Sitting in a cold and rainy Allianz Arena and waiting for kick-off in the Bayern Munich v Real Madrid game I was leafing through the Champions magazine from UEFA.
It has a four-page spread on the UEFA team of the year, as voted for by fans on uefa.com. To remind you, the players chosen were: Gianluigi Buffon; Gianluca Zambrotta, Philipp Lahm, Fabio Cannavaro, Carles Puyol; Steven Gerrard, Cesc Fabregas, Kaka, Ronaldinho; Samuel Etoo, Thierry Henry.
These big votes always seem to hand the honours to the most famous names from the biggest clubs and every single one of these players is from a heavyweight team. Of course it’s fair enough that Ronaldinho, Etoo and all the the rest of them are on there considering their successes for club and country last year but it doesnt mean they are the only good players out there.
So who are the unsung heroes of the European game? Who are the players who never get the recognition they deserve in awards like this, and yet are seen as indispensable by the fans of their clubs?
Send us your nominations for the European games under-appreciated players, and well see if by the end of the season we can come up with a good alternative team of the year.
My nominations from Germany would be Pavel Pardo, the Mexican midfielder at VfB Stuttgart, Robert Enke, the faultless Hanover 96 goalkeeper, and Naldo, the Brazilian centre-back at Werder Bremen.
I also asked around at the lively Guardian discussion on the Bundesliga and got a few more nominations, including Jawhar Mnari, the Tunisian midfielder at Nuremberg, and Frank Baumann at Werder.
Ill probably add further views from Reuters correspondents at a later date but in the mean time Id be grateful for your suggestions.
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10 comments so far
I’ve always rated Henrik Larsson and even though he’s returned home he’s still good enough. It is becoming a bit of a trueism that if a player looks after himself he can keep playing at the top level for years, and Larsson certainly has kept fit. Take that along with his excellent tactical knowledge and commitment to the team ethic and you see why I would include him.
- Posted by Peter McLaughlinAm I aloud to vote for Freddie Flintoff as striker. Apparently he’s been really working on his diving technique!!
- Posted by JimNo, you can’t, Jim! But Peter, Larsson is an interesting one. Fans certainly seem to love him wherever he goes.
- Posted by Kevin FylanIt’s a ruddy crying shame that Shaun Goater never received the European-level recognition he so richly deserved. Feed the Goat and he will score!
- Posted by Red SquirrelShaun Goater certainly did the business at Southend United so I second that nomination.
I’d also like to add his erstwhile Southend striking partner Freddie Eastwood who scored the goal that knocked Man Utd out of this seasons League Cup. Plus he was the target of the best chant I’ve heard this season…..’the wheels on your house go round and round. Round and round….’, a reference to his Romany roots.
- Posted by JimFrom Italy I would nominate AS Roma midfielders Simone Perrotta (Italian) and David Pizarro (Chilean). They are overshadowed by Totti but are a big reason why the giallo-rossi are in second place in Serie A and still in with a shout of winning the Champions League. Watch out Manchester United.
- Posted by IainGoalkeeper of the year is Victor Valdes at Barcelona. Just because everyone says Iker Casillas is the best in the world doesn’t mean it’s true.
- Posted by RafaFernando Torrres, Atletico Madrid. If only Atleti could be in the Champions League everyone would see how good he is.
- Posted by elenaAfter watching Germany beat the Czech Republic on Saturday I’m also going to nominate Werder Bremen’s Per Mertesacker. He was faultless at centre-back and I’ll write more about him at a later date.
- Posted by Kevin FylanOutside of Northern Ireland the name David Healy meant little. That was until last summer - now ask a few Spanish, Liechtensteiner (well there are only a few) and Swedes … not to mention a few English fans too!
- Posted by Liam