Picking a Best Manchester United XI Using Only One Player of Each Nationality
Manchester United have enjoyed the services of some fine players from around the world.
However, what would a team that was only allowed one player from any one nation fare?
The Ground Rules
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These are pretty straightforward. The player has to have represented Manchester United in the Premier League era and is assigned the nationality of the FIFA recognised team they played for. We can't sneak Patrice Evra in under the guise that he was born in Senegal—much as it hurts not to be able to sneak him in.
We have gone with the internationally recognised default formation for all "Best XIs"; 4-4-2. And there has been an attempt to conjure a balanced team that could function as a collective rather than just a collection of individuals.
And, of course, only one player for any one nationality is allowed. That means there are some compromises here, and the list includes a couple of players who would get nowhere near an all-time United XI with fewer restrictions.
Nonetheless it would be a pretty tough XI to come up against.
Goalkeeper: Peter Schmeichel, Denmark
Edwin van der Sar is sadly out of the reckoning because we need to hold our Dutch spot open for now. This makes it a straight fight between Peter Schmeichel of Denmark and David De Gea of Spain.
It is a fight which Schmeichel wins, but it is getting closer all the time. De Gea really has developed into one of the game's elite goalkeepers over the past couple of seasons.
But Schmeichel rewrote the book on keeping goal. His dominance of the penalty area, the huge force of will he exerted on those around him, those star-jump one-versus-one saves and the capacity to throw the ball further than the halfway line with pinpoint accuracy. He was a key part of Sir Alex Ferguson's first and second great teams—the 1994 and 1999 squads.
For our purposes, he is also helpfully Danish, and there is next-to-no competition for that nationality in this team.
Right-back: Rafael, Brazil
Remember those aforementioned compromises? This is one. Rafael is, obviously, not United's best right-back of the Premier League era, an honour which belongs to Gary Neville. But, with the greatest respect to the Sky Sports pundit, he's not getting the English spot in the side.
With John O'Shea highly unlikely to get the Irish place for this role, it came down to a fight between Ecuador's Antonio Valencia, Italy's Matteo Darmian and Rafael.
Darmian has endured pretty heavy swings in form since his arrival, while Valencia has recently found some superb form but is a relatively new convert to the role.
For all his faults, Rafael was an excellent right-back at his best. Think of the 2012/13 season version of the Brazilian; all tenacious energy, attacking contribution and defensive solidity.
It's not ideal, but life is often about compromise.
Left-back: Gabriel Heinze, Argentina
We're getting the less-exciting inclusions out of the way early, and this is another least-worst option.
Denis Irwin was so good and so reliable that he would almost warrant the exclusion of a certain midfield-based countryman of his—almost, but not quite.
There is no room for Evra, because as excellent a left-back as he was, everyone knows who the Frenchman in this side is going to be. Being a United enthusiast, Evra would probably agree.
None of the current crop fit the bill, because their nationalities are needed elsewhere. So Gabriel Heinze is our choice. He wasn't a bad player, but there was a reason Sir Alex Ferguson replaced him with Evra.
The Argentinian was loved for his ferocious approach to the game, but the manner of his departure left a sour taste. Nonetheless, he can certainly do a job here.
Centre-back: Nemanja Vidic, Serbia
One of our easiest choices here; as the song goes, he comes from Serbia. The combination of a nationality with little competition and Nemanja Vidic's glittering United career make this a first-name-on-the-teamsheet pick.
Centre-back: Jaap Stam, Netherlands
Sorry, Ruud van Nistelrooy. We would love to have the forward in our side, but to make the jigsaw fit together properly we need Jaap Stam.
The current Reading manager was once one of United's all-time best defenders. He had three seasons with the club and won the league in all of them. And obviously he also won the FA Cup and the Champions League in 1999.
His towering, authoritative presence is seared into the minds of all of those who saw him in action, but he was also excellent on the ball. It was easy to guess he was Dutch when he had the ball at his feet.
Other options for this berth would have included Rio Ferdinand—on the shortlist for the coveted English spot—and Ronny Johnsen.
While the Norwegian would have opened up a route into the side for Van Nistelrooy, there are plenty of goals here already; Stam would make this defence feared throughout the land.
Given the slight weakness at full-back, this seemed a good compromise.
Right wing: Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
The reasons for selecting Cristiano Ronaldo as part of this all-time United XI are as follows:
- He's Cristiano Ronaldo.
- Do you really need a second reason?
One of the world's best, he is the only player on this list to win a Ballon d'Or while at United. Ronaldo began his transition from highly gifted teenager to world-beating superstar at Old Trafford and obviously warrants a place in our team.
Central midfield: Paul Scholes, England
There were other candidates for the English place in this side; Gary Neville, Ferdinand, David Beckham and Wayne Rooney would probably have made up the five-man shortlist. In the end, though, there was really only ever going to be one winner.
Paul Scholes spent his entire career at United, and it was a thing of absolute beauty. The range of passing, vision on a par with anyone in the game's history and spectacular goal after spectacular goal.
It was an honour to watch him, and his partnership with the other selection here had everything you could hope for in a midfield twosome.
Central midfield: Roy Keane, Republic of Ireland
Scholes' best partner, one of Sir Alex's best signings and a genuine candidate for an all-time world XI, let alone a United Premier League-era XI.
Possessed of a will-to-win few humans can match and gifted with plentiful technical ability, Roy Keane was the on-pitch fulcrum for United's transformation into the dominant force they became.
Vidic might have been the easiest selection on this list, but when our XI was first written down, Keane's name was the first on the teamsheet.
For more detailed thoughts on his United career see here.
Left wing: Ryan Giggs, Wales
For many years, England football fans must have dreamed of an alternate reality where Ryan Giggs represented their national team. It would have been a solution to what was a problem position for the Three Lions at a time when they could legitimately have challenged for serious honours.
For these purposes, though, it is a good job he was Welsh because leaving him out would have been difficult.
United's record appearance holder by a long way, watching Giggs' peak as a left-winger was a thrilling, visceral experience.
He was tremendously productive both in terms of goals and assists and would make this already-brilliant team even better.
Deep-lying centre-forward: Eric Cantona, France
Another automatic selection, "Le Roi" has to be included here. An era-defining player, the mere mention of his name is enough to get fans of a certain age misty-eyed.
Eric Cantona was a magnificent footballer. He scored plenty of goals and somehow always seemed to get the important ones.
He would be a great fit for this team, too. He could get on the end of Giggs' crosses, occupy defenders to allow room for the onrushing Ronaldo and combine wonderfully with Keane and Scholes to create chances for his strike partner.
For more details on his United career, see here.
Poacher: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Norway
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not one of the two best strikers in United's history but he serves two wonderful purposes here. Firstly, he keeps the Netherlands berth free for Stam and keeps the English slot free for Scholes. Secondly, he would score hundreds of goals a season playing in this lineup.
OK, maybe he wouldn't score hundreds of goals, but if you want someone to finish the multitude of chances that would be created by the rest of this lineup, Solskjaer is a superb fit.
Other options here include Dwight Yorke—who can be on the bench as a substitute for Cantona—and Javier Hernandez, who loses out to Solskjaer in the battle of the super-sub poachers.
Conveniently, this XI has no Scottish players in it, meaning that nationality is available for the manager. Step forward, David Moyes.
Only kidding—obviously.
Let us know any tweaks you would make to this lineup in the comments below. Remember, only one player per nation.
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