JOHN Barnes, Mario Basler, Des Walker, Guido Buchwald.
Just four of the names on show at Bramall Lane last night that any manager, Premiership or otherwise, would have given their right arm to scribble on a team sheet.
And, of course, Bryan Robson.
The former Sheffield United chief, whose seven-month reign ended in less than glorious circumstances earlier this year, received the welcome he expected but was probably not hoping for when his name reverberated across the ground.
A fierce competitor as a player, Robson had demonstrated the same battling instincts simply by agreeing to attend.
Unfortunately, football is an unforgiving business and the boos which greeted his every touch, albeit from a small minority of the crowd, became an unwanted and unwarranted soundtrack to an evening designed to celebrate these fine exponents of the beautiful game.
With Robson cast as the pantomime villain, Basler set about lifting the Derek Dooley Memorial Cup.
For some, it was a case of don't mention the waistlines, never mind the war.
Pukka Pies, whose logo was emblazoned across English chests, were a fitting sponsor and the rugby league-style substitutions an indication that timber and talent were going hand in hand.
For others, the Euro '96 winner included, it was an opportunity to showcase their extraordinary gifts.
Basler, the former Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen schemer, stood head and shoulders above anyone else on the park and had a hand in four of the five German goals; scoring one and creating three.
Fredi Bobic twice took advantage of his team- mate's defence-splitting deliveries before completing his hat-trick with a neat back flick with Maurizio Gaudino the other beneficiary of Basler's eye for a pass.
Rob Lee twice struck the woodwork for the hosts and, with the scoreline not so delicately poised at 3-0, Lee Sharpe's penalty briefly pegged back a typically well-oiled Teutonic machine.
But, for the most part, this was like watching a race between a BMW and a Trabant. Entertaining but terribly one-sided.
England: Woods, Anderson, Sansom, Walker, Lee, Sinton, Robson, Parlour, Barnes, Merson, Sharpe, Wilkins, Webb, Daley, Walters, Hodge.
Germany: Golz, Herget, Rehmer, Ramelow, Helmer, Buchwald, Schulz, Marschall, Bobic, Basler, Gaudino, Borowka, Hermann, Freund, Pflugler.
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