Given
Coleman, McGrath, Dunne, Irwin
Keane Giles
Brady
Wes Keane Duff
Coleman, McGrath, Dunne, Irwin
Keane Giles
Brady
Wes Keane Duff
What is your country’s all timer national team XI ?
- Thread starter SportingCP96
- Start date
I was going off players primes.
I'm just being a WUM
GK : Andre Arendse undoubtedly the best goal keeper we have ever produced. Going by the logic he atleast won us trophies.
RB : Sizwe Motaung, sadly died still young, part of the AFCON winning team in 96.
CB: Lucas Radebe, The best CB we have ever produced. Rio Ferdinand was quoted saying he learnt a lot from him, as a youngster at Leeds. He is revered by Leeds fans.
CB: Neil Tovey our Afcon winning captain, played locally for Soweto Giants, Kaizer Chiefs. A hard no nonsense defender, who gave it all for his country. And I think he holds the record for most matches played for the NT.
LB: David Nyathi AFCON winning left back. Also played a few games for Cagliari in Serie A. Back when Serie A was the league to go to.
DMF: Eric Tinkler, A hard man in midfield, sort of like your Gattusso. Kicked the hell out of people. But could marshall the midfield, and could pass the ball well when needed to.
CM : Doctor Khumalo, legend has it, we were once leading Brazil by 2 goals to 0, then coach Clive Barker pulled Doctor off, then Brazil went on to score 3 goals, then Brazilian Coach said our coach made it easy for them when he pulled Doc off. Dont know if that is true. Nicknamed 16V, after the 16 Valve Engines. His football brain was above any other South African midfielder we have ever had.
AM: Shoes Moshoeu played his football in Turkey for Fenerbahce and Bursaspor. Came back to South Africa and played until his 40's. Has sadly passed away. But he was one of the best this country ever produded
LW: Siphiwe Tshabalala just for his 2010 opening match goal. The most celebrated goal in South African history. The goosebumps we felt that moment we saw the boal hitting the back of net. Its something new generations of South Africans will never feel. No goal will ever mean so much to a Country. Let alone an African Country who just 20 years before was under Apartheid rule. And just babies to international football.
RW: Teko Modise, perhaps the most talented player of our modern generation to never go play in Europe. Was easily the best player in the South African premiership in his prime. Rumour has it he was scouted by the likes of Arsenal. But Apparently his dream move was halted by the Chairman of his football team at the time. An African CL winner too.
ST: Benni Mccarthy, The greatest South Africa produced. Was born a stone throw away from where I live. A CL winner with Porto, playing a significant role in dismantling Man Utd out of the CL in 2004. Our Countries top Goal Scorer even though he hardly played for us in his prime. Came 2nd to Drogba for the EPL golden boot whistl playin for Blackburn Rovers.
Subs: Itu Khune, Mark Fish, Shaun Bartlett,
Steven Pienaar, Mark Williams, Linda Buthelezi, Zuma.
To think we used to ball with the likes of Brazil, Spain, France, England. And now we're just trash.
RB : Sizwe Motaung, sadly died still young, part of the AFCON winning team in 96.
CB: Lucas Radebe, The best CB we have ever produced. Rio Ferdinand was quoted saying he learnt a lot from him, as a youngster at Leeds. He is revered by Leeds fans.
CB: Neil Tovey our Afcon winning captain, played locally for Soweto Giants, Kaizer Chiefs. A hard no nonsense defender, who gave it all for his country. And I think he holds the record for most matches played for the NT.
LB: David Nyathi AFCON winning left back. Also played a few games for Cagliari in Serie A. Back when Serie A was the league to go to.
DMF: Eric Tinkler, A hard man in midfield, sort of like your Gattusso. Kicked the hell out of people. But could marshall the midfield, and could pass the ball well when needed to.
CM : Doctor Khumalo, legend has it, we were once leading Brazil by 2 goals to 0, then coach Clive Barker pulled Doctor off, then Brazil went on to score 3 goals, then Brazilian Coach said our coach made it easy for them when he pulled Doc off. Dont know if that is true. Nicknamed 16V, after the 16 Valve Engines. His football brain was above any other South African midfielder we have ever had.
AM: Shoes Moshoeu played his football in Turkey for Fenerbahce and Bursaspor. Came back to South Africa and played until his 40's. Has sadly passed away. But he was one of the best this country ever produded
LW: Siphiwe Tshabalala just for his 2010 opening match goal. The most celebrated goal in South African history. The goosebumps we felt that moment we saw the boal hitting the back of net. Its something new generations of South Africans will never feel. No goal will ever mean so much to a Country. Let alone an African Country who just 20 years before was under Apartheid rule. And just babies to international football.
RW: Teko Modise, perhaps the most talented player of our modern generation to never go play in Europe. Was easily the best player in the South African premiership in his prime. Rumour has it he was scouted by the likes of Arsenal. But Apparently his dream move was halted by the Chairman of his football team at the time. An African CL winner too.
ST: Benni Mccarthy, The greatest South Africa produced. Was born a stone throw away from where I live. A CL winner with Porto, playing a significant role in dismantling Man Utd out of the CL in 2004. Our Countries top Goal Scorer even though he hardly played for us in his prime. Came 2nd to Drogba for the EPL golden boot whistl playin for Blackburn Rovers.
Subs: Itu Khune, Mark Fish, Shaun Bartlett,
Steven Pienaar, Mark Williams, Linda Buthelezi, Zuma.
To think we used to ball with the likes of Brazil, Spain, France, England. And now we're just trash.
Casillas
Ramos Puyol Camacho
Busquets
Luis Suárez Xavi Iniesta
Amancio Zarra Villa
Bench: Zamora, Piqué, Gento, Raúl, Pirri, Santillana, Zoco
* I try to take someone from each era and very old players like Zamora.Taking into account the time in the national team, so I don't value Puskas, Di Stéfano, Kubala or Santamaría
Ramos Puyol Camacho
Busquets
Luis Suárez Xavi Iniesta
Amancio Zarra Villa
Bench: Zamora, Piqué, Gento, Raúl, Pirri, Santillana, Zoco
* I try to take someone from each era and very old players like Zamora.Taking into account the time in the national team, so I don't value Puskas, Di Stéfano, Kubala or Santamaría
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Modern times Italy led by Lippi:
—————— Buffon —————
Gentile Baresi Cannavaro Maldini
— De Rossi — Pirlo — Tardelli —
—————— Totti —————
——— Vieri —— Baggio ———
—————— Buffon —————
Gentile Baresi Cannavaro Maldini
— De Rossi — Pirlo — Tardelli —
—————— Totti —————
——— Vieri —— Baggio ———
GK: Brad Friedel
RB: Steve Cherundolo
CB: Eddie Pope
CB: Marcelo Balboa
LB: DaMarcus Beasley
CM: Claudio Reyna
CM: Cobi Jones
RCAM: Landon Donovan
LCAM: Christian Pulisic
ST: Eric Wynalda
ST: Clint Dempsey
EDIT to include the bench: Howard, McBride, Lalas, Bocanegra, Harkes, Adams, Altidore
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An All Ireland best XI
Bonner
Gary Kelly - Paul McGrath - Steve Staunton - Denis Irwin
George Best - Roy Keane - John Giles - Damien Duff
Robbie Keane - Norman Whiteside
Happy for any N.I. supporters to put me right on any of those. Harry Gregg probably a good shout for Keeper?
Bonner
Gary Kelly - Paul McGrath - Steve Staunton - Denis Irwin
George Best - Roy Keane - John Giles - Damien Duff
Robbie Keane - Norman Whiteside
Happy for any N.I. supporters to put me right on any of those. Harry Gregg probably a good shout for Keeper?
Who’d your bench be?
We had the 1996 Nigerian Olympic team come train at a soccer facility in Tallahassee prior to the Games in Atlanta. Some of these names take me back to the friendly when their team played us on the FSU club team.
Good question - probably Howard, McBride, Lalas, Bocanegra, Harkes, Adams, Altidore? I feel like I'm forgetting some obvious contributors though...
Howard over Keller?
Very narrow shout but honestly the RO16 against Belgium in WC 2014 where Howard made 18 (I think) saves just about tips the balance his way in my opinion.
Fully concur after remembering that match.
Just checked in case it changes your mind - looks like it was only a pedestrian 15 saves
Just checked in case it changes your mind - looks like it was only a pedestrian 15 saves
Have you ever seen this video talking about the diamond?It is my country and it hurts that you didnt put us in a 433 but in a 442 diamond.
No Eder. Shit team.
GK: Robert Mensah
RB: Samuel Kuffour
CB: Adolf Armah
CB: John Mensah
LB: Kwadwo Asamoah
MF: Michael Essien
MF: Sulley Muntari
MF: Steven Appiah
F: Asamoah Gyan
F: Abedi Pele
F: Tony Yeboah
Bench:
Richard Kingson
Willie Mfum
Thomas Partey
Karim Abdul Razak
Ibrahim Sunday
Kevin Prince Boateng
Andre Ayew
Jordan Ayew
Harrison Aful
John Paintsil
Mohammed Polo
RB: Samuel Kuffour
CB: Adolf Armah
CB: John Mensah
LB: Kwadwo Asamoah
MF: Michael Essien
MF: Sulley Muntari
MF: Steven Appiah
F: Asamoah Gyan
F: Abedi Pele
F: Tony Yeboah
Bench:
Richard Kingson
Willie Mfum
Thomas Partey
Ibrahim Sunday
Kevin Prince Boateng
Andre Ayew
Jordan Ayew
Harrison Aful
John Paintsil
Mohammed Polo
GK: Friedel - Almost loses his top spot to Keller due to his atrocious fake English accent.
RB: Steve Cherundelo - Great attacking fullback who really should get more love from US fans.
CB: Eddie Pope - the best CB we have ever had, could really use him right now.
CB: Carlos Bocanegra - the first (only?) center back to move to Europe and find success
LB: The player John O’Brien could have been - Oof this is a rough position
CM: Reyna the Elder - Would have been a great fit for this US team. Fantastic leader and passer.
CM: Bradley the younger: 2017 should rightly tarnish his memory. 2017 should not define his legacy.
CM: Tyler Adams: I don’t care if he is 22, he is the best defensive midfielder we have ever had. Will be a top 3 player ever for US by 2026.
Wing/Forward: Landon Donovan - The best player the US has ever had till Reyna the Younger takes the crown.
Wing/Forward: Clint Dempsey - First attacking player to “make it” in Europe. Brought an arrogance that was unique and deserved.
Striker: Jozy Altidore - Yeah, I said it.
Subs:
GK: Howard, Keller
CB: Brooks (feck off Berhalter), Balboa, Dooley, Agoos
LB: Beasley? Bornstein? My dog?
RB: Dest, Yedlin, my other dog
CM: Ramos, Stewart, Jones x 2, Harkes, Calagiri
W/F: Reyna the Younger, Pulisic, Mathis, McBride, Johnson, Adu
Coach: Bora or Sampson
RB: Steve Cherundelo - Great attacking fullback who really should get more love from US fans.
CB: Eddie Pope - the best CB we have ever had, could really use him right now.
CB: Carlos Bocanegra - the first (only?) center back to move to Europe and find success
LB: The player John O’Brien could have been - Oof this is a rough position
CM: Reyna the Elder - Would have been a great fit for this US team. Fantastic leader and passer.
CM: Bradley the younger: 2017 should rightly tarnish his memory. 2017 should not define his legacy.
CM: Tyler Adams: I don’t care if he is 22, he is the best defensive midfielder we have ever had. Will be a top 3 player ever for US by 2026.
Wing/Forward: Landon Donovan - The best player the US has ever had till Reyna the Younger takes the crown.
Wing/Forward: Clint Dempsey - First attacking player to “make it” in Europe. Brought an arrogance that was unique and deserved.
Striker: Jozy Altidore - Yeah, I said it.
Subs:
GK: Howard, Keller
CB: Brooks (feck off Berhalter), Balboa, Dooley, Agoos
LB: Beasley? Bornstein? My dog?
RB: Dest, Yedlin, my other dog
CM: Ramos, Stewart, Jones x 2, Harkes, Calagiri
W/F: Reyna the Younger, Pulisic, Mathis, McBride, Johnson, Adu
Coach: Bora or Sampson
I know Portuguese fans love Rui Costa but I wouldn't sleep a wink as a manager the night before I picked him centrally in what is basically a midfield 2 unless you're asking Futre or Deco to do it. I'd much rather go to war with Deco in a midfield 2 or the boring but reliable Tiago Mendes. Or drop Futre, play Cristiano out left and bring in Deco to play in a 4-3-3 alongside Rui Costa ahead of your DM.
The Canadian XI is shocking. It's basically most of the current team with a couple players from the 80s I've never seen replacing our options at LCB, maybe RB and possibly Forrest for Borjan in net. David, Davies, Hutchison, Adekugbe, Buchanan, Eustaqio and Vitoria all likely get in from the current team. Larin vs Bunbury up top as David's partner is a tough one. I'd probably go Bunbury at gunpoint but it's close.
Altidore over McBride can't agree with. He was a handful and played well in World Cups and for Fulham. Or even Dempsey as a false 9 and Pulisic on the wing, 21 in 48 is a much better scoring rate than Altidore or McBride and Dempsey could play anywhere and find a goal
Beasley at LB, to start for me. I remember his as an Ashley Young type convert in that you'd figure he was too skinny to play the position well but he got by on grit and pace.
Agree with the rest though can't comment on pre-1994 players.
The RB opposite Zhirkov was really good when Russia had that fun tournament. Built like a square, can't remember his name.
Wasn't Robben basically up front a bit for the Dutch by the end? Just stick him up top he'll go to the right side and look to cut in anyways, wouldn't hamper the attack and gives you some attacking width and space for Cruyff, Neeskens and Gullit to run into centrally.
Anyukov. A very good player, yeah, I just really rate Fernandes (even though he didn’t do all that much in his international career).
I'll make a try for Germany.
Biggest question for me ist the formation, do I go for a classic 442 or 352 formation.
GK: Neuer (Kahn, Maier)
RB: Breitner, he played midfield most for his career, but at the beginning he was a right back and I want strong offensive fullbacks in this lineup. (Lahm)
CB: Beckenbauer (Boateng, a marvel at his peak)
CB: Sammer (Kohler for an old school hard nosed CB)
LB: Brehme (Schnellinger)
CM: Matthäus (Ballack)
CM: Kroos (Schweinsteiger)
OM: Schuster (Özil, Möller)
RW: Rummenigge (T.Müller)
LW: Reus (?)
ST:. G.Müller, Seeler and for the poaching ability Klose
Biggest question for me ist the formation, do I go for a classic 442 or 352 formation.
GK: Neuer (Kahn, Maier)
RB: Breitner, he played midfield most for his career, but at the beginning he was a right back and I want strong offensive fullbacks in this lineup. (Lahm)
CB: Beckenbauer (Boateng, a marvel at his peak)
CB: Sammer (Kohler for an old school hard nosed CB)
LB: Brehme (Schnellinger)
CM: Matthäus (Ballack)
CM: Kroos (Schweinsteiger)
OM: Schuster (Özil, Möller)
RW: Rummenigge (T.Müller)
LW: Reus (?)
ST:. G.Müller, Seeler and for the poaching ability Klose
Chile with some recency bias probably
Formation 4-4-2 (diamond)
GK: Claudio Bravo: Our best ever GK, only Roberto Rojas coming close but his fiasco in Brazil leaves him out of competition
RB: Mauricio Isla: Not sure about either of the full backs, but both of them got to play in Europe, Isla in Juve and has had a pretty good career. Also scored the clutch goal against Uruguay in CA2015 which ended being the key opener to the cup.
CB: Alberto Quintano: Not from my time but formed one of the best CB partnerships with Elias Figueroa allowing us to have a decent Group Stage in WC1974 against both Germany's
CB: Elías Figueroa: Arguably our best ever player. 3 times best player in America and Brazil in the 70s, when all talents remained there. One of the few non Brazilians to have his footprints immortalized in Maracaná. Enough said.
LB: Jean Beausejour: Probably our historically weakest position. Nonetheless Jean had a great career. Won that mythical FA cup with Wigan and if I'm not wrong is the only Chilean champion of the first division with the 3 best teams (and not in snake fashion) and to score in two different WC (Honduras 2010, Australia 2014). Polifuncional started his career as a winger and LM and ended in the defense, like AV25.
CDM: Gary Medel: A lion, a warrior. Plays with his heart, can play as a CDM and as a CB which was his position in both CA wins but had to make place for the better CB partnership we had. Anyway the best CDM we've had, relegating Marcelo Díaz and Clarence Acuña to the bench.
CM: Charles Aranguiz: Amazingly talented, creative, very quiet, unstoppable penalties. A key piece in all our recent success.
CM: Arturo Vidal: Probably everybody here knows him well enough. Even causing PTSD when hearing Chile and Chilevision. A contender for our best ever player, all being a immature, undisciplined and unprofessional prat. If he took his career seriously? Probably a BdOr contender.
CAM: Jorge Valdivia: Must be our best ever talent and a completely wasted career for what it should have been. The real last classic 10 as he is younger than Riquelme and should have had a career as good as his. Finally matured a few years ago about 34 YO but the bad life didn't let him stay injury free. Anyway he was so talented that he'd walk in our team and was a key part in all our success.
ST: Marcelo Salas: A legend, my childhood hero. The Sa-Za was one of the best attacking force ever and Marcelo was the one who brought the talent.
CF: Iván Zamorano: A warrior. Made himself a name in Spain, won a place in Real Madrid and put Chile for the first time in all the world spotlights. Not talented as Marcelo, but played with his heart. Could jump 3m. A leader. Our captain.
Bench: Roberto Rojas, Javier Margas, Pedro Reyes, Marcelo Díaz, Clarence Acuña, Jorge Aravena, Alexis Sánchez, Patricio Yañez, Carlos Caszely, Eduardo Vargas
Formation 4-4-2 (diamond)
GK: Claudio Bravo: Our best ever GK, only Roberto Rojas coming close but his fiasco in Brazil leaves him out of competition
RB: Mauricio Isla: Not sure about either of the full backs, but both of them got to play in Europe, Isla in Juve and has had a pretty good career. Also scored the clutch goal against Uruguay in CA2015 which ended being the key opener to the cup.
CB: Alberto Quintano: Not from my time but formed one of the best CB partnerships with Elias Figueroa allowing us to have a decent Group Stage in WC1974 against both Germany's
CB: Elías Figueroa: Arguably our best ever player. 3 times best player in America and Brazil in the 70s, when all talents remained there. One of the few non Brazilians to have his footprints immortalized in Maracaná. Enough said.
LB: Jean Beausejour: Probably our historically weakest position. Nonetheless Jean had a great career. Won that mythical FA cup with Wigan and if I'm not wrong is the only Chilean champion of the first division with the 3 best teams (and not in snake fashion) and to score in two different WC (Honduras 2010, Australia 2014). Polifuncional started his career as a winger and LM and ended in the defense, like AV25.
CDM: Gary Medel: A lion, a warrior. Plays with his heart, can play as a CDM and as a CB which was his position in both CA wins but had to make place for the better CB partnership we had. Anyway the best CDM we've had, relegating Marcelo Díaz and Clarence Acuña to the bench.
CM: Charles Aranguiz: Amazingly talented, creative, very quiet, unstoppable penalties. A key piece in all our recent success.
CM: Arturo Vidal: Probably everybody here knows him well enough. Even causing PTSD when hearing Chile and Chilevision. A contender for our best ever player, all being a immature, undisciplined and unprofessional prat. If he took his career seriously? Probably a BdOr contender.
CAM: Jorge Valdivia: Must be our best ever talent and a completely wasted career for what it should have been. The real last classic 10 as he is younger than Riquelme and should have had a career as good as his. Finally matured a few years ago about 34 YO but the bad life didn't let him stay injury free. Anyway he was so talented that he'd walk in our team and was a key part in all our success.
ST: Marcelo Salas: A legend, my childhood hero. The Sa-Za was one of the best attacking force ever and Marcelo was the one who brought the talent.
CF: Iván Zamorano: A warrior. Made himself a name in Spain, won a place in Real Madrid and put Chile for the first time in all the world spotlights. Not talented as Marcelo, but played with his heart. Could jump 3m. A leader. Our captain.
Bench: Roberto Rojas, Javier Margas, Pedro Reyes, Marcelo Díaz, Clarence Acuña, Jorge Aravena, Alexis Sánchez, Patricio Yañez, Carlos Caszely, Eduardo Vargas
What a team that would be. Unfortunately for us Scots barely an outfield player there in the last 40 years!
I'll try a new version, based on my memory (I was born in 1980.)
Goram
Hutton - Hendry - Gough - Robertson
Fletcher - McAllister - Ferguson - Cooper
McCoist - McFadden
Bench
Leighton
McLeish
Tierney
McStay
Strachan
Collins
Miller
My modern era England
Shilton
G. Neville
Ferdinand
Adams
A. Cole
Robson
Gascoigne
Beckham
Waddle
Rooney
Shearer
Subs: Scholes, Barnes, Kane
Shilton
G. Neville
Ferdinand
Adams
A. Cole
Robson
Gascoigne
Beckham
Waddle
Rooney
Shearer
Subs: Scholes, Barnes, Kane
Rooney - Owen
A.Cole - Gascoigne - Scholes - Gerrard - Beckham
Terry - Rio - Adams
Seaman
Bench/Notable mentions/before my time: Banks, Shilton, Moore, Neville, Pearce, Edwards, Hoddle, Robson, Barnes, Charlton, Waddle, Shearer, Kane, Lineker
A.Cole - Gascoigne - Scholes - Gerrard - Beckham
Terry - Rio - Adams
Seaman
Bench/Notable mentions/before my time: Banks, Shilton, Moore, Neville, Pearce, Edwards, Hoddle, Robson, Barnes, Charlton, Waddle, Shearer, Kane, Lineker
Lloris
Thuram - Desailly - Varane - Lizarazu
Kante
Zidane - Platini
Mbappe - Benzema - Henry
Thuram - Desailly - Varane - Lizarazu
Kante
Zidane - Platini
Mbappe - Benzema - Henry
Bench : Coupet,Blanc,L.Hernandez,Sagnol,Vieira,Deschamps,Griezmann,Ribery
If you're gonna play wingers, then surely Garrincha?
Very good team too mate. I was going to do one during my lifetime (born in 1992) but decided to go with an all-time XI which would be a bit more fun. I initially put Jock Stein as my manager but then remembered Sir Alex managed us for a short stint after Jock’s shock passing after we had just beaten Wales in the 86 World Cup playoff.
I think Altidore gets underrated due to his horrific time in England and then his injuries. Prior to that (and even his early time in Toronto) he was a real handful and looked like he was going to obliterate the US goal record. McBride was good, but I also think his time in England gets exaggerated due to him being the first attacking player to do anything of note in Europe.
Beasley? Sure, why not. My point was really that this position was always our black hole. The answer will be Robinson after the WC anyways. I also wanted to sneak JOB into the lineup as he was my first “what if?” guy.
Wales
A top heavy team. Formation makes little, but I just went with three defenders so I can shove in more attackers.
Kanu is too good for this team.
Southall
Ben Davies; Ashley Williams; Collins
Joe Allen; Ramsey
Hughes
------------------------------------Bale; Ian Rush; Giggs (purely ability wise)
Ben Davies; Ashley Williams; Collins
Joe Allen; Ramsey
Hughes
------------------------------------Bale; Ian Rush; Giggs (purely ability wise)
A top heavy team. Formation makes little, but I just went with three defenders so I can shove in more attackers.
Kanu is too good for this team.
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-----------------------------Forrest--------------------------
Miller--------Johnson--------Henry---------Davies
------------Hutchinson----Eustaquio---------------
DeRosario------------David----------------Buchanan
----------------------------Larin-------------------------------
I was tempted to just name everyone on the team who helped us qualify top of the CONCACAF table but I had a hard time leaving Craig and DeRo out of the line up as they are our original "stars"
Miller--------Johnson--------Henry---------Davies
------------Hutchinson----Eustaquio---------------
DeRosario------------David----------------Buchanan
----------------------------Larin-------------------------------
I was tempted to just name everyone on the team who helped us qualify top of the CONCACAF table but I had a hard time leaving Craig and DeRo out of the line up as they are our original "stars"
Don't think Wales can afford to play with 10.
You could play Giggs in a midfield 3, Hughes as a targetman (no Rush) with Bale and Bellamy working from wide. Basically you could play Giggs in any of the front 6 positions.
It's your team so do as you like, but to say Rooney isn't a pure striker is absolutely ridiculous. He thrived in a 4-4-2. It's as a lone striker where he seemed to get frustrated. He's England's and Manchester United's all time leading scorer. Sorry, but for up front, he'd be the first name on my team sheet along with Shearer...
Not really wingers. Its 4-4-2 with wide midfielders.