Discover this Weekend Division Team With 1,800 Top-Flight Matches

Wythenshawe Vets bench during a match
The substitutes for the team Vets during a six-two win against their opponents on 19 October (from left to right) - one player, another, Marcel Edwards, Blake Norton, Maynor Figueroa, Dean Warburton and Emile Heskey

How do you improve a stellar veteran squad who have won back-to-back championships, featuring a league-cup double with thirty wins from 32 games?

Sign a raft of former professionals who have played at the top level of club football and international soccer as you pursue more silverware.

One Greater Manchester side has an non-professional veterans squad with nine ex- Premier League footballers in their present lineup.

Two Hundred Twenty-Two Premier League Goals, 325 Global Caps

The team Vets Over-35s are situated in south Manchester and play in the Cheshire-based Vets League Top Tier.

The lineup this season boasts 9 ex- top-flight players, with a combined over 1,800 elite games.

This high-profile roster also boasts 222 top division goals and over 320 international caps.

They feature Papiss Cisse, who netted 37 scores in over 100 games for Newcastle United after moving to them for nine million pounds from Bundesliga side Freiburg in 2012.

Cisse had his first appearance for the team in their most recent home match versus defending title holders Collegiate Old Boys and scored every one of the six scores in a six-two victory - including a 32-minute opening period triple.

The roster for this campaign also includes ex- pros such as England and Anfield forward Emile Heskey, Hull City and Burnley winger George Boyd, Toffees forward Oumar Niasse, Wigan full-back Maynor Figueroa, Manchester City pair Stephen Ireland and Nedum Onuoha and Premier League championship winners Joleon Lescott and Danny Drinkwater.

In total, the former top-flight players have won 15 big honors and moved for total transfer sums of approximately £123m.

Well-Known Names and International Stars

Stephen Ireland in action
He earned 6 Republic of Ireland caps, netting four scores

Stephen Ireland began turning out for the side during pre-season this season through close friend and present team player Blake Norton, and the former Republic of Ireland midfielder then asked other former professionals, who all play in a midweek nine-a-side game, to participate.

Ex- Senegal forward Niasse, who netted 12 scores in sixty-five Premier League games for Everton and still goes to their matches at Goodison Park, also made his debut against the opposition - who are based in the city and use an Everton training kit as their uniform.

Oumar Niasse playing for Everton
Oumar Niasse played for Everton between 2016 and 2020

"My friend Stephen said 'come and have a game, it's a laugh'," said the striker.

"Then he told me we were playing a team from the city and the shock I had when I noticed them wearing Blue shirts - I thought this is strange for me!

"When you still enjoy football and you know you can still do it, wherever you can kick a ball, what are you going to choose?

"The fans who come and see are pleased and to make someone's moment if they watch us playing there and to pose us queries - it's really about the joy of us having a place we can play, with organisation of course."

So great is the squad depth at Wythenshawe, Niasse made his debut at full-back.

"That's a bit different but then, I love sprinting and just move forward - I'm not defending that much," he added.

"I tell my centre-back 'I'm not hanging back' and that I'm just going to continue running.

"The movement is what I'm after. It's enjoyable."

Maynor Figueroa in action
Ex- Wigan defender Maynor Figueroa is turning out for the team

Dreamlike' Experience

Along with the forward's six goals on his first game, Ireland has netted 8 in three games for Wythenshawe, while George Boyd scored five on his debut appearance and Lescott, a defender by position, notched a triple in one match as a striker.

The team are leading of the Top Tier with 3 victories from 3 and a goal difference of +19.

Paul Barrow, thirty-eight, who features on the flank for the opposition, faced ex- Latics full-back Maynor Figueroa on Sunday - and had to tell his young boy who Emile Heskey was.

He has played at 2 World Cups for Honduras, in as well as playing in more than 200 Premier League games.

"The news was going round like a rumor they had these ex-Premier League stars," said the player.

"I think I was a little awestruck playing against Figueroa to be honest.

"Also Emile [Heskey] came on and he's has over 60 English appearances.

"We competed well for a solid 20 mins but then we had a player sent off and it was tough.

"Our group really have not ceased talking about it - I was phoning my mother and brother on the journey home.

"They were all dead sound, shaking our hands after the match - it was like playing a bunch of normal guys.

"Now we can't wait for the return fixture."

'We'll Still Take the League'

The manager manages the Collegiate veterans team, who secured the Top Tier championship the previous campaign, along with his co-manager.

"We scored 1-0 up and had a

Catherine Vincent
Catherine Vincent

A Berlin-based writer and cultural enthusiast with a passion for uncovering Germany's rich traditions and modern innovations.