@tuchel-appreciator recently tagged me in yet another engaging yet extremely cruel task - choosing my (current) dream XI. Thank you, I had a lot of fun putting this together and now I guess I´ll count all the grey hairs that these choices have given me. Just like you, I didn´t put much effort into making all the pieces truly lock together, so you wouldn´t find me grouping these guys together for tactical purposes.
In a way, I´ve cheated by also choosing a reserve squad. Feel free to sue me. Anyway, I don´t feel like anyone here needs much of an introduction.
COACH (apparently this is optional? Anyway, I´m choosing a coach): Sir Alex Ferguson, „assistance coach“/advisor/partner-in-crime Jupp Heynckes
GOAL: Manuel Neuer (this was the most difficult choice, but I decided to go with our very own „sweeper keeper“) (Bench: Iker Casillas, Robert Enke if I was fuelled by sentiment only)
DEFENCE: Philipp Lahm (increasingly used in defensive midfield towards the end of his career, but I´ll remember him first and foremost for his excellent contributions as right-back), Sergio Ramos, Paolo Maldini, Marcelo Vieira (Bench: Berti Vogts, Vincent Kompany, Rio Ferdinand, Jordi Alba)
MIDFIELD: Luka Modrić, Andrés Iniesta, Johan Cruyff (whose positioning varied, I put him as an attacking midfielder in the vaguest sense) (Bench: Xavi (I was tempted to put Guti here instead but I value consistency above anything and while he could compete with the best of them on good days he was volatile on and off the pitch which made me mark him down); Maradona (the man, the myth, the legend. Nostalgia rearing its head again. It´s difficult to imagine some legends thriving in modern football because of the way the sport has changed and developed over the years, but I want him on my bench. What a bench). For a more defensive line-up I´d also choose Casemiro)
ATTACK: Lionel Messi, Pelé, Ronaldo Nazário (Bench: Gerd Müller, Éric Cantona, Ruud van Nistelrooy)
I am tagging @fishylife, @skyhighdisco , @footballbewildin, @thermosoftea, @saint-dominik-of-zadar, @vatreniworld, @totallyfootball, @cisarovna and @loftuscheeks to do this as well if any of you guys feel particularly masochistic today.
