Wolves’ Championship winning midfielder Dave Edwards discusses how he would fare if he was at the peak of his footballing career in the modern-day game.
Team most like to play against | Real Madrid
Real Madrid would always be the team you would like to play against, just because of the status of the football club. An away game at the Bernabeu would be pretty impressive and with all the ‘Galaticos’ they’ve got in their team as well, I’m not sure I’d see too much of the ball, and I’d get some kilometres covered in the match, but it would be a great experience.
Team least like to play against | Brighton & Hove Albion
I’d have hated to play against a team like Brighton. They remind me of the Swansea team I used to play against in 2010/11, where they didn’t have household names, they weren’t one of the big teams, but they just kept the ball for fun and they were a nightmare to play against. It can be demoralising out there, and I can imagine going to the Amex when Brighton are on it and you’re not touching the ball can be pretty similar.
Player most like to face | Lionel Messi
Out of all the players at the moment, I would probably say Lionel Messi, just because he’s still in there, he’s still producing at World Cups and Copa Americas, and although he’s in America at the moment, to say you’d shared the same pitch as Lionel Messi would be really good. He’s going to go down as the greatest of all time. I’ve been lucky enough to play against some amazing players, but even though our careers overlapped, I was unfortunately not able to play with Messi.
Player least like to face | Jude Bellingham
When I was playing, I always backed myself physically against any opponent. Even if they were technically better than me, I always felt with my running power, my energy and my athleticism, in my prime I was better than anyone at that sort of thing. Whereas Jude Bellingham, I think he’s got all the technical ability in the world, but also physically, he’s just incredible as well and far superior to anything I ever was, so it would be a daunting task to stop him.
Manager most like to play for | Pep Guardiola
I think Pep will go down as one of the greatest of all time and anyone who has played under him have improved, and I would love to play under a coach like that, who you know is going to make you better, and be part of a system which is so well organised and almost robotic in the way that it’s played. But I think Pep’s training methods and game plan, and the way he improves players, is pretty special.
Wolves player most like to play with | Joao Gomes
In midfield, with the amount of tackles Joao wins and sets up counter-attacks, I’d love to be an attacking midfielder alongside him there. He breaks up play so well, gets the opposition out of shape and if we could go quickly, get the ball out wide and I could get in the box unmarked while Joao Gomes picks up everything else around me. He’s a special, special player and I’ve have loved to have played alongside him in the Wolves midfield.
Competition most like to win | World Cup
I played for Wales in the Euros, but the World Cup is the greatest competition in the world, and we came so close to qualifying during my time in the national team, but just missed out. I know that sometimes people think it’s not quite what it was a few years ago and competitions like the Champions League are taking over, but the World Cup is the pinnacle for all footballers.
Stadium most like to play at | Camp Nou
I mentioned playing at the Bernabeu earlier, and that is one that I would have loved to have played at, but I’ve have loved to play at Camp Nou as well. Playing at both of those stadiums would have been really special, and I’d have loved to experience the environment in those games against Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Aspect most like to have | Coaching staff
From a performance point of view, the amount of staff clubs have to get the absolute best out of you is incredible. When I was playing, we were lucky to have the staff we did, but now they have the knowledge and the speciality which can really take your career into the next stratosphere. I’ve been lucky enough to go to the canteen at Compton recently, and if you see all the food and nutrition available to them, it’s another world, and I’d have loved to have seen where that could’ve taken me.
Aspect least like to have | VAR
100 per cent, VAR. I’m not a big fan of it at all. I only played in one game in my career with VAR – an FA Cup game at Anfield for Shrewsbury – and we went 1-0 up but it was disallowed through VAR because we were offside about 20 seconds before the goal was scored, and that absolutely killed me. Having that feeling of scoring in front of the Shrewsbury fans taken away from me was horrible. I’ve experienced as a fan and as a commentator and it really takes away from what football is all about.
This article originally featured in Wolves' official 2024/25 matchday programme. Last season's programmes are still available to purchase online through retailers Curtis Sports.
