Vini Jr., Rodrygo lead 2024 best South American XI in Europe

90 years ago Italy won the World Cup with three Argentines in the team and a Brazilian in the squad. A couple of decades later Alfredo Di Stefano arrived at Real Madrid, via Colombia and his native Argentina, to change the course of European football and perhaps even the continent’s history. He was the main attraction as a risky venture like the European Cup, now known as the Champions League, swiftly became a must-see success.

South American players, then, have long been making a vital contribution to the European game across the Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga and Serie A, and this season has been no exception. This, in a vague 4-3-3 formation, is a team selection made up of South Americans who have starred in the 2023-24 European season.

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EMILIANO MARTINEZ

International team: Argentina
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 31
Club team: Aston Villa

Martinez developed at Arsenal for almost long enough to qualify for a pension, and has come into his own after moving to Aston Villa and becoming undisputed first choice. He solved Argentina’s long running goalkeeping problem from the moment that he joined the team in 2021. Now he carries the prestige and the presence of a World Cup winner wherever he goes, filling the goal with a combination of technique and charisma. He was badly missed when injury struck towards the end of the season, but played a big part in Villa making it into the Champions League.

PEPE AQUINO

International team: Brazil
Position: Right-back
Age: 27
Club team: Porto

Pepê left Brazil as a right winger, but after three seasons in Portugal he has grown massively in versatility. He can now play as a number 10, and also operate in any role down the right flank, including full-back. He gets into our team as a quick attacking option from the back, in a position where there is not a great deal of top class competition. And he earned a late call up for the Copa America.

BREMER

International team: Brazil
Position: Centre-back
Age: 27
Club team: Brazil
Position: Forward
Age: 23
Club team: Brazil
Position: Forward
Age: 23
Club team: Real Madrid

Vinicius Jr.’ move to Europe changed the market. Paying around £40 million to sign an untried 16-year-old seemed absurd. Now, it comes across as an absolute bargain. The winger blows defences away with a combination of blistering pace, improvisation at top speed plus increasing precision and growing game intelligence. He’s the can opener, the one his teammates look to when a goal is needed, and is surely on course to be the first Brazilian Ballon D’Or winner since Kaka in 2007.

SUBSTITUTES

GK, Éderson, Brazil/Manchester City, 30 years old: Had an injury hit season, but even so was important to his club’s fourth consecutive league title, as a brave, imposing keeper with unparalleled distribution skills.

CB, Sebastián Coates, Uruguay/Sporting Lisbon, 33: Gangling centre-back who was never the quickest or the classiest, but is a leader who has been key to his club’s league triumph.