5 of the most overrated players of the last 5 decades

The word overrated is perhaps one of the most commonly used words in sports. If any said player is not performing at a level that is accepted by some fans, that player is labelled as overrated while other fans would have contrary opinions.

It is no different in football either as some who are regarded as being among the best players of all time are also often regarded as overrated.

You might have read a lot of articles on the most overrated players ever, but this one is slightly different.

Here, we look at players decade-wise and choose the most overrated player of the said decade. So here are the 5 most overrated players in each of the last five decades…

#5 Mario Balotelli (2010-present)

When Mario Balotelli hit the scene, he was rated as the best Italian talent in the world, he was that talented. Playing for Inter Milan, he was actually used sparsely by Jose Mourinho—which in itself is a big thing given that Mourinho was not someone who relies on youngsters.

However, even at that age, Balotelli had a temperament that didn’t go down well with anyone. Indeed, a glimpse of it could have been seen in Inter’s win 3-1 against Barcelona at the San Siro. After the game concluded, the striker threw his shirt on the ground and left the pitch.

He eventually left Inter for Manchester City, where he had a very erratic time. After that, he joined AC Milan and Liverpool—a host of top clubs—but could never really make it big at any of them. For someone who was regarded as a special talent even during his Manchester City days, this was somewhat disappointing.

He plies his trade in Nice right now, where he is doing decently. Perhaps that’s where his levels truly lie.

#4 David Beckham (2000-2010)

Beckham was more of a media hype than an effective footballer

In the 90s, David Beckham was one of the best players in the world—of this there is no doubt. Especially in the late-90s, he seemed to be on his way to world domination, but then commercialism kicked in and he never truly displayed the peaks that he did during the last 3 years of the 90s.

His relationship with ‘Posh’ combined with his great looks made him a media magnet. He became a bigger star outside of football and that perhaps played a role in him never reaching the footballing heights that he was supposed to.

He was signed by Real Madrid as a fuel to the money-making machine at the Bernabeu. While there is no doubt that he played a huge in role in the club winning the league under Fabio Capello, the fact that he was signed more for the commercial aspect can never be overlooked.

#3 Paul Gascoigne (1990-2000)

The Gazza was nowhere near the consistent quality of players like Zinedine Zidane

The first two players in this slideshow are considered by many as overrated. Please note that all the players listed here are or were incredibly talented, but just not as good as people glorify them to be.

Paul Gascoigne was one such player. While he is a legend through and through, he is not as good as most people make him out to be. At times, it feels like he was in the bracket of players like Zinedine Zidane, Michael Laudrup, Carlos Valderrama and co., but the truth is that he wasn’t.

At his best, Gazza was simply the heartbeat of a team. However, he was way too erratic and didn’t play with the consistency that the Zidanes and Laudrups did. Perhaps the charismatic nature of Gazza made him a better player in the eyes of many than he really was.

#2 Paolo Rossi (1980-1990)

Italians worship him for a single hattrick

The first thing that will come to your minds now is WTF?! And that is completely normal. After all, this is a man who scored 6 goals to help Italy win the World Cup in 1982 and also won the Golden Boot award in the tournament.

Rossi also went on to win the Ballon d’Or that year. So why is he on this list? Simple, he wasn’t as good a striker as people make him out to be.

Here’s why: in his 10 seasons in the top flight, he had only two good seasons and a great World Cup. He is a bit like Lukas Podolski of the 80s: great for the country in one World Cup and below-average in club football.

Only in two seasons did he score more than 20 goals, which is not entirely great for someone labelled as a legend, even when considering Serie A team’s love for catenaccio back then.

#1 George Best (1970-1980)

George wasn't the Best as hyped by Manchester fans

When we watch games involving Best, we are mesmerized by the ease at which he dribbled past players. Those nutmegs were weaved from the script of God, so timeless and eternal.

It was as though time slowed down 4 times when he dribbled past players. However, when a critical look is taken at his displays one finds that his dribbling sense was so good that he often overlooked passing options.

And it was not that Best was bad at it, he just thought that he could dribble past the next player. This was one of the aspects of his game that held him back.

During the 1960s, he played some of the finest football ever witnessed. At that point, he was on his way to becoming a player who could be compared to the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona.

And then there was the commercial aspect with him.

While Beckham might be the most commercial British player of all time, Best was the first one. His life with women and wine robbed us off a great player—and Best of a lot of accolades.

In the 70s, he had totally lost control and given in to booze. Despite being in his 20s, he had lost the edge and his time in the United States of America is a testament to that.

Indeed, in his last two seasons at United, he managed only 8 goals,

Before that, he had scored 20+ goals for 5 consecutive seasons. In the 9 subsequent seasons after leaving United, he managed to reach double figures just thrice.

For a player who is often regarded in the same breath of Pele and Maradona, that is just not good enough.