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Your Favorite XI of All Time

Batman

Head of the Wayne foundation for benching Nketiah

Country: USA

Player:Saliba
I thought it might make for a fun discussion if we made an XI comprised of our favorite players of all time. Instead of focusing on the best players or a team that would get the best results, just the players we've most enjoyed in our time watching football. So basically we would select a formation and then plug in our favorite players in each position. The only "rule" I think we should adhere to is not playing anyone grossly out of position so you for example if Lahm is one of your favorites you could put him at LB or CDM instead of RB but not ST or GK. The goal here is to have some tough decisions to make at some of the positions and have some fun reminiscing about some of the fantastic players we've been fortunate enough to watch over the years. I would also encourage you to maybe write a line or 2 about each player you've chosen below your XI if you would like to share why they are one of your favorites. So I'll start with mine below:

Formation: 4-4-2

Henry R9

Ronaldinho Vieira Zidane Beckham

R. Carlos Campbell Maldini Cafu

Seaman
R9: I love Arsenal because of my Mom and my Granddad. I love football because of R9. When he was fit and in his prime he was the most unstoppable force that football has ever seen IMO. He is my favorite player of all time. I had all of his boots, the stupid haircut, the whole deal. He was my hero.

Henry: No Gooner should need this explained to them. The class, the elegance, the pace, the attitude, the routine destruction of Tottenham. He should have won at least one Ballon D'Or with us. Absolute genius.

Ronaldinho: The manifestation of joy and happiness on a football pitch. His smile was as infectious as his skills were breathtaking. There are very few who have entertained to level this man did. His sheer talent level must be amongst the very highest ever.

Vieira: What can you say about Paddy? In many ways he personified what our Invincibles were about. Silk on top of steel. That you can look around football and not see a single player like him today is a testament to just what a tremendous generational talent he was.

Zidane: Zizou did not start as a favorite of mine. He was the villain in what should have been R9's moment in the WC Final in 98. Once they became teammates at Madrid and I watched him regularly I gained a real appreciation for his genius. Much like Vieira there is nobody like him in football today.

Beckham: People focus so much on the commercial side of Beckham and there are more talented players I could have put here but he is one of my very favorites. One of the best set piece takers in history, a wonderful crosser of the ball and a guy who worked his socks off to be the player he was. He also always showed up for his country which is a rarity amongst Englishman of recent vintage.

Carlos: He was no slouch defensively but that man was an absolute weapon going forward and from set pieces. Fabian Barthez still can't believe what Roberto Carlos did to him in 1997. The power that came from that stocky little frame was unreal.

Campbell: I think that playing for those serial losers in Tottenham for so many years causes people to underrate just what a marvelous defender Sol was. He had everything, pace, power, composure and decent technique for such a unit. For me he's one of the best of his generation and was an absolute joy to watch.

Maldini: Quite simply the perfect defender. 2 decades of brilliance even as he lost pace and had to rely solely on his brain. Rightly considered the best central defender ever IMO.

Cafu: It seems fitting that he and Maldini were teammates because Cafu is the probably the best fullback of all time. You just don't see players as adept at defending and attacking as Cafu was.

Seaman: You don't tend to earn a name like "Safe Hands" unless you've got the ability to warrant it. He was an absolute rock for club and country and as wonderful as Jens was here neither have managed to truly replace him. Not only was he an absolute giant in the box but his reflexes were amongst the very best we've ever seen. His save against Sheffield United is one of football's very best ever.

Honorable mention: It was very tough for me to leave out the likes of Pires, Bergkamp and Neymar in choosing my favorites but it was necessary to keep within the parameters I set.
 

Mark Tobias

Mr. Agreeable
I thought it might make for a fun discussion if we made an XI comprised of our favorite players of all time. Instead of focusing on the best players or a team that would get the best results, just the players we've most enjoyed in our time watching football. So basically we would select a formation and then plug in our favorite players in each position. The only "rule" I think we should adhere to is not playing anyone grossly out of position so you for example if Lahm is one of your favorites you could put him at LB or CDM instead of RB but not ST or GK. The goal here is to have some tough decisions to make at some of the positions and have some fun reminiscing about some of the fantastic players we've been fortunate enough to watch over the years. I would also encourage you to maybe write a line or 2 about each player you've chosen below your XI if you would like to share why they are one of your favorites. So I'll start with mine below:

Formation: 4-4-2

Henry R9

Ronaldinho Vieira Zidane Beckham

R. Carlos Campbell Maldini Cafu

Seaman
R9: I love Arsenal because of my Mom and my Granddad. I love football because of R9. When he was fit and in his prime he was the most unstoppable force that football has ever seen IMO. He is my favorite player of all time. I had all of his boots, the stupid haircut, the whole deal. He was my hero.

Henry: No Gooner should need this explained to them. The class, the elegance, the pace, the attitude, the routine destruction of Tottenham. He should have won at least one Ballon D'Or with us. Absolute genius.

Ronaldinho: The manifestation of joy and happiness on a football pitch. His smile was as infectious as his skills were breathtaking. There are very few who have entertained to level this man did. His sheer talent level must be amongst the very highest ever.

Vieira: What can you say about Paddy? In many ways he personified what our Invincibles were about. Silk on top of steel. That you can look around football and not see a single player like him today is a testament to just what a tremendous generational talent he was.

Zidane: Zizou did not start as a favorite of mine. He was the villain in what should have been R9's moment in the WC Final in 98. Once they became teammates at Madrid and I watched him regularly I gained a real appreciation for his genius. Much like Vieira there is nobody like him in football today.

Beckham: People focus so much on the commercial side of Beckham and there are more talented players I could have put here but he is one of my very favorites. One of the best set piece takers in history, a wonderful crosser of the ball and a guy who worked his socks off to be the player he was. He also always showed up for his country which is a rarity amongst Englishman of recent vintage.

Carlos: He was no slouch defensively but that man was an absolute weapon going forward and from set pieces. Fabian Barthez still can't believe what Roberto Carlos did to him in 1997. The power that came from that stocky little frame was unreal.

Campbell: I think that playing for those serial losers in Tottenham for so many years causes people to underrate just what a marvelous defender Sol was. He had everything, pace, power, composure and decent technique for such a unit. For me he's one of the best of his generation and was an absolute joy to watch.

Maldini: Quite simply the perfect defender. 2 decades of brilliance even as he lost pace and had to rely solely on his brain. Rightly considered the best central defender ever IMO.

Cafu: It seems fitting that he and Maldini were teammates because Cafu is the probably the best fullback of all time. You just don't see players as adept at defending and attacking as Cafu was.

Seaman: You don't tend to earn a name like "Safe Hands" unless you've got the ability to warrant it. He was an absolute rock for club and country and as wonderful as Jens was here neither have managed to truly replace him. Not only was he an absolute giant in the box but his reflexes were amongst the very best we've ever seen. His save against Sheffield United is one of football's very best ever.

Honorable mention: It was very tough for me to leave out the likes of Pires, Bergkamp and Neymar in choosing my favorites but it was necessary to keep within the parameters I set.
What a great thread idea.

I go with a 5-3-2

Seaman
Sagna - Terry- Kos - Adams - Monreal
Gerrard - Cazorla- Pires
Henry - Drogba

Loads of bias in my line up, I know.

Seaman - See above. Can't give a better reason.
Sagna - Mr COnsistency. Loved Bacary while he was here and always felt safe on the right side with him.
Terry - Commanding leader who organises defences.
Kos - Picked him for his versatility and adeptness at cutting out that final ball. Could play a good sweeper role.
Adams - Loved his no sh!t defending style and the way he'd occassionally bomb up and open the game a bit.
Monreal - One of the players with the greatest technique I've seen. Takes all the sting out of the ball which is crucial for those quick switch options.
Gerrard - Was always a huge Stevie G fan. Slightly out of position here but I had to squeeze him in. Always felt like Pool could score from 35yards out
Cazorla - One of the best mids I have ever watched. Crazy close control and insane coolness on the ball. We all know how great this little man could be.
Pires - Need I even go into this. Dynamic wing play that created a whole new style for widemen in the league. Still has most of it too!
Henry - Our all time top goal scorer. His vision, speed and precision were unmatched at a time.
Drogba - Big man up front who wasn't afraid of getting in people's faces. Hated him when he played against us.
 

Batman

Head of the Wayne foundation for benching Nketiah

Country: USA

Player:Saliba
What a great thread idea.

I go with a 5-3-2

Seaman
Sagna - Terry- Kos - Adams - Monreal
Gerrard - Cazorla- Pires
Henry - Drogba

Loads of bias in my line up, I know.

Seaman - See above. Can't give a better reason.
Sagna - Mr COnsistency. Loved Bacary while he was here and always felt safe on the right side with him.
Terry - Commanding leader who organises defences.
Kos - Picked him for his versatility and adeptness at cutting out that final ball. Could play a good sweeper role.
Adams - Loved his no sh!t defending style and the way he'd occassionally bomb up and open the game a bit.
Monreal - One of the players with the greatest technique I've seen. Takes all the sting out of the ball which is crucial for those quick switch options.
Gerrard - Was always a huge Stevie G fan. Slightly out of position here but I had to squeeze him in. Always felt like Pool could score from 35yards out
Cazorla - One of the best mids I have ever watched. Crazy close control and insane coolness on the ball. We all know how great this little man could be.
Pires - Need I even go into this. Dynamic wing play that created a whole new style for widemen in the league. Still has most of it too!
Henry - Our all time top goal scorer. His vision, speed and precision were unmatched at a time.
Drogba - Big man up front who wasn't afraid of getting in people's faces. Hated him when he played against us.
Thanks mate. Bias is perfectly fine and probably encouraged in this thread. :lol: Nice team!
 

Kobi

I Know Who You Are
My favourite memories from watching football were mainly around the mid to late nineties so the majority would come from that period.
Watching Gazzetta on Channel 4 at the weekend was as good as it gets.

Not sure whether it's getting older or the dramatic increase in money and pressure on everything but it just feels completely different now, the fun is disappearing.
The team itself is slightly on the attacking side, very much the Kevin Keegan school of you score four, we'll score five.

aiBoyk9.png


LeTissier was probably my favourite player as a kid, 8 caps is absoutely criminal, ironic then that Venables was most culpable.
Hoddle as well, pair of fúckwits.

I had a video tape of him called Unbelievable, it was utter shíte, talking to his Mum and Dad and playing golf with his brother (think he's called Carl) with the exception of a five minute compilation at the beginning.
It was him scoring goals to the soundtrack Unbelievable by EMF (tune look it up) but the sheer quality of the goals was just phenomenal, I used to just rewind and watch it over and over.

Different soundtrack but you'll get the idea

 

asukru

Established Member

Country: Canada

Player:Martinelli
Ill go with players I have watched so please do not judge if I have missed some players. This is my team:

Seaman
Sagna Maldini Campbell R.Carlos
Viera Zidane
Ronaldinho Bergkamp C. Ronaldo
Henry
Seaman: My favorite goalie and considering he is one of our own makes it that much better.

Sagna: As mentioned he is a rock and I always felt safe with him in our lineup - a Arsène gem in my opinion.

Maldini: See OP's post lol.

Campbel: An absolute tank! Loved Sol and him swithching Sp**s for us makes it that much sweeter.

Carlos: Name a better FK taker who is a defender...Ill wait.

Viera: A true warrior who I beleive could win a match just with his presence lol, he had aggression and was a very technically gifted player.

Ronaldinho: The things this guy could do with the ball was just amazing, I have never seen such skill. Also he was such a humble player.

Bergkamp: Smooth, silky and classy. That goal against Newcastle - just pure beauty! I think I had the biggest man crush on DB10.

Ronaldo: The ultimate football player - he can drag any team and I think ill always be jealous that he was United boy.

Henry: My favorite player of all time and the reason I became an Arsenal fan. I just love Henry and the amount of memories I have of him my God just amazing!
 

Slartibartfast

CIES Loyalist
Screen_Shot_2018-04-26_at_1.26.49_PM.png


This was really tough and required some thought. I have several Arsenal players there, but I wanted to represent some of my other favorites as well. I wanted to put Charlie George on the list because he scored the goal that made me an Arsenal fan, but I couldn't find room. Anyway a bit about them:

Giorgio Chinaglia -- Born in Italy, raised in Wales, played for Italy in the 1974 World Cup. Top scorer in Serie A for Lazio in 1973-74. Joined the New York Cosmos' original galactico project in 1976, where he played with Pele, Carlos Alberto, Beckenbauer, Vladislav Bogicevic and other top players of the 70s. Big, strong, fast and a deadly goalscorer. He finished his career with 398 goals.

Bergkamp -- I really don't need to tell you about him. He speaks for himself. Brilliant footballer.

George Best -- What a player! Pele called him "the best footballer in the world." Pace, skill, vision, agility. His dribbling was legendary. He had it all. But he was known as much for his lifestyle as his football and his drinking cut his career short (and eventually killed him). Uttered one of my favorite quotes: "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."

Diego Maradona -- In my opinion, the greatest football player who ever lived.

Carlos Valderrama -- The captain and the beating heart of those fantastic Colombia teams of the 1990s. Deep-lying playmaker, sublime passer, absolutely selfless. Strong, agile and so calm on the ball. Flamboyant, stylish and the coolest hair and mustache ever.

Patrick Vieira -- Another Arsenal player who needs no further description. One of the best ever.

Paolo Maldini -- Played most of his career at left back, so that's where I put him. Great technical ability, athleticism and stamina. Fantastic crosser. I was a big fan of those AC Milan teams in Maldini's era and he was my favorite player. Even toward the end of his career when he started losing his legs and was moved to center back, his intelligence and positioning allowed him to continue at a high level.

Tony Adams -- Another Arsenal player who needs no description. I will just say that by putting him in a team with George Best he finally has a teammate with a bigger drinking problem.

Frank McLintock -- Representing the first Arsenal team I ever saw play in the 1971 FA Cup final. Captain and a rock in the back line.

Carlos Alberto -- The greatest right back who ever lived. Captained Brazil's 1970 World Cup winning team and scored a goal in the final. One of five former North American Soccer League players named to the first XI on the World Team of the 20th Century.

Shep Messing -- I'm guessing most of you won't be familiar with this name, but I have fond memories of him in the 70s. Admittedly, he's probably (well, definitely) the weak link in this team. Was the goalkeeper for the Cosmos, who actually let him go after he created a huge scandal by posing nude (we're talking the full Monty) for a magazine. But they re-aquired him and he went on to be a teammate of Pele, Beckenbauer, Alberto and Chignalia.

01-Shep+MESSING+%28Cosmos+NY%29.png
 

Tir Na Nog

Changes Opinion Every 5 Minutes

Country: Ireland
Neuer
Cafu Ramos Campbell Cole
Alonso Vieira
Messi Zidane Ronaldo
Henry

Subs: Buffon, Cannavaro, Maldini, Keane, Iniesta, Kaka, Bergkamp
 
Last edited:

Juan Matas Beard

Pronouns: dat, guy 🫶
Trusted ⭐

Country: England
I thought it might make for a fun discussion if we made an XI comprised of our favorite players of all time. Instead of focusing on the best players or a team that would get the best results, just the players we've most enjoyed in our time watching football. So basically we would select a formation and then plug in our favorite players in each position. The only "rule" I think we should adhere to is not playing anyone grossly out of position so you for example if Lahm is one of your favorites you could put him at LB or CDM instead of RB but not ST or GK. The goal here is to have some tough decisions to make at some of the positions and have some fun reminiscing about some of the fantastic players we've been fortunate enough to watch over the years. I would also encourage you to maybe write a line or 2 about each player you've chosen below your XI if you would like to share why they are one of your favorites. So I'll start with mine below:

Formation: 4-4-2

Henry R9

Ronaldinho Vieira Zidane Beckham

R. Carlos Campbell Maldini Cafu

Seaman
R9: I love Arsenal because of my Mom and my Granddad. I love football because of R9. When he was fit and in his prime he was the most unstoppable force that football has ever seen IMO. He is my favorite player of all time. I had all of his boots, the stupid haircut, the whole deal. He was my hero.

Henry: No Gooner should need this explained to them. The class, the elegance, the pace, the attitude, the routine destruction of Tottenham. He should have won at least one Ballon D'Or with us. Absolute genius.

Ronaldinho: The manifestation of joy and happiness on a football pitch. His smile was as infectious as his skills were breathtaking. There are very few who have entertained to level this man did. His sheer talent level must be amongst the very highest ever.

Vieira: What can you say about Paddy? In many ways he personified what our Invincibles were about. Silk on top of steel. That you can look around football and not see a single player like him today is a testament to just what a tremendous generational talent he was.

Zidane: Zizou did not start as a favorite of mine. He was the villain in what should have been R9's moment in the WC Final in 98. Once they became teammates at Madrid and I watched him regularly I gained a real appreciation for his genius. Much like Vieira there is nobody like him in football today.

Beckham: People focus so much on the commercial side of Beckham and there are more talented players I could have put here but he is one of my very favorites. One of the best set piece takers in history, a wonderful crosser of the ball and a guy who worked his socks off to be the player he was. He also always showed up for his country which is a rarity amongst Englishman of recent vintage.

Carlos: He was no slouch defensively but that man was an absolute weapon going forward and from set pieces. Fabian Barthez still can't believe what Roberto Carlos did to him in 1997. The power that came from that stocky little frame was unreal.

Campbell: I think that playing for those serial losers in Tottenham for so many years causes people to underrate just what a marvelous defender Sol was. He had everything, pace, power, composure and decent technique for such a unit. For me he's one of the best of his generation and was an absolute joy to watch.

Maldini: Quite simply the perfect defender. 2 decades of brilliance even as he lost pace and had to rely solely on his brain. Rightly considered the best central defender ever IMO.

Cafu: It seems fitting that he and Maldini were teammates because Cafu is the probably the best fullback of all time. You just don't see players as adept at defending and attacking as Cafu was.

Seaman: You don't tend to earn a name like "Safe Hands" unless you've got the ability to warrant it. He was an absolute rock for club and country and as wonderful as Jens was here neither have managed to truly replace him. Not only was he an absolute giant in the box but his reflexes were amongst the very best we've ever seen. His save against Sheffield United is one of football's very best ever.

Honorable mention: It was very tough for me to leave out the likes of Pires, Bergkamp and Neymar in choosing my favorites but it was necessary to keep within the parameters I set.

Very likable team.
 

Batman

Head of the Wayne foundation for benching Nketiah

Country: USA

Player:Saliba
All great teams guys. Some players that I've heard of but am not as familiar with but whom I'll definitely be watching videos of based on your assessments.
 

Toby

No longer a Stuttgart Fan
Moderator
Romario Henry
Pires Zidane Matthäus Ronaldinho
R. Carlos Thuram Maldini Lahm
Kahn​

Bench: Buffon, Cannavaro, X. Alonso, del Piero, Nedved, Raúl, Rivaldo

Went for players I actually saw and wanted to omit some of the obvious choices like Ronaldo, C. Ronaldo, Messi.
 

Batman

Head of the Wayne foundation for benching Nketiah

Country: USA

Player:Saliba
Romario Henry
Pires Zidane Matthäus Ronaldinho
R. Carlos Thuram Maldini Lahm
Kahn​

Bench: Buffon, Cannavaro, X. Alonso, del Piero, Nedved, Raúl, Rivaldo

Went for players I actually saw and wanted to omit some of the obvious choices like Ronaldo, C. Ronaldo, Messi.
Nice. I have Cafu at best RB of all time but I think if there's any player who can challenge for that mantle it must be Lahm. Brilliant, brilliant fullback. I loved watching Thuram as well.
 

Dokaka

AM's resident Hammer
Lehmann
Maicon Koscielny Campbell Carlos
Messi Beckham Zidane Ronaldinho
Henry Suarez
Shoutouts to RVP, Dean Ashton, Scott Parker, Vieira, Diaby, Özil and R9 for almost making the list.
 

<<reed>>

Lidl Tir Na Nog
Lehmann
Maicon Koscielny Campbell Carlos
Messi Beckham Zidane Ronaldinho
Henry Suarez
Shoutouts to RVP, Dean Ashton, Scott Parker, Vieira, Diaby, Özil and R9 for almost making the list.
Where is Mark Noble?
 
Last edited:

Batman

Head of the Wayne foundation for benching Nketiah

Country: USA

Player:Saliba
Lehmann
Maicon Koscielny Campbell Carlos
Messi Beckham Zidane Ronaldinho
Henry Suarez
Shoutouts to RVP, Dean Ashton, Scott Parker, Vieira, Diaby, Özil and R9 for almost making the list.
Maicon is a good shout. He's a bit of a forgotten man because of the success of Alves but he was brilliant in his prime.
 

asukru

Established Member

Country: Canada

Player:Martinelli
Another idea: how about your current favorite starting XI? (if @Batman can start a thread or we can continue on here as well)
 

Batman

Head of the Wayne foundation for benching Nketiah

Country: USA

Player:Saliba
Another idea: how about your current favorite starting XI? (if @Batman can start a thread or we can continue on here as well)
I'm fine with either. I have no problem if you guys want to post your favorite current XI here too.
 
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