Note: The views expressed in this article are the author’s opinion
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“Play for the name on the front of the shirt and they’ll remember the name on the back.” Wise words utterred by an Arsenal legend who went by the name of Tony Adams. In most cases it holds true but some players transcend that barrier altogether.
The greatness of these players is such that the club’s popularity is the consequence of the player’s fame. These big names came to the club and elevated it’s status because of their association of their name with the entity in itself.
The player must have a well-rooted connection to the club and those who only had a short spell or one that wasn’t too memorable have not been considered. Also the comparison is based on factors like popularity, contribution to the club and how well renowned the player is.
So without further ado let’s begin the countdown
10) Gianfranco Zola – Chelsea
Before the Abrahamic era began, there was a little magician by the name of Gianfranco Zola. Chelsea are now a club full of stars and have probably established themselves among the elite in Europe.
The money pumped into the club has elevated it to new heights. But it wasn’t that they weren't successful before that. The club consistently finished in the top half of the table. But Zola took them to an even higher level.
He was a revelation and the fans truly loved him. Under the little Italian, the club managed to earn their very first appearance in the UEFA Champions League in the 1999/2000 season.
Zola won 6 trophies in his 7 years at the club and is one of the greatest players to ever don the blue shirt. It was probably the fame he brought with him that even prompted Roman Abrahmovic to invest in the club.
9) Matt Le Tissier – Southampton
if you haven’t hear of Matt Le Tissier, I suggest you youtube him as soon as possible. Considered one of the greatest to ever grace the Premier League Le Tissier was blessed with abundant talent and an ability to score from almost any distance.
The Englishman represented Southampton 443 times scoring 161 goals. Almost every big club were after him but he never moved. Even the players currently playing for the Saints can’t boast of the quality possessed by ‘Le God’ as he is fondly known.
Le Tissier put the Saints on the Footballing map, and he was a bigger name than the club he played. for. The public paid to watch him play, as crowds from all over the country flocked to get a glimpse of this magician.
Le Tissier saved his side on at least 5 separate occasions. He had a major role to play in all those years scoring at crucial times and being the difference between survival and relegation.
8) Lukas Podolski – FC Koln
Lukas Podolski has had a decent career. He has made a record number of appearances for the German national team and is a cult hero wherever he’s played. Poldi spent a major part of his career in Germany but had a memorable 3 years at Arsenal as well.
In terms his contribution to the London club, on the pitch maybe he did not quite deliver but he won over the fans immediately by blending into the culture of the club almost seamlessly.
But Koln will always remain No.1 in his heart. The German international joined the club when he was only 10 years old. Between 2003 and 2006 he scored 46 goals in 81 appearances which earned him a move to Bayern Munich.
It never really worked out with the Bavarian giants and he decided to return home. As soon as he put on the Koln jersey he once again hit top form. There was always a lot of expectation when Poldi played for his boyhood club.
Despite being unable to save them from relegation on two separate occasions he is a club legend and they were lucky to have him.
7) Antonio Di Natale – Udinese
What can be said of player, who scored goals for fun, and remained loyal to a club for 12 years despite being offered big money moves on several occasions. But Di Natale was more than that for Udinese. He was a symbol of the club in itself.
He made over 350 appearances for the club in Serie A scoring 191 goals in total. He was a player who aged like wine. His scoring prowess never seemed to dither even as he grew older.
At the age of 37, he became Serie A’s 6th highest all-time goalscorer. Not many in the world can even imagine achieving that kind of feat at such an advanced age. But Di Natale never let age stop him from hitting the back of the net on a consistent basis.
He might not have the big trophies in his career, but he won something more valuable than any piece of silverware, a place in the history books as one of the greats of Italian football as well the hearts of many fans. In 2016, he decided to leave the club that was his home for over a decade but has not yet taken a call on his retirement as of yet.
6) Sergio Aguero – Manchester City
Now many would argue, Sergio Aguero was not the first big name player to arrive at Manchester City, hence he is probably not bigger than the club itself. There were other stars who came along before, for example, Robinho, David Silva and Yaya Toure.
But It was Aguero who really gave City true champion status. From the first minute of his debut ,you knew Sergio was a winner. That last gasp goal in the dying seconds of the very last game of the season against QPR put the club on the map.
Aguero is arguably Manchester City’s best ever player and he still has many years ahead of him. He can compete with the likes of Luis Suarez and Robert Lewandowski for the title of the greatest goalscorer in the modern game.
Even United fans can’t seem to hate the striker. So when we consider all these aspects, there is no doubt whose name comes first to mind.
5) Alan Shearer – BlackBurn Rovers/ Newcastle United
If you ask Alan Shearer if he considers himself bigger than his hometown club Newcastle United, the answer would be a strong no. He might even laugh it off as a joke. But when we look at the legacy of Shearer and the clubs he’s played for there is a huge difference in historical importance.
Shearer is not just a legend at Rovers and Newcastle, he’s a legend of the Premier League, and a record holder as well. Scoring 260 goals in 14 seasons is no mean feat, especially when no one has been able to break that record yet.
Shearer won the Premier League title with Blackburn in 1995, also picking up the Golden Boot that season. He even got Ruud Gullit to resign after he dropped the striker to the bench while at Newcastle. Such was his hold over the fans and the club.
Both Newcastle and Blackburn have a lot of history, but between them, they have won only 7 First Division titles with 1 Premier League title being thanks in no small part to Shearer. If a player was so crucial to a club’s success, then he probably holds more importance in the public’s eyes than the club itself.
4) Maradona – Napoli
Diego Maradona considered one of the greatest players of all time, and even the greatest ever by some was renowned for his ability to win matches on his own. So it is inevitable when a player of that caliber joins a relatively smaller club that people remember the player more than the club itself.
When Maradona arrived at the club in 1984, Napoli hadn't won a single Serie A title. When he left in 1991, they won the only two titles they can boast of in their entire history. That was the impact Maradona had in Naples.
He is also the club’s top goalscorer of all time after he only took 260 appearances to complete that task. He has achieved legendary status in football, but Napoli fans consider him as a God because he gave them something no player in the history of the club ever could and has ever since.
The debate about who the best footballer of all time is will go on for eternity, but ask Napoli fans what memory they cherish the most it will be of the Argentine gliding on the blades of grass at Stadio San Paolo.
3) Pele – Santos
Pele, was one of the first truly great players to grace the game. Not many after him have been able to do what he did for football. The Brazilian has won so much in his illustrious career they would need a museum to fit all of his accolades.
Pele only ever played for two clubs in his career:Santos and New York Cosmos. The latter was a more a publicity move than a well-calculated career decision. But in Santos, the name Pele is a celebrated one, a name that is revered almost God-like, similar to Maradona's name in Naples.
Pele won 10 Brazil first division titles which is almost half of what the club have won in their history. Take a moment to imagine the significance of the statement. His name was so powerful in world football at the time that it made Santos one of the greatest clubs in the history of the game
Every big club wanted a crack at Santos, including several European giants, just so that they could see what this Brazilian magician could do wth the ball at his feet. Not many speak of Santos these days but when the name Pele is mentioned, only then does the club become a topic of discussion.
2) Francesco Totti – AS Roma
AS Roma is one of the biggest clubs in Italian football, so it takes a very special player to become even more prominent than the club itself. Francesco Totti was that special player who managed to grab the limelight.
His status at the club is and probably will be regarded higher than any other player to have donned the famous jersey. Totti holds almost every imaginable record for the club and has blindly turned down any approach from the biggest teams in the world.
He revealed in an interview there was only one club he was going to play for ever since he started to kick a ball because of his family’s allegiance to the club. Totti managed to help the club win one of the three Serie A titles they have managed in their history.
That just goes to show how difficult it has been for the capital club to achieve success, almost always remaining in the shadows of Juventus and AC Milan. It’s the reason why those three titles hold such great value to the fans and why Totti will always be the face of Roma for eternity.
1) Zlatan Ibrahimovic – Paris Saint-Germain
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has played for some of the biggest clubs in the world, but Paris Saint-Germain is the only one that achieved elite status because of the Swede. PSG did not really have a rich history having only won two league titles until 2012.
It’s not something you would expect from a club that represents the capital of France. When the Qatari owners decided to buy the club they wanted to establish PSG as one of the superpowers in Europe and they knew Zlatan was the player that could be the headliner of their project.
Zlatan helped the French side win 4 titles in 4 consecutive years. There was no adjustment period, it was all instant, because that is the kind of player Zlatan is, one who can change things with his mere presence.
Now after his departure to United, PSG have struggled. Despite boasting other great players, they remain incomplete without their former talisman. The primary ambition of the club is to win the Champions League but it’s difficult to see that happening at the moment
