So Africa’s first World Cup is behind us. The dust has settled, the winners (and losers) have all returned home, the inquests have begun and eventually the Dutch will stop moaning about Howard Webb. But know comes the really important conversations, what exactly is the team of the tournament? Here’s my attempt. It may not be perfect but, in my humble opinion, it is pretty good.

Goalkeeper:

Eduardo Carvalho (Portugal) – Conceded one goal all tournament despite facing Brazil, Cote D’Ivoire and Spain. Didn’t make a single mistake. I was very tempted to go for Manuel Neuer of Germany but he did flap a little for the England goal in the second round, or Diego Benaglio of Switzerland, who came off his line a little too hastily against Chile, but was fantastic against Spain.

Defence:

Philipp Lahm (Germany) – The best right back in the world, bar none. Sergio Ramos and Maicon push him as attacking options but Lahm is the only player who excels at both the attacking and defensive aspects of the game.

Diego Lugano (Uruguay) – Was an absolute mountain of a centre back for his nation and was missed in their semi final defeat to Holland. Uruguay only conceded one goal with him on the pitch. Ryan Nelsen also deserves a mention, he was monumental at the back for New Zealand and was captain of the only unbeaten side at the tournament.

Paulo da Silva (Paraguay) – Part of a very solid Paraguayan back four that conceded two goals all tournament. I was considering the inclusion of either Alcaraz (da Silva’s partner at the back), Friedrich of Germany (I didn’t want the team to be entirely German …) or Tulio of Japan, however da Silva just edges it for me.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Netherlands) – In his last tournament as a professional player he still had the legs to get up and down the pitch. He also pitched in with one of the goals of the tournament. Furthermore, he kept his head in the final and his booking was perhaps a little harsh considering the nature of the game. Holland appeared to fall apart at the back after he’d been substituted with Braafheid looking quite simply atrocious. Gio edges out the more attacking Fabio Coentrao of Portugal on the simple fact that he’s one of the nice guys of football. And he doesn’t have stupid hair.

Midfield:

Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) – Since being moved from the wing into the central role by van Gaal for Bayern in November he has blossomed into a world class player. Not only did he do the dirty defensive work but he was also a huge attacking threat. His run for the fourth Germany goal against Argentina was fantastic and he looked the most likely to get them back in the game against Spain. Very few of the well established box to box players performed this tournament.

Diego Perez (Uruguay) – Harried, pressed, broke up play and fouled when necessary for Uruguay, forming an effective shield for the impressive defence. Did his job with discipline. I was tempted to include either van Bommel (however much you despise him, he’s particularly good at what he’s supposed to do) or Khedira (not trying to include too many Germans …) but Perez just edges it for me.

Xavi Hernández (Spain) – The pass master of the tournament. He played more passes and created more goal scoring opportunities than any other player at the tournament. An absolutely joy to watch. Edges out the more attacking options of Özil, Honda and Sneijder due to his consistency.

Attackers:

Thomas Müller (Germany) – 5 goals and 3 assists in 6 games as a 20 year old at your first ever major international tournament is quite simply astounding, never mind the fact he was playing as a wide man in a front three, rather than the traditional goal scoring centre forward. What’s more he doesn’t even ‘look’ that good due to his size and frame, something we don’t necessarily associate with wide men. Praise has to go to Bayern also for allowing him to flourish in his favoured position rather than forcing him into his stereotypical physical role. I was tempted to include Klose for sentimental reasons but Müller was quite simply the better player this time around. Alexis Sanchez (of Football Manager fame) was also considered but his fancy flicks, unfortunately, didn’t really achieve all that much.

David Villa (Spain) – Was absolutely devastating cutting in on his favoured right foot from the left flank. He once more left Torres in the shade. He did, however, look less effective when played as a lone central striker in the final. Villa’s main rival for this spot in my team would be Iniesta with his constant movement and had he been fully fit for the entire tournament, he probably would have snuck in as well.

Diego Forlan (Uruguay) – Ran the show for one of the most impressive teams at the tournament. He constantly dropped between the lines of midfield and defence making him particularly difficult to pick up and allowing him the time and space to weigh up his options. He was also one of the few players he seemed to get the ball to do his bidding time and time again. An honorable mention must also go to Luis Suárez who proved to be hard working and productive alongside Forlan. I also considered Higuain, who seemed the most functional of the Argentine attacking players, but he’d perhaps be a little too stationary in such a mobile front three.

So now it’s over to you to let us know what you think. Who’s in your team of the tournament? What would you change?