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This My Favourite XI has been penned by Andrew Harding, who you can follow on Twitter. His team mixes the old and the new, the ridiculous and the sublime, and the domestic with the global. Read, enjoy, comment. Thanks to Andrew for the post.

Previous Favourite XI: Liam Blackburn
Next Favourite XI: Ryan Keaney

Goalkeeper: Paul Edwards

His silver hair was a long-serving ever-present between the posts for my hometown club whilst growing up. He played over 300 games for Shrewsbury Town and, like many of that era, once his legs had seized up, he’d move on to Telford. Always dependable, and always reliable (at least as much as a Shrewsbury Town goalkeeper can be), if you want to say hello to the Liverpool-born former shot-stopper, you can pay a visit to the NHBC in Portsmouth where he’s now employed as their Claims Area Manager.

Right Back: Douglas Maicon

This year he’s seemingly become a shadow of his former self but in previous seasons (especially the last two), he’s been a sheer monstrosity, destroying left-backs and, on some occasions, whole defences with ease. I felt sad when this season Gareth Bale tortured him to the delight of British journalists. Maicon finally found out how those players he’d destroyed in previous years felt.

Centre Back: Fernando Couto

“Hello, my name is Andrew and I have a fondness of big-haired centre backs.” It all started with a Portuguese centre back by the name of Fernando Couto. Not exceptionally talented but good enough to enjoy a fruitful and trophy-laden career, now David Luiz is likely to usurp him in the man-love stakes but Fernando Couto will always be the first. You never forget your first. A Fernando Couto slide tackle was a sight to behold, as was the inevitable head and hair twirl afterwards.

Centre Back: Marco Materazzi

Where he goes, so too does controversy. He’s the kind of player you’d love on your team and hate as opposition (there are quite a few in this team that this can be applied to). He may spit at you, wear a mask of your president, kick you repeatedly, and perhaps even allegedly insult your mother but whatever he did would ultimately prove to be effective, in its deranged sort of way.

Left Back: William Gallas

He didn’t like being played at left-back - not in the slightest. He was bloody good as one though, as all Chelsea fans will attest to. His leaving Chelsea was pretty disgraceful in truth, but his ability has always been unquestionable. Like quite a few of his team-mates in this XI, I’ve defended him on many an occasion since (yes, even that breakdown of his against Birmingham City). At times, I’ve not really known why. Maybe it’s because of when Jose Mourinho, to explain human psychology in dealing with footballers, used a comparison of John Terry and William Gallas and I found out something about myself from it: I’m just like the Frenchman.

Midfielder: Claude Makelele

Quite possibly the ultimate team player both in terms of ability and glorification. The man had a playing role named after him by the British press, such was the adoration bestowed upon the Frenchman. I have many fond memories of him but none quite as good as when he won every single aerial challenge he went into against Peter Crouch. He’s still playing, of course, and doing rather well as the captain of Paris’ premier club. An iconic player and, undoubtedly, the longest in the shower.

Midfielder: Edgar Davids

The dreadlocks, the shades and of course the inevitable showing of a yellow card. A school friend of mine said of Davids: “If I see him, he’ll always get a booking. If it’s in the first half, you can bet he’ll get his marching orders”. Perhaps a little harsh a statement but Davids was always moving with purpose and always in the mood for a challenge. I greatly enjoyed watching him as part of the Ajax and Juventus teams that I hold in high regard. I prefer to remember him as that tough-tackling midfield “pitbull” as opposed to the occasional left back in the colours of Crystal Palace.

Midfielder: Andrea Pirlo

A player that on his day is quite simply sublime. His passing ability, short and long, is up there with the absolute best. He also scores truly glorious goals and the strike below earned a standing ovation in my house. It is that good, and he is that good.

Forward: Mario Balotelli

Without doubt he is my favourite player at this very moment. Capable of doing something amazing and most likely when you least expect it, the boy has talent by the truckload. He’s another player who I find myself defending at every turn; he’s already vilified by the British press and he’s not even been in England for a year. Yes, he’s moody and yes, he’s a little bit overly extravagant at times, but what is so wrong about that? He is the luxury player. Every team should have one, for entertainment purposes if nothing else.

Forward: Didier Drogba

When a player is hated by every other club’s supporters, you know you’re onto a winner. Like my choice at left back, my fervent defence of him only made the heart grow fonder. A totemic frontman who can delight, surprise and frustrate at the same time, Drogba decimated the idea that he was just a one-season wonder from Marseille after making the move to London that the man himself wasn’t at all keen on. A symbol of the modern day Chelsea, wherever good or bad depends upon your viewpoint (club allegiance).

Forward: Fabrizio Ravanelli

I just had to have a more classical Italian striker in this team and none better to have than the man who scored the first goal in the game that made me fall in love with football (the 1996 UEFA Champions League Final). I bonded with my secondary school history teacher over a mutual admiration of the Silver Fox (though his adoration may have had more to do with the matching hair colour). The season I’m most fond of, 1996-97, saw Ravanelli take up residence at Middlesbrough of all places, and his debut hat-trick for them against Liverpool will live long in the memory. It was a bittersweet season in terms of the Silver Fox as it serves as the indicator of his star fading. When he came back to England with Derby County four years later, the star was no more but there’ll always be the nostalgia. Hat-tricks against Liverpool have that effect on me I guess.

Substitutes:

Rogerio Ceni

Everyone loves goalscoring goalkeepers and every one also loves loyalty in football. I just wish that he’d earned more recognition from his national team but Rogerio Ceni was and is still there. He’s still a good goalkeeper and he’s even still scoring.

Geremi Ndjitap

Affectionately dubbed the “Wingnut”, I always felt he deserved more, particularly at Chelsea. Always trying to do better and on occasion getting himself and his team-mates into spots of bother in the process, but a lovable player.

Bernard Lambourde

I don’t know why. He wasn’t particularly any good, in fact at times he was downright abysmal. He wasn’t really around that long either. There’s just something about Bernard.

Gustavo Poyet

A man who’s been the star of many great memories at Stamford Bridge. From his scissor-kick against Sunderland to opening the scoring in that 5-0 victory at home to Manchester United, he’s another player whose departure from Stamford Bridge was sour but his endearing warmth as a person and his talkative demeanour make such a thing a mere sidenote.

Jan Koller

I backed Czech Republic to win Euro 2004 and that was largely because of this giant centre forward. Hugely underrated, Koller managed to get the best out of his strike partners too, at times making Milan Baros look great. Koller worked as an enabler for his team-mates and was as adept as a lone striker as he was with a partner. He also wasn’t just a constant threat from set pieces, but was also not too shabby with the ball at his feet. Unlike a lot of big men, he didn’t look particularly awkward in doing so. Of course, the Czechs weren’t victorious, losing in the semi-final to Otto Rehhagel’s well-drilled Greece, but the Czechs were entertaining and Koller was a significant (I could’ve said large) part of that.

Tags: Andrea Pirlo, Bernard Lambourde, Claude Makalele, Didier Drogba, Edgar Davids, Fabrizio Ravanelli, Fernando Couto, Geremi Ndjitap, Gus Poyet, Jan Koller, Maicon, Marco Materazzi, Mario Balotelli, Paul Edwards, Rogerio Ceni, William Gallas