Strootman goes all-out attack with Dream Team

Kevin Strootman adopted a very clear strategy when picking his Dream Team - go on the attack!

In selecting his fantasy eleven, the Dutch international picked players he'd played with at least once during his career – all apart from one.

“I've gone with a 3-4-3 formation, which is rather attack-minded but that's the way I like it,” Strootman told asroma.com. “I've named myself as first-choice substitute and I'm taking Morgan [De Sanctis] on the bench with me too as reserve goalie.”

Edwin Van Der Sar

“He's the only one on this list I've never played with. He won virtually everything there is to win but sadly not the World Cup. He's Dutch like me, he was successful wherever he went and he's one of the best keepers I've ever seen.”

Douglas Maicon

“I warned you it was an attacking line-up and you can see that because I've selected Maicon in a back three! He's world-class both on and off the field. He helps his team-mates individually and the team as a whole. He's won pretty much everything and I just couldn't not pick a world-beater like him.”

Mehdi Benatia

“Mehdi was one of the best players in Italy during my first season at Roma. He moved abroad at the end of that year but he's still one of the best centre-backs I've ever played with.”

Leandro Castan

“He and Benatia commanded the backline in my first year at Roma and with those two at the heart of defence we conceded just one goal in our first ten games. I hope he can get back to that level again. I've seen the real Leo and he's an amazing footballer. He's working really hard to find his best form again, just as I'm doing right now. He underwent a serious operation but I'm sure he'll go back to playing his best football again.”

Wesley Sneijder

“I've played with Wesley for the Netherlands and there's really not much you need to say about him. He showed his talent in Italy with Inter. He's one of the best players in the world in his position.”

Mark Van Bommel

“We spent a year together at PSV besides playing together for the national team. He was a huge help to me from the start and he's also a great guy off the pitch. All he's interested in is the good of the team – he doesn't care about how he plays. If the team gets the three points, he's happy.”

Daniele De Rossi

“Daniele does everything for the benefit of the team and together with Checco [Totti] he's our captain. He helps everyone, he's been playing here forever and he knows how things work. He's incredibly talented and really easy to play with. There are few players in the world who do the holding job as well as he does.”

Miralem Pjanic

“I'm putting him on the left but my midfielders have a licence to switch! I knew Miralem before he joined Roma because I'd seen lots of his games at Lyon – for example when he scored that goal against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. He's a top-quality player who's shown what he's about both at Roma and with his national side. He's like Sneijder – he's just incredible on the ball.”

Arjen Robben

“I'm putting Arjen on the left. He's a stunning player and that was clear for all to see when we played Bayern Munich here. I've played with him for the Netherlands too, although unfortunately not very often because we were both injured. He's got a fantastic left foot and he's a constant threat when he's on the ball.”

Robin Van Persie

“I'm picking Robin on the right of my front three. I played with him at international level when he was captain. He makes everything look so simple. He's incredibly skilful and a great person too. We see each other away from the game sometimes. He's from Rotterdam, like me.”

Francesco Totti

“Our captain is my centre forward. It's a shame I didn't come here ten years ago so I could play with him more often. He's world-class. He's won the Scudetto with Roma and the World Cup with Italy. It's always a delight to play on the same side as him, whether it's during a match or in training. His quality always comes to the fore. I had a Totti shirt when I was young, like lots of people. It's still strange to be playing alongside him and I have so much respect for him I couldn't possibly leave him out of this dream team.”