Football fans never tire of the memories of legendary players from their club’s past, especially if the current side doesn’t always live up to historic successes.
Were it possible, they would love nothing more than to see former heroes line up alongside the players of today to take the team to another level.
Here’s a look at which former players would start for their old club’s current XI...
Tottenham - Paul Gascoigne
Tottenham in the late 1980s and early 1990s was when Paul Gascoigne was at his very best, before injuries and personal problems ultimately curtailed his career at the highest level.
The mercurial midfield talent had a wow factor that today’s Spurs side, which is being moulded into a functional team in Jose Mourinho’s image, cannot claim to match. He was a gamechanger in the most unexpected ways, the type of player fans want to see on the pitch and at their club.
Juventus - Zinedine Zidane
Juventus may have won nine Serie A titles in a row, but their quality is dropping, especially when it comes to the Champions League. That can be attributed to a lack of character or world class technical quality in midfield. Enter, Zinedine Zidane.
It was at Juve in the late 1990s where Zidane established himself as one of the greatest midfielders of all time. The club won’t win the Champions League until they find another like him.
Chelsea - Petr Cech
Chelsea are building a potentially electric unit of attacking players and are certainly capable when it comes to scoring goals. Where they are poor is defensively, particularly between the sticks, where Kepa Arrizabalaga is failing to live up to his world record transfer fee.
Rarely has the world ever seen a better goalkeeper than Petr Cech at his Chelsea peak, before his 2007 head injury. His presence would even improve the defenders in front of him.
Arsenal - Patrick Vieira
15 years on, Arsenal still haven't replaced Patrick Vieira. It is also no coincidence that they haven’t won a Premier League title since he captained the ‘Invincibles’ in 2003/04.
The Gunners have famously long lacked the spine and competitive edge without the Frenchman driving them on from midfield. Vieira would walk into the current Arsenal team and probably be its best and most influential player alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Barcelona - Xavi
Barcelona’s decline was clear and obvious long before their 8-2 Champions League humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich. But in that game, the team’s performance lacked any sort of direction or leadership, especially in midfield.
Barça have been unable to replace Xavi since his departure in 2015 and his qualities would work wonders in the current side, who have lost what made the club special in the early 2010s.
Real Madrid - Cristiano Ronaldo
In eight of Cristiano Ronaldo’s nine seasons at Real Madrid, Los Blancos scored 100 or more goals in La Liga. They got 94 in the other. In the two campaigns since he left, despite winning the title in the latter, the team has scored 70 or fewer each time.
Peak Ronaldo guaranteed goals in a way that few other players in history ever have and a player like him would always make Real a better team in any era.
Manchester United - Roy Keane
Manchester United have the makings of a potentially very good team as they seek to bring back the glory years to Old Trafford. But it lacks the uncompromising leadership of Roy Keane, who demanded the world from his teammates - and they usually delivered.
Keane was not only a brilliant captain, he was also a fine footballer in his own right, excelling in both defensive and attacking capacity at various points throughout his career.
Liverpool - Steven Gerrard
Liverpool are world class at the front and world class at the back. If there is room to upgrade anywhere in the current XI it is in midfield and can you imagine the impact a peak Steven Gerrard would have surrounded by the rest of the 2020 Reds?
Gerrrard’s all-action style would make Liverpool even more relentless going forward, adding a spectacular dimension to an already eminently functional and drilled midfield.
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Source : 90min