Kenny Dalglish and Ian Rush, both Liverpool legends, make the cut.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Graeme Souness’ 3-4-3 formation features Ian Rush, Kenny Dalglish, and a wildcard who he has never played with.
- Souness referred to Nottingham Forest legend John Robertson as his generation’s most underrated player.
- He mostly incorporates former Liverpool colleagues in his squad.
Graeme Souness, who appears as confrontational in the television studio as a pundit after retiring, had a dazzling, trophy-filled career representing Liverpool during a golden age when the Merseyside team won three European Cups.
The all-action Scottish midfielder, who became one of the first British players to play in Serie A after joining Sampdoria in 1984, would excel in star-studded title-winning teams throughout his illustrious playing career, so selecting his team-mates’ starting lineup for BBC Football proved difficult for the Scotsman.
Despite also representing Rangers, Sampdoria, Middlesbrough, and the Scottish national team, Souness’ Liverpool teammates, who, under Bob Paisley’s leadership, would dominate domestic and European competitions throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, would occupy the majority of the spaces in Souness’ team-mates XI.
Goalkeeper and Defence
Ray Clemence, Richard Gough, Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson
Ray Clemence, probably ahead of his time as a goalkeeper with advanced technical ball-playing abilities, was the rock-solid, ever-present backbone of arguably Liverpool’s most successful squad to date.
Souness, who chose an aggressive 3-4-3 formation for his team’s XI, selected Liverpool veterans Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson to form a three-man defence alongside Scottish centre-back Richard Gough. According to Souness, Gough wasn’t the most graceful player on the field, but his boldness and aggression are beautifully balanced by Alan Hansen’s passing range and Mark Lawrenson’s intelligence.
Souness believes his defense’s toughness and stamina can keep any of Europe’s elite attacking talents quiet.
Souness, who chose an aggressive 3-4-3 formation for his team’s XI, selected Liverpool veterans Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson to form a three-man defence alongside Scottish centre-back Richard Gough. According to Souness, Gough wasn’t the most graceful player on the field, but his boldness and aggression are beautifully balanced by Alan Hansen’s passing range and Mark Lawrenson’s intelligence.
Souness believes his defense’s toughness and stamina can keep any of Europe’s elite attacking talents quiet.
So, if you are a striker, good luck playing against that back three. You’re not going to enjoy yourself if you enter a race. You’re not going to like it if you try to fight them physically.
Midfield
Sammy Lee, Terry McDermott, Ronnie Whelan and John Robertson
Souness, a midfielder who was widely regarded as one of Europe’s best players in the late 1970s and early 1980s, politely chose to leave himself out of his starting lineup.
Ronnie Wheelan, Liverpool’s trusty holding midfielder for much of Souness’s time at the club, was included to the Scotsman’s XI alongside his teammate. Terry McDermott, affectionately nicknamed ‘Terry Mac’ by supporters, is, despite 54 goals and a trophy cabinet that would make many of Europe’s best-ever players blush, a surprise pick in Souness’ midfield, he said: “Terry Mac, people wouldn’t think he was a great player, but I’d put him as a great player. He had excellent skills and the most ludicrous engine.”
Sammy Lee, whose defensive dedication will be useful in Souness’ attacking 3-4-3 formation, earns a place on the right of midfield, while John Robertson, a European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest and considered by Souness to be “the most underrated player of my generation,” is on the left. Souness recalled:
“When you looked at him, you felt he wasn’t very fit, was a little overweight, and shuffled around. I can recall one game in which we faced New Zealand in the World Cup in 1982, and I remember blowing after an hour, looking at him, and he’s still bombing up and down the line, and I’m thinking, “How can he do that?”
“And Robbo was a truly world-class football player. If he had played for Liverpool or Arsenal, he would be revered throughout the country, Europe, and possibly even the world, however he is currently only known in Nottingham.”
Forwards: Ian Rush, Kenny Dalglish, Lionel Messi (wildcard).
Wow, what a front three Graeme Souness has chosen; all-time Kop icons Ian Rush and Kenny Daglish team up with Lionel Messi, who many feel is football’s greatest-ever player, to form one of the deadliest front threes to grace a football pitch. Looking back on the career of Liverpool’s ‘King Kenny’, Souness recalls:
“Kenny was a very special player; he was brilliant, daring, scored goals, created goals, and saw passes that only the best players see. And while the term “warrior” is not commonly associated with Kenny, he was absolutely one.
Rush, the deadly Welsh goalscorer who scored over 200 goals in two spells at Liverpool, plays through the middle, taking advantage of the abundance of creative players around him, while Messi plays on the left. Souness is keen to capitalize on the Argentine’s playing excellence, stating, “Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo don’t come along every generation.”
Who is the next Messi? Who is the next Ronaldo? There is not one! Messi does more to get you out of your seat than anyone else.”
