UEFA have gone all RTE in picking through history to divine the Greatest of All Time, and while we are not expecting a Ruby Walsh-style outcry from the denizens of European football, their selection of their Team of the Century has caused some controversy.
Next week, the UEFA team of the year will be announced, and ahead of its selection, the governing body's content creators have elected to stitch together their finest team of the century. The criterion is the number of times a player has been included on teams previous, and in true keeping with European football, the formation selected is 4-3-3.
It's relatively free of controversy, aside from perhaps in midfield, as grimacing existentialist Steven Gerrard is picked ahead of the likes of Ronaldinho, Zinedine Zidane, Kaka, Andrea Pirlo, and Scott Brown.
Gerrard makes it in as a result of his selection in three previous teams (2005, 2006, and 2007) and total of five nominations, which nudges him in ahead of Kaka, Zidane, Pirlo, Nedved. He is joined the midfield by Xavi and Iniesta. Elsewhere, Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are unsurprisingly included up front, with Thierry Henry completing the forward line.
Iker Casillas is in goal, with the defence consisting of Carles Puyol, Philip Lahm, Sergio Ramos, and Gerard Pique. Entirely indicative of the hegemony enjoyed by Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich, Gerrard is the only player included not to play for any of those three sides.
