Football's Top 11 of The Last 15 Years That Would Actually Work on The Field

By Guest - Dec 11, 2025 07:51 PM
Last updated on Dec 11, 2025 08:54 PM

Making the best eleven teams is great fun between friends and it is one of the most common questions asked to former professional footballers during the interviews. When making these teams people often tend to put forth the best players they played with, or simply those they deem the best, without thinking about the team chemistry. We're going to take a different approach. Our list is going to be the best possible team of 11 players who played in the last 15 years that would actually form a formidable team on the field without gaps in defence, with a workhorse in the middle and pure efficiency upfront. Check out this team.

Gianluigi Buffon

The legend himself. Yes, we can understand that players such as Thibaut Courtois or Manuel Neuer could have had an advantage here, but we want to go with Buffon. The Italian ahs had a legendary career that has spanned for quarter of a century. During his era he was always one of the top three goalkeepers in the world and it is hard to look beyond him for a spot between the posts. While some would argue that he was a better player between 2000-2010 than he was in the last fifteen years we beg to disagree. The former Juventus and Italy goalkeeper has had an amazing career that saw him captain both the Turin outlet and the national team, and no team with him in goal needs to worry about shot stopping. 

Sergio Ramos

My God, was Sergio Ramos good during his prime. As far as modern defenders go Ramos was one of the defenders who scored most goals in football history from a defensive position. Sergio started his career in Seville, but after moving to Real Madrid he really hit stardom. A late bloomer, Ramos was known for his mistakes and poor defending early in his career. After establishing himself in Madrid he became one of the pillars of both modern Real and the Spain national team. In addition to great defending, Ramos was also known as a good leader, and a player who scored some of the most crucial goals in Madrid's history. Ramos is also one of the players who won every imaginable trophy, both for club and country.

Giorgio Chiellini

With Sergio Ramos on the right side of central defending, a player that would fit ideally besides him is none other than the former Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini. Often overlooked by his peers, Chiellini is your perfect defender. A true leader and one of the last hard tackling center backs of the modern era. Giorgio was strong, fast, relentless, and above all else a true fighter who left it all on the field. Like many modern Juve players he missed out on winning the Champions League, but for years he was the best of the best in Serie A, and for the national team with whom he won the European Championship. Together with Sergio he would form a formidable CB pairing for any team in the world.

Marcelo

Another Real Madrid former star, Marcelo was a force to be reckoned with on the left flank. It doesn't get better than Marcelo. After joining RM ranks at a young age, Marcelo lived out his career as one of the best left backs of his generation. He was technically sound, a good defender, and an even more dangerous attacking threat on that left flank in Madrid. For ages, he was seen as the best LB in the world, and it is hard to slot any other player in his position, and to have  a serious team.  Marcelo was a mainstay for both Madrid and Brazil during his playing career, and even today he dominates the futsal fields showing his skills that go far beyond what a left back should be able to do.

Dani Alves

Dani Alves has his name in the conversation for the best right back of all time.  A talent that transcends time, Alves was a crucial part of Barcelona teams that dominated in the late 2000s and early 2010s.  Later in his career, Dani has proven himself over and over again with tints in Italy with Juventus and in France with PSG. He was good both while defending and in the attack, where his partnership with Lionel Messi will be long remembered even when football is no longer the most popular sport in the world.

With Alves we have completed the defence, which would be a back four with Brazilians, Alves and Marcel on the flanks, and Chiellini and Ramos as centre backs.

N'Golo Kante

While not your first association with the player who dominated the game in the last 15 years, Kante left a mark on the game without a doubt. He would be a workhorse in our best 11. For years, N'Golo was the best defensive midfielder in the game known for his relentless workload, covering all parts of the field, getting the ball back, and aiding his teams in creating attacks. When Kante played for Leicester he was the main man in their title winning season. Later on he won the Champions League with Chelsea and World Cup with France, being the team's motor on all those occasions. With Kante in front of the defence and in charge of going up and down the field covering for midfield creators, attackers and defenders, every team he was on was a safe bet to win on Stake.com.

Andrea Pirlo

The game creation here would be in the hands of none other than the legendary Italian regista, Andrea Pirlo. Another player that spent almost two decades in the game, Pirlo has been good both during the 2000s and in the 2010s. While the biggest haul of trophies he won came with Milan, during which time he won both the CL and the World Cup, what Pirlo did in his late years in Juventus was nothing short of amazing. It was a privilege seeing him donning the black and white shirt. The precision with which Pirlo played the game makes him a perfect playmaker for the team from a deep position. Andrea is a type of player that allows for every action to flow through him, with opponents knowing this and still not being able to do anything about it.

Luka Modric

That's right, our midfield will be created without the likes of Xavi, and Andres Iniesta. While both Spaniards have marked the era too, for us, it is all about having a cohesive unit that would work on the field. Modric, who is still active after years at the top of the game in his early 40s, is an ideal player for every midfield. A Ballon d'Or winner, Luka can be both the midfield's workhorse and a playmaker, while his best position in this team would be to roam the midfield, and in creating the offense, and be the main provider for the three man upfront.

While many would argue that there would be place in a team of the past 15 years for the likes of Casemiro, Kroos, David Silva, KDB, Yaya Toure, or Sergio Busquets, among those that could definitely make a difference for any team the same way they have during their playing careers, we will stick with Modric, Kante, and Pirlo. A perfectly balanced midfield of creativity, defensive prowess, and pure grit that all three of these players have. With both midfield and defence straightened out, it is time to move onto the attackers, and you will see some familiar names here.

Cristiano Ronaldo

You can't make a serious first 11 team in the modern era without including CR7. The Portuguese ace has been one of the best football players of all time. The best part of Ronaldo's career is that he is still going strong in Saudi Arabia, looking to hit on that 1000 goals mark. During his heyday he was the best of the best parried only by Lionel Messi. The top goalscorer for both Real Madrid, his national team, and in the Champions League, CR7 has left a deep mark on the game that will never be erased. His longstanding rivalry with Lionel Messi created millions of football fans during the last two decades, and numerous kids grew up thinking that the stats put forth by Cristiano are normal. Since his prime ended no player has come close to replicating his numbers. As we said, CR7 is still going strong in SA, and is looking to be part of Portugal squad at the upcoming 2026 World Cup. In this team of ours, CR7 would be the left sided attacker, a position where he spent the majority of his career creating havoc and scoring goals when cutting from the left, inside.

Lionel Messi

The GOAT! You could argue that it's not him , that it's CR7, Pele or Maradona, and deep down inside you'd know that Messi overshadows all of those players. Together with Ronaldo, Messi has played a game on a level never seen before. The diminutive Argentine has reinvented the game and himself during the years,  playing as a left winger, false nine, a striker, a side striker, and attacking midfielder, with eventually slotting into a more creative role later in his career. The one thing that was never missing from his arsenal are goals and assists. Success followed wherever Messi went, so you will not be surprised to hear that he has won everything that can be won with both his clubs and the national team. A legend in Barcelona, Messi has spent the last few years with PSG and Inter Miami. With 38 years of age, just like Ronaldo he is working on being fit for the 2026 World Cup. For both men it is going to be the last major international tournament. While far removed from their prime, there is no team in the world that can be formed without these two men in the last 25 years. In our team, Messi would be playing as the right sided attacker.

Robert Lewandowski

The central attacking position in this team would belong to the elite of the elite as far as central forwards go. Lewandowski, a Polish international was one of the rare players who had the stats in the same region as CR7 and Messi during their primes. At one point he came close to winning the Ballon d'Or in an era where the trophy was reserved for them two. A legend for both his national team and Bayern Munich, Lewa has had amazing stints with both BVB and Barcelona later in his career too. Robert has been a clinical striker throughout the majority of his career, and some of the seasons he has had in Munich will be written with golden letters in the team's history. For long it was believed that no one will come close to Gerd Muller, and yet Lewandowski has managed to do so. Just like Messi and CR7, Robert will be looking to take his team to the World Cup throughout the European playoffs for the competition.

There you have it, the top 11 of the last 15 years. As you can probably guess, this team would be playing in a unique form of an 4-3-3 formation. The back four of Marcelo, Chiellini, Ramos and Alves would be both defensively solid, while providing assists for the midfield and the attackers on the flanks. Ramos and Chiellini would be lethal during the dead ball situations as both have been more than  adept in going forward when needed during corners and free kicks.

As far as midfield goes, Pirlo would be in charge of creation, while Kante would work on destruction, with Modric having a more free roaming role. When you look at the attacking trio, well, you understand that no additional instructions would be required. A balanced squad that could both attack and defend, and work in transition too.

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