Football always has and always will be a cyclic sport; teams will take turns being at the very top of the pile for a few years and then, of course, having to do with spending the next few fighting it out in the rough with the rest of the so-called ‘lesser’ teams.
The same could be said about footballers – the previous decades saw greats like Pele, Maradona, Platini, Beckenbauer and Cruyff display remarkable skill and hone their craft at the highest level, while rightfully picking up a host of individual and team honours.
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With the turn of the century, new names began cropping up; Ronaldinho, Ronaldo Nazario, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard mesmerised us all and gave us many unforgettable moments.
It would be foolish not to mention Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi – it is very likely that we will never see two footballers who are as good as these two grace the football pitch, let alone in the same generation or even the same league.
However, for each of these household names, there are many who have faded into the background, not getting the recognition or attention they deserve, often disregarded in conversations concerning the best footballers of our time.
Here, we reminisce about 5 great players who have all been forgotten in the continuously shifting tides of world football.
#5 Pavel Nedved
A two-footed, clever and hardworking midfielder, Nedved epitomised a time when you didn’t need to score an ungodly number of goals to win the Ballon d’Or. Simply being an excellent and reliable midfielder could win you football’s most coveted individual trophy.
Nedved picked up the Ballon d'Or in 2003, adding to an already bulging trophy cabinet consisting of four league titles across a club career spanning Sparta Prague, Lazio and Juventus.
Starting out in his homeland, he was allowed to spend his military service playing for Dukla Prague, a team run by the Czech army. He later joined Sparta Prague, where he was infamously red-carded 3 times in his first 6 games for the club. But it was in Italy where he well and truly became a world-beater.
(Video Courtesy: Legend HD YouTube Channel)
Playing alongside the likes of Diego Simeone, Juan Sebastian Veron, Alessandro Nesta and Roberto Mancini at Lazio, he came into his own, winning a league title, two Coppa Italia’s, two Super Coppa Italiana’s, a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and a UEFA Super Cup in his time at the club.
He achieved legend status at Juventus, when he decided to stay with the club, despite their relegation into Serie B after the Calciopoli scandal and helped them get promoted back into Serie A.
Nedved is now the vice-president of the club.
#4 Hristo Stoichkov
A Ballon d'Or winner, the Bulgarian had 2 stints with Barcelona in mid-1990 and won the Champions League and 5 league titles with the Blaugrana, appearing over 250 times and scoring 118 goals for the club.
His achievements on the international stage were truly astonishing as well, as he was the driving force behind leading an unfancied Bulgarian side to the semi-finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup. His team were, unfortunately, knocked out by runners-up Italy. Stoichkov scored 6 goals at the tournament and won the golden shoe.
Known for his fiery demeanour on the pitch, he was often the first to argue with the referees for any decision that didn’t go his team’s way and was actually sued by one of his opponents for breaking his legs during a game.
(Video Courtesy: kh7jimmy YouTube Channel)
#3 Michael Laudrup
An elegant attacking-midfielder, Laudrup joined Barcelona in 1989 after winning Serie A with Juventus. Alongside the likes of Pep Guardiola, Ronald Koeman and the aforementioned Hristo Stoichkov, his Barcelona team ruled Europe. Unfortunately, when the Blaugrana signed Romario, Laudrup was the one who had to make way.
The Dane then went on to join arch-rivals Real Madrid and revived the club, becoming the first person to win La Liga 5 times in a row with 2 different clubs (4 times with Barcelona between 1990/91 – 1993/94 and once with Real Madrid during 1994/95).
His individual value shone through during the biggest match of them all, the El Clasico. Only the previous year, Laudrup had starred as Barca smashed Real 5-0. A season on, the score was reversed in favour of the Los Blancos, with Laudrup the chief perpetrator once again.
He bowed out of the game after a domestic double at Ajax and his genius was well recognised amongst his peers, with Real Madrid legend Raul labelling him as the best player he’s ever played with and Iniesta called him the best in history.
He also led Swansea as manager to their first ever major trophy, winning the League Cup in 2013 and is now managing Al Rayyan in Qatar.
(Video Courtesy: peterk87 YouTube Channel)
#2 George Weah
Liberia’s greatest ever player, Weah was so well respected at Monaco that Thierry Henry and the other youngsters at the club called him ‘Mr. George’. A perfect blend of pace, power and intelligence, Weah’s tendency to drop deep and run at defenders arguably provided the blue-print for modern day forwards.
Weah was brought to Europe by Arsene Wenger at Monaco and won league titles with both PSG and Milan. In 1995, he became the first and so far, the only African player to ever win the Ballon d’Or. However, one of his only regrets might be that he was unable to drag Liberia into participation in the World Cup.
After retirement, following brief stints at Chelsea, Manchester City and Marseille, Weah returned back to West Africa, undertaking humanitarian work and unsuccessfully running for the Presidency of Liberia in 2005. In 2014 though, he managed to get himself elected into the country’s senate.
(Video Courtesy: iGABR YouTube Channel)
#1 Roberto Baggio
Italy’s Roberto Baggio was one of the most supremely talented footballers to ever grace the beautiful game. Unfortunately, he’s mostly remembered for missing the decisive penalty in the 1994 World Cup final and that catastrophe has come to define what had otherwise been a magnificent career.
Baggio won the Serie A with AC Milan and Juventus as well as the Ballon d’Or in 1993 and was named Italy’s ‘Player of the Century’ in 2000. He scored 291 goals in the course of more than 600 professional matches and remains Italy’s fourth highest goal-scorer of all time, level with Alessandro Del Piero and above the likes of Filippo Inzaghi and Francesco Totti.
Baggio’s touch and vision were second to none and he’s still revered by most fans in Italy for his feats with the Azzurri. His exemplary career deserves to be remembered by more than a simple mistake during an incredible high-pressure situation.
(Video Courtesy: HeilRJ 2ND YouTube Channel)
