Good evening peeps. Today, Xabi Alonso picks his dream team. Xabi Alonso won the Champions League with both Liverpool and Real Madrid and is now bidding to win a third title with Bayern Munich this season. So who better than the Spaniard to pick the tournament's greatest ever starting XI?
Alonso told Daily mail his Champions League dream team...

GOALKEEPER: MANUEL NEUER
"I have played with some fantastic goalkeepers, but he is the best. It isn't just the ability he has to make saves, but how good he is outfield and the fantastic composure that he always shows on the ball"

DEFENCE: PHILIPP LAHM
" such a great player for Bayern, his leadership and qualities have been missed while he has been injured. Hopefully we will have him bck for some important matches by the end of the season. He is comfortably one of the top five defenders of the last 10 years"

DEFENCE: SERGIO RAMOS
" When sergio is mentally on top of his game, then I think he is the best there is. He is a leader, he gives everything, and as a player in midfield he is the sort of defender that makes you feel very comfortable being behind you"

DEFENCE: CARLES PUYOL
"So important for Spain's success at the Euros in 2008 and then was even better when we won the World Cup in 2010. So dependable at the back, and then scored the winning goal against Germany in the Semi-final"

DEFENCE: DAVID ALABA
"One of those players who I think does not get the recognition outside of Germany and Austria he deserves. Maybe the most complete full-back in the world who can attack and defend brilliantly. When I joined Bayern it was him and Neuer who impressed me the most"

MIDFIELD: STEVEN GERRARD
"He is a great friend and has been a big influence on my life. As a player it is about so much more than his obvious ability. It's his behavious, his leadership, the values that he stands for and what he represents as a captain"
MIDFIELD: XAVI
" Such an intelligent player, and proof that you don't have to cover 100 miles to be effective. So much of Spain's sucess was because we played with so many midfield players, and Xavi was at the centre of everything"
MIDFIELD: PAUL SCHOLES
"In Spain you would not believe how well respected he is by professionals and journalists. Maybe because he was quiet off the field he never got the right praise in England because he likes to keep a low profile. Technically he could have played in any league in the world"
MIDFIELD: ZINEDINE ZIDANE
"I played against him when he was at Madrid and also against France, the of course he was part of the staff when I was playing for Real. At his peak he was on a different level to anybody. He made the most difficult of things look easy".

ATTACK: CRISTIANO RONALDO
"If you looked at his goalscoring record for Real Madrid and you hadn't witnessed it yourself, then you just wouldn't believe that it is possible. I have been privileged to play with some amazing players, but he is the best"


ATTACK: LIONEL MESSI
"To have two players like Messi and Ronaldo in the same era is pretty rare. The individual brilliance that they are capable of sets them apart. It is no surprise that they have won so many Ballons d'Or between them".
SOURCE: m.goal.com