Two of the greatest managers in history have each picked Liverpool players in their World XIs. Fabio Capello and Arrigo Sacchi see greatness.
Gazzetta dello Sport had an interesting idea this week. They asked Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello for their World XIs heading into the World Cup.
The pair are two of the greatest managers in history, of course. Sacchi revolutionised football in the late 1980s with his AC Milan side. He took a middle-of-the-road team and won two European Cups and a Serie A title over a four-year period. In doing so, he transformed the idea around pressing and defending, creating one of the greatest backlines in the history of football.
Capello worked under Sacchi at Milan and took over in 1991. A five-year spell brought four Serie A titles and another European Cup. He’d then deliver the title at both AS Roma and Real Madrid (and arguably Juventus but that’s up for debate).
In other words, they know their stuff.
Liverpool players selected in World XIs
Capello’s XI features two Liverpool players: Trent Alexander-Arnold and right-back and Virgil van Dijk at centre-back. The rest of his team ends up looking like this:
Thibaut Courtois; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Marquinhos, Virgil van Dijk, Alphonso Davies; Kevin De Bruyne, Casemiro, Luka Modric; Kylian Mbappé, Karim Benzema, Phil Foden.
Sacchi goes one further than Capello by naming another Red. Both Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk make his team but he also picks Ibrahima Konaté at the back.
Thibaut Courtois; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibou Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Joao Cancelo; Kevin De Bruyne, Joshua Kimmich, Pedri; Lionel Messi; Kylian Mbappé, Karim Benzema.
No one will be surprised to see Van Dijk there. Konaté clearly earns respect from Sacchi for his displays last season – fully deserved, too.
But the story here is that both Saachi and Capello pick Alexander-Arnold. All the talk in England is about his struggles defensively – to the point where he likely won’t feature much for his country at the World Cup.
Yet here are two of the greatest managers in history and both see him as the best right-back in the world. The praise doesn’t get much higher and it suggests that there might just be something to be said about focusing on what Alexander-Arnold can do rather than his faults.
The greats certainly see it that way.
Receive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox
