Football is a sport where you need to be on top of the game & often do the unimaginable if you want people to remember you. These players we’ve got coming your way though, weren’t really exceptional and the majority of them didn’t even play for top clubs; but for various reasons – often because they were simply a joy to watch – these players left a permanent impression on all of us.
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Babel had an amazing introduction for Liverpool following his €17.25m move from Ajax. He was somewhat of a super-sub for the Reds, going in late and getting on the scoresheet. Winning Steven Gerrard a penalty and scoring in injury-time in a 13-minute appearance during Liverpool’s 4-2 victory over Arsenal in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, demonstrated that. The Dutchman got done with five goals in 11 appearances despite just starting multiple times in the Champions League. However, he could never match those lofty standards again. This, at last, prompted his decline at Anfield and Babel left in 2011 for Hoffenheim and has played for seven different clubs since.
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Before significantly getting paperwork done for Arsenal on deadline day in 2009, Andrei Arshavin was probably the most sizzling property in European football. The Russian playmaker with the world at his feet had been connected with every huge club before, at long last, making the £15 million move to the Emirates. When he showed up, there was no halting him as the little Russian set the Premier League alight, most notably with an amazing four-goal haul in an outstanding solo performance at Anfield. Unfortunately for Andrei, that evening in Liverpool was pretty much as great as it got. In the four seasons that followed, Arshavin’s exhibitions steadily deteriorated. While many will consistently recall that astounding match at Anfield, unfortunately, Andrei ought to have been associated with quite a lot more.
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After being signed by newly-promoted side Swansea, the Spaniard took the Premier League by storm. In the 2012/13 season, Michu established himself as one of the best goal scorers in the Premier League by scoring eighteen goals. No person could hate a person like Michu. Sadly, the Spaniard failed to produce the same level of form again. The following season he could only bag two goals and a few seasons later found himself playing in the fourth tier of Spanish football.
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It was somewhat abnormal when Newcastle United uncovered the ‘next’ Demba Ba in 2012, just for him to improve rapidly. Instinctive and merciless before the goal, Cisse was relentless in his first half-season on these shores. He always seems to deliver, but that form is unlikely to be managed ever again. He left Newcastle United for Chinese side Shandong Luneng in 2016, going through two years at the club before joining Alanyaspor in Turkey in 2018, where he was among the goals once again, which incited Istanbul giants Fenerbahce to bring him to the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium. He was also known for his link-up play with Demba ba which the streets will never forget.
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Sunderland broke their club-record signing when they signed Gyan from Rennes for £13million in 2010 where the Ghanian had scored 13 Ligue 1 goals. He scored after coming on from the bench on his Premier League debut at Wigan and proceeded to score 11 more goals across all competitions, contributing five assists as well. However, his prosperity at Sunderland turned Gyan’s head. During September of his subsequent season, the club declared their record marking was being loaned out to Al Ain in UAE for an enormous loan fee, with Gyan reportedly earning four times the amount he rounded up on Wearside. Gyan’s representative played another blinder four years after the fact when the forward moved to China for a reported salary of £227,000 every week.
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The summer transfer window in 2008 was something special for Manchester City. Out of the blue, Man City reported themselves as the richest club on the planet in the wake of being offered to ADUG before splashing £32.5million for Robinho. The Brazilian was set to join Chelsea until Real Madrid got wind of the reality the Blues had been selling shirts with his name on before any arrangement had concurred. Robinho satisfied the expectations during his first season, scoring 14 goals and taking the skipper’s armband in Richard Dunne’s non-appearance. However, his status fell the following season while City’s rose, with Robinho failing to score in 10 Premier League appearances before Christmas. He was lent to Santos before being offered to AC Milan for not exactly a large portion of the expense City had paid two years earlier.
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Blackburn Rovers signed the Paraguayan in the 2007/08 campaign where he managed to score nineteen goals and never looked back. His goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford is one to be remembered. The following season, he joined Manchester City which ended up being a massive flop for his playing career. Santa Cruz then joined Spanish side Malaga before signing for the Mexican Club Cruz Azul in 2015. Currently, he plays for Club Olimpia (Paraguay) and has scored 61 times in his 140 appearances, and is slowly finding a way back to form.
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At his best, Turan’s hard-running and strikingly in-charge style on the pitch gave ideal balance to Simeone’s new Atletico Madrid. He acquired a good reputation in his new home as the large bearded cool child of Atleti. Yet, since his transfer to Barca, things have gone an incredible quiet for him. A player ban (courtesy of Turan throwing his boot at the linesman), meant Turan was made to stand by for five months to make his Barcelona debut. At the point when he at long last did, it appears Turan – a critical pinion in Simeone’s Atleti machine – was not essentially a good fit for Barça’s loaded dream team that focused around the ‘MSN’ attack.
[Featured Image Credit: Premier League]
Shashank Iyer