People who have seen Brian Clough on TV and the way he spoke in some of those legendary interviews he gave could be tempted to think that here is a man who was all talk and far too outspoken. However, it is amazing to see how many of the people in the football world that were close to him have stressed the fact that he was a warm and generous person.
Clough may have …
Duncan Edwards, 1st October 1936 – 21st February 1958. Sir Matt Busby described Edwards as “the most complete footballer in Britain- possibly the world.” So often we hear the word ‘legend’ said so freely but you, Duncan Edwards, truly deserved that tag.
He was one of those players that deserved every accolade he got and played the game in such a way that people could only say good things about this …
The legendary double winning Tottenham Hotspur side of 1961 needs no introduction to the fans of the White Hart Lane outfit. Nor does former captain Danny Blanchflower.
Danny Blanchflower is a Tottenham legend and was arguably their best player at the beginning of the 1960’s. An old ‘right – half’ as it was referred to back then, a right sided midfielder in football terms today. Blanchflower in his prime between 1957 and …
'Ole Big Head' and rightly so
“When I go, God’s going to have to give up his favourite chair.”
Brian Clough was a rude, arrogant, patently offensive, bitter and angry alcoholic.
He was also one of the greatest football managers of all time.
During his playing career, Clough was a freescoring forward for Middlesbrough and Sunderland, notching an incredible 251 goals in 274 appearances for …
If you stop to think about who was the greatest striker of the modern era, some of you would no doubt leap up and state Didier Drogba, or Fernando Torres, maybe even Wayne Rooney. Others may suggest Ronaldo or Romario of Brazil? Ian Rush? Gary Lineker? Jurgen Klinsmann? The list of possible superstars to claim the crown is almost endless and I’ll save you the bother.
The best striker of the modern era was and is Marco Van Basten and by quite some considerable distance.
Born in Utrecht on hallowe’en in 1964, the only thing scary about Van Basten was his ability with a football. His hometown club Utrecht signed him up but he never played a professional game for them, instead Ajax snapped him up in 1981 as a sixteen year old and he made his debut in 1982, scoring in a 5-0 victory over NEC Nijmengen. For the next eleven years, Marco Van Basten would catapult himself to international superstar status. His statistics while at Ajax are worth reading because they are truly incredible. He scored 128 league goals in just 133 league games. That is an incredible strike rate. Still it would not be until 1987 that Marco Van Basten really began to attract some attention, when football fans across the world first saw this goal, arguably the finest overhead kick that has ever been scored. I can remember Bob Wilson introducing the goal at the end of football focus by simply stating in the preamble to the goal ”The goal came in a match between Ajax and Den Bosch and all you need to know first time around…Is that it is a bit special.”
What makes Van Basten truly special is that goals like that were not a one off. In 1988 he finally began to get the acclaim he deserved when he played a pivotal role in leading Holland to the 1988 European Championship final, including scoring an incredible hattrick against England in the group stages.
However that would not be Van Basten’s sole contribution. In the final, Holland faced USSR and a Ruud Gullit header had put the Dutch in front against a team who had previously beaten them in the tournament. In the second half Russia pressed for an equaliser but a poor pass out of defence saw the Dutch break quickly. Van Tiggelen fed Arnold Muhren who hoisted a ball hopefully to the far post for Van Basten. What he did then simply defied belief, as you can see by the reactions of his manager and his teammates, including No 7 Gerald Vanenberg who seems so stunned by what he has witnessed, he seems unable to comprehend it.
To further enhance his position as the greatest striker of the modern era, Van Basten moved to Milan and was an integral part of Arrigo Sacchi’s fantastic Milan side of the late 1980′s and early 1990′s. Even in Serie A, where the top strikers would be lucky to average a goal every three or four games, Van Basten scored 90 goals in just 147 appearances. A stunning return. He led Milan to several Scudetto successes, two European Cup wins and was named European footballer of the year on three occasions, joining Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini as the only other players ever to achieve this incredible feat.
What makes this career all the more remarkable, is that for a large part of it, Van Basten was jinxed by injury. In many games he was not fully fit and would often play through the pain barrier for his team. The chronic problems in his ankle eventually proved too much and in 1993 his ankle injury recurred in a game with Ancona. At this point Van Basten was at the peak of his powers, expected to shine for Holland in the 1994 World Cup and lead Milan onto Serie A dominance again. However after two years toil to try and regain fitness, Van Basten was forced to retire in 1995. Aged just 31 and having missed almost two full years of football before being forced to retire.
It was one of the saddest days in football for a player still revered in Milan, Holland and indeed across the world. A consummate striker with impeccable technique, wonderful physical skills and that special ability to do something utterly special and make it look effortless. Truly a legend and truly the greatest striker of the modern era bar none.
David Beckham has shown the world something it didn’t know before – slow wingers can succeed at the very top level. Well, as long as they have something more to offer. Beckham’s name is now one of the, if not THE, most famous names in football and he’s even known outside of football for successful advertising careers and his personal life – though that’s not quite why he deserves a place in the Hall of Fame. Beckham has played for massive clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan and introduced himself to the world with one of the best goals a youngster has ever scored in world football. And then followed a career full of success which made a name for the Leytonstone boy lad. Take a bow son…
Early Life:
Beckham was born in Leytonstone, London, on the 2nd of May 1975. He played football in the park as a child and always dreamed of becoming a professional footballer, having a real passion for the sport and for Manchester United which he had picked up from his parents who were fanatical about the club. He attended one of Bobby Charlton’s football schools in Manchester and was even a mascot at Old Trafford. After playing for a youth team his father coached Beckham moved to Brimsdown Rovers youth team and, after trials with several clubs, he moved to Tottenham’s school of excellence. Manchester United saw his potential though and moved quickly to sign Beckham on schoolboy terms as a fourteen year old in 1989. He officially joined their youth team in 1991 though.
Manchester United:
Beckham is still remembered fondly as one of “Fergie’s Fledglings” – a bunch of young players who came through the ranks at Man United at the same time which also included Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Neville Brothers. “You’ll never win anything with kids” declared Alan Hansen but Alex Ferguson’s youngsters would go on to prove him wrong. Beckham was part of United’s FA Youth Cup winning side of 1992 and made his first team debut later that year in a League Cup clash with Brighton. Beckham helped United’s reserves win their league in 1994 before moving to Preston on loan to get some first team experience where he impressed (even scoring directly from a corner) before returning to United to finally take his place in the Man U first team. Beckham scored in the first game of the 1995/6 season against Aston Villa and quickly established himself as first choice right midfielder – playing deeper due to his lack of pace but still having a tremendous eye for a cross, set piece or finish – his accuracy was amazing. He was also a hell of a free kick taker. Fergie’s Fledglings flew to a double of the FA Cup and league title to make names of themselves. The following season Beckham, now wearing the number 10 shirt formerly worn by Mark Hughes, scored from near the halfway line against Wimbledon on the opening day, making sure everyone would know him. It was the beginning of the best of Beckham.
Beckham was voted PFA Young Player of the Year following another successful season where United won the league once more. In the summer of 1997 Eric Cantona retired and Beckham quickly took on his Number 7 shirt which he went on to make even more famous. Beckham continued as a first choice regular at Old Trafford, contributing goals and assists aplenty. A few more years of great success at the club followed and Beckham was a massive fan favourite at the club. Things deteriorated though as Beckham fell out with Alex Ferguson over his wife Victoria (formerly a member of the Spice Girls) and their relationship would get worse over the following years. Beckham then did well to get over a bad metatarsal injury and managed his best goals tally for the club in 2001/02 when he notched 16 goals in 42 games. The next season things got worse though as Ferguson regularly dropped him in favour of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and even famously kicked a boot at Beckham in the aftermath of an FA Cup defeat against Arsenal. No player is bigger than the club and Beckham’s departure was imminent. He left the club in 2003 having won six Premiership titles, two FA Cups, a Champion’s League and an Intercontinental Cup and having scored 61 goals in 265 appearances in the league for United over 8 years. The fans were horrified to see him go.
Real Madrid:
Beckham snubbed interest from Barcelona to join the Catalans arch-rivals Real Madrid for £25 million in the summer of 2003. Real Madrid had a poor season in 2003/04 but Beckham impressed and quickly became a fans favourite for the club. The club again failed to win anything the next season but Beckham continued to impress. However, under next manager Fabio Capello Beckham lost favour and found himself having to earn a place in the squad – this he did remarkably well, proving Capello wrong to have dropped him and eventually proving an important asset for Real as they won the league for the first time in a few years. Beckham had already agreed a move to America to play for LA Galaxy back in January but Real were keen to keep him and tried to change the player’s mind. Beckham couldn’t be swayed though and moved to the MLS, eager to make football a bigger sport in the U.S.
LA Galaxy:
Unsurprisingly the massive name signing of Beckham drew a lot of attention at Galaxy and he was immediately taken into the hearts of the club’s fans while opposition fans also flocked to see him in action. Despite injury problems Beckham did well for the club. However, the timings of the seasons in America led to Beckham worrying that he would lose his spot in the England squad as he was desperate to reach 100 international appearances and also to remain a part of the England team as long as he physically could. He trained with Arsenal before agreeing a loan spell with AC Milan to help keep him fit. This didn’t go down well with Galaxy fans though who started to doubt Beckham’s commitment to the team as he missed part of their season to play for Milan and his return saw him vilified and even get into altercations with fans. Recently another loan spell at Milan was agreed as Beckham clearly is not happy at Galaxy any more.
AC Milan:
Beckham joined Milan on loan in January 2009 and quickly established himself as an important player in Carlo Ancelotti’s ageing team, scoring and assisting on a number of occasions and generally impressing to the point where Milan wanted to sign him permanently. A deal couldn’t be agreed with Galaxy though and Beckham returned to America as mentioned. He feels more at home in Italy though and was eager to secure a return to Milan which has now been arranged for January.
International Career:
Beckham made his international debut in 1996 and a long, successful international career has followed with major ups and downs. The ups would undoubtedly be his crucial goals for England – his dramatic last minute free kick goal in a 2001 World Cup play-off put England into the upcoming World Cup and made him a national hero whilst he’s also managed to score several other important goals including being involved in England’s winning goal in the World Cup 2006 clash with Paraguay. His international career has had its bad moments though; he was controversially sent off against Argentina during the 1998 World Cup and was vilified as a villain in England afterwards as the decision contributed to England being eliminated from the tournament. He was also a casualty when Steve McLaren became England boss and decided to show his authority by removing the veteran Beckham from his side – McLaren later had to back down and call up Beckham once more though as England struggled under McLaren’s leadership. He’s also missed important penalties against France and Portugal in big competitions. Beckham reached a century of international caps in March 2008. He has made 115 appearances for his country, scoring 17 times.
Beckham is, in one word, a superstar – his name is synonymous with football; he’s known worldwide as not just a footballer but a style icon and one of the most famous men on the planet. His career has been extremely successful and he’s been highly impressive at three of the world’s biggest clubs and even now, in his later years, he continues to impress and could yet make the World cup in South Africa this summer – he’ll want to – Beckham’s a driven individual who has the lifelong abilities of accuracy and being a world class free kick taker. A lack of pace has never hindered Beckham’s progression and he will always be considered one of the best footballers of all times. A legend of both international and club scenes – children everywhere would love to be the next Beckham – the man’s a star in every sense of the word.
Dubbed the “Clown Prince” of soccer and famously labelled by former England manager Sir Bobby Robson as being “daft as a brush”, former Tottenham, Newcastle, Everton and Lazio star Paul Gascoigne’s battles with drink and drugs have been well documented in the press of late. Health scares and issues with his wife have seldom seen him out of the news since his retirement but while such stories are the fodder for front page gossip-hawkers, I’d instead prefer to concentrate on what Paul Gascoigne became a legend for, playing football.
Born in Dunston, the young Gazza started his career with Newcastle United, progressing through the ranks and making his first team debut in April 1985 against Queens Park Rangers. The following season, the 19 year old Gascoigne began to show the touch, flair and improvisation on the ball, allied with his seemingly boundless energy and sense of fun, to quickly become a darling of the Newcastle fans and very soon, the bigger teams in England at the time were keeping tabs on this talented young showman from the North East.
He joined Tottenham in the summer of 1988, famously turning down Sir Alex Ferguson to team up with Terry Venables at White Hart Lane. It was a partnership that would bear great fruit, not only for Tottenham, but for England too a few short years later. Venables added a great deal of tactical nous to Gazza’s already expansive game and the net result became a midfielder who was certainly one of the finest in Europe, if not the world, at the time. The crowning glory of his time at Tottenham being his incredible free kick in the FA Cup Semi Final against Arsenal, a moment which has become part of Wembley folklore.
Gascoigne drew world attention for his performances with England in the 1990 World Cup finals. Inspiring Bobby Robson’s men to a Semi final place against Germany. During the game his mistimed lunge at Thomas Berthold missed the German defender, who pretended to go down pole-axed. Gascoigne was booked, thus would miss the final if England were to reach it, tears flowed, Gary Lineker mouthed “have a word with him” to the bench. England lost on penalties.
His Italia 1990 showing and form for Spurs earned him a big money move to Lazio, but disaster struck shortly before the move when a dreadful tackle on Gary Charles saw Gascoigne injured during the FA Cup final. Rupturing his cruciate knee ligaments. A years rehabiliation followed before he could make his bow for Lazio in a game that drew as much interest in England as it did Italy.
Injuries dogged his time in Italy, but even so Gazza was a firm favourite with the Lazio fans, who were sorry to see him go in 1995 when he joined Rangers. In Scotland, Gascoigne enjoyed a rennaissance in form, guiding Rangers to the Premier League title and scoring vital goals along the way for Walter Smith’s men and picking up the Player Player and Football Writers player of the year along the way. While at Rangers Gazza played an integral part in England’s Euro 1996 campaign, scoring a fantastic goal against Scotland in the group stages before being just centimetres away from converting an Alan Shearer cross shot in golden goal extra time against Germany in the Semi Final, a game which England, as usual, would go on to lose on penalties.
Gazza’s career petered out somewhat after then as personal issues began to dominate his life. Spells at Middlesbrough and Everton were largely forgettable as Gazza was a shadow of his former self as a player. These were followed by even shorter spells with Burnley, Boston and obscurely Chinese club Giansu Tianma where Gazza played a total of four games, scored two goals but then refused to return to China after a spell in an American clinic.
It’s easy to cast Paul Gascoigne as a nutcase, a player who never fulfilled his potential, who perhaps wasted the talent he had. I’m not sure that is fair. Gazza was the player he was because of the person he was, not in spite of it. Change Gazza into a Gary Lineker figure, you don’t have the same player and I’m not sure that Gazza would have been the player many fans grew to love. He’s had countless problems off the field in his career and after it, but at least he seems now to have found peace, helping old friend Peter Beardsley train the Newcastle Youth team and by taking advice and help when needed with his addictions and problems.
Paul Gascoigne a legend? You’d better believe it.
In his heyday, playing for Barcelona, there wasn’t a player in the world as good as Rivaldo. If that is disputed, it shouldn’t be.
Despite carving out a very successful career for himself, in which he won the World Cup, two Spanish La Liga titles, the Copa Del Rey, along with the 1999 European and Fifa World player of the year awars, the early days of his career were not so easy. Coming from an empoverished Brazilian family, his thin, bow-legged appearance initially put coaches of his native country off – many of them claimed he was too weak.
Appearances often flatter to decieve though, and a talent so natural as his was eventually impossible to ignore. At 21 years of age, after 3 years of flirting with the lower divisions, Rivaldo eventually got his big chance in the Brazilian top flight, signing for Corinthians. It got better though as, after one successful season and 17 goals, Palmeiras snapped him up. It was here, and with Brazil in the 1996 Olympics, where the rest of the world started to take notice.
A move to Deportivo, and then to Barcelona a year later, and he was in his prime, playing at one of the best clubs in the world. He excelled.
A left footed forward, Rivaldo played his best stuff operating in the hole behind the strikers. He had exceptional technique that allowed him time to pick out team-mates with pin-point passes, and gave him space to unleash left-footed piledrivers from outside the penalty box. Giving himself this extra space by means of his technique was vital to his success, as he was often man-marked which would have usually disabled players with lesser levels of skill.
The left footed pile-drivers, many of them superb free-kicks, were one of Rivaldo’s trademarks. The remarkable thing about many of these strikes was that, on first viewing, a spectator could easily think that he had just hit the ball as hard as he possibly could and hoped for the best. However, replays often showed that, despite the venom of the shot, Rivaldo had actually found the corner by expertly sidefooting the ball exactly where he knew the keeper could not save it.
The other Rivaldo trademark was the bicycle kick. I honestly believe I’ve never seen anyone execute this skill better than him. On numerous occasions in his career he would have his back to goal at an impossible angle, or from a ridiculous distance from goal, only to launch himself into the air like a gangly daddy-long-legs., and expertly volley the ball into the back of the net.
For me, although not a trophy winning moment, the best showcase of the great Brazilian’s skills was a game he played for Barcelona in the 2000-01 season. Needing to win the game to qualify for the following season’s UEFA Champions League, Barcelona found themselves at 2-2, running out of ideas, and in need of something special. They got it from Rivaldo in stunning fashion. With his back to goal, 25 yards out, he produced an unstoppable bicycle kick that flew past Valencia’s goalkeeper, and into the onion bag. Rivaldo scored all three of Barcelona’s goals, each one of them a beauty. In my mind it is the greatest hat-trick of all time.
I could go on, but i’ll just let you watch the clip, and you can decide for yourself if he’s worthy of the ‘Great’ tag. I don’t think you’ll disagree.
“Some write that I’m a genius, others say that I’m disrespectful towards their country. Just like they were towards mine. If you remember in 1993 I squatted to tie my shoe during the French national anthem. I don’t care what they write about me.” Hristo Stoichkov
The above quote is just an example but, seriously, this guy could start an argument with his own reflection and, throughout his career, could frequently be seen having a go at the referee, his opponents, or his manager.
However, aggression can be a very good attribute and, in Stoichkov’s case, is what drove him to become one of the best players in the world. I’ve always thought that it was such a shame he never played in English football, as his style was a perfect match to that of the English game. He fought for everything, chased back when he lost the ball, and a high tempo bought the best out of him.
‘So, the same style as Craig Bellamy then?’, I hear you say. Yes, but unlike Bellamy, Hristo Stoichkov was world class. Great as a support striker, the Bulgarian played at his best as an attacking left-winger, mainly because his crosses had an uncanny ability to find their targets in the penalty area. With the sort of pace a greyhound would be proud of, he never had a problem beating his man either, and when he wasn’t setting goals up, he was scoring them. His career record reads 220 goals in 455 games, including 83 goals in 175 games in one of the best Barcelona teams ever to have graced the Camp Nou.
Dubbed the ‘Dream Team’, Johan Cruyff’s side were unstoppable as they won La Liga four years in a row, and the Champions League in 1992. Stoichkov was the fans favourite, and remains a legend in their eyes today, having won everything he possibly could have with the club, and frequently stating his hatred for Real Madrid.
Standing at a modest 5ft 10in, the Bulgarian looked in no way a powerhouse, but that didn’t stop him producing explosive left-footed pot-shots from distance, which would have Popeye wondering what his diet consisted of. This ability also extended to sublime free-kicks, which most goalkeepers would simply have to watch as they sailed into the top corner.
The best way to remember Stoichkov is to think back to the phenomenal World Cup he had at USA ’94. That tournament was a showreel of his brilliance. The world couldn’t believe its eyes as the Bulgarian led his country to the semi-finals against all the odds, and scored some absolute beauties along the way, to clinch the golden boot. This culminated in him being crowned European footballer of the year, and earning global admiration.
Fine, his career did tail off slightly after leaving Barca, and he was last seen breaking a kid’s leg in the MLS, but who cares? Stoichkov is a true modern great, and that kid now has a story for his grandkids. Anyway, is Dimitar Berbatov the best Bulgarian player in history?
Not in my book…
Lineker back in his Leicester days
These days he’s recognised more as the presenter of Match of the Day and the man who appeared in a load of weird adverts for Walkers crisps but Gary Lineker, back in his day, was a fine striker and one of the best his country has ever produced – even being the record goalscorer in World Cup’s for England with 10 goals in the World’s top competition. He has one of the greatest goals-to-games record internationally in England and is the country’s second top scorer, has been voted Leicester City’s best player of all time – ahead of Gordon Banks – and, here’s a fun fact for you; he never even got booked during his whole career.
Leicester
Lineker was born in Leicester in 1960 and grew up in the area, playing football with his brother Wayne. Upon leaving school he joined Leicester City in 1977 where he quickly made it up to the first team and started to score prolifically, helping Leicester get promoted to the top flight in 1980, a feat he would repeat three years later. Lineker twice won the Golden Boot award for scoring the most goals in England’s top flight during his eight year stint with the club and it became inevitable that the grinning local lad would soon be off to a bigger club as interest intensified in him. His record for Leicester is an impressive 216 games played and 103 goals scored. Not bad for a player playing for a smaller side!
Everton
In the summer of 1985 Lineker left his local club to join reigning league champions Everton for a fee of £800,000. It was a disappointing season for Everton as they lost in the FA Cup final and were narrowly beaten to the league title but it was a successful season for Lineker himself who scored 38 goals in just 52 appearances and was once again English football’s top goalscorer. His form was impressive and, coupled with a fine showing at the World Cup in 1986, earned him a £2.2 million move to Barcelona.
Barcelona
Lineker’s move to Spain was one of a number of moves for Brits across the continent at the time – something you don’t find often now – as there were higher wages offered abroad plus he could feature in European competition; something he couldn’t do in England as English clubs were banned from entering following the Heysel disaster. Former Q.P.R manager Terry Venables brought the England striker to Spain alongside Welsh striker Mark Hughes and the duo impressed with Lineker managing to notch 53 goals in 138 appearances for the club over three seasons. Lineker won his first silverware whilst at Barcelona as they won the Spanish Cup and the European Cup Winner’s Cup during his time at the club. Lineker’s progress was halted though by the decision of the next Barca manager Johan Cruyff to play him on the right of midfield rather than up front and in 1989 Lineker lost his place in the side and a move back to England was on the cards.
Tottenham
Lineker snubbed a chance to link up with former Barcelona strike partner Mark Hughes at Manchester United to instead sign for North London side Tottenham Hotspur. He spent three years at the club, making 138 appearances for the club and scoring 80 goals in that time, once again managing to win England’s Golden Boot award in 1989/90. Lineker also won his first English silverware at the club as they lifted the FA Cup in 1991.
Grampus
Lineker opted to finish his career away from his native England and he moved to Japan to play for Nagoya Grampus Eight where he suffered an injury hit two years. Lineker only managed 4 goals in 18 appearances for the club over this period and he announced his retirement from football in 1994 aged 33.
International Career:
Lineker was first called up for England whilst he was still at Leicester back in 1984 for a game against Scotland. His biggest break at international level came in the 1986 World Cup in which he was the top scorer with 6 goals which led to his move to Barcelona. Lineker failed to score in the 1988 European Championship though this was later blamed on his having hepatitis at the time. He then played at the 1990 World Cup where he scored four goals to help England to the semi finals of the competition. Lineker twice managed to score four goals in one game for England and ended up retiring from international football with an impressive tally of 48 goals in 80 appearances for his country. He finished his international career with just one goal less than England’s record goalscorer Bobby Charlton which led to controversy in his last international game when he was subbed off by manager Graham Taylor despite being eager to equal the record – the substitution is thought to be something Lineker has always regretted.
Lineker was clinical throughout his career and his ability to be the league’s top scorer at three different clubs is highly impressive alongside his ability to adapt to a foreign league and his highly impressive international career. Lineker oozes charm which has led to his successful career after playing football with him lending his voice or appearing in adverts, games, films or television shows. One of the best natural finishers England has ever had, Lineker deserves his place in the Hall of Fame.
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