Joining Kompany at centre-back in our World XI is Thiago Silva. The Paris Saint-Germain defender enjoyed a tremendous year in 2013, marshalling his side to their first Ligue 1 triumph in nearly two decades and also captaining Brazil to Confederations Cup glory. As a result, Silva won the Samba Gold Award earlier this month, beating off competition from the likes of Chelsea duo Oscar and David Luiz as well as Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho and Barcelona's Dani Alves to be named the best Brazilian footballer in Europe. Big things will be expected of the centre-half this year, as he will lead his country into the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where all eyes will be on the samba star.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
