Whether it is a gripping Premier League derby or a fiery El Clsico, there are millions of viewers and analysts across the world scrutinizing the performance of players on various leagues across the globe. Amidst all commentaries and expert suggestions, there are a few football pundits who provide us with thoughtful expert perspectives of the game, thereby enriching viewing pleasure and talking points. Let us take a look at the 5 top football pundits across Europe.Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely that of the author and do not reflect those of the site.
#5 Guillem Balagu
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The Spanish League expert has been a regular feature at Sky Sports for over a decade; he has become a recognizable face of La Liga reporting in the UK.
Guillem Balagué, alongside being a football expert, is also a successful author. His books include the hugely successful biography on one of the most successful managers of Barcelona: Pep Guardiola, Another Way of Winning, and Messi, in which he has documented the story the talismanic Argentine International.
He has broken a number of famous football news including the ones for Christiano Ronaldo’s signing with Real Madrid, David Beckham’s high profile transfer, and that of Fernando Torres leaving Liverpool. The Spanish football pundit is also well known for his work with Spanish football newspaper AS and Cadena Ser, the Spanish radio station.
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#4 Ray Hudson
Considered by many as the best football commentator, Ray Hudson is a former professional football player who played for Newcastle United, before moving on to the MLS.
His exciting verbal gymnastics during live telecasts make him one of the most loved commentators of the game. The 59-year-old currently works for the US based BeIn sport as a commentator, also covering the European league matches.
His interminable vocabulary of metaphors and similes which he uses to perfection during the game is an essential ingredient of his indomitable commentary style; thereby increasing viewing pleasure
An excerpt of extraordinary comments by Ray Hudson during an El Clásico telecast, which Barcelona won 5-0, is mentioned below:
- On the talismanic Argentine International Messi: - “Messi ….. He could follow you into a revolving door and he’d still come out first!!!”
- On Messi’s pass to David Villa, resulting in the fourth goal for the Blaugrans: “Real Madrid’s defense stretched out like spandex on Miami Beach…David Villa disappears like a ghost into the fog because of the pass of Lionel Messi”
- Hudson’s dramatic commentary panache has fetched him noteworthy acclaim and criticism as well. This rant on the England team’s performance at the 2010 World Cup is by far one of his best!
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#3 Graeme Souness
Former Liverpool player and captain, Graeme Souness was born in Scotland. He donned the Liverpool jersey for seven seasons; in addition to winning five League titles he also won three European cups and four League cups with the Reds.
Post his retirement from Professional football, Souness regularly appeared on Ireland television, primarily featuring RTÉ's live coverage of the Champions League. He has also worked for other prominent channels such as Sky sports. The Qatar based Al Jazeera Sports had also featured him covering the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The former Liverpool hard man’s punditry on a recent 2-2 draw between Manchester United and Cardiff invited criticism from star striker Wayne Rooney. The English International even sarcastically tweeted saying Souness was doing a good job with his football punditry.
The 61-year-old maestro has been tagged as “never watching a game with blinkered eyes”, due to his expert analysis resulting from a wider view of the game. The English football Hall of fame inductee’s passion for the game and intelligent opinions arguably make him one of the best football pundits.
His outspoken nature and uncanny ability of speaking the unpredictable definitely makes Graeme Souness one of the leading pundits of the aggressive yet beautiful game known as football.
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#2 Roy Keane
The dominating Irish central midfielder had a glorious club football career playing for the likes of Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Celtic.
The former Manchester United captain has been serving ITV as football pundit primarily covering the Champions League and FA Cup finals. His no nonsense approach at punditry has been highly acclaimed by football purists and enthusiasts, and his edgy and angry nature make viewing compulsory as one never knows when his temper might get the better of him.
Roy Keane has never fallen short of creating headlines, with the most prominent one being his withdrawal from Ireland’s 2002 World Cup squad following a heated altercation with the national team manager Mick McCarthy after the midfielder’s interview with a leading sports journalist expressing his dissatisfaction with the training facilities.
Earlier this year Keane had again stunned everyone with his withdrawal from the ITV’s pundit panel covering the World Cup at Brazil. In spite of being the bluntest pundit of football, Roy Keane arguably does provide a fantastic perspective of the glorious game with his deep lying knowledge.
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#1 Gary Neville
England’s most successful right back, Gary Neville was born in 1975, and spent his entire club football career at Old Trafford; captaining the Red Devils for five years. Post his retirement from football in 2011, the 39-year-old shot to fame as a football pundit during his stint with Sky sports during the 2011-12 season.
His step-by-step post match analysis has been one of the reasons for him being a celebrated pundit of the game. The essentially one-club man has various strong points in his punditry. Firstly, in spite of him being Manchester United loyalist, his opinions and judgments are apparently very neutral.
Additionally, his thorough research into the game is one of the crucial factors which have earned him the popularity. A precise example would be his meticulous presentation, on Sky Sport’s Monday Night Football, regarding the art of diving in football.
The former English footballer’s controversial comment on David Luiz in 2011, the Brazilian International, playing as if being controlled by a 10-year old boy on a PlayStation drew widespread criticism, particularly from André Villas Boas , the then Chelsea manager.
Although being outspoken the quality and delivery of his expert analyses definitely makes Gary Neville stand out from the rest.
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