DREAM TEAM

Burnley’s Kieran Trippier picks the best XI he has played with and against

GOALKEEPERI

Shay Given – Aston Villa I played with him at Manchester City and I’ve been on pre-season tours with him. He’s a great goalkeeper and a great professional. He was always laughing and joking.

RIGHT BACKI

Micah Richards – Manchester City He helped me personally when I was at City. He was there before all the money came into the club and he did an excellent job when he got his chance. He’s got a bit of banter as well.

CENTRE BACKI

Michael Duff – Burnley I’ve got to go with Duffy because he’s been round the Championship and the lower leagues so he’s experienced. The three years I’ve been at Burnley he’s helped me progress as a player. On the pitch his leadership is his main quality. He’s vocal and always letting me know where I should be. Richard Dunne – QPR I played a few games with him when I was at City and he’s another leader. He dictated the game and kept the back four as a unit. He won City’s player of the year four years in a row so he can’t be bad!

LEFT BACKI

Wayne Bridge – Reading When he was at Brighton he was the most effective left back I’ve played against. He’s a good player with Premier League experience. He’s not so good defensively but he forced me back at times. He was hard to defend against when he was overlapping and he was full of energy.

RIGHTI MIDFIELDI

Vladimir Weiss – Lekhwiya SC I played with him through the youth system at City as well as a few first-team games. He’s a tricky player and an allround quality winger. He was the joker of the team when I was there with him, a very funny guy but also a really nice guy. He had so much ability and I hear he’s in Qatar now.

CENTRALI MIDFIELDI

Dean Marney – Burnley Deano and I have a great relationship on the pitch, especially when we’re attacking. He doesn’t even need to look, he knows I’m just there. He comes out with all sorts as well, absolutely hammering players but in a funny way. Dietmar Hamann – Retired I played with Didi at City. He was a worldclass player and I was only 16 or 17 at the time so I was very lucky to play alongside a player with his ability.The way he played was unbelievable regardless of his age.

LEFT MIDFIELDI

Scott Sinclair – West Brom (on loan from Manchester City) I played against him when he was with Swansea with the Championship. He was on fire that season with his pace and trickery. I’ve also played with him for England U21s and you can see how much ability he’s got.

STRIKERI

Lionel Messi – Barcelona It was 2009 when City played against Barcelona in a preseason friendly and we won 1-0 with Martin Petrov scoring the goal. It was an unbelievable feeling to be given the chance to play in that game by Mark Hughes. I look at Messi now and he’s the greatest player ever. Jay Rodriguez – Southampton I played with him at Burnley and against him in the FA Cup this year. He was a really unbelievable player when he was at Burnley, he scored so many different types of goals. It’s no surprise that he’s scored so many for Southampton and he may be going to the World Cup with England which would be fully deserved.