Welcome to our blog series of Fantasy 5-A-Side, in which we take legendary clubs from the game of football and build a dream 5-a-side line-up of their past and present players. We pick them based on their achievements for the club in question and also their impact on the game as a whole, meaning their best work doesn’t necessarily have to have happened at the club we are talking about, but you’ll see what we mean as we go on. Similarly, we are picking these players in their prime, meaning players now in their 70s/80s aren’t rocking around the AstroTurf with their walking stick.

The next club in the series, are Italian giants AC Milan. Arguably the greatest side in Italian football history (but we will save that debate for another day), they have had some serious legends of the game make their name at the San Siro, while many other greats have spent time at the club. With a whole roster of legends to choose from, narrowing to our top 5 is a serious task, however we think we’ve done a pretty decent selection.

As with everything we do, these are based on our personal opinion, so we are obviously more biased to the late 90s, 00s and 2010s which we have much more knowledge about, so please don’t be offended if we miss out a legend of the 1930s, as we simply don’t possess that knowledge. Despite that, if you have any comments to make on our selection, or want to tell us you selections for the squad, head over to Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) and tell us what you think.

Goalkeeper: Dida

Although we may have been slightly biased in terms of the era where we grew up watching AC Milan, resulting in Dida taking the gloves as opposed to someone like his predecessor Sebastiano Rossi, Dida just provides a bit of flair between the sticks and would be a terrific 5-a-side keeper.

Making 302 appearances for AC Milan between 2000-2010 in between spells at several Brazilian clubs, Dida performed some heroic and acrobatic saves, with a specialism in penalty saves. Although in later years at the club and following some psychological issues following the Inter flare incident, his form dipped and he fell to second choice later in his career. This may put his legacy into question when some look at the full decade spent in Milan, however as someone who grew up watching football in the mid 00s, Dida was arguably the top keeper in the world in this period and with ability to produce some terrific saves meant he always had a special place in my footballing heart.

Statistically, Dida sits pretty high in Milan’s records, having played over 300 games, sitting 30th in their all-time appearance list. He also kept 35 Champions League clean sheet’s, which resulted in the success of becoming a 2x Champions League winner. His other achievements at AC Milan include a Serie A title, a Coppa Italia, a Supercoppa Italiana, 2x UEFA Super Cup and 1 time Club World Cup win. He was also involved in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup success (although playing backup) whilst in his Milan spell.

Defence: Franco Baresi & Paolo Maldini (C)

The choice for AC Milan defenders may well be one of the toughest choices in football, as they have a whole host of legendary defensive talents.

Our first choice and captain of our 5-a-side squad is Mr AC Milan himself; Paolo Maldini, the clubs current technical director, son of midfielder and former manager Cesare and father of the currently on loan from the club Daniel. That alone would set him into AC Milan folklore, however when you add in the small fact of being the clubs record appearance maker (902 games) among many other records and titles, cements the defender as the spirit and legacy of the club.

With 25 titles/trophies to his name at the club, including 7 league titles and 5 European Cups stretching between 1989-2007. To add some extra trivia to that fact, his first European Cup win was alongside Ancelotti, Van Basten and Gullit, while his last was up against Peter Crouch and Jermaine Pennant. With so many unbreakable records to his name, he is AC Milan and has to be regarded as one of the best defenders to ever play the game.

One of the few who could challenge Maldini in that debate is his partner in this selection, Franco Baresi. The 2nd highest appearance holder at the club and another one club man, with 6 league titles and 2 European Cups, Baresi is a true Milan hero and with his no.6 shirt being retired following his era at the club, his defensive brilliance just adds to the immortality at the club.

Midfield: Andrea Pirlo

In midfield we elected for just 1 player given our vast options in defence, and with just as many choices in midfield, it was a tough call but once again personal opinion swayed us in the direction of Pirlo as opposed to Gullit or Kaka as more attacking role.

Andrea Pirlo is not just a hipsters favourite but a player who’s technique could rival just about anyone to have played the game. With pinpoint accuracy in his passing ability, control and composure on the ball, he is the type of player who I have always loved to watch. With the likes of Scholes, Xavi, Iniesta and Zidane holding special places in my hearts, it was an obvious choice of putting Pirlo in the midfield.

As a Rossoneri, Pirlo had huge success both domestically, on the continent and on the World stage, as he won 2 Serie A titles, 2 domestic cups, 2 Champions League titles and the 2006 World Cup while bossing the Italian midfield. Although his domestic title peak came later with the switch to Juventus, Pirlo was and remains a legend of the San Siro.

Attack: Andriy Shevchenko

Up top we have a massively underrated forward from the 00s, who, despite winning the 2004 Ballon d’Or hasn’t truly been held in the highest regard from fans, especially given his arguably underwhelming spell at Chelsea. A true goalscorer who shone at AC Milan between 1999-2006 and making a small but again underwhelming return in the 08-09 season on loan, he sits as the clubs 2nd highest goalscorer in their long and illustrious history, with 175 from 322 appearances.

As a better than 1 in 2 scorer, he easily makes it as our choice for the 5-a-side squad, and although Gunnar Nordahl sits as the clubs top scorer with 221 in 268, his spell ran through the 1950s so I certainly can’t say I have seen any of his goals. We could have also gone for Van Basten, however again our years of growing up with 00s AC Milan meant we were just swayed to the Ukrainian striker as our selection to finish off the passing brilliance of Pirlo.

Don’t forget to head over to Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) or Instagram (@NextGoalWin) to tell us who’d make your AC Milan dream team.