Roversforlife Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Impressive write ups btw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 No: 17 Arjen Robben Position: Winger / Forward Champions League Clubs: PSV, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich Nationality: Dutch Champions League Appearances / Goals: 86 / 24 Arjen Robben was born in 1984 and currently plays for Bayern Munich. He originally started at his home town club FC Groningen in 2000, and was transferred to PSV 3 years later. It was with PSV, that Robben made 10 Champions League appearances, scoring 3 goals. After his domestic title, Robben was in discussions with Man Utd, but Sir Alex Ferguson's bid was too low - the PSV Chairman claiming the £5m offer wasn't enough and Chelsea offered the matching price of £12m. Robben signed for Chelsea in 2004, but injury prevented his debut until November that year. His time at Chelsea was a success one, and he made 19 Champions League appearances, scoring 2 goals. Domestically, he won two league titles, the FA Cup and three League Cups. He was subject to a transfer bid by Real Madrid in 2007, and eventually signed for the Madrid Giants for a reported £24m. Robben was quoted as being 'relieved' to have left Chelsea as he felt his confidence dropped working with manager Jose Mourinho. He does look back on his time in England fondly though. Robben signed for Real Madrid on a 5 year contract and made his debut in the Champions League against Werder Bremem. He went on to win La Liga in the 2007/08 season and made 11 Champions League appearances, scoring once. However Robben's time at the Bernabeu was short lived. The arrival of Christiano Ronaldo and Kaka meant that the Madrid side needed to balance the books and they had 5 players more than the Spanish FA allows to be registered for one season. Real Madrid General Director, Jorge Valdano spoek tot he media saying it would be 'better' if he left the club' insisting that he was too injury prone. Robben signed for current club Bayern Munich in 2009. Robben's time at Bayern has been extremely successful. He has so far made 46 Champions League appearances, scoring 18 goals. He also won his first Champions League with the German side, scoring in the final. Robben has also been a runner up twice int he competition and he also missed a penalty in the shoot out against Chelsea in 2011/12 season. (Warning: There is German 'music' with this) To date, he has won three Bundesliga titles, three domestic cups and UEFA Super Cup. He has also wont he World Cup Club competition in a Munich shirt. Fun Fact: Robben is a professional fall guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P45 Posted March 28, 2015 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Good write ups. I'm looking forward to the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 No: 16 Alessandro Del Piero Clubs: Juventus Position: Deep lying forward Nationality: Italian Champions League Appearances / Goals: 89/42 Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Alessandro Del Piero is a Juventus legend who has made a record 705 appearances fro the Grand Old Lady of Turin for 19 seasons from 1994 - 2012. In his Juventus career he made 89 Champions League Appearances, scoring 42 goals. 'Alex' started his career at Padova after three scouts visited his home and convinced a young Del Piero to sign for their youth set up. At the age of 17, he made his Seria B debut against Messina and in the following season, was signed by Juventus for approx £2m. ‘On the 28th of June, 1993 I signed my future: black on white, black and white forever.’ During his career in Turin, Del Piero has won 8 Seria A titles, 1 Coppa Italia and was a Champions League winner 1995/96 season. After Juventus were relegated to Seria B for corruption, De Piero stayed with the side and guided his team to promotion at the first attempt in 2006/07 season. Fun Fact: Del Piero donates heavily to Cancer Research. His outlook towards money is very clear. Del Piero was Mr Juventus and as such, has made it to the top 20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted March 28, 2015 Author Share Posted March 28, 2015 For those who are wondering where I am getting my stats from, here is the UEFA stats guide which you may (or may not) like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurph Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Great write ups, but it's Serie A! I posted this all the time when Ale is mentioned, but this piece by James Horncastle always brings a tear to my eye. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 Great write ups, but it's Serie A! I posted this all the time when Ale is mentioned, but this piece by James Horncastle always brings a tear to my eye. I've always called it that. Adding to my stupidity, I wish I read that prior to the write up. I find players who have moved clubs easier to write up than those who are one man clubs for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ginger Prince Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Some player, almost underrated now, probably due to his disastrous spell at Madrid. Almost unplayable in his prime, the drop of his shoulder and he was past his man, carried really bad Milan teams for years. Aye, 100%. Despite not being blessed with blistering pace, the way he used to leave players for dead was amazing to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 No 15 Carlos Puyol Position: Centre Half Club: Barcelona Champions League Appearances / Goals: 120* / 2 (Fifth in all time appearances to date) Carlos Puyol was born in 1978 and joined nearby side, Barcelona in 1996, before making his debut in the first team under Louis Van Gaal in 1999. Initially he was a right back (and did fill in that position from time to time) but became a centre half as he worked his way into the first team. Puyol is a Barcelona legend. He was solid at the back, and inspired his team forward and demonstrated leadership with a non nonsense style as he was made club captain in 2003/04 season. Puyol made his Champions League debut in 1999 in the 5-0 thrashing of Swedish side AIK. Since then, he has gone on to make 120 appearances in the competition, scoring 2 goals. He also made a landmark 400 games for Barca in the Champions League match against Sporting Lisbon...as a left back! Puyol has won three Champions League titles in his professional Career. His domestic success with Barcalona includes 6 La Liga titles and two Copa Del Rey's among others. Despite all the honors Puyol has won, he is difficult to write up. This is probably because he was so dependable, solid and versatile that there was an element that you would take it for granted that he would turn out a great performance every match. Puyol hung up his boots in 2014 after the club sacked Andoni Zubizareta who critisied the summer signings. Puyol, reportedly a close friend of Zubbi, terminated his contract with the club to 'concentrate on other things'. Fun Fact: He 'bench presses' his girlfriend to keep fit since retirement. His best friend is Xavi and decided against a move to Malaga after seeing Xavi make his debut for Barcelona. Well played Carlos, you made it to 15. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P45 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 ^^^ Love that gif. But Pique kidding on his arm is hurt when Puyol takes the thing off him is pathetic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 No: 14 Paul Scholes Position: Midfield Club: Man Utd Champions League Appearances / Goals: 124 / 24 Nationality: English When Sir Alex Ferguson brought through what is now known as 'the class of 92' to the Manchester Utd first team, Alan Hansen infamously said 'you can anything with kids'. Clearly Hansen was proved wrong and the team went on from strength to strength, dominating the English Premier League. At the centre of this team was Paul Scholes. A quiet lad from Oldham and proved to be one of the 'best midfielders in his generation' according to Pep Guardiola.. His record speaks for itself; he won 11 EPL Titles, 3 FA Cups, 2 League Cups and 2 Champions League Trophies. 'My toughest opponent? Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder' Zinedine Zidane 'Out of everyone at Manchester United, I would pick out Scholes - he is the best midfielder of his generation. I would have loved to have played alongside him.' Pep Guardiola An accomplished passer of the ball, Scholes was often critised for his tackling ability as he picked up bookings (with 99 yellow cards, he was the third most booked player in EPL history) with late challenges. However in an interview with BBC Radio 5 in 2011, he claimed: "I was just getting people back. If someone got me early in the game it was always in the back of my mind that I needed to get them back. I didn't always do it on purpose, some of it was just bad timing, I suppose.' It's worth adding, that he picked up 32 yellow cards in the Champions League! Scholes retired from football in 2011, but soon answered the call to come back from Sir Alex Ferguson as Man Utd had an injury crisis in 2012 and helped the Red Devils to the EPL Title. He retired at the end of the season and now has a share in Salford CIty Football Club. A lifetime Oldham fan, Scholes hasn't ruled out managing the side in the future and is regularly linked with the club. Reflecting on his career, 'When it's over I just want to be able to look in the mirror and say, 'Well, you were a half-decent player.' Aye Paul, you certainly were. Fun Fact: Paul Scholes is asthmatic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albino Rover Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 An unarguable list so far, with due respect paid to each player in your words and pictures, Addie. Very enjoyable reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 An unarguable list so far, with due respect paid to each player in your words and pictures, Addie. Very enjoyable reading. Scott Nisbett is next, so dinnae get carried away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albino Rover Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 For shame, until this thread I had never heard of him. His flukey goal was scored when I was in extra-extra-small nappies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 No: 13 Filippo Inzaghi Position: Forward Clubs: Juventus / AC Milan Champions League Appearances / Goals: 81 / 46 Filippo Inzaghi is considered to be one of the most prolific Italian strikers in the modern game and is currently rated as the 7th all time top scorer in the Champions League with 46 goals. (17 with Juventus and 29 with AC Milan). Born in 1973, Inzaghi joined his hometown club Piacenza but only made 2 appearances for them. After a couple of loan spells, and a brief season at Parma, he made a name for himself at Bergamo side, Atalanta. After an impressive 24 goals from 33 appearances, he transferred to Juventus for approx £8m. It was with Juventus side that boasted Del Piero and Zidane, that Inzaghi made his Champions League debut, and became the first player to score two hat tricks in the Champions League in the season. Inzaghi would late on score another hat trick in a Milan shirt, making him one of only four players to score three or more hat tricks in the competition. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XXSRidRwO4 In 1997/98 season, Inzaghi was a runner up in the Champions League as Juventus lost to Real Madrid in the final. Four seasons later, Inzaghi signed for AC Milan. This was a successful spell and he won the Champions League with the Rossoneri twice in 2002/03 & 2006/07. Inzaghi was a player that many loved to hate. He was accused of diving and poaching regularly with Sir Alex Ferguson claiming, 'That lad must have been born offside.' There was no disputing his prolific goal scoring though; he scored in every competition he played in. He was cunning and his positional sense allowed him more opportunities to score. 'If you pass him the right ball, he will score.' David Beckham. 'The only player I fear.' Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho in the build up to a match against Milan. Roberto Carlos, who faced Inzaghi regularly during his Inter Milan days, said of the forward: “He is the man who sorts everything out – even though it’s difficult to lay your finger on what it is exactly that he’s got! Whenever Milan are in trouble, he seems to get them out of it.” As the top 20 begins to narrow down, some may question whether Del Piero should be higher up or not. However one thing can't be denied - Fillippo Inzaghi scored goals in abundance and won trophies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twinkle Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 Surely has the record for most offsides in his career! Poaching b*****d but knew where the goals were. Terrific goalscorer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albino Rover Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 He lives in my memory as Filippo Inzaghioffside; along with Darren Dodsog and Roy Keaneso. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 Another couple of write ups on its way tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 No: 12 Andrea Pirlo Position: Midfield / Playmaker Clubs: Inter Milan / AC Milan / Juventus Champions League Appearances: 103 Andrea Pirlo is perhaps regarded as one of the most iconic players of his generation. A player who has won numerous honours int he game and played at the highest level, he comes in at No 12 due to his ability to keep possession of the ball (Polish legend Zibi Boniek once said, 'To pass the ball to Pirlo is like keeping it in a safe') and was a lethal free kick specialist. More so than anything he lead by example with his team mates and let his natural skill do the talking. Having started his career at home town side Brescia, Pirlo eventually transferred to Inter in 1998. He initially struggles to make an impact at Inter and was loaned to several clubs. He eventually transferred to AC Milan 2001 and spent 10 years at the Rossoneri where he won two Champions League trophies in 2002/03 & 2006/07. He also finished runner up to Liverpool in Istanbul in 2004/05 season, which he described losing a 3 goal lead at half time to be a dark moment and that he 'no longer felt like a player that night'. He transferred to Juventus in 2011 and at the age of 35, still plays his trade there. Although he hasn't won a European honour at the Turin giants, he has made his mark in the 20 appearances in an old Notts Co Juve shirt in the Champions League. Known for his laid back style, Pirlo was quoted in his autobiography (and used by the Independent) 'I don't feel pressure ... I don't give a toss about it. I spent the afternoon of Sunday, July 9, 2006 in Berlin sleeping and playing the PlayStation. In the evening, I went out and won the World Cup.' Fun Fact: Pirlo is addicted to the Playstation. He regularly threw strops at team mate Sandro Nesta when he lost at FIFA. Another Fun Fact: Pirlo is a day younger than Addie. This makes him a Taurus and a fine specimen of a man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted March 31, 2015 Author Share Posted March 31, 2015 That's all for tonight folks as I need to get some work done. I will post more tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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