Arsenal play Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 over two legs in the next three weeks and fans around the world are eagerly waiting with bated breath for the clash between the two European giants. Bayern Munich have an edge in the tie because of their strength and depth, however, stranger things have happened, and a spirited, combative Arsenal performance over the two legs, could see the Gunners go through.
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With the game almost upon us, we decided to form a combined XI of Bayern and Gunners legends, who if they were still playing today (only one is), would turn the tie on its head single-handedly.
We have chosen a 4-3-1-2 formation because of the sheer quality of players to choose from.
Goalkeeper: Oliver Kahn
‘The Titan’ as the Bayern fans fondly called him, wasn’t the obvious choice for goalkeeper despite being an absolute beast between the sticks. There was a certain Sepp Maier who is a Bayern Munich and German legend, and it was a difficult choice between the two, but the sheer number of titles won by Kahn tilted in his favour.
The German was known for his dominating presence in goal and in and around the box, and made some unbelievable saves throughout his career. He was probably one of Germany and Bayern Munich’s best goalkeepers of all time. His distinguished career speaks for itself; with Kahn in goal, Bayern Munich won eight Bundesliga titles, and one Champions League trophy in 2001 – he was the man of the match in that final.
For the German national team he featured 86 times and captained the side in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where they lost to Brazil in the final. He won the FIFA Golden Ball at that World Cup and remains the only goalkeeper to win it in FIFA World Cup history, and also finished third in the Ballon d’Or in 2001 and 2002.
Defenders
Right back: Phillip Lahm
This was a no-brainer; Phillip Lahm is the current captain of Bayern Munch and is one is considered as a Bayern great. The Munich native sped through the ranks in Bayern’s youth system, and after a successful loan spell at VFB Stuttgart was integrated into the Munich club’s starting XI.
He has since gone on to win a massive seven Bundesliga titles and captained the club to a historic treble in 2012-13, where the club won the UEFA Champions League as well. Lahm is known for his excellent reading of the game, intelligent play, pace, work-rate and, precise, firm and clean tackling.
At international level, Lahm made 113 appearances for Germany and captained the national team in their infamous 2014 FIFA World Cup win. He has never been sent off for Bayern Munich in 502 appearances for the club, an incredible record! He recently confirmed that he will retire at the end of the 2016-17 season.
Centre back: Franz Beckenbauer
‘Der Kaiser’ Franz Beckenbauer was a Bayern Munich Goliath in his playing time. The German captained the Munich side in their most successful era in the club’s history. He revolutionised the sweeper (libero) position and with Beckenbauer as captain Bayern won the UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup in 1967 and three consecutive European Cups from 1974 to 1976.
He also won four Bundesliga titles, captaining Bayern in 1972, 1973 and 1974 season. Der Kaiser was known for his ability to bring the ball out from the back and join in attacks as a sweeper and even scored 75 goals for Bayern Munich in 567 games for the club. He played against England in the 1966 World Cup final as a youngster but lost to the English; he was tasked with man-marking Sir Bobby Charlton in that final.
He went on to win the Euros in 1972 and the FIFA World Cup as a player in 1974 as captain of West Germany. He then guided Die Mannschaft to another World Cup win in 1990 as a manager and is only one of two people to ever achieve this feat. Beckenbauer was known for his leadership, all-round attributes and brilliant reading of the game. He won the Ballon d’Or twice and was included in the list of FIFA’s 100 greatest players ever at number 4 on the list.
Centre Back: Tony Adams
Although Bayern Munich had some legendary centre backs in their time, this spot was between Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck and Arsenal’s Tony Adams in this list. Schwarzenbeck was probably a better player but Tony Adams led Arsenal to glory and was a heavyweight of English football. The no-nonsense English centre-back is Arsenal’s 3rd greatest ever player in their history, and remains a legend at the club to this day.
He spent 22 years as centre back for Arsenal, out of which he captained the club for 14 years and won 10 major trophies (four English Top-flight league titles and three FA Cups) in his time. He was known for his immense aerial ability, timing of tackles and reading of the game, apart from his leadership.
Former Arsenal manager George Graham called him a ‘colossus’ and Arsene Wenger described him as a ‘professor of defence’. He would have complemented Beckenbauer well in this XI as he had the ability to be aggressive and win balls, while the German legend could bring the ball from the back.
Left-back: Ashley Cole
Before moving to Chelsea, Ashley Cole was an Arsenal youth product 228 appearances for the Gunners and then 338 for Chelsea. For the most part of his playing career, the Englishman was widely regarded as the best left-back in the world and is an obvious choice in this list, despite Bayern’s Bixente Lizarazu running him close.
Cole was known for his tenacious defending, speed and athleticism and expert ability in handling the world’s best attackers like Ronaldinho, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He won three Premier League titles in all (two with Arsenal and one with Chelsea), seven FA Cups (three with Arsenal and four with Chelsea) and one UEFA Champions League with Chelsea.
Cole was part of the famous ‘Invincibles’ side and was one of the greatest Arsenal left-backs of all time. He was also capped 107 times for the England national team.
Central Midfield: Patrick Vieira
Another player from Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ side, the tough-tackling French midfielder, Patrick Vieira, brings energy, leadership and tenacity to the midfield. The leggy Frenchman was at the heart of the Arsenal midfield for nine seasons in which he won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups.
Vieira was known for his physical style of play and all-round defensive prowess; he had the bite and hard-tackling to ruffle his opponents, break down play and win the ball back for the Gunners. The midfielder even scored 34 goals in 279 appearances for Arsenal and captained the side from 2002 to 2005. He was the captain in their unbeaten 2003-04 Premier League winning season and remains one of the Gunners’ best midfield generals of all time.
Central Midfield: Lothar Matthaus
The midfield dynamo, Lothar Matthaus, is a German and Bayern Munich legend. He was Munich’s midfield engine from 1984-88 and then again from 1992-2000. He spent 14 years at the Munich club across two spells in which he won seven Bundesliga titles, but he didn’t win the UEFA Champions League despite reaching the finals twice, most famously losing to Manchester United in 1999. Matthaus was known for his passing range, timing of tackles and a powerful shot – complete box-to-box midfielder.
Nicknamed ‘Der Panzer’ after the German Panzer tanks, Matthaus’ staggering record for the German national team speaks for itself. He holds the record for most ever appearances for Germany with 150 caps scoring 26 goals, and also has the most ever appearances in World Cups by any player (25). He lifted the 1990 FIFA World Cup as the captain of Germany after losing in the final twice, in 1982 and 1986.
Der Panzer won the Ballon d’Or in 1990 and FIFA World Player of the Year in 1991 and remains the only German to ever win the latter. Matthaus was also included in the FIFA 100 Greatest Players to Have Ever Played the Game at No. 31. Diego Maradona famously wrote in his autobiography that Matthaus was, “the best rival I've ever had”.
Central Midfield: Michael Ballack
There is an ever lasting debate as to who was the better player between Stefan Effenberg, Michael Ballack or Bastian Schweinsteiger. In this list, Michael Ballack edges it over the other two accomplished midfielders. The reason for the inclusion of the former Bayern Munich and Chelsea midfielder in this all-time combined XI is his all-round play and influence on the pitch, but most importantly, his goals.
The German midfielder made his name at Kaiserslautern and Bayer Leverkusen, and then played for Bayern Munich for four seasons between 2002-2006, scoring 62 goals in 157 appearances for the Munich club. Schweinsteiger scored 68 goals for Bayern but those goals came in 500 appearances, while Effenberg scored only 16 in his 4 seasons with the club.
Ballack was an imposing midfield presence who was well known for his great passing range, commanding game-play, heading ability, physical strength and powerful shot. He won three Bundesliga titles in his four seasons with Bayern Munich. For the German national side, Ballack won 98 caps scoring 42 goals for Die Mannschaft, however, he did not win the World Cup in 2002 after he famously missed the final against Brazil due to a booking in the semi-final.
He also captained Germany to third place in the 2006 World Cup after being eliminated in the semi-finals by eventual winners Italy. He was also included in the FIFA 100 list that cemented Ballack as an all-time great.
AttackAttacking Midfielder: Dennis Bergkamp
This was again a difficult choice between two greats of the game, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany) and Dennis Bergkamp (Netherlands). Their position in the FIFA 100 list also indicates how close they were to each other – Bergkamp at no. 34 and Rummenigge at no. 35. They had near identical goal-scoring records as well; Rumenigge scored 293 goals in his club career while Bergkamp hit 272.
At international level, Rumenigge scored 45 to Bergkamp’s 37. Although the German edges the goal-scoring stats and has won two Ballon d’Ors, Bergkamp makes it to the list because of his ingenious footballing brain. While Rummenigge was a pacy winger/forward, the Dutchman but compensated his lack of pace with his intelligence, awareness and technical ability.
Bergkamp was well known for being the focal point of attacks, making assists and brining his team-mates into play. He was a classic No. 10, who could also play as a striker. He played 11 seasons for Arsenal from 1995-2006, scoring 120 goals for the London club, winning three Premier League titles and four FA Cups.
The Dutchman was in the Gunners’ team that reached the 2006 Champions League final, falling to Barcelona. Bergkamp has been described as having the ‘finest technique’ of any Dutch player in history, which adds to the reasons for his entry into this list
Striker: Thierry Henry
This was another no-brainer. Thierry Henry is the greatest player in the history of Arsenal Football Club. The French striker had it all – pace, power, guile and supreme finishing. The former Arsenal striker is the club’s all-time highest goal-scorer with 228 goals in 376 games for the London outfit.
He won two Premier League titles and two FA Cups with the Gunners before winning two La Liga titles, one Copa Del Rey and a Champions League trophy with Barcelona. For the France national team, Henry scored 51 goals in 123 caps for Les Blues and won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000 with his country.
He was also in the team that reached the 2006 FIFA World Cup final but lost to Italy after Zinedine Zidane’s historic head-butt red card. Henry was the scourge of many Premier League and European teams in his time with Arsenal and remains a distinguished legend at the London club.
Striker: Gerd Muller
Nicknamed ‘Der Bomber’ by Bayern Munich fans, Gerd Muller is perhaps football’s greatest ever finishers. The one constant in Muller’s game was goals and lots of goals. Der Bomber averaged 0.93 goals a game throughout his career and was renowned for scoring the majority of his goals inside and around the six-yard box.
He had a turn of pace and a good touch to add to his lethal and clinical finishing. He won four Bundesliga titles and three European Cups for Bayern Munich. However, at international level, his record is even more staggering – Muller scored 68 goals for Germany is 62 games averaging nearly 1.1 goals a game.
He won the Euro trophy in 1972 (where he finished as top scorer) and the World Cup in 1974 with Die Mannschaft as well. He also won one Ballon d’Or in 1970 and was named in the FIFA 100 at no. 15.
