10 most successful debuts by great players

A debut is always a pressure-packed situation. More often than not, players require time to adapt to their new club and do not sparkle on their first appearance, which is quite understandable. However, there are footballers who hit the ground running and become instant heroes with their new sets of fans. Getting a successful debut under the belt is the ultimate launch-pad for forging a solid career with a football club or to get their international careers off to a great start, and some players have managed it admirably. Here are 10 of the most successful debuts by great players.

#10 Ronaldo

Match: Real Madrid 5-2 Alaves (6th October, 2002)

Ronaldo may not have stolen the headlines at the San Siro but his Real Madrid debut was the much more memorable for the striker. Coming off the bench, Ronaldo sealed the victory will two typically well-taken goals.

The Galactico had got his journey with Real off to the ideal beginning. It was one of the finest moments of Ronaldo’s career as the Santiago Bernabeu rose to their feet to applaud their new superstar.

#9 Alvaro Recoba- Inter Milan v Brescia- August 1997

Match: Inter Milan 2-1 Brescia (31st August, 1997)

Ronaldo had moved to the San Siro along with Recoba, but it was the Urugayan who stole all the headlines in the opening game of the 97/98 season. The winger from Montevideo got San Siro rocking when he came off the bench to set the game alight.

Entering the fray, Recoba scored probably the greatest brace you will ever see. The first was a heat-seeking missile which screamed into the top-corner. But wait, there was more. Recoba then curled home a stunning free-kick to turn the game around and give Inter a 2-1 win. Recoba’s two strikes are as good a pair of debut goals you will ever see.

#8 Zinedine Zidane

Match: France 2-2 Czech Republic (1994)

The French legend made himself an instant hero on the international stage, coming on as a late substitute against the Czech Republic to score two beautiful goals.

A ridiculously young-looking Zizou entered the fray with Les Blues two goals down. However, he was on hand to show some sensational skills to haul his nation back into the game.

Receiving the ball from Laurent Blanc, Zidane side-stepped one challenge before dropping the shoulder and rifling home a superb drive from 30 yards. The second was an entirely different goal, but equally as impressive. The midfielder leapt like a salmon to fire home a bullet header into the top corner. What an international debut for Zizou.

#7 Romario

Match: Barcelona 3-0 Real Sociedad (1993)

Brazil legend Romario got his Barcelona career off to an incredible start in netting a treble on his Nou Camp bow. The Brazil goal-machine enjoyed a wonderful first season with Barca, scoring 30 league goals to claim the Pichichi award in La Liga.

Romario used his blistering pace to race away from the defence and crash home the first before producing some beautiful combination play with Sergi Barjuan before lofting the ball over the onrushing keeper. But he wasn’t done there.

Romario beat the offside trap expertly again before controlling with his chest and lobbing the keeper from well outside the area. What a way to introduce yourself to the demanding Camp Nou faithful.

#6 Alan Shearer

Match: Southampton 4-2 Arsenal (9th April, 1988)

Alan Shearer is the Premier League’s all-time top-scorer with a remarkable 260 strikes, but he made a name for himself as a deadly finisher long before the league even started. In 1988 - four years before the league’s conception- a fresh-faced Shearer was handed his Saints debut in an intimidating encounter with Arsenal.

Shearer announced himself in spectacular fashion with a stunning hat-trick against the Gunners in a 4-2 victory. It was the perfect start to a career which always featured goals.

#5 Fabrizio Ravanelli

Match: Middlesborough 3-3 Liverpool (17th August, 1996)

Fabrizio Ravanelli was just one of a number of players with pedigree who arrived on Teeside in the 90s. Along with the Italian Champions League winner were Brazilian duo Emerson and Juninho, but neither of those players started life at the Riverside Stadium quite like Ravanelli.

The first was a penalty, the second a great poacher’s finish and the third was a smart finish on the turn to make it 3-3 and give Boro a thrilling point against Liverpool. Ravanelli scored 17 goals in 35 games during his only year at Middlesborough but it is fair to say he didn’t enjoy many games quite like debut.

#4 Wayne Rooney

Match: Manchester United 6-2 Fenerbahce (28th September, 2004)

Huge things were expected of Wayne Rooney when he signed for United for £30 million. At that time, Rooney was the world’s most expensive teenager and joining the biggest club in the world with that label must have been hugely overwhelming for an 18-year-old.

However, Rooney has always been the consummate professional and he took everything in his stride. His debut was the Champions League opener against Turkish side Fenerbahce and he sure didn’t disappoint. The young striker threw himself into the action, scoring an excellent first before firing in his second from long-range.

Then, Rooney stood over a free-kick from the edge of the area. The crowd looked on as he smashed a fantastic effort into the top corner to complete a wonderful hat-trick and instantly wrote his name in the history books. From that one performance, Old Trafford knew they were witnessing the birth of a legend; they weren’t wrong.

#3 Sergio Aguero

Match: Manchester City 4-0 Swansea City (15h August, 2011)

Sergio Aguero laid down a marker for his Manchester City career when he exploded onto the scene with a fantastic man-of-the-match performance on his debut against Swansea City. The Argentine scored twice and set up another as City recorded an emphatic 4-0 victory over the Welsh club.

Aguero’s goalscoring prowess has been a key element to City’s play ever since he joined from Atletico Madrid and his talents were evident from the outset. He ended that season exactly how he started it; scoring a goal. Only this time, it was in the dying moments of a titanic title race that sealed City’s first Premier League title in 44 years.

#2 Tony Cottee

Match: - Everton 4-0 Newcastle United (27th August, 1988)

Tony Cottee came into this match under extreme pressure. He was signed by Everton for £2 million from West Ham. However, he did not need much time to settle at Goodison Park when he made his debut against Newcastle United, as he got his first goal in Toffee colours after just 34 seconds.

But the striker wasn’t finished there- Cottee went onto to complete a hat-trick in a resounding 4-0 win and scored 69 goals in 183 appearances for the club.

#1 Ruud van Nistelrooy

Match: Manchester United 3-2 Fulham (19th August, 2001)

Ruud van Nistelrooy became the Premier League’s ultimate goal machine during his time at Old Trafford and he did not need long to open his account, scoring a brace on his debut against newly-promoted Fulham.

Two Louis Saha goals had put Fulham into a shock 2-1 lead at Old Trafford, but United’s Flying Dutchman turned the game around with two typical goals born out of his predatory instincts and classic finishing.

Van Nistelrooy went on to score 150 goals for United, but it was his debut which set him on his way to becoming one of the club’s greatest ever strikers.