by Sports Illustrated
PLAYER OF THE DECADE: Zinedine Zidane, France
Zizou gets our Player of the Decade nod, barely beating out Ronaldinho, who also won two World Player of the Year awards this decade but didn't have anything approaching Zidane's longevity at the top of the global game. No player since Diego Maradona has provided as much joy to viewers who love the artistry of soccer. Case in point: France's stunning upset of Brazil in the 2006 World Cup quarterfinals, in which Zidane rediscovered his mojo on the game's biggest stage. (Bonus points for scoring the greatest goal of the decade in the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen.)
Click here for World Soccer's nod for Player of the Decade
BEST MANAGER: Guus Hiddink
In Guus We Trust: That's the slogan that has defined Hiddink, who overachieved with so many teams this decade, at both club and national-team level, that it was easy to lose count. There was South Korea (World Cup '02 semifinalist), Australia (World Cup '06 second round), Russia (Euro 2008 semifinalist), PSV Eindhoven ('05 Champions League semifinalist) and Chelsea ('09 Champions League semifinalist). Hiddink may not have qualified Russia for the 2010 World Cup, but he will be in demand everywhere the game is played.
Click here for Grant Wahl's complete All-Decade team
BEST WORLD CUP GAME: USA 3, Portugal 2 in 2002
If you weren't from this part of the world, you'd probably come up with other choices here, such as Brazil's 2-1 win over England in the '02 quarterfinals, Argentina's 2-1 extra-time victory over Mexico in the '06 second round, Germany's thrilling quarterfinal victory over Argentina in '06 or Italy's 2-0 win over Germany in the '06 semis. But I'm going with the U.S.' upset special over Portugal for a few reasons: 1) The U.S.' early 3-0 lead was absolutely stunning (and deserved), 2) Portugal gave it drama by striking back twice, 3) both teams actually played well, and 4) it set the stage for the Americans' run to the quarterfinals, easily the most impressive World Cup performance in U.S. men's history.
BEST NON-WORLD CUP GAME: Liverpool beats AC Milan, 2005 Champions League final
It seemed like an insurmountable advantage when Milan took a 3-0 lead that night in Istanbul. But soccer is an unpredictable game, and Liverpool proceeded to make history, scoring three unanswered goals before prevailing on penalties. Easily one of the greatest games in the history of the sport.
BEST NATIONAL TEAM: Brazil
It may not feature the no-holds-barred attacking of its glorious teams in the 1960s and '70s, but Brazil was still the gold standard of world soccer in the first decade of the 21st century. Paced by the remarkable comeback of Ronaldo, Brazil won its fifth World Cup in 2002, and while the yellow-jerseyed magicians crapped out in the quarters in '06, they also managed to win two Confederations Cup titles (in 2005 and '09) and two Copa América crowns (in 2004 and '07). It would be nice if current coach Dunga abandoned his two-defensive-midfielder approach, but why would he? After all, Brazil is the odds-on favorite to win the 2010 World Cup.
BEST CLUB TEAM: Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson's magisterial outfit won only one Champions League title in this decade, but those six English Premier League crowns are easily enough to be recognized as the team of the decade. What's remarkable about Ferguson is his ability not just to spot talent (Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Nemanja Vidic) but also to know when to discard it (David Beckham, van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo). Does anyone doubt that Ferguson will be able to reinvent this team again?
brad-friedel.jpg
The U.S.' 3-2 victory over mighty Portugal at the 2002 World Cup remains one of the more stunning upsets in tournament history.
Simon Bruty/SI
CINDERELLA: South Korea, 2002
The South Koreans had never won a World Cup game until co-hosting the '02 tournament, but they made up for that in a hurry. the Reds won their first-round group and took down European powerhouses Italy and Spain to reach the semifinals. Soccer fever gripped the Korean peninsula, and even if there will always be questions about the refereeing in the Spain and Italy games, the South Koreans' march to the final four of global soccer (where they finally fell to Germany) was a sight to behold.
BIGGEST OVERACHIEVER: Greece, '04 European champion
The European Championship is considered by most pundits to be the highest-quality soccer tournament in the world (the World Cup has too many also-rans), which makes the Greeks' out-of-nowhere triumph even more stunning. Coached by a stubborn German (Otto Rehhagel) who favored stifling defenses over entertainment, Greece took out France, the Czech Republic and host Portugal in the knockout rounds to book its place in sports history. At the '04 Olympics in Athens, you got the sense that the Greeks were prouder of their soccer championship than of hosting the Games.
BIGGEST UNDERACHIEVER: Argentina
The magnificently talented Albicelestes may have won World Cups in 1978 and '86, but this decade has been one long disaster. Favored by many to win the World Cup before both the '02 and '06 events, the Argentines went out in the first round in '02 and in the quarterfinals in '06 (on penalties to Germany). Nor could Argentina even manage a triumph in the Copa América (losing in the final to Brazil in both 2004 and '07) or in the Confederations Cup (losing to Brazil in the '05 final). Has one of the world's great soccer countries forgotten how to raise a trophy?
BIGGEST CONTROVERSY: Italian soccer scandal
The corruption in Italian soccer was deep-seated in the mid-2000s, but no Serie A club was shadier than Juventus, which was demoted to Serie B in '06 after its director Luciano Moggi was found to have manipulated the assignments of referees for Serie A games. Juve earned its way back to Serie A for the following season, but the scandal caused dozens of players to change teams and left a bitter aftertaste that continues to haunt the Italian club game, which is a shadow of what it was a decade ago.
HOTTEST FEUD: Landon Donovan-David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy (2009)
It isn't often that the two biggest stars of a team get into a public war of words, but that's exactly what happened when Donovan questioned Beckham's leadership, effort and commitment in the book The Beckham Experiment. In his European career, Beckham had never been called out so directly by one of his teammates. Donovan and Beckham eventually patched up their differences, Donovan apologizing for the way his comments were delivered if not for their content. The Galaxy would go on to rebound and reach the MLS Cup final, and even the commissioner of MLS would say that the publicity surrounding the feud had been good for the league.
PLAYER OF THE DECADE: Zinedine Zidane, France
Zizou gets our Player of the Decade nod, barely beating out Ronaldinho, who also won two World Player of the Year awards this decade but didn't have anything approaching Zidane's longevity at the top of the global game. No player since Diego Maradona has provided as much joy to viewers who love the artistry of soccer. Case in point: France's stunning upset of Brazil in the 2006 World Cup quarterfinals, in which Zidane rediscovered his mojo on the game's biggest stage. (Bonus points for scoring the greatest goal of the decade in the 2002 Champions League final against Bayer Leverkusen.)
Click here for World Soccer's nod for Player of the Decade
BEST MANAGER: Guus Hiddink
In Guus We Trust: That's the slogan that has defined Hiddink, who overachieved with so many teams this decade, at both club and national-team level, that it was easy to lose count. There was South Korea (World Cup '02 semifinalist), Australia (World Cup '06 second round), Russia (Euro 2008 semifinalist), PSV Eindhoven ('05 Champions League semifinalist) and Chelsea ('09 Champions League semifinalist). Hiddink may not have qualified Russia for the 2010 World Cup, but he will be in demand everywhere the game is played.
Click here for Grant Wahl's complete All-Decade team
BEST WORLD CUP GAME: USA 3, Portugal 2 in 2002
If you weren't from this part of the world, you'd probably come up with other choices here, such as Brazil's 2-1 win over England in the '02 quarterfinals, Argentina's 2-1 extra-time victory over Mexico in the '06 second round, Germany's thrilling quarterfinal victory over Argentina in '06 or Italy's 2-0 win over Germany in the '06 semis. But I'm going with the U.S.' upset special over Portugal for a few reasons: 1) The U.S.' early 3-0 lead was absolutely stunning (and deserved), 2) Portugal gave it drama by striking back twice, 3) both teams actually played well, and 4) it set the stage for the Americans' run to the quarterfinals, easily the most impressive World Cup performance in U.S. men's history.
BEST NON-WORLD CUP GAME: Liverpool beats AC Milan, 2005 Champions League final
It seemed like an insurmountable advantage when Milan took a 3-0 lead that night in Istanbul. But soccer is an unpredictable game, and Liverpool proceeded to make history, scoring three unanswered goals before prevailing on penalties. Easily one of the greatest games in the history of the sport.
BEST NATIONAL TEAM: Brazil
It may not feature the no-holds-barred attacking of its glorious teams in the 1960s and '70s, but Brazil was still the gold standard of world soccer in the first decade of the 21st century. Paced by the remarkable comeback of Ronaldo, Brazil won its fifth World Cup in 2002, and while the yellow-jerseyed magicians crapped out in the quarters in '06, they also managed to win two Confederations Cup titles (in 2005 and '09) and two Copa América crowns (in 2004 and '07). It would be nice if current coach Dunga abandoned his two-defensive-midfielder approach, but why would he? After all, Brazil is the odds-on favorite to win the 2010 World Cup.
BEST CLUB TEAM: Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson's magisterial outfit won only one Champions League title in this decade, but those six English Premier League crowns are easily enough to be recognized as the team of the decade. What's remarkable about Ferguson is his ability not just to spot talent (Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Nemanja Vidic) but also to know when to discard it (David Beckham, van Nistelrooy, Ronaldo). Does anyone doubt that Ferguson will be able to reinvent this team again?
brad-friedel.jpg
The U.S.' 3-2 victory over mighty Portugal at the 2002 World Cup remains one of the more stunning upsets in tournament history.
Simon Bruty/SI
CINDERELLA: South Korea, 2002
The South Koreans had never won a World Cup game until co-hosting the '02 tournament, but they made up for that in a hurry. the Reds won their first-round group and took down European powerhouses Italy and Spain to reach the semifinals. Soccer fever gripped the Korean peninsula, and even if there will always be questions about the refereeing in the Spain and Italy games, the South Koreans' march to the final four of global soccer (where they finally fell to Germany) was a sight to behold.
BIGGEST OVERACHIEVER: Greece, '04 European champion
The European Championship is considered by most pundits to be the highest-quality soccer tournament in the world (the World Cup has too many also-rans), which makes the Greeks' out-of-nowhere triumph even more stunning. Coached by a stubborn German (Otto Rehhagel) who favored stifling defenses over entertainment, Greece took out France, the Czech Republic and host Portugal in the knockout rounds to book its place in sports history. At the '04 Olympics in Athens, you got the sense that the Greeks were prouder of their soccer championship than of hosting the Games.
BIGGEST UNDERACHIEVER: Argentina
The magnificently talented Albicelestes may have won World Cups in 1978 and '86, but this decade has been one long disaster. Favored by many to win the World Cup before both the '02 and '06 events, the Argentines went out in the first round in '02 and in the quarterfinals in '06 (on penalties to Germany). Nor could Argentina even manage a triumph in the Copa América (losing in the final to Brazil in both 2004 and '07) or in the Confederations Cup (losing to Brazil in the '05 final). Has one of the world's great soccer countries forgotten how to raise a trophy?
BIGGEST CONTROVERSY: Italian soccer scandal
The corruption in Italian soccer was deep-seated in the mid-2000s, but no Serie A club was shadier than Juventus, which was demoted to Serie B in '06 after its director Luciano Moggi was found to have manipulated the assignments of referees for Serie A games. Juve earned its way back to Serie A for the following season, but the scandal caused dozens of players to change teams and left a bitter aftertaste that continues to haunt the Italian club game, which is a shadow of what it was a decade ago.
HOTTEST FEUD: Landon Donovan-David Beckham, Los Angeles Galaxy (2009)
It isn't often that the two biggest stars of a team get into a public war of words, but that's exactly what happened when Donovan questioned Beckham's leadership, effort and commitment in the book The Beckham Experiment. In his European career, Beckham had never been called out so directly by one of his teammates. Donovan and Beckham eventually patched up their differences, Donovan apologizing for the way his comments were delivered if not for their content. The Galaxy would go on to rebound and reach the MLS Cup final, and even the commissioner of MLS would say that the publicity surrounding the feud had been good for the league.
Cheers
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