The best and worst XIs of the 2009/10 season so far

WORST XI: DEFENSE

Solid as a sponge, the Worst XI team is built on the shifting sands of the defensive unit which features Jens Lehmann in goal, with Andreas Wolf, Edson Braafheid, Sascha Riether and Marcel Maltritz across the back.

Lehmann has proved yet again that while his record shows that he can actually be a goalkeeper when he wants to be, most of the time he would much rather be a five-year-old child. Unpredictability can sometimes give a goalie an edge but in Lehmann's case it has pushed him over that edge and into the abyss. While not 100 percent to blame for Stuttgart's imploding season, answers as to where the other five percent came from can be sent in on a postcard.

Bochum's Maltritz (blue) again just fails to prevent a goal

It's hard to pick out the weakest link from Nuremberg's Wolf, Bayern's Braafheid, Wolfsburg's Riether and Bochum's Maltritz. All have shown inadequacies and failings to meet the criteria and their ineptitudes are so closely tied on the embarrassment scale that separating them and handing them the title is almost impossible. Which is why the award for most ineffectual defender goes to the eight-legged gaff machine known as WolfBraafheidRietherMaltritz.

WORST XI: MIDFIELD

The spine of the Worst XI looks more than a little rubbery and the likes of Maniche, Caio, Paul Freier and Thomas Hitzlsperger combined look unlikely to stiffen and offer any resistance when opposing a more adventurous and creative quartet.

Maniche (r.) has labored dreadfully in Cologne's midfield

Maniche has contributed nothing to FC Cologne's season to date. A highly decorated player with league titles in Portugal and Italy and Europa league and Champions League winners' medals, it seemed as though Cologne were getting a hugely experienced midfield general when he joined from Inter Milan. What they apparently got was a disinterested donkey looking for a quiet pasture to spend his remaining days. At least Cologne didn't buy Caio or they would have been in bigger trouble. The most expensive player in Eintracht Frankfurt's history, Caio is one of a rare breed – a Brazilian playmaker who can't make plays.

Buying expensively from foreign markets is always a risk which is why VfL Bochum thought they were playing safe buying the experienced Paul Freier. Freier, who began his professional career at Bochum before enjoying more success at Bayer Leverkusen, is hardly an unknown quantity at the Ruhrstadion but the Paul Freier of 2009 may as well be a stranger or the evil twin of the original. Legs and motivation seem to have been misplaced on the short journey between his last two clubs.

Making up the quartet is Thomas Hitzlsperger, another player who seems to have lost his mojo. The midfielder formerly known as The Hammer is currently trying out new nicknames such as The Chocolate Teapot (as in 'as useful as a…') and That Bloke Who Used to be Good. Gone are the explosive shots, the commanding presence and the ability to kick a ball straight.

WORST XI: ATTACK

Klose has been declining since joining Bayern Munich

Leading the non-firing line of the Worst XI are Miroslav Klose and Marek Mintal. Both former Bundesliga top scorers are having nightmare seasons so far. Bayern's Klose has been creaking and stumbling around as a shadow of his former self – and that's just on the way from the dressing room to the bench. When he does eventually get a game, he has looked off the pace and profligate in front of the sticks. When he has notched a goal, he seems to be celebrating out of relief, a fact that only compounds the belief that he's in decline.

Mintal doesn't have the excuse that he's slipping down the pecking order at his club behind a host of international strikers and world class players. He plays for Nuremberg after all. The midfielder-cum-non-striking-striker has managed just one goal so far this season as Nuremberg become mired in an early relegation battle. Mintal has yet to show any signs that he has the stomach for another fight.

WORST XI: COACH

Look, there are a number of reasons to feel sorry for how things went for Markus Babbel in this foreshortened half-season at the helm in Stuttgart. The club sold his best player in Mario Gomez and bought poorly, bringing in the out-of-sorts Pavel Pogrebnyak and the thus-far woeful Aliaksandr Hleb. The DFB's ruling that he had to get his coaching badges in order meant he spent as much time on the road or in Cologne in the classroom as at the Stuttgart training ground. The way he accepted his sacking was astonishingly gracious – appearing at a press conference with his executioner Horst Heldt and reminding the club's unruly fans that this was not a life-or-death issue, especially in light of what German football had gone through with Robert Enke's suicide.

Yes, Markus Babbel is a class act, and will probably be a good coach in the future. But none of this means he did a good job coaching Stuttgart this year. His initial self-assurance that he could handle coaching classes and actual coaching evaporated when the going got tough, and he'd quit the course by mid-October. In addition to a nearly-intact roster from last year, a number of promising youngsters like Sebastian Rudy and Timo Gebhart have come through, adding to his choice in midfield. And in the end, Babbel had a whole summer to devise a new way of playing without Gomez, the former tip of his spear. Whatever he came up with wasn't working. The best coaches have a plan B, even a C.

FOR THE RECORD:

Jefferson's Best XI: Adler, Boateng, Bordon, Hyypia, Badstuber - Ze Roberto, Misimovic, Özil, Ivanschitz - Kiessling, Barrios.

Jefferson's Worst XI: Lehmann, Braafheid, Andreas Wolf, Barzagli, Mavraj - Maniche, Podolski, Moreno, Hitzlsperger - Klose, Mintal.

Paul's Best XI: Adler, Castro, Hyypia, Naldo, Beck – Kroos, Sahin, Ze Roberto, Özil – Kiessling, Kuranyi

Paul's Worst XI: Lehmann, Riether, Maltritz, Wolf – Schaefer, Maniche, Teber, Kacar, Dabrowski – Grafite, Sestak

Nick's Best XI: Adler, Bordon, Boateng, Naldo, Hyypia,- Kroos, Ze Roberto, Özil, Müller - Kiessling, Barrios

Nick's Worst XI: Lehmann, Wolf, Braafheid, Riether, Maltritz – Maniche, Podolski Hitzlsperger, Freier – Klose, Raffael.

Matt's Best XI: Rost, Castro, Naldo, Hyypia, Boateng – Oezil, Ze Roberto, Sahin, Kroos – Kiessling, Farfan

Matt's Worst XI: Lehmann, Stein, Janker, Barzagli, Rozehnal – Hleb, Nicu, Maniche, Mintal – Wichniarek, Klose

Author: Nick Amies with contributions from Paul Chapman, Jefferson Chase and Matt Hermann.
Editor: Andreas Illmer