Greatest club teams of all time - Real Madrid 2004

The Real Madrid squad of 2004 has to go down as one of the finest club teams ever assembled. Although they did not win a single title that season, bowing out in the round of 16 in the Champions League and finishing second in the league, the talent on display in the team was second to none.

The starting XI comprised of Iker Casillas in goal, a position he had made his own by now and one he would keep for the majority of the next decade. San Iker was on his way to become one of the legends of the game and he could be regarded as one of the best keepers of that era.

The defense line had a standard look with two wing backs and two center halves. The right back was owned by long time Madrid and Spanish faithful Michael Salgado. Salgado was a handy customer and provided the toughness to the team apart from his ability to make darting runs down the right side and keep his opponents on their toes.

On the left side was probably the best left wing back ever and a player who has been inspiration for an entire generation of players, Roberto Carlos. The Brazilian was signed from Inter Milan and had become a Spanish citizen by this time. Explosive and pacy, defense was not always his forte but he more than made up for it through his offense. His free kicks and banana goals are part of football folklore and is one of the most decorated players of all time both at club level and internationally.

The centre halves were a constant source of problems for this team, probably the only real weakness. Ivan Helguera was a concerted center back and he combined with Walter Samuel to give Madrid some kind of stability at the back after an injury to England international Jonathan Woodgate, a man many were surprised to see don the famous white kit. He was supposed to be the man to step into Fernando Hierro's shoes but couldn't. Had it not been for Iker Casillas's heroics between the sticks, Madrid defense may have actually looked much worse than it was.

The midfield is the star studded Galacticos stuff that this team was famous for. The wings were manned by Luis Figo and David Beckham with Zinedine Zidane and Jose Mari Guti in the middle. When they opted for a flatter formation without wing play, Zidane would shift to the left with Beckham in the center. The interplay and passing between them was stuff of legend and every week Real Madrid would make it to the top play of the week thanks to the exploits of these four especially. With Figo darting down the wings and mesmerizing his opponents, and Zidane making impossible look possible with his touches and vision, Los Galacticos were a treat to watch. Guti was sometimes missed out when talking about the mid field, but his contributions as a long time player and his link up with Raul were often the reason Madrid broke through opponents. Guti had the uncanny ability to come up with the killer pass from seemingly normal positions. Beckham and his crossing helped Real to many goals, with some of them so beautiful that they are still talked about today such as his link up with Zidane that was done and dusted in the blink of an eye.

The last of the Galacticos were Raul and Ronaldo. Ronaldo had just come from being a world cup winner and World Player of the year. Raul has always been the man at Madrid, now he was one of the senior players and held a position of importance for the players. With loads of goals between them, two of the best strikers in the world in front of the world's finest played made this an unstoppable juggernaut that somehow got derailed somewhere.

The galaxy of stars assembled could not show any silverware for tiger performance but they won hearts with their performance. They played the game the way it is meant to be played, not only playing competitive football but also entertaining the crowd. When they clicked, there was no sight better in world football and every piece of skill or technique was on display week in and week out. This was a team that was built to dominate and entertain, not just win matches. The free kicks were one of the best situations for any fan, as a long endless line of the world's best was waiting. It was sometimes Figo, sometimes Beckham or Zidane or Ronaldo or Roberto Carlos. Who ever fancied the chance, took it. With all the stars and all mutually respected, ego clashes were infrequent and everyone got along with each other, such was the level of admiration for each other. This team for me has to go down as one of the best of all time and it proves that you don't always have to win silverware to be the best.

They did win the Champions League two years prior to it with a similar core and would go on to have in titles in the coming years, but the class of '04 remains unrivalled, something similar to the NBA draft of '04, which included LeBron, Carmelo, Wade and Bosh.