For our matchday programme, we asked Iron defender Harrison McGahey to give us his favourite XI player-by-player, based from those who have inspired him watching football over the years.
In a formation of 4-4-2, the centre-back’s chosen players ranged from Cristiano Ronaldo to Tony Hibbert, including a manager and three players who just miss out.
GK: Iker Casillas
HM: “He just seemed to be winning everything when I was growing up.”
RB: Tony Hibbert
HM: “Tony Hibbert, the first name that came to mind! He played so many Premier League games for Everton.”
CB: John Terry
HM: “I used to admire Chelsea and look up to Terry as I was playing my football as a kid. He was a real leader on the pitch”
HM: “Van Dijk is an easy one really, he’s such an all-rounder at the back.”
LB: Roberto Carlos
HM: “I remember him being a very good player, he had a great left foot. Ashley Cole comes in at a close second”
RM and LM: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
HM: “Without doubt the two best players in the world, they’ve got to be in there, their place in the XI just speaks for itself really.”
CM: Zinedine Zidane
HM: “He just had so much about him. That amazing volley into the top corner, in the 2002 Champions League Final just sticks in my head.”
CM: Frank Lampard
HM: “He was a true goal-scoring midfielder, but could also defend well as well, another iconic leader.”
ST: Didier Drogba
HM: “Drogba scored so many goals and dominated the Premier League for so many seasons. Another Champions League winner, and that header against Bayern Munich was amazing.”
ST: Wayne Rooney
HM: “Just because of who he is, and what he’s done in this country. He was also very aggressive in his youth which I liked, I was quite hot-headed myself at a similar age, so it reminds me of him!”
MANAGER: Sir Alex Ferguson
HM: “It’s close between Sir Alex and Jose Mourinho, but I just admire how Sir Alex turned Manchester United around and won so much at just one club.”
THREE WHO MISSED OUT:
CB: Giorgio Chiellini
HM: “He’s won loads in Italy and been a rock for years.”
CM: Alan Smith
HM: “This is a bit of a personal one, growing up I was a Leeds fan and a midfielder, so I tried to emulate his passion."
ST: Thierry Henry
HM: “Another very good striker, he was the leading goalscorer in the Premier League for a number of years.”