I totally agree with getting Micha Richards from Man City/ England. He can play RB/ CB/ DMF and is good to start with but becomes immense after a few seasons.
For CB I would also go for -
Kompany from Belgium and I would get Agger LFC/ Denmark.
Both are amazing CB's and as Agger is left footed there is a good balance in the centre of your defense.
For LB I would go for -
Gareth Bale, from Spurs and Wales or Drenthe from Real Madrid/ Holland
Drenthe can also play in any posistion on the side i.e. left back to winger
For your CM I would go for -
Huddlestone, also Spurs, as he can also play in defense or DMF or
Lucas Levia, the Mighty Reds/ Brazil
Lucas can play DMF/ CMF/ AMF and SS. He can be up and down that pitch all day long. You can also go for Moutinho, Sporting Lisbon/ Portugal.
For your goalkeeper I would only go for Akinfeev, CSKA Moscow. Very cheap and becomes one of the best Goalkeepers in the game.
All of the above players are real players. If you are up for buying some made up players then also go for these Rookies -
Bos - Holland who can play in any posistion along the back line and his devolpment curve goes into the mid to high nineties.
Shaw - England leftie who can play on either wing and also has an amazing groth curve.
Ramos - GK/ Brazil - Cheap and also a very good goalkeeper with a high groth curve.
Of these players only Drenthe and Moutinho will cost you some money as the rest are relitively cheap and easy to buy. The rookies will not even cost a transfer fee you just have to agree their contract. All of the above players are in my team.
If I could recomend one striker for you I would go for Torres and pay whatever it costs. believe me he is worth ever penney and if you go for him early enough he won't even cost that much.
Hope this helps but also check out Bammers05's Ultimate PES08 ML Player Thread.