Antohan's Lionhearts
Player profiles
Before starting, one critical point: this is a team of exceptionally talented players but also hard-working and tenacious winners with a never-say-die attitude. There is leadership and commitment across the board and players who are capable, both technically and mentally, of taking a game by the scruff of the neck and turning it on its head. They hate losing and they won’t.
Fabien Barthez
One of the top keepers from his generation and the best France has had. Agile, athletic, fantastic jump and reflexes, but also committed and courageous in getting the ball come what may, charging through whoever was on the way.
His peak was before United: CL winner 1993, Yashin Award, World Cup winner, Ligue 1 and European Goalkeeper of the Year in 1998, Euro winner, European Goalkeeper of the Year and IFFHS World’s Best Goalkeeper in 2000. With that backdrop and Schmeichel leaving we never gave him a break despite winning two Premiership titles with him in goal.
There’s a reason he continued to be France’s goalkeeper and picked ahead of all the fancy French ones the caf ***ped about (Landreau, Frey, Coupet) for the 2006 runner-up spot. He was different class.
Javier Zanetti
Versatile, strong and resilient. Zanetti should require no introduction. Adept at playing right or left fullback, wingback and as right or defensive midfielder; Zanetti offers options which his intelligence and experience will bring to bear over the course of the game. He is an Inter legend with 5 Serie As, a UEFA Cup and Champions League titles under his belt. Quite simply the best right back of his generation.
Vincent Candela
A rampaging wing back with excellent technique and dribbling. Providing a similar outlet as Cafú on the right, he was a key player for Roma’s conquest of Serie A playing some great, eye-catching yet very effective football. He also participated in France’s most successful period, playing at both the WC98 and Euro2000 wins, although his playing time was limited by having to compete for a spot with none other than Bixente Lizarazu.
Alessandro Nesta
Considered by many as the best centre half to ever play the game...
Brilliant reader of the game with some of the best tactical knowledge ever seen from a centre half. Comfortable with the ball and dedicated to the cause.
Nesta has won just about everything with AC Milan and Italy, including 2 Champions League's and a World Cup title. Individually, he has been crowned UEFA defender of the year and featured in its team of the year on 4 separate occasions. From 2000-2004 he was named Serie A defender of the year consecutively. A true great for both club and country.
Paolo Montero
Quoting Tim Vickery, "for an entire decade the former Uruguay captain consistently gave a masterclass in the art of defending. He could control the situation without having the ball, forcing the attacker down blind alleys, putting doubt in their mind, winning the tackle and then starting his side's moves with his superb left-footed passing. In the manner of former Argentina captain Daniel Passarella, he was a wonderfully talented and intelligent footballer who was also prepared to be as hard as it takes".
His leadership and organization skills will be crucial for my defence, as will his ability to cover at left back flawlessly.
Luis Enrique
A supremely talented player and one of my favourites from the late 90s. Played anywhere on the pitch except CB and GK and showed good form in all of them. His mentality and work rate, coupled with pace and superb technique, made him a beast of a box-to-box midfielder. “Keano with goals” I used to think.
A member of the promising Spanish team that won gold at the 1992 Olympics, he started as a left back or right midfielder in his days at Real. His real form though came when Robson took him to Barca with a more attacking role in mind, helping Barcelona win the Cup Winners Cup and European Supercup. It was however under Van Gaal that his versatility made him an integral piece of the jigsaw. After scoring 25 goals from central midfield in the 97-98 season, he went on to play a variety of roles (CF, linkup, winger, whatever was needed), eventually becoming club captain, and always maintaining that rich goalscoring form (1/3 for Barca overall, 1 in 2 in Europe).
He was a big game player, usually scoring in these type of games, as any tormented Real fan will concede.
Edgar Davids
Pitbull: the best defensive midfielder of his generation. Powerful, quick, dynamic, a beast in that Juventus midfield alongside Zidane.
Paul Scholes
Ginger Prince. Legend. Will control the pace of the game and run the show from a deeper position to Zidane's. Will also press, tackle and comically clatter into someone as usual.
Yes, Scholes and Zidane together.
Zinedine Zidane
The best midfield playmaker of the last 20 years and one of the best players ever. Need I say more?
Diego Forlán
He doesn’t need much of an intro either. Two good feet, vision, passing, cracking volleys and screamers… it was there for all to see but never quite worked out in a United team setup to bring the best out of Ruud. Even for the national team, when he was finally played in the 2002 WC, as a second half sub and with the game 3-0 down, almost clinched one of the most stirring comebacks in World Cup history (from 3-0 and out to 4-3 and first in the group in 45 minutes would take some beating). The one thing he did show with us was the ability to score when it mattered, earning United precious points to reclaim the premiership in 2002-03 (Liverpool, Chelsea, Villa, Southampton…).
Then he turned into one of the most prolific strikers in Europe, earning two Pichichis, the European Golden Boot and the Europa League for Atlético (thrashing the scousers in the process). But the cherry is saved for WC2010 where his performances were the one shining light in an otherwise dull tournament, earning him the Golden Ball and finishing joint top scorer. Fittingly, he became Uruguay’s most capped player and all-time top scorer as he once again proved to be the brains behind Uruguay’s Copa America winning side.
Christian Vieri
Bobo was a beast. A classic centre-forward with bags of pace and built like a tank. He was unplayable at his peak dominating aerially and in one on one situations. He is the all time top scorer of headed goals in Serie A history, but also a handful as a goal-poaching fox in the box.
He was top scorer in La Liga and Serie A, managing a goal a game for Atlético and 103 in 143 for Inter. Also awarded best player in Serie A and best Italian player twice, he got the WC Silver and Bronze boot on the back of a 9 in 9 World Cup record for a typically miserly Italy (unfortunately missed out on 2006 through injury).
Bobo was a nightmare for the best defences in the world and this will be no different here.
Subs:
Wes Brown
Underrated outside of Old Trafford, but well loved and appreciated within it. Two-times winner of the Jimmy Murphy award, Wes had a cracking breakthrough Treble-winning season. The injuries started very early, but didn’t stop him having a few years of excellent form early in the decade, warranting him a deserved place in the 2000-01 PFA Team of the Year.
Unfortunately, long-term injuries relegated him to squad (can’t-be-counted-on-being-available) status until Gary Neville’s mysteriously never-ending two week layoff gave him a regular place in the side that went on to conquer Europe again.
SAF once called Wes the best natural defender in England, and for just over a decade and 362 games he was a reliable and solid pick for one of the consistently best club sides in the world. He can make the last ditch tackle, he has the strength to muscle the opposition off the ball, and he can read the game well. His ability to play CB and RB is also a huge bonus.
Five league titles, two Champions Leagues, two FA Cups, three League Cups and four Community Shields… way more than sugardaddy teams have managed.
Carsten Ramelow
Revered by Bundesliga followers, Ramelow was a tall, rugged centre-half who played just in front of the defensive line. A midfield destroyer, he was comfortable dropping deep and taking up a position as a third centre-back leaving the fullbacks free to roam.
He was a key player for that exciting and tactically astute Leverkusen side which surprised us all earlier in the decade. It took a piece of Zidane magic to beat them at the CL final, but Zidane is now on the same side.
Called upon to perform the same duties for Germany, his was the typical German quietly effective performance that secures results and helped that team emerge as World Cup runners up despite not looking particularly remarkable on paper.
Matias Almeyda
A strong and tireless defensive midfielder with good short and long passing. Almeyda offers more offensively than Ramelow while providing as much bite in midfield. Eriksson had him doing all the work by himself in a Lazio midfield of Nedved, Veron and Stankovic which went on a run to win the Italian Cup, Supercup, Cup Winners Cup, the European Super Cup, and finally the league double (with Simeone already there at this stage).
His determination and commitment to the cause turned him into a fan favourite everywhere he played, and had the Lazio fans displaying a banner with an XI featuring him in all XI positions.
Cholo Simeone
An intimidating midfield enforcer, Simeone was also a very gifted footballer who chipped in with a good goal return (1 in 5 if you take a 6-7 year peak) and usually scoring them when it mattered. Some Argentinians would describe the sight of him advancing at full pelt with ball at feet as majestic. I would describe it as an ominous runaway train, so hard it was to knock him off the ball.
He won the Spanish double at Atlético, Italian double at Lazio and the UEFA Cup at Inter. He also won the 1991 and 1993 Copa América with Argentina and Silver at the Olympics, holding the record number of appearance until Zanetti finally surpassed him.
El Cholo was a beast, put any midfielder in front of him and he will have him for dinner… along with their babies for good measure.
Clarence Seedorf
Absolute top class player and one of the best all-round midfielders of this generation. Not the best at any one thing, but up there across the board and can play anywhere in midfield. Has the passing range, technique and vision of the best playmakers coupled with incredible stamina, workrate and determination to press and never give up on regaining possession.
The man has won four CLs at three different clubs, which in itself proves his quality and class. As with all my players, he is a winner, a big game player who will fight every inch for a victory.
