Beckenbauer names legends in dream team

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Berlin, June 30: The Zidanes and Ronaldinhos are not great enough to find a place in Franz Beckenbauer's dream team as the former German captain stuck to ''real legends'' and opted for Pele, Maradona and non-World Cup stars Di Stefano and George Best.

Choosing a formidable team, which includes the who's who of yesteryears, Beckenbauer says he would have Pele and Diego Maradona as strike partners as the two represent the best on-field talents soccer has ever seen.

''Up front, I would have to pick Pele, the best player football has ever seen, and on the left I'd have Diego Maradona,'' the World Cup Organising Committee chairman told FIFA official website.

Lev Yashin mans the goal, while his New York Cosmos team-mate and Brazil's 1970 World Cup winning captain Carlos Alberto has been picked as right back.

''In central defence would be England's Bobby Moore, the FIFA World Cup-winning captain of 1966 and, alongside him, it would have to be me,'' the game's original ''libero'' who won World Cup both as player and manager said.

''My left-back would be Giacinto Facchetti , a fantastic player at Inter Milan, who was the first full-back to really attack from a defensive position, and who scored many goals in the process.'' Calling Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano as one of the best players in the history of soccer, Beckenbauer picks him along with English Legend Bobby Charlton as central midfielders.

The ''Kaiser'' has also no qualms in naming his arch rival in the 1974 World Cup, Johan Cruyff of the Netherlands as left midfielder while maverick former Manchester United player George Best has been picked as the right midfielder for, according to Beckenbauer, there never has been anyone better than Best on that side.

UNI