As Valentine’s Day draws is upon us, what better way to celebrate and combine the day of romance and the beautiful game than by selecting a Valentine’s Day XI – a dream football line-up of players linked in some way to 14 February.
GK – Joe Hart
The aptly named Hart was a stalwart between the sticks for Manchester City between 2010 and 2016, including winning the joint most English Premier League Golden Gloves in that time with four.
DEF – Valentino Livramento
“Valentine” Livramento provides the quality at right-back, with the defender impressing for Newcastle United in recent years and likely to be the starting right-back for England at the World Cup if he can stay fit.
DEF – Philippe Senderos
Senderos was born on Valentine’s Day back in 1985, and the defender enjoyed a lengthy career at the top level of English football, playing for the likes of Arsenal, Everton and Fulham.
DEF – Harry Darling
Darling has competed in the lower leagues of English football throughout his career, currently commanding the backline for Norwich City in the Championship.
DEF – Danny Rose
Another name linked to the day of romance, Rose was one of the standout defenders in the Premier League at points during his time at Tottenham Hotspur from 2013 to 2020.
MID – Christian Eriksen
Another former Tottenham Hotspur player, Eriksen was born on Valentines’ Day in 1992, going on to become one of the best players in the English Premier League in the mid to late 2010s and early 2020s.
MID – Alex Song
Stretching the rules slightly, we have chosen Alex Song to be our defensive midfielder, linking the former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder to Valentine’s Day with the art and romance of love songs.
MID – Kevin Keegan
Our final midfielder is the legendary Kevin Keegan, who was born on Valentine’s Day in 1951 and went on to become the first and only British player to lift the Ballon d’Or on two separate occasions, lifting the trophy in 1978 and 1979.
FWD – Angel Di Maria
Linked to the day both in name and birthday, ‘Angel’ Di Maria was born on Valentine’s Day in 1988, with the Argentinian going on to become one of the best players in modern football, including scoring in the final as Argentina won the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
FWD – Edinson Cavani
Another former Manchester United attacker, Edinson Cavani was born on Valentine’s Day in 1987, and the striker has proven to be a sensational star throughout his career at clubs such as Napoli, Paris Saint-Germain and Man Utd.
FWD – Vagner Love
Who better to take the final spot in the team than former CSKA Moscow and Besiktas striker Vagner ‘Love’, whose name sums up the meaning of Valentine’s Day perfectly.
