2013 was a momentous year for Bayern Munich and for Franck Ribery in particular. The veteran midfielder finally got his hands on the Champions League when Bayern beat domestic rivals Borussia Dortmund in the final, just one of FIVE trophies won by the Bavarian club. And Ribery was arguably their stand-out performer in those successes; that he was named UEFAs Best Player in Europe in 2013 and was voted the Most Valuable Player in the FIFA Club World Cup tells you that. The Frenchmans 11 goals helped Bayern sweep up all honours in a trophy-laden campaign and in a year where the Germans dominated European football and put Spain in their place, it would be unjustifiable to write a World XI without mention of Ribery, who is in contention for this years Ballon dOr having made the three-man shortlist alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
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.
