Arne Slot has named Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard in his all-time Champions League XI, ahead of Andres Iniesta and Zinedine Zidane.
Although he never won the Premier League, Gerrard dragged Liverpool to incredible success against the odds in the Champions League.
The former England international notched 21 goals and 14 assists in 73 competition appearances — as well as a further 9g/4a in 14 qualifiers — winning the 2005 final against AC Milan and finishing runner-up to the same opponent two years later.
That came at a time when Liverpool’s team was a far cry from the star-studded unit Slot has inherited from Jurgen Klopp and Gerrard has long been hailed as the catalyst and reason behind their success under Rafa Benitez.
In fact, many Liverpool fans hold Gerrard among the club’s greatest-ever players, alongside the likes of Kenny Dalglish and Mohamed Salah.
Asked to pick his all-time Champions League XI for Amazon Prime, Slot outlined his reasoning behind picking Gerrard over the likes of Iniesta and Zidane.
“If you would have asked me this a year ago I would have probably said Iniesta, but I think now I’m going to go for Steven Gerrard, being Liverpool manager!” said Slot (via This is Anfield).
“Why he might deserve to be in my team is that the other ones, like Iniesta, like Zidane, they played with incredible teammates, and of course, Steven Gerrard played with good to really good teammates, but I don’t think he played with the same level of players.
“Then still being so special for the club, lifting the trophy once, playing so long for this club, he meant so much for it.”
Arne Slot picks four current Liverpool players in UCL XI
Whether it’s bias, fear of enraging his new fans or simply being wowed by the players he’s inherited, Slot picked no fewer than four current Liverpool players for his combined XI.
Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson is between the sticks, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk lining up in defence alongside Barcelona great Gerard Pique and Dutch legend Frank de Boer.
Sergio Busquets and Luka Modric run the midfield alongside Gerrard, while there is a fearsome front three featuring Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and, of course, Mohamed Salah.
Here was Slot’s reasoning for his four current Liverpool stars, who each helped the Reds win the 2019 title:
- On Alisson: “I work with him now, but he was also really important when they won the Champions League a few years ago. Since I’ve worked with him, I see how special he is and how many important saves he already made. He’s been outstanding for Liverpool in all these years, it’s an easy pick for me to go for Alisson.”
- On Alexander-Arnold: “I am going to go for Trent in the right full-back position, for obvious reasons. I think he’s been so special for Liverpool in all these years, coming from the academy [to] winning the Champions League at this club.”
- On Van Dijk: “Virgil needs to be there. He has had a lot of impact on this club. I think when he and Alisson came in was the last step the team needed to make. Impressive centre-back, really good in the air, he has all the attributes a centre-back should have. So he’s for sure in it.”
- On Salah: “For me, it’s clear that Mo Salah should be in. Eight or nine years on such a high level in the recent history of this club, he’s scored so many goals. He’s been really special for this club.”
Top photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
