Selecting my ten favorite players was a challenge. My obsession with soccer goes back to 1998 and there are a lot of great players I considered and a lot of favorites that I could not find a starting spot for in the first XI.

The point of this great series from the Protagonist is to pick your favorite players and I have enjoyed reading previous entries in this series. The players selected always reveal something interesting about the selector’s relationship with soccer and I hope this 10+Me will give you some insight into my journey as a fan. The club I support above all others is Bristol Rovers, a club currently in England’s third division who have shown me the possibilities - both highs and lows - of a system with promotion-relegation in the last decade.

The one caveat before I get to my list is with the NISA tournament coming up this April in Chattanooga, I cannot play favorites and so I haven’t included any NISA players in my 10+Me formation. The 2020 Fall Tournament in Detroit proved beyond any shadow of a doubt there are a number of players on NISA clubs worthy of inclusion on future 10+Me lists.

Formation: 4-1-3-2

Fullbacks will hate to read this and this could be the reason why I’m not a manager but tactically I’m a big fan of a 4-2-2-2. (Full disclosure: I have never played fullback so the extra running for them in this tactic has never bothered me). Flexibility is key for any good football tactician and to fit the players I’ve selected, we are lining up in a 4-1-3-2.

Keeper - Jose Francisco Cevallos, (Liga de Quito / Ecuador)

The one position I did not need to give much thought to was Keeper. Usually the strangest person on the team, they mostly get noticed either (a) when they concede a howler or (b) become the hero saving penalty kicks. The most memorable PKs for me is when the club my family in Ecuador supports won the Copa Libertadores. If you are not familiar with Copa Libertadores, it is the South American equivalent of Europe’s Champions League and it is normally dominated by the biggest clubs from Argentina and Brasil. Thirteen of the last 15 winners have come from one of those two countries. In 2008, the tournament was won for the first time by an Ecuadorian club.

Liga de Quito’s keeper Jose Francisco Cevallos stopped three of four penalty kicks against Fluminense in the away leg of the Final to bring the Libertadores trophy to Quito and to an Ecuadorian club for the first time. Penalty kicks - when so much is riding on the result for a club you support - is among the most nerve wracking experiences there are and so gratitude to Señor Cevallos for making those saves and giving so many in Ecuador an unforgettable moment.

Fullbacks – Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich / Canada), Antonio Valencia (Manchester United / Ecuador)

Surprisingly these two players have a lot in common. At their peaks (knowing Davies’ peak is still to come) both play central attacking roles for their national teams. Both started their club careers as wingers until they were transformed into fullbacks and both made huge leaps to play for two of the largest clubs in the world. Davies represents hope for the Canadian national team that has not appeared in a World Cup since 1986. Valencia led Ecuador to two World Cups getting out of the hardest region in World Cup qualifying where only three out of five spots are realistically up for grabs every World Cup cycle in CONMEBOL Eliminatorias. He is the main reason there are almost as many Man U fans in Ecuador as there are in the States.

The only other consideration at fullback I had was Ecuadorian left-back Cristian Ramirez. Football Manager worshippers will know Ramirez as he is perpetually a “bargain buy” every year in the game’s cheat sheets at left back but in real life, he is a dynamic attacker and occasionally comes up with a goal of the week like he did in October 2020. I have had the opportunity to see him play in person and he is incredibly impressive attacking at pace. Ramirez and Villarreal’s Pervis Estupiñán should battle for Ecuador’s left back spot – a country that has been previously captained by a left-back wearing the number 10 shirt – for this and likely the next World Cup cycle.

Centerbacks – Jason de Vos (Ipswich / Canada), Alfie Kilgour (Bristol Rovers)

I really wanted to find a place for Marquinhos in this side. If you watched the last Champions League final, he was playing like an old English No.4 tackling every thing in sight. I had the opportunity to watch him play for Brasil when they traveled to Quito and he was playing center back. In a starting eleven with world class players like Alisson, Marcelo and Neymar, Marquinhos was the stand-out. Strong in tackle and elegant on the ball, his performance was perhaps the best I’ve seen playing the position.

Ryan Nelsen is also a center back I wanted to find a spot for as my Mum was born in Christchurch and our family was cheering pretty hard for New Zealand at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. If you said to any casual observer, New Zealand was undefeated at a World Cup, they would think you were speaking about a rugby World Cup but in 2010, New Zealand held Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia to draws. Unfortunately, they finished third in the group but left the tournament as the only undefeated side in the tournament and New Zealand finished above Italy in their group. Nelsen captained that side and their organization at the back was a key reason they played as well as they did.

The center backs I did choose ended up being for love of club (Bristol Rovers) and country (Canada). As a Bristol Rovers supporter, Alfie Kilgour is one of us. He started at Bristol Rovers at the age of 7 and last season was his first being a regular in the side after a few loans. He is also capable of outside-the-box Goal of the Month shots like this one from March 2020. One of the best parts about club football is when local players progress through the age groups and then play for the first team. Those types of opportunities are a magical part of football and I hope we can provide them soon for our communities in NISA. I wish Bristol Rovers were playing a little better heading into the final months of the season but I needed to find a place for an academy to first team player. It’s one of my favorite things about club football.

The other center back I picked is Jason de Vos. Canadians being introduced to the game recently will recognize him as an excellent studio analyst (we have had some great ones on Canadian sport networks) but in the late 90s / early 00s, de Vos was a towering center back that played most notably for Wigan Athletic and Ipswich Town when both clubs were much higher up the table than they are now. He also captained his country and scored arguably the most important goal in Canadian men’s history at the 2000 Gold Cup.

“Canada” and “football glory” are rarely found in the same sentence unless it is when will Canada’s football glory finally arrive but that statement is not entirely true. In the 2000 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Canada advanced to the Final against invitee Colombia and defeated Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago to get there. Scoring off a header before the half-time whistle in the Gold Cup final, de Vos also made sure Colombia never got any offense going at the back and was that rare captain that was able to lift a trophy for Canada. It was a pretty surreal and memorable moment for Canadian soccer fans of a certain vintage.

Alfie Kilgour for none other than Bristol Rovers…

Defensive Midfielder – Jessie Fleming (Chelsea / Canada)

Jason de Vos was born in London, Ontario. Jessie Fleming was born in London, Ontario. Justin Bieber was also born in London, Ontario but I could not find room in my Starting XI for one of Landon Adams’ favorite Canadian imports – sorry Landon. I’m not sure if most professional sports fans are like me but I certainly gravitate towards following players from my hometown. Fleming made her debut for the Canadian national team at 15 and recently made the switch from living in one London to that other one when she signed with Chelsea.

For Canada, Fleming already has 10 goals, 77 caps and has been part of two World Cup teams. At the 2023 World Cup, she should be a starter and key part of the next generation of talent Canada has coming through.

Attacking Midfielders – Eden Hazard (Real Madrid / Belgium), Leo Messi (Barcelona / Argentina), Rich Butler (Ewhurst FC)

Tough for me to leave out Billy Bodin, the “Welsh Wizard” who when he was with Bristol Rovers scored 37 goals in 107 appearances and embodied the phrase a winger who can “create something out of nothing”. It was also tough to leave out Jefferson Montero, the Ecuadorian winger who “humiliated Premier League defenses” when he arrived at Swansea in 2015.

But like I mentioned, I am a 4-2-2-2 guy. If I didn’t adapt from it though, I would have to leave out one of the following: a NISA team owner (so one of my bosses), the longest friendship I’ve had or the greatest player in the history of team sports. Because of these three, I’m using a 4-1-3-2 which is the type of tactic you use in the second leg when you are trying to overturn a four-goal deficit.

Eden Hazard is one of the owners of NISA’s San Diego-based club 1904 FC and while that’s usually not the lead when describing the former Chelsea #10, current Real Madrid midfielder and captain of Belgium, what usually is the lead is world class.

While not wanting to diminish Croatia’s accomplishment at the past World Cup in the slightest, arguably the real Final was France-Belgium in the Semi. Hazard was the best player in the tournament (granted he was surrounded by more talent than Luka Modric) as Belgium’s group-stage victory over England ensured they had a harder road to the final getting past Brasil before losing 1-0 to the eventual champions.

My number ten should be history’s number ten. Leo Messi is not just the best footballer of all time but in my opinion is the greatest player in the history of team sports. In my life, I have had the amazing fortune to see a number of the greats play in person: Gretzky, Jordan, Magic, Kareem, Kobe, Barry vs Bo on MNF but the all-time best in my opinion is Messi. Argentina was on the verge of not qualifying for the last World Cup when I watched him score three to ensure they were one of the four countries that made it out of CONMEBOL, the toughest tournament in football. I cannot imagine a better, more dominant player. Sitting among the home supporters chanting his name for his performance as the opposition is one of those unforgettable moments you only get in sports.

Lining up next to Hazard and Messi on the right wing is Rich Butler, who spent the 1998 season at Ewhurst Football Club, currently in England’s fourteenth division in the West Sussex Football League. We grew up together as neighbors (… really neighbours in Canadian…) in North London, Canada and he deserves most of the credit (or blame as my wife would put it) for my love of the sport of football. On a trip to that other North London, he introduced me to the scale of the sport as we attended a Wednesday night Champions League match at Wembley stadium between the Arsenal and RC Lens. The Arsenal lost 1-0 as the only person who managed to breach the Lens defence was a streaker sans pants. Despite the loss, being part of the 73,707 at the match was the start of the obsession and it has been a major part of my life ever since. Butler is the second name on the team sheet (Messi obviously being first) for introducing me to this crazy world I find myself in.

Forwards – Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns / Canada), Simon Rose (U-75 Free Transfer)

The forward spot was a no-brainer as well for me. As much as I considered a three forward formation so I could include an old fashioned No.9 such as Rickie Lambert of Bristol Rovers (you may know him from his time with England or a couple of EPL clubs) or England international Sir Marcus Rashford who has done more to solve child hunger during the pandemic than most governments, the selection of forward boiled down to goals.

The all-time leading international goal scorer is Canadian. Seventeen players on the women’s side and two on the men’s have topped 100 international goals over their career and selfishly as a Canadian I hope Christine Sinclair sticks around to be the first and only 200 goal scorer. With 186 goals in 296 caps, Sinclair scores consistently and also when it matters as she has scored Canada’s biggest goals in both World Cups and Olympics. Legend is a term that does not do Ms. Sinclair justice. She is one of the best to ever play the sport.

Last and certainly least lining up as left forward is your author. I have been playing 5-a-side during the quarantine with some of my current neighbors and many of the world’s great footballing nations are represented: Spain, Italy, Brazil, France … and Canada. My playing style has been described as “fox in the box” and the not very skillful part of the definition is what describes my game best. My son, who is an avid FIFA player, in scouting me says I create a lot of chances but my striking accuracy would be “about a 7… out of 100.” Luckily with the other players listed in this ultra-attacking Starting 10+Me, shots on target should not be a problem.