Great footballers, crap footballing nations

Ronaldinho and Pele are/were fantastic footballers but look at the teams they played with, packed with stars etc.

Good players get recognised as such and end up playing for great clubs. But what about those footaballers who in their own right were awesome but had to play for a crap footballing nation? As a result we never saw them in later stages of the world cup, if they got there.

I'm thinking George Best, Eddie Gray and Lucas Radebe - any other nominations from the past? Who would be nominated from the present - Gudjohnsen?

Giggs/Rush Viduka

and shitloads from the African nations

and from the past... Dalglish

George Weah - Liberia

Samuel Eto'o Roger Milla - Cameroon

Didier Drogba (?) - Cote D'Ivoire ok not great, better than average though...

Steven Gerrard - England

Forgot John Charles, so great he nearly won the World Cup for Wales on his own.

Shug wrote: You forgot Cantona Nick?

Willie Johnston WBA

Shug wrote: Twas a response to the fact he missed out with France.

Not to the fact they're crap

blame Ginola for that. Crossed the ball in the last minute of injury time, France going to USA, opposition break, score, France not going to USA

all he had to do was keep the ball for 20 secs

SHEDSRUS wrote: Willie Johnston WBA

Grrrrr! Cost us the '78 World Cup he did.

:D

Grrrrr! Cost us the '78 World Cup he did.

Best player West Brom have ever had

Gary Smith. Mate of mine who made his international debut at the age of 38 after a career in non-league football with Worcester and Tamworth, went over to St.Kitts and Nevis to see his grandmother who was ill, got talking to a guy in a bar, and got an international call-up! Went on to score 2 goals on his international debut for St.Kitts and Nevis against Turks and Caicos, and ended up with 6 caps. Total star!

SHEDSRUS wrote:

Best player West Brom have ever had

Bollocks

Bryan Robson :D

heaps of good aussies, as you brits should know as they play over there, yet we are still quite crap at football.

Germany got to the final of the last World Cup, I am sure all their players were crap.

Ditto Greece Euro 2004.

Diego Maradona won the World Cup single handedly almost in 1986 with an average Argentina side.

Hans Krankl - Austria & Barca

Kenny Dalglish - LFC & Scot.

Neville Southall - EFC & Wales.

Teofilio Cubilas - Peru & Forfarfour

Oleg Blokhin - Soviets & Bury

Snoopy wrote: Diego Maradona won the World Cup single handedly almost in 1986 with an average Argentina side.

ay...i seem to remember Burrachaga, Brown and Valdano being pretty damn good.

We had Johnny Giles & Liam Brady who never got to a world cup

Mike Vanderjagt from Canada, played for the Indianapolis Colts (wrong kind of football)

And yes, the Colts are crap, the worst kind of crap. They are the shit all season but in the playoffs they leave the fans with nothing but stink.

According to a couple of "blinkered" individuals (not on here and not me), Landon Donovan should be on the list.

Jet Stream wrote: Germany got to the final of the last World Cup, I am sure all their players were crap.

Ditto Greece Euro 2004.

I think I got what you mean... Boring matches... Defending all play long and bet on counter-strikes... i.e. Team A defending - having the ball 1/4 of the time only and scoring the goal of the match as Team B made the game... even worse Team A & Team B playing defence together... boring, boring, boring... goalkeeper vs goalkeeper competition... I hate this !!!