Robbie Keane has sat down with Frankie Fryer of Soccer AM to pick his dream 5-a-side of players he's played with. The all time record goalscorer for Ireland only had space for one paddy in his team with goalkeeper Shay Given his choice to go between the sticks.
Rio Ferdinand, who Keane played with in his Leeds days, is the defensive lynchpin with Steven Gerrard as a deep lying midfielder. Former Spurs and Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric is further up the pitch and Dimitar Berbatov leading the line.
Keane had a very analytical approach to his picks, settling on a balanced side that had adaptive qualities. The Dubliner argued that Ferdinand will defend but would also be good bringing the ball out, and that midfielder Steven Gerrard can defend and attack.
He conceded that with Dimitar Berbatov, the rest of the team would have to do most of the running, but the former Tottenham captain said that the Bulgarian's skill on the ball would make up for his lack of defensive effort.
Here is Keane's line-up:
Just for fun here are some of the players Keane neglected to select in his ideal 5-a-side team: Clarence Seedorf, David Beckham, Ledley King, Gareth Bale, Paul McShane, Andrea Dossena, Javier Zanetti, Stephen McPhail, (the Brazilian) Ronaldo.
You can watch the full segment below:
