Rank 13, WorldCupStory Club Index 22,453
Liverpool World Cup XI Dream Team
| Liverpool | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Country | WCups | Games | Mins | Goals | Capt | |
| GK | Tommy Younger | Scotland | 1 | 2 | 180 | 0 | 2 |
| RB | Glen Johnson | England | 1 | 4 | 357 | 0 | 0 |
| CB | Phil Thompson | England | 1 | 5 | 450 | 0 | 0 |
| CB | Javier Mascherano | Argentina | 1 | 4 | 360 | 0 | 4 |
| LB | Steve Staunton | Ireland | 1 | 5 | 454 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Dirk Kuyt | Netherlands | 1 | 7 | 587 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Steven Gerrard | England | 2 | 9 | 770 | 3 | 4 |
| MF | Graeme Souness | Scotland | 2 | 4 | 360 | 1 | 2 |
| ST | Kenny Dalglish | Scotland | 2 | 5 | 369 | 2 | 0 |
| ST | Roger Hunt | England | 2 | 6 | 570 | 3 | 0 |
| ST | Michael Owen | England | 2 | 9 | 605 | 4 | 0 |
| 16 | 60 | 5062 | 14 | 12 |
Fans of Liverpool might very well think: ‘what have we done to deserve a Scottish goalkeeper?’ but actually Tommy Younger played for a decent Scotland side in 1958 and was captain. There was also not a lot of choice, with only Jerzy Dudek offering similar tournament playing time and this for a Poland side who were trounced in their group.
It’s Glen Johnson and Steve Staunton at full back, holding off Norway’s Stig Inge Bjornebye for a place on the left. At centre back we have Phil Thompson from England’s unbeaten 1982 campaign, and we have pressed Argentina skipper Javier Mascherano into service at the back to accommodate more quality in midfield.
Midfield sees a combination of work rate from Dirk Kuyt, leadership and goals from Steven Gerrard, and downright nastiness from Graeme Souness, who also has chipped in with the odd goal. Dietmar Hamann, Ray Houghton, and John Barnes all pressed their claims but were denied by lack of goals.
Upfront Kenny Dalglish just about sees off Peter Beardsley and Emile Heskey to join world cup winner Roger Hunt in support of top scorer Michael Owen, whose four goals are a record for a Liverpool player.
To be honest, the balance looks a bit off in the side, with both Kuyt and Dalglish favouring the right side. Would the team go better with Barnes on the left and either Dalglish or Hunt dropping out? It would be a tough call to make. This team looks a bit underdone in terms of world cup experience, but measures up well against other English clubs on both goals and leadership. The possibility of adding some Uruguayan flair to the lineup after the 2014 tournament is an appealing option.
