It’s not like football, or soccer as they call it in North America, is never a main subject among fans, but during this summer it is talked about like rarely before. It’s easy to see it as the centerpiece of sports talk right after domestic championships ended and right before the start of the Olympics. The reasons are simple – EURO 2024 and Copa America.
In this article, we will focus more on the South American competition. If you’re wondering why, well let us explain ourselves. Unlike Richie Aprile we’re not from the old school, so there will be explanations. For one, the number of participants, while it remains the same, is quite diverse this time around. We could even call it the Championship of Americas.
The 2024 edition of Copa America includes teams located in the northern hemisphere. In addition to Canada and Mexico, USMNT is also participating. What’s even more interesting is that the United States of America is the host nation. This is their general rehearsal before the World Cup in two years.
While Copa America, usually reserved only for South American nations, tries to broaden its horizons by calling in guest nations such as Costa Rica, Japan, and Qatar, we still can’t look past the powerhouses of football in this region.
Sponsored by an online betting outlet in cooperation with the market research company called Censuswide we bring you the results of a 2024 fan survey that included opinions of more than a thousand South American fans of the game. Of course, this is not an opinion of the entire continent, nor is it a sacred text written in stone. You are free to contest it, to write a petition against it, or to agree with it. Whatever side you take in this battle, it is in order for us to first lay down this South American All-Time XI fan survey that was done recently.
The GOAT XI of South America Brought to You by Fans
Just like we said, Copa America is quite a diverse competition. It sometimes includes teams that are not geographically located on the South American continent. But, that doesn’t play a role in this selection. As one could have guessed the team consists of mostly Brazilians and Argentineans. You’re not surprised, right? Let’s take a look at the GOAT SA XI list brought to you by none other than Stake brand ambassador Sergio Aguero who is in charge of Stake’s GOAT campaign. As is usually the case, teams like these are presented from the goalkeeper up to the strikers.
Dida (Goalkeeper) – One of the most decorated South American goalkeepers of all time. Dida not only had an amazing club career he was the centerpiece of many great Brazilian teams. While he will be remembered as a Champions League and Serie A winner with AC Milan, his glory in Brazil is tied to the 2002 World Cup. While South America had plenty of amazing shoot-stoppers in the day and as of now, at the moment Dida is the one that is among the bars with GOAT XI of South America. During this survey, those that came closest to dethroning him were Claudio Bravo who won plenty with Chile, and at the club level, Rene Higuita who was the star of more than one World Cup for Colombia, the free kick maestro Jose Luis Chilavert from of Paraguay and the long-lasting legend Faryd Mondragon of Colombia.
Cafu (Right back) – Cafu is yet another great from Brazil, and had the honor to defend the colors of Brazil with Dida. With an exceptional career in both Brazil and Europe, he was the keystone of Brazil’s defense for decades and even captained the team to World Cup glory. A Brazilian player can’t achieve greater glory than lifting the WC and Cafu did it twice even losing one final. He’s also Brazil’s most-capped player with 142 caps. Because of these accolades, you’ll understand why he’s ahead of the likes such as Dani Alves who is one of the world’s most decorated footballers, Javier Zanetti who is a legend on both club and international levels, Carlos Alberto, and Luis Eyzaguirre.
Roberto Carlos (Left back) – Another Brazilian all-time great. After a mesmerizing club career that saw him play for the likes of Inter and Real Madrid, Roberto Carlos will still be remembered as a Brazilian legend. He participated in three World Cups lifting one and scoring eleven goals for the national team. He amassed 125 appearances for Brazil so you can understand just how vital he was for the national team during his career. His career was good enough to leave the likes of Marcelo, Juan Pablo Sorin, Nilton Santos, and Juan Torlaes behind him.
Thiago Silva (Centre-half) – Silva is one of the most decorated footballers in history with 26 trophies. His career saw him play for the likes of AC Milan, PSG, and Chelsea, while with Brazil he collected 113 caps and won a single Copa America. Due to his longevity and style of play, he deserves the spot on this list more than the likes of Walter Samuel, Paulo da Silva, Domingos, and Carlos Gamarra. Wait till you see his partner.
Daniel Passarella (Centre-half) – Passarella is one of the legends not only in Argentina and South America but in the world. The pillar behind two World Cups for Argentina he will be remembered as one of the greatest defenders to ever take the field. With his no-nonsense style and hard tackles, Daniel is a legend who will have his spot in the annals of sports. With the defense and goalkeepers covered it’s time to move on to the magical midfield of South America.
Arturo Vidal (Centre-Midfield) – Vidal is one of the best midfielders of his generation. A tenacious holding midfielder King Arturo did work on both sides of the field. He was a penalty-kick specialist while also being the defensive anchor for a few generations of Chilean football. He is the main culprit behind Lionel Messi’s inability to lift the Copa America winning it two times with his Chile teammates. At the club level, he defended the colors of Bayern Munich, Juventus, Inter and Barcelona which tells you everything you need to know about him.
Zico (Centre-Midfield) – It is hard to be better than Zico when it comes to football. Even Pele, as one of the greats, stated that only Zico came close to his level. The misfortune Zico had, as far as the Brazilian football public is concerned, is that he never won a World Cup despite having three attempts. While a piece of bad luck, this does not diminish his success both on the club and international level. He played 71 times for Brazil and scored 48 goals in the process. At the club level, he has 101 goals credited to him solely from free kicks. A true midfield maestro in every sense of the word.
Ronaldinho (Winger) – While not a true winger during his career, in this formation and on this GOAT XI list of South American football Ronaldinho will be credited as one. If you started following football in the 2000s you know who was the best player during that time. A World Cup, Ballon d’Or, and Champions League winner, Ronaldinho was one of the best to ever take the football field. The pure Brazilian magic flowing through one man. The rarity of his talent was not seen before his time nor was it replicated after. One of the GOATs of the game on all of its levels.
Diego Maradona (Winger) – What position did Maradona play? Do we even have to explain this selection, his position or the mark Diego left on the game? We think not. The last Don of the game passed recently but his spirit will be over every football field where the ball rolls regardless of its size. Diego Armando Maradona was the last man who singlehandedly took his team to the World Cup Glory. During the 1986 WC Diego was Argentina’s captain, played every minute of every match, scored five, and even assisted five goals en route to the final. One of his goals is the Hand of the Gog while the other is dubbed as Goal of the Century. This is a career many footballers can only dream about.
Pele (Forward) – Pele is to this day seen as the best footballer of all time. His long-time rival was Maradona and the two men were long dubbed as the greatest men to ever set their feet on the grass fields. A three-time World Cup winner Pele is seen as the man to score on the big stage. While unofficial he holds the record for the most goals scored in the history of the game. Truly a man who does not require any additional introduction.
Lionel Messi (Forward) – The modern GOAT of the game. Lionel Messi has it all. He won all the possible trophies. Brought glory to both his clubs and his nation. You can’t take anything from Messi. At the moment he is the best footballer the world has seen in the last 30 years. For some, he is the greatest of all time. If you think so, we can’t argue with you. For years he was setting a record after a record and never stopped. At the moment he’s in the USA leading his national team on yet another Copa America looking to add to his legacy. A wunderkind the world has seen before in the likes of Maradona, Zico, Garrincha, Pele, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. The diminutive striker from Rosario managed to eclipse them all and he still writes his story.
While we’re on the subject of Leo Messi and his greatness, considering that this survey was conducted by Stake.com and Leo’s best man Sergio Aguero we could take a look at the Argentina All-Time XI fan survey opinion while we’re at it.
Argentina GOAT XI by Stake Fans
Argentina is one of the world’s most successful football nations. As such it had some of the best players the world has ever seen. One could argue that their best eleven could have taken on the South American best XI. We’ll leave this opinion to the debate, but their team goes as follows.
The goalkeeper spot is taken by their most recent hero. The goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is a cult hero in Argentina. After his saves and antics at the 2022 World Cup, the fans in Argentina adore him while the rest of the world hates him. If his career with the national team continues in this manner he will cement his place among the greats if he already hasn’t.
The defense of the Argentina All-Time XI consists of some of the greatest names in world football. On the right, we have the former Argentina and Inter captain Javier Zanetti. Mr. Indestructible, also nicknamed The Tractor, would have made any team in the world in his prime. His partners in crime are Daniel Passarella who is a part of the team above, Walter The Wall Samuel, and Juan Pablo Sorin. These players have made a mark on the national team and they deserve the places they’ve taken despite the argument that names such as Roberto Ayala and Silvio Marzolini could have made the cut.
The midfield of this Argentina team is a matter of fan fiction with the one correction that these players are real and have played their hearts out for the national team shirt. The holding duo consists of none other than Javier Mascherano and Juan Roman Riquelme. The destroyer of the worlds and the last Mohican of playmaking in both Europe and South America. A perfect duo. On the flanks are the two pillars of Argentine football – Maradona and Messi. This is like a kid imagining how football is supposed to look.
In the striker position, we have two all-time greats who could have succeeded both in the modern game and in the football of old. The pairing of Gabriel Batistuta and Alfredo Di Stefano is hard to top both in Argentina and in the rest of the world. What do you think? What would be the soccer betting odds for this team to beat the South American best XI?
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