Manchester City v Tottenham: Ultimate five-a-side teams

Ahead of Sunday’s live-televised encounter between Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur we’ve strung together two ultimate five-a-side teams featuring players to have represented each club during the Premier League era.

Manchester City 5-a-side team:
 

GK: Joe Hart

Now, we all know that you have to be a little different to be a 5-a-side goalkeeper…

I mean, who would really want to be flinging themselves all over that sharp and razor-like AstroTurf on an ice cold December evening?

Well, one man who would have no issues with doing so would be Joe Hart. The former Manchester City and England number one was always a player to wear his heart on his sleeve, and he boasted the skillset to match too.

There will be those that argue - and probably rightly so - that Ederson is the Citizens’ most talented and most decorated goalkeeper in the Premier League era, but Hart’s mind-set, vocal qualities and willingness to go the extra mile, secures him a spot in their ultimate 5-a-side line-up.

DF: Pablo Zabaleta

Ok, it’s difficult to overlook Vincent Kompany here, but in terms of a 5-a-side game, Pablo Zabaleta would, for me, just offer a little bit more.

The relentless nature of a small-sided game would play right into the hands of the fierce and aggressive South American. You just know that he’d absolutely love it, and would have no issues shedding blood for the club crest if push came to shove.

The experienced Argentinean amassed over 300 appearances for Manchester City, always impressing with his tireless and front-footed approach.

He also knew how to hit the back of the net too; something which could come in handy in a 5-a-side situation.

MF: Yaya Toure

How could we even contemplate leaving the talismanic Yaya Toure out of the all-time five?

Manchester City fans knew exactly what they were getting when they captured the Ivorian from Barcelona in 2010, but incredibly, the already world class talent ended up providing the club with so much more than they could have imagined.

His incredible drive, power and technique would make him an absolute nightmare within the boarded confines of a 5-a-side pitch, and his influence on his side within this set-up would undoubtedly be equal to that of a typical 11-a-side encounter.

Can you imagine trying to protect the ball in the corner and seeing Toure hurtling towards you? 

No, neither can I!

MF: David Silva

Every good 5-a-side team needs that sprinkling of magic; and in David Silva, you’d get it in absolute bucket loads.

A true mercurial talent in every sense of the word; the Spanish superstar possesses a wand of a left foot, and his dazzling ability to dance around players, and work himself out of tight spaces, would be even more telling on the Astroturf than on the actual turf.

Silva - one of the most revered and decorated players in Premier League history - is arguably City’s finest foreign import, and what a treat it would be to see him strutting his stuff on a tight and compact pitch under the lights. 

ST: Sergio Aguero

Aguerrooooo! You can bet your life that you’d be hearing that on a ridiculously frequent basis if the prolific frontman was ever afforded the opportunity of featuring in our fantasy 5-a-side league.

The Argentinean captured 12 major titles during his illustrious decade long stay in Manchester, establishing himself as the club’s all-time record scorer having rippled the back of the net on no fewer than 260 occasions.

A man never to buckle under pressure in front of goal - as proven by his last-gasp title winning effort against Queens Park Rangers - there would surely be very few more feared opponents to face as a 5-a-side stopper than the sensational South American.
 

Tottenham Hotspur 5-a-side team:
 

GK: Hugo Lloris

There’s no doubt that Hugo Lloris has his flaws, but the French stopper is undoubtedly Tottenham Hotspur’s best goalkeeper in the modern-era.

The World Cup winner is a shoe-in in my Spurs’ ultimate five, even if he is prone to the odd howler or maybe doesn’t possess the impressive footwork that we have come to expect from modern-day top-flight keepers.

He more than makes up for that with his outrageous reflexes and superb ability to close the angles. 

I dare say that even a certain Mr Aguero would find it difficult to navigate a passage beyond the World Cup winner.

DF: Ledley King

King by name, king by nature; few players have been adored by the Spurs’ faithful as much as the supremely talented Ledley King.

Of course, his career may have been hampered by injury problems, but when fit, and on song, many would argue that there have been few English defenders to have boasted the qualities to match the former Tottenham skipper.

Even with one knee, he is still commonly regarded as one of the club’s all-time greats, which tells you everything about his talents.

Dispatched as the lone defender in a 5-a-side team, you just know that you’d get so much more from him given his ability to effortlessly meander out from the back.

MF: Luka Modric

Ok, so if Manchester City can call upon the creative flare of David Silva, it’s only right that Tottenham are able to pull their very own ace from up their sleeve, in Luka Modric.

The Ballon d’Or winner has enjoyed a sublime playing career, and even at the age of 38, still possesses the ability to orchestrate matches at the very highest level. 

He’s a true craft-master, and one of the finest to ever grace the professional stage.

Tottenham supporters may still hold a bit of a grudge given his unceremonious departure to Real Madrid a decade ago, but even so, talent-wise, he’d surely feature in the 5-a-side pick of almost every person of a Spurs persuasion.

MF: Gareth Bale

Not too dissimilarly to Modric, Gareth Bale was another player who caused a bit of a stir upon his departure from the club.

Of course things could have been handled a little bit differently, but truth be told, who could really begrudge him of a move to the Spanish giants?

After all, he did go on to capture five Champions League winners’ medals during his spell in Spain.

Bale single-handedly won matches for both club and country throughout his professional career - including at White Hart Lane - and whilst the golf course may be where he wants to spend most of his free time, you just know that he’d absolutely tear up all things 5-a-side!

If only he could somehow be prized away from those picturesque fairways and greens.

ST: Harry Kane

Is there anybody else worthy of spearheading the Spurs side?

Credible mentions could go to the likes of Teddy Sherringham, Dimitar Berbatov and Jermaine Defoe - to name but a few - but nobody comes near to Harry Kane’s remarkable goalscoring record in Tottenham white.

Yes, there may be plenty of nostalgia associated with many of Spurs’ strikers over the past four decades, but nobody, and I mean nobody, comes close to the current England skipper’s implausible efficiency in front of goal.

With or without overhead rules, there’s absolutely no doubt that Kane would fill his boots at five-a-side level.