Van Der Gouw
Brown, Evans, Smalling Oshea
Nani, Carrick, Fletcher, Park
Lingard
Saha,
Wins the league.
Brown, Evans, Smalling Oshea
Nani, Carrick, Fletcher, Park
Lingard
Saha,
Wins the league.
Who is the most underrated footballer in modern history?
- Thread starter GatoLoco
- Start date
Well he was and still is a very good keeper. In my opinion though there were better keepers around.
Neuer for once and Navas over those years performed much better at the big stage.
We could stick to underrated since that is what this is about. Who do you think is underrated from us or other teams?
I can mention Navas since I feel he is still not seen as a top keeper yet he won CL with Real Madrid and then joins PSG and they improve to another level at the big stage.
Diego Forlan was absolutely brilliant in his peak.
Navas a good shout. Maybe not born to play in Premier League but I remember feeling sorry for him the way he was treated at Madrid while being a super performer for them in a key period. Herrera was vastly underrated when he was here, as was Fellaini (obviously different scale). Gareth Barry, Milner too. Both about as much flair as my socks after training but really consistent and dependable.
Ljungberg. Was overshadowed a bit by Henry, Petit and Pires but I remember him being a beast.
Carvalho. Whilst Terry and Cole took all the plaudits, Carvalho was busy bailing them out of regular silly mistakes.
Morientes. Was always the "other Spanish striker" behind Raul but I remember him being lethal in front of goal.
Carvalho. Whilst Terry and Cole took all the plaudits, Carvalho was busy bailing them out of regular silly mistakes.
Morientes. Was always the "other Spanish striker" behind Raul but I remember him being lethal in front of goal.
Yeah Herrera is a good point. Outside United and Bilbao he is probably very underrated. Still I think people rate him here partly for being very likeable. Like I was sad to see him go.
I think defensive midfielders are often not rated as much by the general public, but I think many rates them on here.
I think if Benzema was at Arsenal or Chelsea, he'd be every bit the player than Henry was in the PL.
Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Muller are consistently class without getting the plaudits of some world stars.
In times gone by, Dennis Irwin was world class and should be mentioned up there among the greatest left backs of all time. Mark Hughes a little bit underrated too.
Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Muller are consistently class without getting the plaudits of some world stars.
In times gone by, Dennis Irwin was world class and should be mentioned up there among the greatest left backs of all time. Mark Hughes a little bit underrated too.
From the ones mentioned in the thread, Benzema and Guti are excellent shouts. I do think Rooney is underrated too; by some united fans for some of his off-field stuff, and by many others for not achieving a whole lot with England.
I’m going to say Romario. I know that most people think he was a fantastic striker but I just feel that his name doesn’t come up enough in conversations among English fans when talking about great strikers. I think Ronaldo coming right after him and being the beast that he was didn’t help. Romario might be the best finisher I’ve ever watched.
I’m going to say Romario. I know that most people think he was a fantastic striker but I just feel that his name doesn’t come up enough in conversations among English fans when talking about great strikers. I think Ronaldo coming right after him and being the beast that he was didn’t help. Romario might be the best finisher I’ve ever watched.
Keane makes sure everyone remembers Irwin. I heard the first thing he asked for during the Celtic managerial interview was to erect a statue of Irwin at the Celtic dressing room.
Check out
Karim Benzema | all misses, fails and mistakes (reload)
on youtube
Karim Benzema | all misses, fails and mistakes (reload)
on youtube
That's not that funny. And yes Irwin deserves the plaudits. Fergie said he was the only player he ever managed who was guaranteed to get into his All Time XI.
Keylor Navas is my choice. One of the best keepers of the past decade, rarely gets/got any mentions when discussing the best keepers in the world.
The obsession with downplaying Carrick's quality by some United fans is echoed now with how some United fans still struggle to recognise what an elite player Luke Shaw has become. Because they never warmed to these players for some odd reason, they refuse to acknowledge their quality.
Carrick was one of the best holding midfielders of his generation. Guardiola has described him as one of the best he's ever seen.
The obsession with downplaying Carrick's quality by some United fans is echoed now with how some United fans still struggle to recognise what an elite player Luke Shaw has become. Because they never warmed to these players for some odd reason, they refuse to acknowledge their quality.
Don't think so. Just see how differently him and Zlatan are perceived and it's a bit laughable.
Oddly I think Rooney is underrated by many too. Doesn't get the glowing plaudits for being the incredible footballer he was.
I don't really rate Benzema. I just sorta accept that people who've seen him play much more than me (I'm not in to La Liga) do and so assume he is very good. Compared to Zlatan who was born for Youtube compilations and goalscoring stats it's not a hard choice who I would choose.
Rooney's partially underrated because he spent all his best years at one club and massively pissed off a reasonably large proportion of that club's fans with his threat to join a rival. You anger a lot of your cheerleaders then you are gonna struggle in popularity contests.
Anyway, it's Mike Pollitt. Came out of our academy and was unbelievable for Rotherham for years but sadly only got his chance in the Premier League far too late in life.
Benzema is the better player of the two though. And he isn't all about himself like Zlatan and actually combined well with teammates which is why he's the one who has been part of great teams. I understand Zlatan has these flashy moments that catch the eye but that's what makes him overrated and Benzema underrated.
You're right about Rooney. I was one who was disgruntled with him. It's a shame because he was a special footballer.
Beckham.
Better than Giggs and Scholes at his best imo.
Better than Giggs and Scholes at his best imo.
I think Benzema is a rather selfless striker. He's willing to let C.Ronaldo take all the glory and give him all the assists.
When Ronaldo left, Benzema steps up and starts to be more selfish. He has also improved his finishing in recent years. Definitely a very good player these days.
When Ronaldo left, Benzema steps up and starts to be more selfish. He has also improved his finishing in recent years. Definitely a very good player these days.
He is definitely underrated by some people.
To my mind, anyone who says he’s not the best midfielder of his generation is in danger of underrating him (although there are many excellent players in that conversation).
However, there is a very long list of ex-pros, who either played with him or against him, that name him as the stand-out player in their experience. A common reaction is that however good they thought he was, after being on the pitch with him, his brilliance was manifestly greater and at an extraordinary level. I’ve even heard people say you could hear a different sound when he kicked the ball.
There will still be loads of people who just ignore all that and say “he was good but not THAT good”. He was that good.
Yeah, Beckham is my least favourite of those three but only just and it’s true he had a very high peak which seems to be forgotten by a lot of people. In fact hardly anyone acknowledges how important he was to us and to England in the two or three years before he went to Madrid.
He certainly gets less credit and more criticism than his ability and performances deserved. Great player.
Agreed. From 1996-2002 neither Giggs or Scholes matched Beckham’s consistently high standards. Actually only Roy Keane managed it.
Depends on underrated by who. Casuals used to think he was the best in the world because of his fame.
Funny!
For me underrated players are the glue that holds the team together, not necessarily the stars but very very important pieces in the jigsaw to make it all fit.
Dzeko
Klose
Redondo
Serginho
Never left their country to play in europe but by all accounts were astonishingly good players;
Rabah Madjer
Mohamed Aboutrika
Dzeko
Klose
Redondo
Serginho
Never left their country to play in europe but by all accounts were astonishingly good players;
Rabah Madjer
Mohamed Aboutrika
Good picks especially Valeron. Both Valencia and Depor were top European clubs for a few years. Probably need to add Mendieta, Aimar and Riquelme to playmakers of that era that are largely forgotten
Rabah Madjer had a successful stint in European football, and I agree regarding Abutreika. Shame he didn't play on a bigger stage.
That's crazy talk
Guti was my pick as well.
I regularly watch those YouTube clips. I absolutely love some of those passes / through balls - especially the ones that don't leave the ground and split the defence perfectly.
Underrated players at United for me:
Antonio Valencia: very good as a winger, excellent as a right back, but some seem to be upset that he wasn't as good as Ronaldo and couldn't cross like Beckham.
Carrick: the fact that many in this thread are trying to argue he was 'alright'. He didn't have flair, he wasn't all action (in fact he was rather languid), he didn't shout and point, and he didn't maraud forward to score goals, so its easy to miss what he did. His positioning and reading of the game were second to none, he was at the right place at the right time and coupled with his excellent passing range made controlling the midfield look easy.
Scholes: rated as he should be by the majority of our fans, but underrated by oppo fans usually. I mention him because I had an argument on here with a united fan who thinks Patrick Vieira was a better midfielder.
John O'Shea: probably one of the most complete players ever. While never the best in any one position, he has played every position on the pitch from goal keeper to striker (and everything in between) for us at a very high level. Was quality as a CB after leaving united.
Antonio Valencia: very good as a winger, excellent as a right back, but some seem to be upset that he wasn't as good as Ronaldo and couldn't cross like Beckham.
Carrick: the fact that many in this thread are trying to argue he was 'alright'. He didn't have flair, he wasn't all action (in fact he was rather languid), he didn't shout and point, and he didn't maraud forward to score goals, so its easy to miss what he did. His positioning and reading of the game were second to none, he was at the right place at the right time and coupled with his excellent passing range made controlling the midfield look easy.
Scholes: rated as he should be by the majority of our fans, but underrated by oppo fans usually. I mention him because I had an argument on here with a united fan who thinks Patrick Vieira was a better midfielder.
John O'Shea: probably one of the most complete players ever. While never the best in any one position, he has played every position on the pitch from goal keeper to striker (and everything in between) for us at a very high level. Was quality as a CB after leaving united.
eh.
No matter how much deserved praise the OP may think he's not getting... one just can't put a Ballon d'Or winner in a most underrated list.
Dzeko and Klose are good picks. I'd argue Cavani too for a long time. Dzeko was great for City, but was never quite the main man. I think when a player either doesn't come to the Premier League at all, or his time there is a mixed success it doesn't help his image on here at least. Still, he had three very good seasons at City, and has been brilliant for Roma since, and Wolfsburg before that. Just a very classy striker.
Cavani by all accounts was world class at Napoli, and then went on to become PSG's top scorer. Yet for the longest time he was still underrated. I remember he was always mentioned in these "players you've never seen play well / or score" threads, when I doubt many people actually watched him play bar the odd Championsleague match.
As for Klose, everyone knows he has a great record for his national team but I think his club career is really underrated. If you listened to the narrative around him you'd think he only showed up for international games, and the only thing he was good at was scoring goals. I'm not even sure where this pure poacher image came from, when I think for much of his career his intelligent link up play was his strength despite not being technically at the highest level. In his best season for Bremen he scored 25 goals and 13 assists in 26 league games, which is brilliant for any player. It's strange how someone like Inzaghi has this almost mythical aura around him, while Klose seems more like a footnote as the guy who took Ronaldo's world cup record.
Nakelele
Madjer was a magician with the ball on his feet, but a lazy bastard to do the tactical job, hence his peak was toos short. still made a fantastic season and gave Porto their 1st European Cup. The goal he scored against Bayern that decided the title showed how positively arrogant he was about his technical skills. Few players would dare to do that on a decisive moment of the game. He barely looked to confirm the ball goes in.
Fantastic picks. All of those players would still be very useful on today's standards. I would like to add two dutch strikers: Roy Makaay and Pierre Van Hoijdonk.
Makaay was all about shootinh technique and determination, anticipation.
Pierre was pure finesse and amazing ball control, despite not being the fastest player.
Mousa Dembélé would be my first pick.
outstanding footballer could of slotted into any of the top teams and improved them ever since hes left spurs they are still trying to fill that gap.
outstanding footballer could of slotted into any of the top teams and improved them ever since hes left spurs they are still trying to fill that gap.
Makaay is a great mention!
Super underrated player. He was supposedly a bit of a nutter but he played everywhere from 6-10 for them and usually did great. Big game playerGuti was my pick as well.
I regularly watch those YouTube clips. I absolutely love some of those passes / through balls - especially the ones that don't leave the ground and split the defence perfectly.
For me, underrated players have to be consistenly good. Valencia had a season as a RW, where he was excellent and then both him and Nani played like non footballers. He did a good job of becoming a RB though, but he had too many season as a RW where he was shit for me to consider him underrated.
Rooney is a Legend and he still gets disrespected alot.
Towards the end of his time with us he got shat on here and the M.E.N. That fat cnut Howson and McKola on Full-Time Devils had an agenda against him.
Disagree with you there mate. I don't rate any of Valencia's seasons as shit. He was contender for best in his position a number of seasons, others were he was solid and 'did a job'.
Stepping into the position vacated by Ronaldo, it felt like a big step down, but anyone not named Messi was bound to be. As RB he was good defensively, explosive going forward and his crossing wasn't as bad as many like to pretend.
Hating on him was kind of a meme that took on a life of it's own, but he was good enough to be a starting player for a side that won titles.