By Tenet
Football fans never tire of the memories of legendary players from their club’s past, especially if the current team is not always up to par with historic successes.
If possible, they would love to see former heroes line up alongside today’s players to take the team to another level.
Here’s a look at which former players would have started for their old club’s current XI …
Tottenham in the late 1980s and early 1990s was when Paul Gascoigne was at his best, before injuries and personal problems ultimately reduced his career to the highest level.
Mercurial midfield talent had a wow factor that today’s Spurs squad, who are being fashioned into a functional squad in Jose Mourinho’s image, cannot claim to match. He was a revolutionary in the most unexpected ways, the kind of player fans want to see on the pitch and in their club.
Juventus may have won nine Serie A titles in a row, but their quality is declining, especially when it comes to the Champions League. This can be attributed to a lack of character or world-class technical quality in midfield. Come in, Zinedine Zidane.
It was at Juve in the late 1990s that Zidane established himself as one of the greatest midfielders of all time. The club will not win the Champions League until they find another like him.
Chelsea are building a potentially electric unit of offensive players and they are certainly capable when it comes to scoring goals. Where they are poor is on the defensive, particularly between clubs, where Kepa Arrizabalaga falls short of her world-record transfer share.
Seldom has the world ever seen a better goalkeeper than Petr Cech at his peak at Chelsea, prior to his 2007 head injury. His presence would also improve the defenders ahead of him.
15 years later, Arsenal have not yet replaced Patrick Vieira. It is also no coincidence that they have not won a Premier League title since captaining the “Invincibles” in 2003/04.
The Gunners have notoriously long lacked a backbone and competitive edge without the Frenchman leading them from midfield. Vieira would join the current Arsenal squad and would likely be their best and most influential player alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Barcelona’s decline was clear and evident long before Bayern Munich’s 8-2 humiliation in the Champions League. But in that match, the team’s performance lacked any kind of direction or leadership, especially in midfield.
Barça have not been able to replace Xavi since his departure in 2015 and his qualities would have worked wonders in the current squad, which lost what made the club special in the early 2010s.
In eight of Cristiano Ronaldo’s nine seasons at Real Madrid, Los Blancos have scored 100 or more goals in La Liga. They got 94 in the other. In the two campaigns since leaving, despite winning the title in the latter, the team have scored 70 or less each time.
Ronaldo’s peak guaranteed goals in a way few other players in history have ever had and a player like him would always make Real a better side in any era.
Manchester United have the makings of a potentially very good side as they try to bring back the glory years at Old Trafford. But it lacks the uncompromising leadership of Roy Keane, who demanded the world from his teammates – and they usually kept.
Keane was not only a brilliant captain, he was also a good footballer in his own right, excelling in both defensive and offensive skills at various points in his career.
Liverpool is world class at the front and world class at the rear. If there is room for updating everywhere in the current XI he is in midfield and can you imagine the impact that a Steven Gerrard peak would have surrounded the rest of the 2020 Reds?
Gerrrard’s all-action style would make Liverpool even more relentless forward, adding spectacular dimension to an already eminently functional and trained midfield.
This article was presented by Tenet, in theaters in June. Watch the trailer below:
