On Monday afternoon, France Football released the list for their legendary-filled Ballon d’Or Dream Team at their annual ceremony this year.
The Ballon d’Or award for this year was cancelled because of the global pandemic and France Football decided to do something in place of that by releasing an all-time best XI.
More than 100 journalists from over 170 countries made their votes in a bid to pick the final team which deployed a 3-4-3 formation.
France Football magazine announced the winners with different positions released hour by hour. As expected, Pelé was one of the names on the list. He featured in a star-studded midfield that also boasted the late Diego Maradona. World Cup winners with the Seleção in 1994 and 2002, Cafu and Ronaldo Fenômeno were also on the list. Cafu was deployed on the right side of defence while Ronaldo was named as the top striker for the ‘Dream Team’.
There were many complaints about the list but none could be made about ex-Barcelona and Inter Milan forward Ronaldo who was the sole striker up front. Fenômeno won the Ballon d’Or twice in his career (1997 and 2002 after guiding Brazil to the World Cup). Cafu was easily among the best in his position during his prime and there were barely any complaints about that as well.
For someone who is arguably the best player of all time, not one person can say otherwise about Pelé being on the list and his inclusion needs no introduction.
France Football Dream Team XI in full:
Goalkeeper: Lev Yashin
Defenders: Cafu, Franz Beckenbauer and Paolo Maldini
Midfielders: Xavi, Lothar Matthaus, Pele and Diego Maradona
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Ronaldo Fenômeno
