AuthorBoth Outcasts When the Outcasts were kids we would sit in the classroom before the lesson began and talk about the best team of players that our young minds could think of. We produced team sheets and formations to try to fit in the best players and argued aplenty with our friends when they hadn't included someone who we thought was an obvious choice. Flash forward and now in our early 30s we wondered what the best team that we could come up with now was after years of watching football. The only caveat was that we had to have watched these players play during our lifetime, so no Pele or Maradona here as they weren’t playing by the time we were growing up. Cue the arguing once again. Sports Billy: Right, here goes, these were picked not because they were the best players that I have ever seen (not in all cases anyways), but were the players that have brought me the most joy in my 25 odd years of watching the beautiful game. I have gone for a 3-5-2 Formation. GK: Peter Schmeichel Even though he played for Manchester United, he was always my favourite keeper. He was such a presence and a bloody lovely bloke too (I was lucky enough to meet him in the early 90’s!). CB: J Stam These three are complete opposites in terms of style of play. I see Stam being the rock in this defence, and he’d need to be as the other two would be bombing on to join the attack at any given moment! CB: M Sammer Sammer was pure class, in both central defence and anchoring at the base of the midfield. Unfortunately for both him and us, his career was cut short due to injury. CB: R Carlos Carlos was not only a tireless worker, but also a genuine attacking threat, scoring goals from absolutely everywhere! DM: SB Veron You’re probably looking at this and thinking there are some strange names in this midfield! Veron was always a fave of mine as he made central midfield – a high energy, tough place to play – look so easy. He would lumber around the pitch, which looked lazy to most, but was always creating and driving his teams. His range of passing was superb and almost effortless. He also gets bonus points for looking like a pirate! RM: S Macmanaman McManaman was a joy to watch in Liverpools mid to late 90’s Spice Boy days. Stick thin and looking way too fragile to play footy, he would tear opposition teams apart with his skill and speed. After many years of service, he left Liverpool under a cloud after turning down a massive offer from the club to instead take a Bosman to Real Madrid, but I loved him for being everything that English players weren’t during this time – keen to move abroad and play for one of Europes biggest clubs; keen to sample a new culture and lifestyle; and keen to stick at the task and be a success at Madrid (which at the time had the likes of Figo, Beckham, Zidane, Guti, Ronaldo, Owen etc) – every year he was there the new manager at the time would look to move him on, only for him to sit tight, work hard and win his place back in the team. LM: Ronaldinho Even though I have been lucky enough to be alive for the whole CR7 & Messi show so far, Ronaldinho is still (with Zidane, his midfield partner here!) one of the most entertaining players I have ever seen. He would do tricks for the sake of doing tricks, plus he always played with a smile on his face, which is a bit of a rarity in today’s modern game. CM: Z Zidane Zidane. What can you say about this man? I’ve said earlier that Ronaldinho was the best player I have seen for tricks, but Zizou is probably the best player I have ever seen full stop. It’s a cliché, but he literally had it all (even brain snap moments such as the World Cup Final head butt!). His goal against Leverkusen in the Champions League Final in 2002 at Hampden Park is the best goal I have ever seen. CM: P Ince Paul Ince would be the workhorse of this team. One of the few modern players to have turned out for both Man U and Liverpool, I very much admired him for his move to Italy and Inter as back when he was playing there weren’t too many English players playing overseas. He was a no-nonsense player that always gave 100% in every game he played. FW: Ronaldo The original Ronaldo, early in his injury ravaged career (I am thinking the PSV and Barca days) was a machine. He combined speed, strength and deadly shooting to become the worlds most sought after striker. Although the latter years of his career saw him blighted by injury, he still scored goals where ever he went (even at Real late on in his career). He loved the big stage and seemed to produce goals almost on cue for both club football and on the international stage. FW: C Vieri Vieri is a very underrated striker. I loved him for the fact he would show up at team, score a bucket load of goals (normally more goals than games for most of his sides!), then the next season bugger off to another club and do it all over again. He was the rare thing of a journeyman footballer, which was actually good! JeffEyesRimmer: So my turn, difficult to follow such a good team but we only have a couple of players the same. I went for a 4-2-3-1 formation. Hopefully this gives support and creativity in the midfield but with a strong defensive unit. Plenty of width and speed and in the front men there is some real goal threat. GK: Peter Schmeichel
One of the three players we have agreed on. The big Dane was ever present during Manchester United’s dominant years in the 1990s and 2000s. He was voted in the best Premier League team of the decade. Testament to how good he a goal keeper he was is how long it took United to find a replacement after he left. I was always amazed that he just seemed to smother the ball whenever there was danger. LB: P Maldini I have to admit that my defence is quite Italian but I am fine with that, they are renowned for being great defenders and I remember them being like that my whole life. Maldini once said that if he had to make a tackle he had made a mistake. That is how good Maldini was at reading the game and it allowed him to play at the top level until he was 41, with 25 seasons and AC Milan. He made defending look so easy and I blame him for making me think I could defend, I can’t. CB: F Cannavarro Only defender in our lifetime that has won the world player of the year award, speaks for itself that. Lifted a world cup and captained some of the best teams in the world. He mixed skill with aggression and was a top defender. Just class. CB: A Costacurta Another member of the great AC Milan defence that included Maldini above, I went for Costacurta over others again due to his ability to read the game and stop danger before it ever happened. What is it with Italians making defending look simple? RB: L Thuram A world cup winner with France in 1998 and a defensive force with Juventus, he had it all, power, speed, timing and stamina. Just a model professional all round and now he is a UNICEF ambassador so I would like to think he is a top bloke too. RM: Cristiano Ronaldo One day we will look back and be thankful of being able to enjoy watching Ronaldo playing and scoring goals. He is a supreme player and although he divides people with his personality the numerous stories told of his extra training sessions and workouts suggest a player that is driven to be the best he can be. Yes he can be arrogant and can act like a child when he doesn't get his own way but who cares when he plays the way he does. CM: Patrick Veira I plumped for Veira over Roy Keane here, honestly I could have picked either one but the world cup and European championship medals edge it for me. He would be my defensive shield in this team. He was a typical box to box player and would turn up wherever you needed him. He was a dependable unit of a player and one that wouldn't be afraid to get stuck in and do the dirty side of the game. CM: Z Zidane The second player on the list that we both chose, yep it had to be Zidane. He won the world player of the year three times, won both the world cup and European championship and won plenty of titles with Real Madrid. So good with the ball at his feet, such a wonder to watch play, head butting aside. Like my fellow Outcast I agree that he just had it all. LM: Ryan Giggs Am I being biased with having a Welshman in the team? No, I don’t think so. The most appearances in the Premier League and he still was playing at the top at 40. I best remember him for his left wing abilities when he was younger rather than his deep lying role later in his career. I remember watching that goal in the FA Cup semi-final with Arsenal live and just staggered at the sheer genius of it. I think that goal is up there in the top five football events I have watched live but that’s for another list. FW: Ronaldo The Brazilian goal machine that basically won a world cup for Brazil, he was just unplayable. Having him being supplied by the midfield I have picked, he would score a bag full I think. The last player we both picked and with good reason, he is probably the most complete forward either of us Outcasts have ever seen play. FW: L Messi Ok this might be a cop out picking Messi but I can’t say I have ever seen a player in my lifetime so dominant. Defensive players have tried everything to stop him playing, from man marking to just kicking lumps out of him but he is just supreme. I don’t think I need to explain anymore about him, highlight reels do that. He is similar in one respect to Cristiano Ronaldo above in that we will look back in years to come and just enjoy the fact we saw him play in his prime. So that’s our picks, what do you guys think? Which team would you rather manage? Who would you pick instead? Send us your teams and we will post them up. There are quite a number of players that we considered and had to leave out left out. Thanks go to the footballformation.co.uk website as well, great page to generate some teams and recommend them. |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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