brazil), Robin van Persie (Arsenal, The Netherlands), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United, England), Luis Suárez (Liverpool, Uruguay), David Villa (Barcelona, Spain)