Thomas Tuchel has managed some of the world's best footballers, including Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and N'Golo Kanté, so it is fair to say he knows a decent player when he sees one.
When he was asked to choose his best 90s XI, it was not an easy feat due to the abundance of world-class players that existed in that era, but a man with his football knowledge will undoubtedly choose a belter of a team. Take a look for yourself and make your own judgement in this XI that consists of a 4-3-3 formation.
Peter Schmeichel
The Man Utd goalkeeping legend is often cited as the best Premier League goalkeeper of all time, and Sir Alex Ferguson once stated that he was his "best ever signing". Tuchel did remark it was a "bold move" to choose the Dane over his fellow German, Oliver Kahn.
Javier Zanetti
The Argentina and Inter Millan full-back won just about every major club-level honour. He was a versatile player who could also play as a defensive midfielder and was so good he didn't retire till the age of 40 in 2014, playing for Inter for a whole 19 seasons!
Marcel Desailly
Nicknamed "The Rock" due to being a consistent defender who was strong in the tackle, Desailly was a world-class centre half whose leadership helped his various top clubs achieve great success, including winning the World Cup with France in 1998.
Ronald Koeman
Koeman was a composed player who frequently played as a sweeper due to his ability to play the ball out of defence. He is also the highest goal-scoring defender of all time, with an incredible 239 goals during his career. Speaking of the Dutch legend, Tuchel recalled: "Ronald Koeman was my hero when I was watching international football and Barcelona."
Roberto Carlos
Although Carlos started out as a forward/striker, the Brazilian legend spent most of his career as a left-back or wing-back. With rapid pace and a remarkable ability to cross, he is often referred to as the "most offensive-minded left-back in the game's history".
Who could forget his swerving free-kicks as well?
Zinedine Zidane
Undoubtedly one of the best-attacking midfielders in football history, Zidane was a playmaker who had everything to his game and more. Pele said of him during his peak, "Zidane is the master. Over the past ten years, there's been no one like him; he has been the best player in the world." Shop Real Madrid shirts.
Didier Deschamps
Tuchel describes Deschamps as "totally underrated." He was a ball-winning midfielder who was instrumental in starting attacks after retaining the ball. Considered one of the best leaders of his generation, he led France to win both the World Cup and the European Football Championship in 1998 and 2000, respectively.
Clarence Seedorf
Throughout the 90s and early 2000s, Seedorf played for some of the best teams in Europe, including Real Madrid, Inter Milan and AC Milan. He also is the only ever footballer to win the Champions League with three different clubs and has won it four times in total.
Rivaldo
Starting the forward line of three, Tuchel firstly opts for Rivaldo. Known for his skills, creativity and dribbling, he was a potent player during the 90s who was deemed, "One of the best" during his time at Barcelona which saw him form a hugely successful partnership with Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert.
Luis Figo
Although Tuchel is a "huge fan" of David Beckham, he opted for Luis Figo instead. Considered one of Portuguese's best players of all time, he won 127 caps for his country, a one-time record that has since been beaten by Cristiano Ronaldo and João Moutinho. Figo certainly scored a decent number of goals during his career but his outstanding skills and ability to beat a man often saw him opening up space to assist a huge amount of goals and as a result he has the second-most assists in La Liga history with only Lionel Messi having more.
Raúl
Most football fans would be more likely to opt for (the original) Ronaldo over Raúl González but not Thomas Tuchel. His reason was simple: "I met him!"
Taking nothing away from Raúl, he is a Real Madrid legend who played 16 seasons at the club, having won the Champions League three times, not to mention the La Liga six times.
One thing to note in the XI is that there are no English players. Is he wrong to omit Scholes or Beckham? Who would you keep in and change? Let us know your thoughts.
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