Liverpool's Greatest Premier League XI

While Liverpool has been very successful in English club football with 18 league titles, the club is yet to win the trophy ever since the formation of the English Premier League in 1992.However, Liverpool has enjoyed some successful seasons and has regularly finished in the top 4 for a major portion of the EPL era. We present a combined XI of the greatest players to have played for the club in the Premier League.Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely that of the author and do not reflect those of the site.

#1 Goalkeeper: Pepe Reina

The Spanish goalkeeper is seemingly unwanted at the club now, but has been an excellent servant since joining in 2005. His reliable shot-stopping skills and ability to distribute the ball well to create attacks made him an instant favourite with the fans, as he won the UEFA Super Cup and FA Cup in his first season at the club.

Reina won the Golden Gloves award in the Premier League for three consecutive seasons from 2005-06 to 2007-08, and was the fastest keeper in Liverpool’s history to reach the century of clean sheets. A specialist in saving penalties, Reina won the FA Cup in 2006 and Carling Cup in 2012 in the penalty shootout stage.

He is the record holder for the maximum appearances in the Premier League by a Spanish player having represented Liverpool in 285 matches. He kept his 100th clean sheet in the Premier League for the club in a 3-0 win over Aston Villa in the 2010-11 season in his 198th game.

Reina was also voted as the Liverpool Player of Season in the 2009-10 season.

#2 Right Back: Steve Finnan

Finnan was a no-nonsense defender who was solid at the back, and was ever willing to go forward and supply good crosses. The Irishman is the only player to have participated in the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Cup, Intertoto Cup, all 4 tiers of English league football and the Football Conference.

After arriving from Fulham in 2003, Finnan quickly established himself in the team and cemented his spot at the right back position. He played an important role in the team’s progression to the 2005 Champions League Final. While the night at Istanbul was one of the most memorable ones for the club, it was a bittersweet occasion for Finnan as he got injured during the game, and had to be substituted at half-time. Finnan went on to claim the winner’s medal in the 2006 UEFA Super Cup and 2006 FA Cup, and was ever-present in the club’s march to the 2007 Champions League Final which the team lost to AC Milan.

While Finnan never managed to grab the headlines unlike some of his more famous teammates, his performances at the right-back position were a major reason for the excellent defensive record of the team under Rafa Benitez.

#3 Centre Back: Jamie Carragher

The player, who spent his entire professional career at Liverpool from 1996 to 2013, is regarded as one of the best defenders ever in the club’s history. A boyhood Everton fan, Carragher started out as a striker, who was later moved to a midfield role in the Liverpool Reserves team. The versatile player began his Liverpool senior team career at right back and later moved to left back. It was in the wing-back position where Carragher won the treble at Liverpool in 2001.

The arrival of new manager Rafael Benitez in 2004 saw Carragher switch to the centre back role, which proved to be the career-defining move for him. Along with Sami Hyypiä, Carragher formed one of the most reliable central defensive partnerships in Europe, as the team went on to win the 2005 Champions League.

Carragher appeared in 508 Premier League matches for Liverpool and 150 European games in an illustrious career for Liverpool where we won 11 trophies, and was given the Liverpool Player of the Season award twice (2005 and 2007).

#4 Centre Back: Sami Hyypi

Probably the best ever bargain buy by Liverpool, Hyypiä was core to Liverpool’s two main successes in the Premier League era – the 2001 treble and the 2005 Champions League win. For the former, he formed a reliable central defensive partnership with Stéphane Henchoz, while for the latter his solid defending along with Jamie Carragher saw them becoming one of the best defensive units in Europe.

A boyhood Liverpool supporter, Hyypiä was recommended to the club by a TV cameraman. He instantly made a positive impression at the club, and was soon handed captaincy responsibilities. When the captaincy was later handed to Steven Gerrard, Hyypiä graciously accepted the decision and didn’t let the development affect his game.

In his farewell game against Tottenham at Anfield in 2009, the Kop stood in salute of the Finn, who had served Liverpool with full dedication for a decade, helping the club to a Champions League, a UEFA Cup, two UEFA Super Cups and six domestic trophies.

#5 Left Back: John Arne Riise

The left back position has been a problem area for Liverpool for long. One player who did excel in the role was the Norwegian Riise, who made the spot his own for most of the period of his time at the club.

The player was known more for his attacking abilities (and sometimes deployed in the left midfield role) than the defensive work, and while he could be considered a bit lucky to find a place in this team (due to lack of better alternatives), it doesn’t discount the fact that he was a key member of the team and played a key role in their attacks as well as defending.

Making his debut for the club in the UEFA Super Cup against Bayern Munich in 2001, Riise scored as Liverpool won the game. He had a powerful left-foot strike, and will be best remembered for the thunderous free-kick against Manchester United at Anfield in 2001.

The goal was so exceptional that the Liverpool fans still sing a song in its honour.

#6 Central Midfield: Dietmar Hamann

The holding midfielder enjoyed seven years at Anfield where he anchored the Liverpool midfield and won nine trophies. A key member of the treble winning team of 2001 after arriving from Newcastle in 1999, Hamann is also often credited to Liverpool’s comeback in the 2005 Champions League as his half-time introduction saw him neutralizing Kaka’s threat in the midfield and Liverpool managed to equalize after being 3-0 down at the end of the first half.

With his tackling skills and intelligent reading of the game, Hamann would break down opposition attacks while sitting at the base of the Liverpool midfield, and initiate the team attacks by winning possession.

Apart from the defensive duties, Hamann was also known for his fearsome shooting skills and scored some thunderous goals for Liverpool. Apart from that, he took the first penalty in the shootouts of the 2005 Champions League Final and 2006 FA Cup Final, both of which he scored as Liverpool went on to win the trophies.

#7 Central Midfield: Xabi Alonso

The importance of the Spanish to Liverpool became evident with the team’s instant decline after his switch to Real Madrid in 2009. One of the most elegant and classiest players to have ever played for the club, Alonso arrived at Liverpool in 2004 as a youngster and quickly developed into one of the best midfielders in the world.

Well known for his ability to control the game with his passing range and vision, Alonso often created many goals from deep inside Liverpool’s half. He scored two memorable goals from Liverpool’s half – one against Newcastle in the Premier League and the other against Luton in the FA Cup.

Alonso’s best moment in a Liverpool shirt was the 2005 Champions League Final in which he scored the equalizing goal from a rebound after AC Milan keeper Dida had initially saved his penalty. He later went on to win the UEFA Super Cup in 2005 and the FA Cup in 2006, before moving to Real Madrid and winning more laurels with the Madrid side and Spanish national team.

#8 Right Midfield: Steven Gerrard (Captain)

With work-rate, pace, skill, power, goals, assists, versatility, and leadership by example, Gerrard has been described by many as the ultimate footballer. He finds a spot on the right wing in this team, but can be expected to cut inside to score and create goals. As the team’s talisman and long-serving captain, Gerrard is probably the ultimate embodiment of Liverpool FC.

The player has had to play in some very average Liverpool sides at times, and has often won matches single-handedly. The goals against Olympiakos and AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League, and the last gasp equalizer against West Ham in 2006 FA Cup Final are still fresh in memory.

Ranked by Liverpool fans as No. 1 in the list of “100 Players who shook the Kop” last year, Gerrard has won 11 trophies and many individual honours at Anfield, and he will look forward to adding to this collection in the coming years before he hangs up his boots.

#9 Left Midfield: Steve McManaman

Arguably Liverpool’s best player in the first decade of the Premier League, McManaman often brought joy to the Liverpool fans with his performances during an otherwise barren spell for the club. Just like Gerrard, McManaman’s role will not be limited to the wings in this side, and he will have the freedom to roam and look to score and create goals.

A boyhood Everton fan, McManaman chose to join their arch-rivals Liverpool instead in 1988 as a 16-year-old on the advice of his father and went on make his debut in 1990. He quickly established himself in the team, and his man of the match performance in the FA Cup Final in 1992 won Liverpool the trophy. His best moment at Liverpool was the 1995 League Cup Final, where he scored both the goals in a win over Bolton, and the game is often referred to as “The McManaman final”.

With a total of 142 assists, McManaman averaged an assist every 2.5 games for the club and still among the youngest players in Premier League to reach a century of assists. While McManaman left the club in rather controversial circumstances, he was given a standing ovation in his final game against Wimbledon at Anfield, which he marked with a trademark assist to create Karl-Heinz Riedle’s goal.

#10 Striker: Luis Suarez

Despite all the controversy that surrounded him almost throughout his time at Liverpool, it is undeniable that Luis Suarez is one of the best strikers to have played for Liverpool, and merits selection ahead of Michael Owen and Fernando Torres in this XI, for his incredible goal-scoring performances and for helping the club return to Champions League after many years of exile.

After signing for the club in January 2011, Suarez made an instant impact as he scored on his debut, just 16 minutes after coming on. With the combination of creativity, tenacity and sublime finishing, Suarez became a firm Kop favourite.

While controversies kept following him and resulted in many bans, the Uruguayan striker continued to wow with his performances whenever he played. A return of 30 goals in all competitions in the 2012-13 season was followed by an even more impressive 2013-14 season where he scored 31 goals in the Premier League, and won many individual awards.

With the player having now joined Barcelona for a hefty amount, the fortunes of Liverpool in the upcoming season will largely depend on whether the team can adequately replace Suarez or not.

#11 Striker: Robbie Fowler

Nicknamed “God” by the Liverpool fans, Fowler is one of the most revered players in the history of the club. A product of the Liverpool Centre of Excellence, he graduated through the ranks to debut for the first team in 1993, and almost instantly started topping the scoring charts, which included three consecutive seasons of 30+ goals for the club in all competitions.

Fowler holds the record for the fastest hat-trick in Premier League (4 minutes 33 seconds against Arsenal), which is unlikely to be broken soon. A natural goal-scorer, he found the back of the net in many big games. He was part of the team which won the treble in 2001, and though he joined Leeds United and later Manchester City, he remained a fan favourite at Anfield.

Fowler got a chance to return to the club in 2006, and while his second stint wasn’t as successful as the first one, he managed to end his career at the club on a high note, erasing the bad memories of 2001. In all, Fowler scored 183 goals for Liverpool in 369 appearances.