Salih Ucan: My all-time dream team

Salih Ucan may only be in the early chapters of his own professional career, but the 22-year-old has long been an avid observer of the beautiful game.

When we spoke the Giallorossi midfielder, currently on loan from Fenerbahce, he needed little prompting to come up with the best XI of players he has ever seen or played against.

So who made the cut?

MANUEL NEUER

“We already know that Neuer can use his feet very well. But he also has brilliant reflexes and amazing ball-handling skills. I really like his goalkeeping skills and attitude between the posts.”

DANI ALVES

“In my opinion defenders must first of all be able to defend well, because that is their position, but the ones who can also contribute in attack are the ones who are the best in the world. Dani Alves fits this profile. I chose Alves as one of my full-backs, because of his dribbling and his contribution to attacks. At the same time, he is very good at defending.”

THIAGO SILVA

“The way I see it is that Thiago Silva likes to play the game hard. I chose him because he is a great defensive player. It is not easy to dribble against him, he plays fearlessly and is hard to get around.”

SERGIO RAMOS

“I pick Sergio Ramos for my dream team because of his ambition and drive. The Spaniard is always hungry for victory. He is very strong and decisive player, but he is also versatile and can adapt to whatever the situation or his manager demands."

MARCELO

“The football that Marcelo plays excites me. I like his eye-catching and artistic moves. He can find the right man with through balls easily. Like Alves, he is a good defender but can make a real impact in attack too.”

ANDREA PIRLO

“He is really good at reading the game and it leads to perfectly delivered balls for his teammates. In terms of midfielders who can use both feet equally well, I have not seen better than Pirlo.”

MESUT OZIL

“I have been watching his every match for the last four or five years. He is so relaxed during the game. His assists are unbelievable.”

ANDRES INIESTA

“Iniesta is really a smart player. He never loses the ball. It is like he has a magnet attached to his feet, the ball never leaves him!”

LIONEL MESSI

“There is nothing much to say about Lionel Messi. He is a player who has scored more goal than the amount of the games he played. He is an alien in my opinion, an unbelievable player. I really like when he does his fake movement – it looks like he is leaving the ball for a moment, and then he darts between his rivals and runs free."

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC

“I like Zlatan‘s style and moves. He is excellent with his feet despite his height. He won titles with every team he played. Also, he has a sharp tongue and a brilliant way with words!"

CRISTIANO RONALDO

“Ronaldo is an unbelievable professional footballer. He has been playing more than 60 games during a season for a while now and he never suffers from injury. In the game we play he is definitely one of the two best players around.”

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