Remember how good The Masters were? It was basically a bunch of past-it ex-pros jogging about a five-a-side pitch while thousands watched on with beer, cheesy music and those weird clapper things they use at Leicester games, and it was incredible.
Well Star Sixes is kind of like that, except the pros are still absolutely class and feels as though it'll be a lot more competitive than Dean Windass taking on Ally McCoist with the agility and elegance of a sloth trying to outmanoeuvre a panda.
This is different.
Advert
The likes of Carles Puyol, Jay-Jay Okocha, Michael Ballack, Robert Pires, Deco, Alessandro Del Piero and Steven Gerrard will all be on show at Star Sixes, vying to take home the inaugural Champions trophy for their respective nations.
The Squads
A dozen international teams - England, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Italy, France, Portugal, Denmark, Scotland, Nigeria and China - will be on show at the event, which is scheduled to take place every two years in the lull between World Cups and European Championships.
Advert
On show for England is a host of what was said to be their 'Golden Generation'.
Unfortunately, Rio Ferdinand has had to pull out after the passing of his mother - my thoughts are with him and his family at this awful time - soSteven Gerrard is joined by Michael Owen, David James, Emile Heskey, Phil Neville, Paul Merson, Luke Young and Wes Brown; with Lee Hendrie and Danny Mills somehow managing to sneak their way in.
Having seen Gerrard play six-a-side against Hashtag United before the Champions League final in Cardiff, it's clear he's still got it. The ex-Liverpool man bagged seven of his sides nine goals in that game, including an absolute scorcher from the half-way line - though David James also conceded twelve, so make of that what you will.
England will also face Carles Puyol's Spain side, where he is joined by Gaizka Mendieta and Joan Capdevilla, 25/1 tournament outsiders Mexico and the auld enemy Scotland in Group A.
Advert
Luis Garcia, Fernando Morientes and Míchel Salgado are a few of the other names that will line up alongside World Cup winning captain Carles Puyol. There's no doubt the Spaniards will be hard to break down, but whether they have the firepower to outscore the major attacking talent on show here remains to be seen.
The Mexico team, led by Jared Borgetti, Luis Hernández and Alberto García Aspe - who earned a combined 283 international caps between them - look like they have the potential to be a dark horse, especially in a group where the focus will be on England and Spain.
A side that doesn't look like it will cause too much trouble in the tournament is Don Hutchison's Scotland, one of the three "whipping boys" in each group.
Scotland are rarely a force in international competition and I imagine it being no different here. Paul Dickov is probably their most potent attacking player with Barry Ferguson up there with a squad that fails to impress.
Advert
By far the most terrifying looking squad is that of Brazil, who boast SIX World Cup winners in Roberto Carlos, Juliano Belletti, Gilberto Silva, Rivaldo, Dida and Juninho.
Favourites for the tournament at 7/2 with BetSafe, it's difficult to look past the Verde-Amarela when trying to pick a winner. The samba skills this squad boasts are enough to strike fear into any defence, and I worry for any goalkeepers that stand in the way of Roberto Carlos' left-foot at such short-range.
Joining Brazil in Group B are 2006 World Cup winners Italy, Nigeria and China.
Advert
The Italians are made up of household names and look like they could be dangerous. Currently priced at 9/1 with BetSafe to win the tournament and 2/1 to oust 1/2 favourites Brazil in Group B, the Azzurri boast four World Cup winners - with Alessandro Del Piero the pick of the lot.
Goalkeeeper Marco Amelia, defender Massimo Oddo and midfielder Simone Barone were the others to pick up Winners' medals, despite Del Piero's 34 minute cameo and converted penalty in the shoot-out being the only part any of the four played in the actual final against France in 2006.
Uncapped and enigmatic attacker Paolo Di Canio is also included in the Italian squad, as are Marco Delvecchio and Champions League winners Fabrizio Ravanelli and Angelo Di Livio.
Now, while Nigeria's side isn't the most impressive on paper, it does feature one of the greatest African players of all-time in Jay-Jay Okocha.
So good they named him twice, Okocha is fondly remembered in the UK for his glorious stint at Bolton Wanderers between 2002 and 2006 and definitely hasn't lost his touch if these clips from his participation in the Wembley Cup are anything to go by.
I remember watching that game and the Nigerian ran the show. Joined by Julius Aghahowa and Daniel Amokachi, the Super Eagles are bound to be exciting to watch and at 24/1 with BetSafe they could be a great shout for a tournament victory, if their legs can keep up with them.
I won't lie, I know next to nothing about the Chinese side entered here. Currently 50/1 and rated least likely to win the competition, they're led by captain Peng Weiguo and don't look like doing much at all.
Group C looks like it could be the most hotly contested group; with Germany, Italy and France all battling it out for a place in Saturday's quarter-finals and Denmark probably making up the numbers.
The weakest of the three squads looks to be Germany's, with Michael Ballack the only real household name making an appearance for Die Mannschaft.
He is joined by 2006 Champions League winner Dietmaar Hamman and Brazilian-born striker Kevin Kurányi, supported by a host of average international players.
I don't really rate their chances, given the fact Jens Lehmann has pulled out at the last minute too, and will instead look to the other group members for value.
The talent in the French squad is absolutely ridiculous, when compared to their German counterparts. Captained by the simply magnificent Robert Pirès, the French boast a side packed to the rafters with talent.
At the heart of the defence is World Cup winner and one of the greatest French defenders of all time, Marcel Desailly. He is joined by William Gallas and Eric Abidal at the back, with fellow World Cup winners Youri Djorkaeff
and Vincent Candela bridging the gap between him and Champions League winner Ludovic Giuly.
Despite retiring from international football in 2004, Pirès has by no means lost the effortless talent that made him one of the most impressive players to watch in the Premier League during his time at Arsenal.
Still playing professionally as recently as 2015 for FC Goa in India, he's definitely the artist in this French side and with a poacher like Ludovic Giuly in front of him you'd be wise to expect a lot of goals from this team.
Portugal will be no pushovers though, led by Deco and featuring the likes of Nuno Gomes and Paulo Ferreira, the current European Champions definitely mean business and are favourites for the group at 6/4 with BetSafe.
The beauty of this side is their ages, with the oldest players being goalkeeper Vítor Baía and central-defender Fernando Couto at 47 - two of Portugal's greatest ever players.
Baía won a remarkable 32 club trophies in his 19 year career, picking up five in two years at Barcelona and the rest during two separate spells with Porto - where he won the Primeira Liga TEN times and the Champions League in 2004 under Jose Mourinho. Couto was no slouch either, winning six domestic titles in three countries and five European competitions and becoming the first Portugal player to reach 100 international caps.
The other eight members of the squad are all aged between 34 (Raúl Meireles) and 41 (Nuno Gomes), giving them a real fitness advantage over their opponents.
Luis Boa Morte, Hélder Postiga, Maniche and José Bosingwa make up an experienced and physical looking squad.
Likely to be no match for them is Denmark, captained by Martin Jørgensen. Manchester United fans will fondly remember defender John Sivebæk, who scored their first goal under Sir Alex Ferguson and ensured his first win as gaffer. Former Bolton Wanderers midfielder Stig Tøfting and Per Krøldrup, once of Everton, also feature.
Who To Back
For me, it's difficult to see past favourites Brazil in the outright market at 7/2 with BetSafe, though I recommend also having a dabble on France at 11/2 with BetSafe.
In terms of top scorers, the current market leader is Brazilian talisman Rivaldo at 5/1 with BetSafe, followed by Italy's Alessandro Del Piero, England's Michael Owen and Germany's Kevin Kurányi at 11/2 with BetSafe.
With the market so open, I'm inclined to look a little deeper for my top scorer pick. Given his ruthless finishing when featuring for BT Sport All Stars, I'm going to take on Steven Gerrard at 8/1 to be Top Scorer with BetSafe. I'm also going to take a natural born finisher in Ludovic Giuly at 8/1 with BetSafe.
On to Group Betting now, and I think it's a fairly obvious shout to back Brazil to win Group B at 3/5 with BetSafe. I'm going to avoid the favourites in the other two, backing Spain over England at 7/5 with BetSafe and France over Portugal at 11/6 with BetSafe.
Looking to tonight's matches I fancy a treble on Mexico, France and Brazil to beat Scotland, Germany and Italy respectively. This pays £88.80 from a £10 stake with BetSafe.
Featured Image Credit: