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New signings have always faced scrutiny – after all, the pressure that comes with the fresh ink of a new contract is not a small one. Players move to the big boys of Europe, leading to some of the deadwood and expendables being shipped out mercilessly.Some of them carve out a legacy in a new shirt while others become the archetypal rolling stone mercenaries. They traverse stadiums, cultures and experiences in rapid succession and end up at places least expected of people of their calibre.But then, such is life, of which the beautiful game is but a microcosm. Some of these are doyens of the game, whose names have been and shall be remembered well beyond their swan songs.However, before the swan songs come those curious little stints at curious little clubs. And by little, I mean the kind of teams that even the most ardent fans of the game would have a hard time recalling. So, how would an assorted team of such superstars fare? Let’s see.
#1 Rene Higuita (GK) - Deportivo Lara
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In today’s world of excessive copyrights, patents, and their arch nemesis, piracy, Rene Higuita can take a good, calm nap. For, while imitation might be the highest form of flattery, nobody can rise as high as a sprawling Higuita in mid-air, however hard they try.
El Loco, or The Madman, as he was appropriately known, it wouldn’t be wrong to say he was popular exclusively because of his famous stunt – which couldn’t give two hoots about gravity and would’ve made the gunslinger in Total Overdose look like a damsel in distress.
However, plying his trade in a position that didn’t reward madness made Higuita a Nomad in the truest sense of the word. With a playing style that never reneged from the extreme ends of the brilliant to bollocks scale, Higuita set up camp almost everywhere in South America, hopping through various hues of obscurity towards the fag end of his career.
During this period, he even explored the valleys of Northern Colombia, playing for the likes of Bajo Cauca, before moving further up the obscurity scale, playing for Deportivo Lara, in Venezuela. And in true, inimitable fashion, the man behind the Scorpion kick, scored a goal every two games for them.
#2 Gianluca Zambrotta (RB) - FC Chiasso
One of the unsung heroes of the 2006 World Cup, Gianluca Zambrotta was a footballer you hardly ever noticed. Forming a great Azzurri wall with the likes of Alessandro Nesta, Fabio Cannavaro and his fellow unsung full-back, Fabio Grosso, who at least got his fair share of “Gol di Grosso!” spotlight, Zambrotta was the Dennis Irwin of Italy and Juventus –an irreplaceable player in hindsight.
Possessing two borewells for lungs and a mechanical, robotic shuttle mechanism which took him up and down the field relentlessly, Zambrotta was the perfect full-back. He was the man behind the spadework which let Gennaro Gattuso scratch, claw, bit ‘em, throw ‘em down, and pin ‘em, which in turn let Andrea Pirlo dazzle you so much, that you were so lost in the moments when you’re in ‘em.
Post the Calciopoli scandal, which took him first to Barcelona along with Lilian Thuram, and then to the red half of Milan, Zambrotta lost the pace which made him the commanding presence that he was. Not someone to be gently shown the door, the Como native left San Siro in 2014 for the second division Swiss club, FC Chiasso, where he was a player-manager.
#3 Christoph Metzelder (CB) - TuS Haltern
With the benefit of experience, a bird’s eye view on German football at the start of the millennium shows us how the game has undergone a revolution in Mannschaft-land. With the incredibly successful youth system in place ever since, the days when German football was synonymous with stoicism, pragmatism and a certain graft mentality, seem as old as the Wild West.
Christoph Metzelder was the living, breathing embodiment of these qualities during his playing days. The Westphalian native, who went on to become a Westfalenstadion favourite, was the quintessential German defender – strong, powerful and zen-like tactically. And sure as hell, there was simply no way past him; and if at all you did manage to break the shackles and slip past, be assured – somebody gonna get a hurt real bad.
The centre-back, who was at the receiving end of many an injury, also played for Real Madrid for a short while. Hardly the kind of name who could whet the insatiable appetite of Florentino Perez, the German was shipped off to Schalke along with a certain Raul Gonzalez.
Metzelder called it a day in 2012, before joining his neighbourhood club, TuS Haltern, who play in the North Rhine-Westphalia region.
#4 Joan Capdevila (LB) - Lierse SK
On that glorious summer night in 2010 in Soccer City, Johannesburg, a galaxy of stars strutted their stuff around. Xavi, Andres Iniesta, David Villa, Sergio Ramos, Iker Casillas et al were the heroes of a nation, as La Furia Roja finally got their hands on the FIFA World Cup. Amongst the starters for the winners that day, was an afterthought; that breed of player whom we love to forget and loathe to worship.
Joan Capdevila was an aberration in that famous team; the Cesar Azpilicueta of the previous generation. The Villarreal legend was not one to be hooked to the bait put in by the big two of Spain and was content to run the green off the grass at El Madrigal’s left side. Indeed, he was the only Spanish player at Soccer City that night, who played for neither Real Madrid nor Barcelona.
Also representing Atletico Madrid and Benfica among others in an illustrious career, the left back also played for NorthEast United in the inaugural edition of the hugely popular Indian Super League. He also played for Lierse SK, a second division Belgian club, before moving to Andorran club FC Santa Coloma.
#5 Dunga (CDM) - Jubilo Iwata
There was a time in the 1990s when curious transfers took place all around the world; Denilson moved to Real Betis for a then world record sum. The then Blackburn Rovers chairman, Jack Walker, retorted emphatically to people crying out for the signing of Zinedine Zidane saying, "Who needs Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?"
But probably, the transfer of Brazil's World Cup winning captain, Dunga, to Japanese club Jubilo Iwata takes the pie.
For one of the most decorated international players of all time – he’s the only player to have played in the final of a World Cup, Olympic games, Confederation Cup and Copa America – Dunga was a real meanderer when it came to club football. With short stints in Internacional, Corinthians, Vasco da Gama and Santos, he finally moved to Europe in 1987, with a transfer to Pisa.
His stint in the city of the Leaning Tower was a failure and he moved to Fiorentina soon. The John Terry lookalike then moved to Pescara and Stuttgart, before his brain numbing move to Iwata. However, the Brazilian achieved a semblance of stability in the Land of the Rising Sun, something that had eluded him ever since his days in Florence.
#6 Pablo Aimar (RM) - Johor Darul Takzim
You must’ve done something right in life to have become Lionel Messi’s childhood hero. Pablo Aimar, however, did a lot of things right in an enigmatic career that was as majestic as it was mediocre. Someone whose football was as aesthetically pleasing as the paintings of his namesake, “El Paso”, or The Wizard as he was aptly called, had a cult following in Argentina, Spain and Portugal.
The Cordoba native was a Rafa Benitez favourite during his time in Valencia, with his runs being as elusive as the bats that are said to have flown above the Mestalla during the olden days. Following a forgettable move to Real Zaragoza thereafter, he moved to Benfica, thus becoming one of the unnaturally high number of players to cross the Valencia-Lisbon divide.
It was in Estadio da Luz that he really became an icon, forming a Fantastic Four with Javier Saviola, Oscar Cardozo and the 2015 summer transfer window’s biggest villain, Angel Di Maria. He became a member of Benfica’s first title-winning team in five years, in 2010.
After 3 more wonderful years at the club, Aimar joined the Malaysian Super League club, Johor Darul Takzim. He eventually retired as a River Plate player.
#7 Paul Gascoigne (CM) - Gansu Tiamna
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same
– If by Rudyard Kipling
English football’s tragic story. The Three Lions’ very own flawed son. The most gifted English footballer of his generation. Paul Gascoigne had the world at his feet as a footballer. Yet, he didn’t have the balanced head on his shoulders that could have kept the world at his feet for much, much longer.
With memorable outbursts, goals, tears, passes, controversies and celebrations, his was a career that took a step forward, only to promptly take two steps back. With his most poignant and lasting moments coming in the England jersey, his travails at the club level often tend to be overlooked.
Having played for the likes of Newcastle and Tottenham, the Tyneside native signed for Lazio in a long drawn out saga in 1993, about which Terry Venables went on to say, “It’s like watching your mother-in-law drive off a cliff in your new car.” Gazza then became a fan favourite at the Ibrox, wearing the Rangers jersey for a few years.
Post his battles with alcoholism and depression, he also became the player-manager of Gansu Tianma, a now defunct club, which used to play in the lower reaches of Chinese football.
#8 Rivaldo (LM) - Mogi Mirim
Santa Cruz. Mogi Mirim. Corinthians. Palmeiras. Deportivo La Coruna. Barcelona. AC Milan. Cruzeiro. Olympiakos. AEK Athens. Bunyodkor. Sao Paulo. Kabuscorp. Sao Caetano. And, back to Mogi Mirim. In a wildly erratic career that kept alternating between Europe and South America, Rivaldo gained a reputation for being one of the greatest attacking midfielders of the late 1990s and early noughties.
Known for his sublime skills, lofty statements and horrendous gamesmanship, Rivaldo is as street smart as footballers come. With a past that traces back to Brazil’s notorious favelas, he never had things easy.
And this is probably the reason why he never appealed to fans or teammates, with his gruff, scowling persona standing out. The former FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon D’Or winner was Barcelona’s shining star during a transitional phase for them, towards the turn of the century.
It is towards the end of his career in Catalunya that wanderlust kicked in, and needless to say, he changed so many clubs and played for so many obscure names that more than half the slides here could’ve exclusively featured Rivaldo.
Today he’s the President of his childhood club, Mogi Mirim, who play in Brazil’s Second Division. In fact, he came out of retirement recently to help them and combined with his son Rivaldinho for one of their goals.
#9 Djibril Cisse (FW) - JS Saint-Pierroise
Djibril Cisse started playing for Auxerre in 1998 at the age of 16. 17 years, 11 clubs, and 7,98,43,201 hairstyles later, the eccentric, maverick striker, lead the line for JS Saint-Pierroise, a top division team in the French overseas territory of Reunion.
The little-known club is the French striker’s ninth club in as many years, with the last two years alone seeing him play for Al-Gharafa, Kuban Krasnodar, Bastia and Saint-Pierroise.
The colourful character best known for his time at Anfield, was a handful to deal with, as was evident when he became the Ligue 1 top scorer in 2001/02 and 2003/04. However, he arguably had his most influential stint in Greece, playing for Panathinaikos, where he endeared himself to the fans.
Quickly becoming the captain as well as a self-proclaimed, unabashed fan of the club, Cisse had to leave Greece after Olympiakos fans reportedly beat him up. With ill-timed injuries, violent conduct and a certain Balotelli-esque streak in him, it is no wonder why Cisse never reached the level he was slated to, during his Auxerre days.
However, the game would lose a real entertainer the day he hangs up his boots.
#10 Eidur Gudjohnsen (FW) - Shijiazhuang Ever Bright
With his boyish looks and sandy locks which are steadily receding, Eidur Gudjohnsen constantly reminds the viewer to not judge a book by its cover. For inside the misleading facade is a tigerish streak which is so important for any number 9. The Reykjavik native was as good a finisher as any during his hey days, and broke record after record with his national team.
Coming as a substitute for his father, Arnor Gudjohnsen, on his debut for Iceland, the forward has also won the Eredivisie, La Liga, Premier League and Champions League in a career which took him to Chelsea and Barcelona, among other places. One of the better imports in Premier League history, he also played for the likes of Bolton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur, Stoke City and Fulham.
He also managed to be in the line of fire of a huge controversy in the twilight of his career, as he moved from the Belgian Pro League club, Cercle Brugge, to their fiercest and oldest rivals, Club Brugge, midway through the 2012/13 season. He signed for Chinese Super League debutants Shijiazhuang Ever Bright before moving to Molde and also failing to play for Indian Super League club FC Pune City.
#11 Samuel Eto\'o (FW) - Antalyaspor
Arguably the most high-profile name in this list, as well as one of football’s most polarising figures, Samuel Eto’o is a footballer par excellence. The only player in the history of the game to win back to back European trebles, that too with different teams, Eto’o is undoubtedly the greatest African footballer of all time, along with fellow marksman, Didier Drogba.
The true reflection of the fighter in him came to the forefront in the 2009/10 season, when his powers were said to be waning. Eto’o had to suffer the ignominy of being shipped out of his beloved Camp Nou, that too as a makeweight for the incoming Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
To make things worse, Barcelona valued the Swedish striker at a whopping €46 million more than the Cameroonian. Indeed, a fire was lit in inside one of the greatest forwards of our era, as he played a central role in Inter Milan bulldozing past any and every adversary they came across.
Never the kind to let his occasional temperamental issues ruin his game, Eto’o is one of modern football’s most decorated players, having won everything there is to win, including becoming the world’s highest-paid player, after moving to Anzhi Makhachkala, whose chief went from prince to pauper in the space of a year.
Eto’o raised eyebrows again when he moved to the little known Turkish club, Antalyaspor, who seem to have an even more delusional chief, who dreams of bringing Lionel Messi to his club one day.
The squad:
