Guides · Updated 7 October 2026
Iconic starting XIs and why they worked
Every lineup in the builder's "Load a team" menu is a real team that changed the game, or a dream team built to start an argument. Here is the story behind each one, in chronological order.
To open any of these on the pitch, go to the lineup builder, choose Load a team at the top, and pick the team. You can then change players, switch formation or draw tactics on top of it.
Sacchi's AC Milan, 1988–89
Arrigo Sacchi never played professional football, and he changed how the game is defended. His Milan side defended as a unit rather than man-to-man, keeping the distance between the back line and the forwards remarkably short and pressing as a pack the moment the opponent had the ball. The result was a team that seemed to have more players than the opposition.
The defence of Mauro Tassotti, Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta and a young Paolo Maldini is still held up as one of the best ever. In front of them, the Dutch trio of Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten added power and class. Milan beat Real Madrid 5–0 in the second leg of the European Cup semi-final and Steaua Bucharest 4–0 in the final, then retained the trophy a year later.
Manchester United treble, 1998–99
The first English team to win the Premier League, FA Cup and European Cup in the same season. Ferguson's classic 4-4-2 had David Beckham crossing from the right, Ryan Giggs running at defenders from the left, and Roy Keane and Paul Scholes in the middle. Up front, Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke formed one of the great partnerships, with an almost telepathic understanding.
The ending was the stuff of legend. Keane and Scholes were suspended for the Champions League final at Camp Nou, and United trailed Bayern Munich 1–0 going into injury time. Goals from substitutes Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær won it 2–1 in the space of about two minutes.
Brazil, 2002 World Cup
Brazil arrived in Korea and Japan after a difficult qualifying campaign and left with a fifth World Cup, winning all seven of their matches. Scolari's 3-5-2 gave the two greatest attacking full-backs of the era, Cafu and Roberto Carlos, the freedom to play as wing-backs, with three centre-backs covering behind them.
In attack were "the three Rs": Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo. Ronaldinho scored the famous long-range free kick over David Seaman in the quarter-final against England. Ronaldo, back from serious knee injuries, won the Golden Boot with eight goals, including both in the 2–0 final win over Germany.
Real Madrid Galácticos, 2002–03
Florentino Pérez's policy of signing one global superstar each summer brought Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane and then Ronaldo to the Bernabéu in successive years. With Raúl and Roberto Carlos already at the club, the 2002–03 side was one of the most glamorous teams ever assembled, and it won La Liga.
The player who held it together was the least famous: Claude Makélélé, the defensive midfielder who did the running for the stars ahead of him. When the club refused his request for a better contract that summer and he left for Chelsea, the balance was lost. Real Madrid did not win another league title until 2007.
Arsenal Invincibles, 2003–04
Arsenal went through all 38 Premier League matches without a defeat, winning 26 and drawing 12, something no team had done since Preston North End's 22-game season in 1888–89. Wenger's 4-4-2 combined speed and technique: Thierry Henry, the league's top scorer with 30 goals, drifted left and ran at defenders, while Dennis Bergkamp dropped deep to play the final pass.
Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva gave the midfield steel, Robert Pires scored and created from the left, and the defence of Lauren, Kolo Touré, Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole was quick enough to play a high line.
Guardiola's Barcelona, 2010–11
Many people consider this the best club side of the modern era. The midfield of Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Andrés Iniesta kept the ball for long spells, and lost it so rarely that opponents spent whole matches chasing. When Barcelona did lose possession, they pressed immediately to win it back.
Lionel Messi played as a false nine, dropping off the centre-backs into midfield, while David Villa and Pedro made runs in behind from the wings. The season included a 5–0 win over José Mourinho's Real Madrid and ended with a 3–1 win over Manchester United in the Champions League final at Wembley.
Barcelona MSN, 2014–15
Luis Enrique's Barcelona were more direct than Guardiola's, built around the front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar. Messi moved back to the right wing, Suárez led the line, and Neymar attacked from the left. Between them they scored 122 goals in all competitions, beating the 118 scored by Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuaín in 2011–12 and setting a record for a front three at the time.
Barcelona won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, beating Juventus 3–1 in the final in Berlin, to become the first club to win the treble twice.
Real Madrid BBC, 2016–17
The "BBC" were Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo. Behind them, the midfield of Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić and Casemiro was one of the most complete trios in football history: Kroos's passing, Modrić's control and Casemiro's defensive cover.
Zidane's side won La Liga and then beat Juventus 4–1 in Cardiff to become the first team to retain the Champions League since it took that name in 1992. Bale missed much of the season through injury, and Isco often took his place, but the BBC remain the team's defining image.
PSG MNM, 2021–22
When Lionel Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in the summer of 2021, it brought together a front three of Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, three of the most famous players in the world. PSG won Ligue 1 comfortably, but the season is remembered as a lesson about balance.
The front three rarely pressed together, and the midfield was left with too much ground to cover. In the Champions League round of 16, PSG led Real Madrid on aggregate until a Karim Benzema hat-trick in 17 minutes knocked them out. Mbappé was the team's top scorer and was named Ligue 1's player of the year.
Manchester City treble, 2022–23
Guardiola's Manchester City finally won the Champions League, beating Inter 1–0 in Istanbul with a goal from Rodri, to complete a treble with the Premier League and FA Cup. Erling Haaland, in his first season in England, scored 36 league goals, a record for a 38-game Premier League season.
The tactical twist came from John Stones. Listed as a defender, he stepped into midfield beside Rodri whenever City had the ball, turning a back four into a back three with a two-man base of midfield. That gave Kevin De Bruyne, İlkay Gündoğan, Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish the freedom to attack, while keeping City almost impossible to counter-attack against.
PSG European champions, 2024–25
Three years after the superstar era, PSG won the Champions League for the first time with a team built on collective work rather than famous names. Luis Enrique's side pressed relentlessly, and the midfield of Vitinha, João Neves and Fabián Ruiz moved the ball quickly enough to beat almost any press.
Ousmane Dembélé was reinvented as a central forward who pressed from the front and dropped deep to create, and he went on to win the 2025 Ballon d'Or. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, signed in January, and the young Désiré Doué added speed and dribbling. In the final in Munich, PSG beat Inter 5–0, the biggest winning margin in a European Cup final, with Doué scoring twice. Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes, two of the best attacking full-backs in the world, gave the team width from defence.
The dream XIs
The other options in the menu aren't real teams. They are starting points for arguments.
- All-Time Greats lines up in a 4-3-1-2 so that Diego Maradona can play as the number 10 behind Lionel Messi and Pelé. Lev Yashin, the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d'Or, is in goal, behind a defence that includes Franz Beckenbauer, Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini.
- Modern World XI is a 4-3-3 of today's stars, including Erling Haaland, Vinícius Júnior, Lamine Yamal and Jude Bellingham.
- Premier League Stars is a 4-2-3-1 of players who have starred in England in recent seasons, with Rodri and Martin Ødegaard in midfield.
None of these is meant to be the final word. Load one, swap in the players you think deserve a place, and share the link with whoever you are arguing with. For help choosing a shape, read the formations guide.