My Favorite XI

So it’s the Nations League/International Friendlies and whatnot this week. So I thought I had two options on what to write about:

1. The fact that they’re still playing international soccer even though most sports are playing in COVID-related bubbles… to the point where Toni Kroos said this

   “Unfortunately, we do not decide as players. We are just puppets of FIFA and UEFA.“If there were a players’ union, we would not play a Nations League or a Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.”

   Yikes.

2. Something fun and random that I never get time to write about

So, for me…. that’s a no-brainer.

So, I present to you, a squad of my favorite players and why I love them. There’s a few things to take into consideration here.

1. Not every player here is a great buy card-wise - but I’ve used that as a bit of a tiebreaker when necessary

2. Not every player here is necessarily the best ever at their position. These are the guys I’ve loved to watch

3. I’m only including players that I was around to see at their peak

4. I’m Australian and a Man City fan, but I won’t try and let that impact my decisions too much

5. This was way harder than I thought it would be…

GK: Mark Schwarzer

You know how I said I wouldn’t let me being Australian sway my choices?

I lied.

Mark Schwarzer was a Premier League mainstay for around a decade with Middlesbrough and Fulham, and then spent some time at Leicester and Chelsea later in his career.

He was a real underrated keeper too in those years. Obviously his prime was at mid-tier clubs, but a lot of the time, that’s where great keepers get to show their skills.

But Schwarzer’s night was the 2006 World Cup Qualifier. I won’t go too far into it, but if you have a spare eight minutes and thirty-seven seconds, you can watch the best night of sport in Australia’s history (in my opinion)

And there’s also two commentators who are riding every kick like their life depends on it.

I still get chills.

There was no way he wasn’t going to make this team.

If by any chance, you do want them… here’s a link to his cards on eBay.

LB: Roberto Carlos

One of the best left-backs ever, Roberto Carlos was an absolute attacking weapon for years.

Roberto Carlos was power and speed personified.

And dead balls. Fuck he could hit a dead ball.

If this fantasy team were ever to play a game, he’d be one of the guys fighting over kicking duties.

Most importantly, I also think he was one of the first players that made playing full-back cool. Legends of that time like Cafu and Maldini were awesome players, but they' weren’t exactly cool to watch if you’re 10 years old.

Roberto Carlos on the other hand… you wanted to watch him play. Which is great for kids who play that position…. because let’s be honest, full-back is not a converted position in junior teams.

You can find his cards on eBay.

CB: Paolo Maldini

I said Maldini wasn’t a cool player to watch for a 10-year-old, but I 100% had a Maldini Italy jersey when I was 10 (needless to say, I wasn’t a cool kid).

One of the best defenders ever, Maldini was an absolute God.

He’s one of the players that is more impressive the more you watch.

His style of play is basically summed up in one of his more famous quotes, and to me, a quote that summarizes everything you need to do positionally to be a great defender.

“If I have to make a tackle then I have already made a mistake.” 

His rookie cards are rising in price too. You can find them on eBay.

CB: Vincent Kompany

My Man City fandom is coming out here.

I actually remember Kompany long before his City days, when he was a Football Manager wonderkid at Anderlecht. Back then, he was a CDM though… and a good one at that.

You could tell watching him play too. Kompany had great poise on the ball and his distribution was underrated.

A great leader on the field too, City haven’t looked the same since he left.

You can find his cards on eBay.

RB: Philipp Lahm

Right back was a hotly contested position in this team, with a bunch of guys viable choices. I couldn’t look past Philipp Lahm…. partially because I can cheat and put him at full-back instead of central midfield.

Lahm wasn’t the overlapping fullback that many think of when they imagine a full-back helping in attack, but he was still a vital cog in his teams going forward. Often collecting the ball in the defensive half and using his passing, vision, and IQ for the game to set up attacks quickly.

He may not have been the flashiest player out there, but Lahm was super-consistent, could run all day, and never made a bad choice.

Some days, you’d think he was the perfect player.

Find his cards here.

CM: Andrea Pirlo

Watching Andrea Pirlo play was a joy. Plain and simple.

Pirlo changed the number six from a player who tackled and won the ball back into a playmaker who could set up forward players through an endless passing range.

Just check out some of these bad-boys.

And another feather to Pirlo’s cap is that he played for Reggina, the Italian side that I follow. So, I kinda feel like I was on the Pirlo train early - and then got to see the rest of the world fall in love with him.

He won 116 caps for Italy, and was a vital cog in their 2006 World Cup winning squad.

You can find his cards on eBay.

CM: Xavi

So, you can probably tell, when it comes to central midfielders, I like guys who can pass…. Although, I do love a rough-and-tumble midfielder too, as you’ll see in my bench.

But man… When you think about midfielders who could control a match, Xavi is the benchmark.

His passing was out of this world.

I searched the internet for a long time looking for an interview with Xavi that I read one time - one that really stood out to me.

Basically, Xavi was asked about his passing range and how he can find teammates so easily. Xavi then went on to talk about how he knows how each of hid teammates like to receive the ball.

For example (this part is completely made up), Messi likes it this way, so I put more spin on the ball, Iniesta likes slightly more topspin, so I pass to him another way…

An absolute savant-level move…

It kinda reminds me of those stories of Dennis Rodman standing and watching shooting drills so he can see how particular players’ shots missed, and how many rotations each should would have on it’s way to the rim - all to help his rebounding.

Xavi is an underrated legend of the game when you consider just how good he was. But I guess, when you’re in the best team of your era, you might be overshadowed.

You can find his cards here.

LAM: Lionel Messi

Speaking of overshadowing Xavi, let’s have a small chat about Lionel Messi.

I won’t spend too much time talking about Messi, because we all know how good he is.

But I will share my favorite anecdote that shows just how dominant the Argentinian is. During Messi’s (and Barca’s) peak, there was an unofficial ‘Messi Rule’ that myself and other stat guys would use… Basically, if you analyzed statistics to compare players and Messi wasn’t at or close to the top of your list, then the stat or the way you used it was wrong because Messi is so much better than anyone else.

On the other hand, if you tried a few new things and list that spat out at the end had Messi as number one, it’s probably worth looking into further.

Find his cards here.

CAM: Ronaldinho

Ronaldinho was probably the second most fun player to watch in my lifetime (first place is on my bench).

I was only 12 or 13 when the 2002 World Cup was taking place, so I didn’t rally hear of Ronaldinho (who was playing for PSG at the time) until the tournament… And I still remember this free kick like it was yesterday.

From there, Ronaldinho basically was the best player on the planet for a few years. The only thing that was really about to stop Ronaldinho, was himself - well, himself and tax laws.

Find his cards here.

RAM: Arjen Robben

Okay, Robben won’t make many people’s favorite 11s. However, hear me out on this one.

Watching Robben was frustrating at times, we all know that. He can be selfish, shoots a little too much, and

But… Watching Arjen Robben play at his peak for Bayern was like watching a professional wrestler in the WWE and his finishing move was the ‘cut in from the right, and shoot with the left’.

And like watching Hulk Hogan ‘hulk up’ and do a leg-drop, or the Rock do a People’s Elbow, you knew it was coming…. the opponent knew it was coming…. the commentators knew it was coming…. But nobody could do anything about it.

I absolutely love a player that has a move like that that’s so simple, but perfected to the level that nobody can stop it.

You can find his rookie cards on eBay.

ST: Ronaldo

I think we often revert back to players from our childhood when discussing all-time favorites and whatnot.

For me, Ronaldo was the sport for about 5-10 years.

And just to make sure… We’re talking about the real Ronaldo here.

Speed, ability, strength, finishing, the mentality… Peak Ronaldo had it all.

Sadly, injuries ruined his career and cut it short, but Ronaldo at his best was, in my opinion, the most dominant player ever.

Also, in full transparency, this newsletter piece came out about three days late because I spent hours watching Ronaldo highlight packages and mini-documentaries on YouTube.

Find his cards on eBay.

Substitutes

There were so many players that I wanted to include but couldn’t… so, with that, here’s a substitute bench only consisting of attacking players.

Ricardo Quaresma

I said Ronaldinho was the second most fun player to watch… peak Ricardo Quaresma was number one. Once more highly regarded than Cristiano Ronaldo, his career didn’t exactly pan out the way people expected, but jeez, those highlight packages are something special. Find his rookie cards.

Yaya Toure

Yaya deserves this nod for his 2013-14 season alone. I don’t think I’ve seen any season like that from a midfielder before, and don’t think I will again.

Find his cards on eBay.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Look, he should probably be in my 11. However, as a City fan, I rooted against him for sooooo long, I think that’ll take a while to recover from. He also used to dive a bunch for Portugal and I HATED that, especially because when he was playing for his club, he’d hardly ever do it. Since then though, I’ve loved watching him play. Find his cards on eBay.

Christian Vieri

Another that you won’t find on too many lists, Vieri was an absolte goal scoring machine during the 90s and early 00s. While he had more clubs than Tiger Woods, he’s probably most memorable for his time at Inter Milan alongside Ronaldo.

The Italian striker is also an Australian citizen, and in those years when Australia wasn’t really doing too much, Vieri was a guy a lot of Aussies supported.

Sergio Aguero

“That Rooney goal was enough for the three points. But Manchester City are still alive here…..

“Balotelli, AGUERROOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

“I swear, you’ll never see anything like this ever again. So watch it, drink it in”

Find his rookie cards here.

Tim Cahill and Mark Viduka

I’m lumping these two together, again, my Australian-ness is coming off here - but I really don’t care.

Timmy Cahill and Mark Viduka were my two favorite Aussie players, and did so much for the national team.

Viduka, on his day, was absolutely unplayable. Cahill was a consistent scorer and underrated player in the Premier League, and was an absolute legend for the Australian team.

Find their cards on eBay.

Final Thoughts

So, that was super difficult, and there’s a long list of players that I didn’t have any room for.

Who would you put in your favorite ever 11? Let me know!

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