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When UEFA.com held a fan vote to determine who would be in their team of the year most people could pretty well guess who was going to be in it. If you assumed that the team would consist of a collection of players mostly from Barcelona and Real Madrid, you would be correct. If you had told me that Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale would make it into the team, I would have laughed in your face.
Bale, however, proved everyone wrong and did manage to make it into the first XI; beating out the likes of Eden Hazard, Juan Mata, Angel Di Maria, and Ashley Young for the spot. Bale is the only English based player in the squad and also the only player from the UK in the team. I'm willing to bet that Bale's performances in the Champions League last season are what put him in this position.
Congratulations to Gareth Bale and the rest of the UEFA.com Team of the year, I'm sure this is a nice achievement.
Check out the full team after the jump
- Goalkeeper - Iker Casillas
- RB - Dani Alves
- CB - Gerard Pique
- CB - Thiago Silva
- LB - Marcelo
- RM - Arjen Robben
- CM - Xavi Hernandes
- AM - Andres Iniesta
- LM - Gareth Bale
- ST - Lionel Messi
- ST - Cristiano Ronaldo
- Coach - Pep Guardiola
Thoughts? Who's in your UEFA Team of the Year for 2011? What if I said your team of the year couldn't include anyone from Barcelona or Real Madrid, who would be in it then?