Andrea Pirlo dream XI: Paul Scholes the only Englishman as Juventus star leaves out Cristiano Ronaldo in favour of Pippo Inzaghi

Italy legend has selected six former team-mates and left himself out

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Andrea Pirlo has selected his dream Champions League XI and found just one place for English players in his selection.

Despite the Champions League being won by English teams four times since the European Cup was renovated in 1992, with another five teams reaching the final, the AC Milan and Juventus legend has found just one spot for players who have played in England.

Unsurprisingly, such is his reputation in Europe, Manchester United's Paul Scholes is the lone player in Pirlo's team.

Of Scholes, Pirlo said: "The truly great English midfield player of the generation. Didn’t just play the game, he thought about the game. You could see every pass, every decision, was based on his intelligence and understanding."

The Italian didn't pick himself, but did pick seven former team-mates and five Italians.

AC Milan are the most well represented club with Paolo Maldini, Gennaro Gattuso, Marcos Cafu, Kaka and Pippo Inzaghi - the most surprising selection in the team.

Former Italy striker Inzaghi gets in the team ahead of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and countless others who may feel they were more deserving of a place in the team.

Italian centre-back Fabio Cannavaro and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon are both in the team, although neither player has won the Champions League during their illustrious careers.

Barcelona duo Xavi and Lionel Messi, as well as Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm, make up the XI.