No-one has ever won a trophy with a team comprising solely of 11 stars, and this is unlikely to charge in the future. Football is a team sport, and the old adage about too many chiefs and not enough Indians very much applies. The stars are always the ones who get the glory, of course, but without those players who stay in the background and quietly go about their work, there would be no trophies for the big names to celebrate.

Luiz Felipe Scolari, who won the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™ as Brazil coach, has often said that Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Co would not have collected gold without Kleberson. While the various wizards of dribble were working their magic, he was the man whom Scolari labelled the "driving force" of the team. Guido Buchwald played a similar role at Italy 1990, shackling Argentinean superstar Diego Maradona in the Final to allow the likes of Lothar Matthaus to bring the trophy back to Germany.

FIFA.com takes a look at those who rarely get the fans leaping out of their seats, but without whom no side would be able to compete - the behind-the-scenes workhorses who allow the headliners to shine.

Bundesliga duo lead by example
The relative unknown Simon Rolfes and former Brazil international Ze Roberto are among the best players in the German Bundesliga. The former, 26, is in his third season at Bayer Leverkusen, doing the spadework and allowing the more creative players such as Bernd Schneider and Sergej Barbarez a free rein to showcase their artistry. "Simon Rolfes has made the leap from being a good squad member to becoming a real leader," said Leverkusen coach Michael Skibbe recently, heaping praise upon the defensive midfielder who has seven Germany caps to his name.

Another player who regularly catches the eye in the Bundesliga is Bayern Munich's part creator, part enforcer Ze Roberto. The one-time Real Madrid player has been plying his trade in the upper echelons of German football for a number of years now, but this is the first season that he has been playing as a defensive midfielder. Competing for record Bundesliga title-winners Bayern means that there is a great deal of responsibility on his shoulders - after all, with the likes of Franck Ribery, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni pulling the strings in the final third of the park, such an attack-weighted team needs a skilful yet battling midfielder like the 33-year-old to provide some balance.

Though he is a mere 21 years old, Marcos Arouca da Silva, or Arouca for short, was a key figure in Fluminense's Copa do Brasil 2007 conquest. The midfielder may only stand at 1.68m, but he is very much the grafter at the heart of the Rio de Janeiro outfit and played a crucial role in his team's qualification for this year's Copa Libertadores.

Argentina is another country in which the workhorse also has his place, despite the wealth of creative and attacking talent on offer. In this respect, reigning South American champions Boca Juniors have turned to Sebastian Battaglia. The 27-year-old midfielder recently made his international debut and is there to watch superstar Juan Roman Riquelme's back.

Battaglia already has several trophies in his cabinet and he recently proved his mettle at the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2007. His performances may not have been enough to secure Boca Juniors their 18th international title, but he did prove that he is one of the best midfield dynamos in the game today.

Rocks off which to play
In the final of the aforementioned competition, Battaglia went up against Gennaro Gattuso, who has been part of the AC Milan engine room for eight years now. Rino is the epitome of the tough-tackling midfielder, both on the domestic front with the 17-time Scudetto winners and in the Squadra Azzurra. The 30-year-old was one of the standout players at Germany 2006, showing more of the grit that has seen him operate successfully week in, week out behind Andrea Pirlo and Kaka.

Elsewhere in Serie A, Daniele De Rossi is also worthy of a mention. Roma have an incredibly attacking line-up with the likes of David Pizarro, Alberto Aquilani, Francesco Totti, Rodrigo Taddei and Ludovic Giuly, but it is De Rossi who is there to do the dirty work behind these wonderful talents.

When Lyon are mentioned, the first names to come to mind are Juninho Pernambucano, Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa. Those three would not have half as many chances to convert if it were not for someone sweating buckets behind them.

The multiple French champions have somewhat of a tradition of strong, silent types working in the background, with Jeremy Toulalan and Kim Kallstrom protecting their backline since 2006. Before them, Michael Essien and Mahamadou Diarra operated as defensive midfielders, snuffing out the opposition's attacks. Essien has since moved on to Chelsea and Diarra to Real Madrid.

English culture, Spanish dependency
In England, midfield battles are part of the culture and it is no wonder that defensive-minded players who put the team first are elevated to cult status. Current Premier League leaders Manchester United have Owen Hargreaves sweeping up behind Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, adding a touch of calm and elegance to the defensive midfield role and contributing greatly to the Red Devils' success.

Over at Everton, Republic of Ireland international Lee Carsley is their midfield terrier, giving Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta some breathing space to operate. Elsewhere, Frenchmen Mathieu Flamini at Arsenal and Claude Makelele at Chelsea play crucial roles backing up their more adventurous team-mates.

Barcelona midfielders Andres Iniesta and Xavi are both central to coach Frank Rijkaard's plans in Spain. The diminutive duo are able to turn defence into attack in an instant, and have enjoyed more playing time than any outfield member of the squad this season. Barça have conceded a mere 13 goals so far this season, with Iniesta and Xavi playing a major role in this achievement.

Arch-rivals Real Madrid also have a dynamic duo. Jose Maria Gutierrez Hernandez, or simply Guti, has struggled to win a place in coach Bernd Schuster's starting XI this term, but it was the 31-year-old who helped break up opposition attacks in previous seasons for the likes of Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and Luis Figo. Former Lyon star Diarra is competently filling this role now.

It will be interesting to see how much the role of the defensive midfielder changes over the coming years. Many engine room holders are now playmakers, building from the back, spraying about passes and occasionally even popping up on the score-sheet. All this while the famous names in front of them continue to steal the limelight.