Picking a Best Bayern Munich XI Using 1 Player of Each Nationality

Things are not going smoothly for Carlo Ancelotti right now, despite having a wealth of talent at his disposal, so we thought we'd attempt to lighten the mood with a bit of fantasy football, picking a Bayern Munich ultimate XI—with a twist. 

Criteria

Before you get picking, a few ground rules. Only one player per nationality, and not the nationality they were born with, but their sporting nationality. Only players from 2000/01 on, and the formation you pick must be a recognised, workable one, i.e. 4-2-3-1, 5-3-2, 4-4-2, etc.

Goalkeeper: Manuel Neuer (Germany)

The most difficult choice of all was deciding which German player to pick given Bayern have always had a homespun spine. Philipp Lahm? Bastian Schweinsteiger? Toni Kroos? Thomas Muller?

Christian Lell? Just kidding.

It has to be Manuel Neuer. As good as the other players are, they cannot lay claim to being the world's best in their position. Neuer undisputedly can.

Centre-back: Martin Demichelis (Argentina)

I can already hear the cries of "you don't know what you're doing" familiar to referees in the Anglo-Saxon world, but Martin Demichelis was a solid Bayern man.

Admittedly, his inclusion is largely due to the "one nation" rule, but a player does not stay at a club like Bayern for seven years without being a quality footballer.

And he has the medals to prove it. He won four doubles, the first two under the demanding Felix Magath. Want to argue with that?

Centre-back: Samuel Kuffour (Ghana)

With 16 major titles, including the 2000/01 UEFA Champions League, and nearly 250 competitive appearances, the ever-smiling, ever-genial Samuel Kuffour was a solid performer at the club for some 12 years, arriving as a 16-year-old in 1993.

Longevity is not always a gauge of quality, but it is in Kuffour's case. Having said that, had Jerome Boateng opted to represent Ghana, like his half-brother, Kevin-Prince, then Kuffour would have been second-choice.

Right-back: Rafinha (Brazil)

There are certainly more worthy Brazilians to be included in this lineup—Ze Roberto and Lucio, to name just two. Frenchman Willy Sagnol might also have been considered for this position. Lahm certainly would have but for Neuer.

So he's rather a default choice, but the ex-FC Schalke defender Rafinha, who is not merely a forward-thinking full-back but can defend too, can more than do the job. 

Left-back: David Alaba (Austria)

Versatility personified, David Alaba might have played in three positions in this side, but left-back is a great fit, as he is showing this season. He is not yet at the level Lahm took the role to, but his defending is solid, and he brings a huge amount going forward—arguably even more than his current club captain.

Midfield: Thiago Alcantara (Spain)

"Thiago or nothing!" Pep Guardiola said when asked which players he would like to bring to Bayern upon his appointment in 2013, per rp-online (in German). Need I say any more?

Midfield: Renato Sanches (Portugal)

This choice is not based on what Renato Sanches has done, but rather what he will do.

He is one of the most exciting talents world football has seen in recent memory, and the Bayern powers-that-be must have been delirious with delight at how their €35 million investment in the 19-year-old already looked like a bargain given his performances at Euro 2016 before he had even kicked a ball for the club.

Attacking midfielder: Franck Ribery (France)

After dotting about between Brest, Metz, Galatasaray and Marseille, Franck Ribery finally found the place where he could best express himself in Bavaria.

He immediately confirmed the talent that had made him a surprise inclusion in France's 2006 World Cup squad, winning Germany's Player of the Year in his maiden season and helping ensure he—and Luca Toni, who benefitted greatly from his work—were quickly taken into the fans' hearts.

Attacking midfielder: Zvjezdan Misimovic (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

OK, I admit, Zvjezdan Misimovic is a provocative choice, but football cannot be all about work rate. I want pure, unadulterated talent on the ball, the ability to pick a pass that mere mortals do not have.

He played only three Bundesliga games for Bayern, leaving in 2004, but there is also no doubt Misimovic is "one that got away."

Unlike Mats Hummels, he did not return to Munich, but one of the most artful midfielders European football has seen did come back to haunt his hometown club with a gobsmacking Bundesliga-record 20 assists in Wolfsburg's 2008/09 title-winning season.

Attacking midfielder: Arjen Robben (Netherlands)

You cannot have one half of "Robbery" without the other. Netherlands international Arjen Robben arguably deserves his place even more than Ribery, given the reliance the team has on him even today to provide the most predictable yet seemingly unstoppable forward impetus on the right flank.

Unfortunately, the injury problems persist. Just imagine what his stats would have been like—80 goals, 48 assists in 149 Bundesliga games—if his body had betrayed him less.

Striker: Robert Lewandowski (Poland)

Another current player, but is there really any argument Robert Lewandowski's predecessors, Roy Makaay, Mario Gomez, Miroslav Klose and, er, Carsten Jancker, deserve to be ahead of him?

You can even forget the five goals in less than nine minutes against Wolfsburg last season and the fact he was the first foreigner to reach 30 goals in a Bundesliga campaign. So much more than a predatory goalscorer, he still should get the nod for his all-round contribution to the team.