Speaking to the Official Matchday Programme, Łukasz Fabiański names his World XI, made up of players he’s lined up with or against during his career, or idolised as a youngster…
GK - Gianluigi Buffon
I think his record speaks for itself – he’s a legend of the game, and probably the best goalkeeper of his generation. I played against him once, for Arsenal against Juventus in 2008. I’ve played against other great goalkeepers – including Manuel Neuer, Petr Čech and Edwin van der Sar – but I think Buffon is the best.
CB - Rio Ferdinand
He’s one of the best centre-backs in the history of the Premier League. I played against him when he was at Manchester United, and he was just so calm on the ball and tough to beat in defence.
CB - John Terry
It was a close call between John Terry and Nemanja Vidić, but I’ll just go with Terry. He had everything a defender needs, and he chipped in with some important goals for Chelsea as well.
LB - Roberto Carlos
I played against him in the Champions League when he was at Fenerbahçe, in 2008, and to be on the same pitch as him was mind blowing. He was in the latter stages of his career, and he was probably past his best, but he still had an aura about him. I remember they got a free-kick about 40 or 50 yards out, and I was worried he was going to hit it straight at goal like he was known for, but thankfully the ball just bobbled towards me!
RB - Łukasz Piszczek
Łukasz is a very good friend of mine, but he was a very good player as well. He played for Borussia Dortmund for over ten years, he won a few trophies with them, and he came close to winning the UEFA Champions League as well. He was a key player for the Poland national team, and he’s now player-manager at a lower-league team over there called Goczałkowice-Zdrój.
CM - Frank Lampard
He was a legend for Chelsea, for so many years. He was amazing offensively, and scored an incredible amount of goals for a midfielder.
CM - Steven Gerrard
Gerrard and Lampard never quite linked up like everyone thought they would for England, but hopefully they’d be good together in my team! Gerrard had everything, and he was the heartbeat of the Liverpool team for a long, long time.
LM - Cristiano Ronaldo
He’s one of the best players of all-time, and is still going at the age of 39. I think what he’s done in the game is incredible, and he’ll always be regarded as one of the icons of football.
RM - Kevin De Bruyne
Kevin De Bruyne is one of the best players on the planet at the moment, in my opinion. He influences everything that happens on the pitch – he’s a great passer of the ball, he’s very intelligent, he scores amazing goals, and he can do the hard graft as well.
ST - Thierry Henry
He’s an Arsenal legend, and a great guy as well. I had the chance to play with him when he went back to Arsenal for a brief loan spell in 2012, and even though he was close to the end of his career, you could see his quality. It was amazing to share a dressing room with him.
ST - Wayne Rooney
I remember when I was young and playing for either Poland U16s or U17s, Wayne Rooney scored against me and there was already a lot of hype around him.
Then, at the 2002 UEFA European Under-17 Championship he won Player of the Tournament. He went all the way to the top at senior level, and it was crazy to see his journey the whole way through.
