- David Beckham was asked by Rio Ferdinand to name his ultimate 5-a-side team
- Beckham chose five huge names, but only one Man United icon made the cut
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Manchester United icon David Beckham has named his ultimate 5-a-side team of stars he played with during his glittering career.
The former England captain represented some of the biggest clubs in world football including Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan and PSG.
Beckham was appearing on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, and was asked to put together his dream team by his old team-mate.
Starting with the defence, Beckham opted for a back two of Roberto Carlos and Paolo Maldini before picking Zinedine Zidane in midfield as he waxed lyrical about the Frenchman after playing alongside him at Madrid.
‘He’s not just one of the greatest players that I’ve ever played with, one of the hardest trainers, and also just cool,’ Beckham said of Zidane.
David Beckham picked his dream 5-a-side team during an interview with Rio Ferdinand
Roberto Carlos (left) and Paolo Maldini (right) got the nod in defence from Beckham
‘He’s just cool, you know, without trying. You play him a ball anywhere on the pitch, any height, any level, any speed, he’d bring it down like it was just one of those things that he does.
‘People literally used to turn up at the Bernabeu to watch him just control a ball. Because it was like watching a ballerina, just the way he plays is so elegant. Everything about him, he’s elegant.’
Another former Madrid star was chosen to lead the line as Beckham went with the Brazilian Ronaldo, revealing he was left in awe of the striker in training.
‘I think when you watch Ronnie play back in the day, I mean, he’s electrifying on every level,’ Beckham continued.
‘One of our first training sessions was in Korea, I think, or China, I’m not sure where we were at the time. And the ball had just been played across to him and all he had to do was put it in the goal. And as he’s played across to him, I’m trying to defend it.
Beckham picked Zinedine Zidane in midfield and revealed how hard the Frenchman trained
Another Real Madrid icon, the Brazilian Ronaldo, was picked to lead the line by Beckham
‘So I’ve slid across and as I’m sliding across, I thought he was just gonna play it first time into the goal, and as I’m sliding across he just puts his foot on the ball, and as I’m sliding past he just watches me like that with the biggest smile on his face and he just taps it in and I was like oh god! Wow!’
It appeared Beckham was on the verge of naming a team without a single United player in it, despite spending over a decade at the club after rising through the academy as a member of the Class of ’92.
But Beckham managed to get a United legend into his side in the end, as he plumped for his former captain Roy Keane, hailing the standards that the Irishman set at Old Trafford.
‘You need a leader and you need someone that’s going to actually tackle and fight and be the player that he is, so I’m gonna have to say Keaney,’ Beckham said.
Roy Keane (right) was the only Man United legend picked by Beckham (left)
‘He took no day off, and I don’t mean in the physical sense of having a day off. I mean, every single day that he stepped on that training pitch, he wanted to win. He inspired us every single day because he came in with that mentality and we all knew that that’s what we have to cope with.
‘That’s the level that we have to reach and that’s why Keaney was who he was because he was a winner and he was hungry and he always wanted to win.’
Listen to the full Rio Meets Becks interview on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. RioFerdinandPresents.com