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It's a well known fact that Aston Villa has a strong contingent of good England international players in their team, with the club having dubbed the best of them as the "Sensational Six."
The "Sensational Six" refers to strikers Gabriel Agbonlahor and Emile Heskey, wingers Ashley Young, James Milner, summer signing Stewart Downing, as well as full-back Stephen Warnock.
On top of this there are also big talents and stars of the future in midfielders Nigel Reo-Coker, Fabian Delph, and Craig Gardner, and also young striker Nathan Delfouneso.
And on top of that, experienced heads Luke Young, Curtis Davies (at only 24 years old), and Nicky Shorey also have the ability to be England material.
But, mainly it is the "Sensational Six" that have the greatest impact at Villa Park, something that key players recognise.
Speaking to the Aston Villa official club website, Spanish defender Carlos Cuellar admitted he is a massive fan of these six Villans, and sees no reason why they shouldn't be at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
He said, "[The Sensational Six] have a great chance in my opinion. They are playing very well and have plenty of confidence in themselves."
Cuellar went on to talk about the gruelling training, considering he has to deal with Heskey and Agbonlahor in practice matches.
"I have to mark Emile [Heskey] and Gabby [Agbonlahor] quite a lot in training—let me tell you, it's not easy. It's tough."
"They are both very strong, very quick and very clever. It's difficult but it's great for me because I am training against some of the best players in England—it's brilliant and my game improves as a result.
He reserved special praise for Villa's star striker, Agbonlahor, saying, "Gabby has really bulked up—he's not big height-wise but he's a strong lad now. He is really difficult to knock off the ball or to win the ball off. He is massive.
"He is strong, he is very quick and this work he has done over the summer has definitely helped him.
"He is hard to play against. I think he's a better player now than he was last season, without question.
"He has masses of confidence after his start to the season and he is gaining in experience.
"He tries all the time too. He works so, so hard. I also think he is a very clever footballer—he is learning quickly."
Of course, all praise couldn't be reserved for the strikers, and there's a certain winger that Cuellar likes in particular.
The Spaniard said, "James [Milner] is a great guy to have in front of you when you're playing right back. He is not always concentrating on going forward. He wants to help his right back as much as possible.
"He's running forward, he's running back, he's running forward, he's running back. It's so impressive and it's great news for the defender behind him.
"He's the ideal man to have in front of you. He's got a great chance of getting into that squad. He can play left, right, and in the middle and that versatility is vital."
As for the others in the Sensational Six, don't worry, Cuellar didn't forget them, and reckons they will all be there in South Africa for the World Cup next summer.
He continued, "Ashley [Young] is just brilliant and can change a game in a moment, while Emile [Heskey] is just a really, really class striker—and we have Stewart Downing coming back too. He will feel he has a good chance as well.
"Stephen Warnock was in the squad for the last game too, so he will be very hopeful he made a good impression when he trained with the rest of the squad. All of them have a terrific opportunity [of being in the England squad for the 2010 World Cup]."
Source: avfc.co.uk
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