Top 5 Players Of The Club You Support

[SirBalon]

It's simple...

Who for you were (or maybe, are) the pioneers at the football club you support?

It has to consist of historic players for your club too because you should know the history of the club you support with players that changed things or made a massive mark to make your club more of a status symbol nationally or maybe even internationally.

You don't only have to make a top five of your own club but maybe dabble in other clubs you feel have legendary players and aren't represented here on TF365 with fan members.

Maybe you even want to do two lists for your club like maybe a top 5 of players in your lifetime and then what you recognise as the probable top 5 of all time at your club.

[Guest]

Universitario had so many historic players it's hard to know where to begin. Without going into too much detail as it's 4:30 am here right now, it would be something like this:

1. Hector Chumpitaz

2. Juan Carlos Oblitas

3. Lolo Fernandez

4. Percy Rojas

5. Toto Terry

[Inverted]

Billy McNeill - European Cup winning captain.

Jimmy Johnstone - star winger of the 1967 team, and probably the best in the world for a while.

Tommy Gemmil - scored in two European cup finals from left back.

Kenny Dalglish - people tend to forget he played about 300 games up here before he went to Liverpool.

Henrik Larsson - don't need to explain this one, he's recent enough in the memory. It's absolutely mental that a player of his ability stayed in Scotland through all of his prime years in the Bosman era. 

Tbh it's a bit of a cop-out list, since really if you're including 1967 players you could really make a list just of them. It's a bit arbitrary trying to pick just a few of them so I could shoehorn in two player from later years. 

[HK85]

You could probably make a better list if you included managers and chairmen. I know you definitely could here. In terms of just players, though;

Dixie Dean - Had to be in. One of the greatest goal scorers this country has seen. Double top flight league and FA Cup winner. Still holds that record and probably always will do. I'm unsure on whether there were other 'poster boys' in the game back then but we was involved in some endorsement work which raised our profile, think he was the face of a tobacco company. I know transfers weren't as regular back then as now but we were relegated in 1930 and he could have walked away but he stayed, won the old Second Division first time around (he scored 48 that year), then we won the top flight the year we came up (he scored 46) and the following year he added the FA Cup.

Rest are difficult, could make a case for a lot of the team in the 60's and a few of the 80's. I'll add them later. 

[Stan]

my lifetime - it just won't be the title-winning squad but spanning from 1996/97 which is when I first started supporting the club. We had mild levels of success in the late 90s/early 00s where we reached play-off finals and League Cup finals which, at the time for our standard of club, was a great achievement. 

Muzzy Izzet - for me, he was one of my favourite players to watch because of how creative and dynamic he could be. You had the rugged, aggressive nature of Lennon and Savage in a midfield 3, the wingers in Guppy and Impey on either side and Izzet seemed to be the perfect player to compliment that combination and the way we played. He was the lynch-pin that would bring it altogether. Not only that, but he was a goal-scoring midfielder and he scored some belters. Funnily enough, this goal below was 19 years ago today against Spurs

 

Emile Heskey - people seem to remember his time at Liverpool and dodgy England performances more than where he actually came from and had already made his name. As described in how we used to play in the late 90s above, Heskey was further proof of just how effective he could be and how that formation was. He was physical, pacy, bustly and clinical in front of goal with us. Got us so many goals. The first striker I properly grew to love watching in that side.

Riyad Mahrez - By far and away the most skilful, creative and mind-blowingly exciting player we've ever had. The ability to turn a game on its head by doing something eccentric or downright absurd. That title-winning season he was extremely pivotal to our success and counter-attacking play. Sensational skill and quick feet. Was terrified we'd lose him both before/after the Premier League winning season as we'd seen how amazing he could be in the Championship-winning season. He can have his off days where he tries too hard but for us, he was certainly a player you'd want to have in your team than outside it. Genuinely surprised he's still wearing our colours.

Jamie Vardy - Similar to Mahrez, he was unbelievably important to our success. He reminded me of Paul Dickov - that incessantly annoying twat of a player for defences, the ultimate nuisance. He may be a bit of a twat sometimes but you take comfort in knowing he's your twat! But not only that, you have the finishing quality in addition to the gritty side. Insane sense of pride and achievement when he broke the record for most goals scored in consecutive matches. 

Andy King - bit of a left-field choice here but it's his 10th year with the club now and he's literally been through it all. The lows and relegation to League One, the success of returning to the Championship at first time of asking, the play-off heart-break against Cardiff (penalty shootout) and Watford (semi-final drama in 12/13), winning the Championship with ease a year later, the great escape in 13/14 winning 7 of last 9 games to survive, winning the Premier League, playing in the Champions League. The roller-coaster of it all and he's now the one constant remaining after Shakespeare's sacking. He is the epitome of Leicester City. It's never an easy ride but his attitude is of the highest calibre. Such a professional player and not the greatest of talent, but the old phrase 'does the job required' can be applied to him. He encapsulates everything about Leicester for me. 

[Berserker]

Di Stefano

Sivori

Labruna

Passarella

Bernabe Ferreyra/Norberto Alonso.

 

There's literally dozens WC players i could name.

[Guest]

Just now, Berserker said:

Di Stefano

Sivori

Labruna

Passarella

Bernabe Ferreyra/Norberto Alonso.

 

There's literally dozens WC players i could name.

No Francescoli or Pumpido mate?

EDIT: I read Sivori as Saviola. My bad.

Edited October 20, 2017 by Guest

[Berserker]

The ones i named are better.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Berserker said:

The ones i named are better.

Yeah as I said I misread your post. I thought you had put Saviola hence why I was confused. A fan knows best  

[nudge]

There's absolutely no way to choose top 5 only, there were so many legendary players throughout the years it would be unfair to leave any single one of them out. I'll try to do the list consisting of players active during my time of following the club only.

Johan Micoud - the most phenomenal player I have ever seen play for Werder; elegance and perfection on the pitch, great down-to-earth character off the pitch. Incredible vision and passing. I doubt I will see a better player than Micoud in my lifetime.
Claudio Pizarro - a legend, most goals in the history of the club, great influence both on and off the pitch.
Andi Herzog - great playmaker, amazing technique, never failed to deliver.
Marco Bode - a Werderaner through and through, loads of important goals, one of the first players I couldn't help but admire. 
Rune Bratseth - probably the most complete player to ever play for the club, and most likely the best defender we ever had.

Other options: Torsten Frings - in fact, my most favourite player ever; his overall impact was a little less significant than that made by those above though. Diego - world class, many amazing moments, made Micoud's leaving less painful, but it was always more about him than about the club. Wynton Rufer - a great striker and a brilliant character, had a hard time leaving him out of my top 5, and he could easily make it any other day. Ailton - simply cult, nothing else to say... His goals speak for themselves, but it was his incredible personality that makes him stand out! Dieter Eilts - an extremely reliable players, leading figure that was a big part of our success at the time.

Honorable mentions: Rudi Völler, Karl-Heinz Riedle, Dieter Burdenski - all legends that I unfortunately saw too little and only have a foggy memory of to be able to objectively include in my list.

Other: Miro Klose - absolutely world class at his best. Never a place in the top 5 for him though for the cuntish way he left to join Bayern.

[Cicero]

Hard to pick only 5. 

Lampard

Terry

Zola

Osgood

Chopper

 

 

 

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, Cicero said:

Hard to pick only 5. 

Lampard

Terry

Zola

Osgood

Chopper

 

 

 

Its easy mate.

Pizarro

Pizarro

Pizarro

Kante

Pizarro

[Cicero]

Just now, Blue said:

Its easy mate.

Pizarro

Pizarro

Pizarro

Kante

Pizarro

He was worse than Kezman. And that's saying something. 

[Guest]

Just now, Cicero said:

He was worse than Kezman. And that's saying something. 

I know  it was a joke.

Its funny how football works. In England and Peru people think he's shite. In Germany he's a legend.

I liked him as a club player a lot but I wouldn't call him a "legend" and that's only because I think current Paolo Guerrero is miles ahead of what he was in his prime.

[Honey Honey]

I'm going to stick to post war as I'd have to blow the dust off the cover of the old books to remember who was good in 1927 

1. Alan Shearer - words cannot describe what it was like to be an impressionable youngster and be able to have an idol on that level as close to home as that. We all have strong bonds with great players at our clubs, but Shearer is one of those rare moments in the game where a community has someone as close to the ideal of a God as it is possible to get. I feel sad for the kids of this generation who have grown up with little more than a decimated Newcastle United. Many of whom are adults now and in their lives all of those who reached idol status such as Demba Ba and Yohan Cabaye shit on them and forced them to search for new one's every 2 years.

2. Jackie Milburn - the local lad in my grandfathers day who scored goals for fun and lifted three FA Cups. The 50's were Newcastle's last glory years and everyone of that generation talked about Wor Jackie for decades to come.

3. Kevin Keegan - Although he only played for Newcastle for 2 seasons he gave the fans of that era a boost amidst what would largely be nearly 20 years of pointless crap. We were in the old 2nd division and Keegan had just won PFA player of the year at Southampton in the first division when he decided to step down and join the club of his father. Pretty big thing to do, image if after Robin van Persie won PFA player of the year with Arsenal but rather than join Man Utd he went to Wolverhampton Wanderers. I believe this set off the precedent of trophy signings and trophy players at Newcastle. Even today the love for Rafa Benitez without him having done anything major is a byproduct of this culture. I doubt many if any other clubs would treat someone as a hero on this level simply for just choosing to be with us.

 

That's it.

There aren't five because the status of those 3 is so high in our history that the next level becomes a group of a dozen names.

 

[nudge]

20 minutes ago, Blue said:

I know  it was a joke.

Its funny how football works. In England and Peru people think he's shite. In Germany he's a legend.

I liked him as a club player a lot but I wouldn't call him a "legend" and that's only because I think current Paolo Guerrero is miles ahead of what he was in his prime.

You wouldn't, but any Werder fan and most Bayern fans certainly would, and deservedly so.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, nudge said:

You wouldn't, but any Werder fan and most Bayern fans certainly would, and deservedly so.

That's the thing though. He would have been a legend here if it wasn't for one thing: playing in the same time as Paolo Guerrero who is peaking now and better than Claudio ever was - and that's not to take away from his well deserved achievements either!

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, HoneyNUFC said:

I'm going to stick to post war as I'd have to blow the dust off the cover of the old books to remember who was good in 1927 

1. Alan Shearer - words cannot describe what it was like to be an impressionable youngster and be able to have an idol on that level as close to home as that. We all have strong bonds with great players at our clubs, but Shearer is one of those rare moments in the game where a community has someone as close to the ideal of a God as it is possible to get. I feel sad for the kids of this generation who have grown up with little more than a decimated Newcastle United. Many of whom are adults now and in their lives all of those who reached idol status such as Demba Ba and Yohan Cabaye shit on them and forced them to search for new one's every 2 years.

2. Jackie Milburn - the local lad in my grandfathers day who scored goals for fun and lifted three FA Cups. The 50's were Newcastle's last glory years and everyone of that generation talked about Wor Jackie for decades to come.

3. Kevin Keegan - Although he only played for Newcastle for 2 seasons he gave the fans of that era a boost amidst what would largely be nearly 20 years of pointless crap. We were in the old 2nd division and Keegan had just won PFA player of the year at Southampton in the first division when he decided to step down and join the club of his father. Pretty big thing to do, image if after Robin van Persie won PFA player of the year with Arsenal but rather than join Man Utd he went to Wolverhampton Wanderers. I believe this set off the precedent of trophy signings and trophy players at Newcastle. Even today the love for Rafa Benitez without him having done anything major is a byproduct of this culture. I doubt many if any other clubs would treat someone as a hero on this level simply for just choosing to be with us.

 

That's it.

There aren't five because the status of those 3 is so high in our history that the next level becomes a group of a dozen names.

 

Mark Cook.

[Tommy]

Toni Turek

Frank Mill 

Klaus Allofs

Paul Janes

Rainer Geye

[Dan]

Stan's are very hard to argue with. I'd absolutely kill to have someone like Izzet in our midfield now.

I do think though Kante has to be worth a mention. I said all along in our title winning year he was the key. Vardy & Mahrez were both exceptional, but neither could've done it without this man in my eyes.

[Cicero]

1 minute ago, Dan said:

Stan's are very hard to argue with. I'd absolutely kill to have someone like Izzet in our midfield now.

I do think though Kante has to be worth a mention. I said all along in our title winning year he was the key. Vardy & Mahrez were both exceptional, but neither could've done it without this man in my eyes.

Pogba cud ov dunnit 

Edited October 20, 2017 by Cicero

[Dan]

2 minutes ago, Cicero said:

Pogba cud ov dunnit 

It's ridiculous how much assurance Kante gives a side. We used to be on the back foot and I wouldn't even be particularly nervous we were going to blow it whereas now I expect us to concede every time we get attacked.

[Stan]

6 minutes ago, Dan said:

Stan's are very hard to argue with. I'd absolutely kill to have someone like Izzet in our midfield now.

I do think though Kante has to be worth a mention. I said all along in our title winning year he was the key. Vardy & Mahrez were both exceptional, but neither could've done it without this man in my eyes.

absurdly tough to leave him out to be honest. I think sentimentality got King over the line ahead of him. Shame Kante was only here for 1 season.

[Dan]

1 minute ago, Stan said:

absurdly tough to leave him out to be honest. I think sentimentality got King over the line ahead of him. Shame Kante was only here for 1 season.

The one thing stopping me putting King in is that his involvement in the ultimate year was pretty minimal, although I definitely agree on how much he's been through. For quite a steady, calm and quiet player ever since he showed up the club has been the total opposite.

[Cicero]

7 minutes ago, Dan said:

It's ridiculous how much assurance Kante gives a side. We used to be on the back foot and I wouldn't even be particularly nervous we were going to blow it whereas now I expect us to concede every time we get attacked.

He remains the level he is at, especially at a long duration with us, I can see him surpassing Makelele. 

Look how much of a shambles we are now with him injured. 

Edited October 20, 2017 by Cicero

[Dan]

18 minutes ago, Cicero said:

He remains the level he is at, especially at a long duration with us, I can see him surpassing Makelele. 

Look how much of a shambles we are now with him injured. 

It's no co-incidence at all. One of the best readers of the game and tacklers I've ever seen.

[IgnisExcubitor]

Will choose the latter option which Balon mentioned. So the players in my list are from the time I started supporting Lfc. Therefore there will be no mention of Dalglish (No one comes close to him), Barnes(magic),  Rush,  Hughes(who I absolutely love after reading about him),  Callaghan,  Clemence,  Liddell, etc. 

I am even excluding the God,  because I didn't see the best of him in Red. 

Owen,  the player who was responsible for me becoming a Lfc fan,  also misses because I can't forgive him for joining Man Utd. 

So here goes, in no particular order. 

1) Xabi Alonso

My all time favourite footballer.  It was joy watching him,  even after he left.  If he had stayed back then things would have been different,  but it's a shame he burned his bridges with Rafa. 

2) Steven Gerrard

There were so many times when he has single handedly saved our arse. Just too many  matches.  There was nobody as inspiring as him.

3) Fernando Torres

Suarez was a better player than Torres,  but the Spaniard was so graceful. He glided on the turf. And unlike Suarez he wasn't a cunt. He could tear down defences,  but in his own way.

4) Pepe Reina

The club has a history of great keepers,  and he can be counted as one of them. Didn't achieve anywhere near the same number of trophies as Clemence or Grobbelaar but Pepe was brilliant for us. You don't win three consecutive Golden gloves without being good. 

5) Jamie Carragher

Just like how DMs do all the dirty work for the team,  well he did that with captaincy.  While Steven wore the armband, Carra did the dirty work of hounding his team mates & keeping  them on their toes,  leaving  Steven to inspire them with his feet.  And Carra was a really good defender to add to that. His partnership with Hyypia was one of the best. 

Near misses to my list Suarez(almost won us the league,  but also dragged the club's name through some shit), Hyypia (legend in his own way), Mascherano(we never replaced him,  like Xabi). 

 

[nudge]

2 hours ago, Tsubasa said:

Toni Turek

Frank Mill 

Klaus Allofs

Paul Janes

Rainer Geye

No Gerd Zewe?  

Anyway, after reading your post I realised that I have absolutely no idea what Allofs is up to now.

[Tommy]

52 minutes ago, nudge said:

No Gerd Zewe?  

Anyway, after reading your post I realised that I have absolutely no idea what Allofs is up to now.

 

Hmm, Zewe instead of Mill would be better, I guess. Mill only played for Düsseldorf in the autumn of his career. 

 

Many people here wanted to see Allofs at Fortuna as a Manager or director of sports. He declined as far as I know, but didn't rule out to come back one day. 

[nudge]

12 minutes ago, Tsubasa said:

Many people here wanted to see Allofs at Fortuna as a Manager or director of sports. He declined as far as I know, but didn't rule out to come back one day. 

And bring Thomas Schaaf in as a head coach 

This thread depresses me though, after realising what an incredible loss of quality we had in recent years.