6 One-Trick ponies in football today

With the ascension of tactically sound managers like Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti, football has become a complex game with versatility being just what the doctor ordered (as Ravi Shastri would put it). Players can no longer be the masters of a solitary trade. Instead, they have to prove themselves to be adept in various roles, always giving their managers a tactical wildcard that they can pull, as and when required.Even then, we still have those strictly one dimensional players, whose next move would be as predictable as Tom Cleverley’s pass. Some of them carved out a niche for themselves, becoming stars in spite of their shortcomings. Others fell at roadblocks because all they knew was that one trick.In layman terms, these are the players who would be rated 60-70 in every other trait in FIFA, only to be rated 90+, in that one department of the game, where they have few peers.Here’s a look at the six best one-trick ponies in the modern game.

#6 Jesus Navas

One of the most decorated footballers in the Premier League today, Jesus Navas has won nearly everything there is to win in the game – the World Cup, the European Championship, the UEFA Cup and the Premier League. His accolades are diametrically opposite to his reputation of being a one-trick pony.

His managers, whether it be Vicente Del Bosque or Manuel Pellegrini know what to expect from the blue-eyed Andalusian. So do the opposing defenders. But, knowing his game is one thing; stopping him is a different proposition altogether. The touchline hugging, one-way game of Navas is reminiscent of wingers of old like John Barnes and Ariel Ortega, although the Spaniard is less graceful.

His ‘no holds barred’ manner of playing the game, with his willingness to track back and defend as much as attack, endears him to his managers. His fast-paced, direct style makes him a much-needed alternative to La Roja whenever their build-up play becomes stagnant. Add his inch-perfect crossing to the mix, and the question of why he isn’t given more credit arises.

Not that Navas himself would mind. For he keeps doing what he does best week in, week out – flummox defenders and cross.

#5 Mario Gomez

The 21st century version of the former German forward Oliver Bierhoff, Mario Gomez is the ugly duckling among the current German internationals. With his agricultural, one dimensional No.9 style, his style stands at stark contrast to the sophisticated interplay and dynamism of the rest of the Mannschaft attack. Along with Stefan Kiessling of Bayer Leverkusen, Gomez remains an aberration in modern German football – players who would have been hugely successful, had they been born in a different era.

He doesn’t hold play up like Fernando Llorente does, nor does he offer movement and trickery like Carlos Tevez. But what he does give is a guarantee of goals in abundance – something that he has surprisingly failed to deliver till now with Fiorentina. As fine a poacher as they come in modern football, Gomez is the typical old school striker; tactically intelligent, perfect position-wise, and one step ahead of the defenders at all times.

The problem is, what he provides on the pitch isn’t enough in today’s game. With his tendency to go missing for large swathes of the game, Gomez will find it hard to fight his way back into Euro 2016 contention.

#4 Antonio Valencia

One of the nominees of the Best Young Player in the 2006 World Cup, Antonio Valencia was once seen as the next big South American talent. His career hit an all time high when he inherited Manchester United’s famed No.7 shirt from Cristiano Ronaldo. After a promising start to life at Old Trafford, Valencia’s progression started stalling, with his playing style becoming worryingly one-dimensional.

The arrival of David Moyes only accentuated this further, with the Ecuadorian delivering the most number of failed crosses in the Premier League last season. Lacking the ability to cut on to his strong foot and play on the opposite wing, Valencia’s wing play is predictable to say the least, making him an easily nullifiable threat. With his ability to beat defenders on the run, as well as his strength to not let them run past him, there is so much more that Valencia can achieve.

But right now, he is a painfully monotonous footballer, delivering meaningless crosses at the first opportunity, with the rare one hitting the jackpot. Maybe his future lies at right back and not the right wing. As of now though, he’s neither here, nor there, with time fast running out for him to resurrect his flagging career.

#3 Ricardo Quaresma

Once hailed as the flag bearer of the post-Luis Figo era in Portuguese football along with a certain Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Quaresma’s career is littered with ‘what if?’ moments. A devilishly pacey and tricky winger once upon a time, Quaresma was a temperamentally flawed youngster who lost his way amidst all the glitz and glamour.

Termed lazy, pedestrian and even passenger-like by his critics, Quaresma never did his case any good with his unwillingness to pass the ball, track back and play as a team man. He was hardly ever in the team sheet. This situation aggravated to such an extent that he was termed a one trick pony, who only knew to cut in and let rip his famous outside foot shot. His inability to deliver good crosses, coupled with his unwillingness to do so, made him an easy player to mark.

Now in his second spell at Porto, Quaresma seems to have turned into a new leaf, with his now mature playing style, reaping dividends for both player and club. He has become less selfish and also helps his full back much more, doing his fair share of the spadework. A call up to the national team in two years’ time is his for the taking.

#2 Milos Krasic

Being the marquee man for a dreadful Juventus side in his first season, Milos Krasic also has a career graph – a promising career that went awry due to a one-dimensional manner of playing the game. Add his severe mental frailties to the mix and it isn’t difficult to see why the Serbian is now languishing in the Fenerbahce reserve team.

Regularly criticised as a one-trick man during his time in Turin, Krasic is one of those unsuccessful modern wingers who failed to adapt to the physical requirements of the game. With his inability to help things on the other side of the pitch, it did severe harm to his cause. It was one of the reasons why he was shipped out after his second season in Italy when he was unofficially named the league’s worst player, with an unbelievable eight unsuccessful dribbles per game on average.

His career has been on free fall mode ever since, failing to shine in Turkey as well as in France, where he scored just a solitary goal during his season-long stay at Bastia in 2012/13.

A classic case of a great talent gone to waste.

#1 Darron Gibson

Topping our list is the player labelled a one trick pony by Sir Alex Ferguson himself. And as the golden rule in football goes, Fergie is never wrong. A Republic of Ireland international who was slated to be Roy Keane’s successor in the Manchester United team, Gibson’s career receded faster than his hairline.

A midfielder who has the uncanny knack of being exactly where the ball isn’t, Gibson’s claim to fame has always been his piledriver of a shot from the edge of the box – a trait that was massively overshadowed by his lazy showings in the centre of the park. After seven unsuccessful seasons under Ferguson, he joined the mass exodus of former United players to Goodison Park, where he has appeared twice, spending the rest of his time under the surgeon’s knife.

In 2011, Gibson unwisely decided to take to Twitter to rant at Sir Alex, a move that backfired spectacularly, with #onetrickponyout trending the entire day. The barrage of personal abuse meant the midfielder had to quit, resulting in the amusing #titquitstwit tweets by the United fans.

A one trick pony, if there ever was one.