"Average" players looking godlike in weaker leagues

[No Love]

Jozy Altidore was woeful in his spells in England, destroyed the Eredivisie though.

Kris Boyd scored a lot of goals in Scotland and was poor pretty much everywhere else. Same with Nikica Jelavic too, actually.

Would Frederic Kanoute count after his move to Sevilla? He was like a different player!

 

[Abizzz]

I was kidding but some of the leagues mentioned in that thread are ridiculous.

So was I. Fuchs' first season in the EPL did surprise me a lot though.

 

[AshfordLad]

Spain?

Somewhat debatable but still just one league. Can hardly be called a weak league.

 

[harms]

funny enough, Basel has Seydou Doumbia who also looked like Ronaldo when he was playing for Young Boys. he scored 57 goals in 78 games there and later moved to Russia where he scored 84 goals in 129 games for CSKA. he was pretty shit for Roma and Newcastle and now he's scoring for fun again in Basel (14 goals in 19 games).

He was a strange one, because his record in Champions league was great for CSKA.
6 goals in 8,5 games in 2015/16; 3 in 5,5 (all against Manchester City) in 2014/15; 2 in 2 in 2013/14 (again, both against Manchester City)


Everyone was pretty sure that he is older than he says he is, which also complicates the situation

 

[SCP]

Somewhat debatable but still just one league. Can hardly be called a weak league.

If the intention was to say Premier League is weak of course not, if it is to say is the best league in the world I say Spain.

 

[Blackwidow]

Does it only have to do with the league. A lot players look great in a smaller side where they are the fish in the pond - but look mediocre in bigger teams especially when they play in another system or if they get less speed. In smaller teams with one match a week there is still more time to learn in patterns - you do not always see if things are a learned behaviour or if it is playing intelligence.

There is a lot players that are technically great - or are very fast - but lack the match intelligence.

 

[snk123]

Dzeko in whatever league he was in before he came to England.

 

[snk123]

Shevchenko in Italy

 

[JustFootballFan]

Dzeko in whatever league he was in before he came to England.

Germany.

 

[Slops]

Isn't Konstantinos Mitroglou absolutely smashing it for Benfica?

Barely got a game for Fulham.

 

[KGBhoy]

Dzeko in whatever league he was in before he came to England.

He's a top scorer in Italy this season.

 

[Blackwidow]

Dzeko in whatever league he was in before he came to England.

That Dzeko, Grafite and Misimovic trio was great in 08/09 - all three of them probably were playing the season of their life. Maybe they needed someone like Magath to get them really fit... (atleast you can say that about Misimovic)

 

[Frank Grimes]

Afonso Alves, Memphis Depay, Dirk Kuyt, Ryan Babel, and loads of other players in the Dutch league.

Kezman

 

[Acheron]

David Silva in premier league.

 

[DavosOfManc]

I bet i get roasted for this but i'm going with Lacazette in Ligue 1. I don't claim to be some sort of football knowledge guru but i'd put money on him crash and burning here or in Spain/Germany.

 

[Hojoon]

David Silva in premier league.

I didn't watch Valencia consistently but I thought he was great in just about every game I watched him for them.

 

[Lennon7]

Dzeko in whatever league he was in before he came to England.

Dzeko wasn't that bad for City.

 

[freeurmind]

Collins Mbesuma

 

[Acheron]

I didn't watch Valencia consistently but I thought he was great in just about every game I watched him for them.

Also Juan Mata in Premier League.

 

[TotalFootballOne]

Circumstances play apart in this, some teams are just set up better for X player to benefit from, while others aren't. Talent around them is also a factor in a good and bad way.

 

[padr81]

Kezman before Chelsea. Was unreal.

 

[Gazza]

Kezman, PSV

This is not really a name for the list but seems as good a time as any: how good was Mario Jardel? Seemed to score a shit ton in Portugal but I remember him for being a tubby waster at Bolton

 

[Stadjer]

Jozy Altidore was woeful in his spells in England, destroyed the Eredivisie though.

Kris Boyd scored a lot of goals in Scotland and was poor pretty much everywhere else. Same with Nikica Jelavic too, actually.

Would Frederic Kanoute count after his move to Sevilla? He was like a different player!

A big strong atheltic guy will do well in the Eredivisie. Altidore did very well for AZ because he was stronger than every defender. Like Memphis did well for PSV because he was stronger and faster than every defender.

Defenders in the Eredivisie arent good at defending and when they also lose on physical abilties it makes even the worst of strikers look "god-like"

They have one thing in common though.. usually invisable in Europeam games and they will fail as soon as they leave the Dutch league.

 

[Kurosawa]

Which league is the barometer, because every league has been mentioned in here!
I'd like to propose the Allsvenskan, where the mighty Zlatan scored a goal once every 4 games or so. In every other league he scored around 1 in 2 or better.

 

[beckbeck]

Jardel was above average but he looked like prime Shaquille O'Neal version of football player in the portuguese league.

 

[kouroux]

Giovinco wasn't really average before but he's been a living legend in the MLS already

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Giovinco wasn't really average before but he's been a living legend in the MLS already

I was going to say this.

He's basically been Messi-like in the MLS.

 

[kouroux]

Depay in France. Balotelli in France. Gomis in France.

Depay has been consistently shit but scored probably the goal of the season, Balo has only scored 15 goals I think and was benched for several weeks. He only got back in the line up when their main striker Pléa had a serious injury and Gomis is playing his best ever season only this year (he averages 1 goal every 3 games in France, hardly "godlike").

I was going to say this.

He's basically been Messi-like in the MLS.

Not even Messi has compilation like him

 

[NinjaZombie]

I was going to say this.

He's basically been Messi-like in the MLS.

I looked him up on YouTube. Strange watching him dribble. He's so small it's like watching an U15 kid play.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Some of the posts here.. not sure if the posters are trolling or are being serious.

 

[KN5]

Sinclair at Celtic, he's player of the year!

 

[Robbie Boy]

Alex at Fenerbache. To be fair, he looked a class act and not sure how Fenerbache managed to hold onto him for so long but his numbers were incredible: 344 games, 172 goals and 139 assists

 

[Acheron]

I looked him up on YouTube. Strange watching him dribble. He's so small it's like watching an U15 kid play.

I think he is the closest thing to Messi without the hormonal treatment.

 

[do.ob]

CSKA Moscow as a club deserves a mention:
Honda
Krasic
Zhirkov
Doumbia
Jo
Musa

all from the past couple of years.

 

[Gio]

Jozy Altidore was woeful in his spells in England, destroyed the Eredivisie though.

Kris Boyd scored a lot of goals in Scotland and was poor pretty much everywhere else. Same with Nikica Jelavic too, actually.

Would Frederic Kanoute count after his move to Sevilla? He was like a different player!

Boyd didn't age well. Regardless of where he's played since the age of 26/27 - be it the English Championship, Turkey, the MLS or Scotland - he's been struggling to get more than a handful a season. He had one good campaign with Kilmarnock, but then followed that up with 3 goals in 29 for Rangers in the Championship. I've never really rated him as a top player by any means, but in his early-to-mid 20s he would have scored heavily in most 'second-tier' leagues.

 

[Frasbul]

Thomas Broich in Australia. Average, very average German midfielder. Then he went to Australia and got voted best player of all time or something.

 

[MadMike]

Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid.

Messi for Barcelona

Come on lads, these jokes are beyond predictable. Step it up

 

[El cangrejo]

Darryl Murphy, Glenn Murray, Dave Nugent, Danny Graham and Patrick Bamford in the Championship.

 

[GuyfromAustria]

J. Soriano, former Barcelona B player when he was playing for Salzburg in Austria. scored 172 goals in 202 games.

Good mention, he was outstanding in our league. I don't like RB Salzburg but that team with Soriano, Mané, Alan and Kampl was really great to watch.
I guess we'll see more talents there before moving them to Leipzig (like Naby Keita last year), but Soriano spent his peak years in Salzburg.

 

[Sly]

Good mention, he was outstanding in our league. I don't like RB Salzburg but that team with Soriano, Mané, Alan and Kampl was really great to watch.
I guess we'll see more talents there before moving them to Leipzig (like Naby Keita last year), but Soriano spent his peak years in Salzburg.

Benfica tried to get him but fairplay to him he prefered to stay loyal to Salzburg. I guess being on big wages also helped.