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It's been a difficult 18-month stretch for Chelsea and UEFA's annual team of the year nominees reflect that - only three members of the club have been nominated for the 2011 shortlist, and two of those joined this summer. Those two are obvious, then: Juan Mata's been named as a possible choice at left midfield and Andre Villas-Boas is one of five candidates for manager of the year.
Who's the final Chelsea man, you ask? This rhetorical device would have worked a lot better if I hadn't totally given it away in the title: It's Ashley Cole, for some reason. The best (or possibly worst) part about all of this is that the voting is open to fans, so go ahead and pick your favourite team on UEFA.com and then share them in the comments. My suggestion is after the jump...
UEFA XI: Manuel Neuer; Marcelo, Nemanja Vidic, Thiago Silva, Dario Srna; Juan Mata, Xavi Hernandez (c), David Silva, Mario Goetze; Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo. Coach: Andre Villas-Boas.
And yes, the team shape is weird. Blame UEFA, because otherwise Eddy Cavani would totally be on the list.