In the most recent addition of FourFourTwo, Alexi Lalas was chosen by James Richardson for his "Perfect XI." Usually this is from some former player and he choses the best 11 he had ever played with or against. Or from a coach who picks the best 11 he has worked with. This guy is apparently a TV guy and picks "players who've made watching Serie A an absolute pleasure" Big Red is in some very good company, including Buffon, Taribo West, Paul Ince, and George Weah, among other greats.
Considering that Big Red ,for the most part,sucked harder than Traci Lords with an Oreck at Padova- I'm thinking he's being included for comedy value.
That's right. The list was the 11 guys that make Richardson smile the most -- whether out of pleasure for skills, or (more common) for their goofy on-field demeanor. In fact, I think Richardson says something to the effect of "He was a butcher on the field but ..."
Phew. I am relieved that it was not a pop culture reference that I should know, except that I am too old & out of touch. I figure, as long as I know the porn-star references and am confused by the vacuum cleaners, I'm doing OK.