THE TOP TEN FOOTBALLING HEROES TO ZEROES
Here is a list of footballers, whom everyone thought was good for while, but then it all went wrong.10 Dalian Atkinson
He played for Aston Villa in the early 90s. In 1994 he scored one of the best goals ever, running almost the full length of the pitch and lobbing the goalkeeper. He has done little since though.
9 Daniel Amokachi
Nigerian player who scored a great goal against Greece in the World Cup of 1994. So everyone thought 'Wow! He's good!' He was quickly snapped up by Everton, but apart from a few tap-ins he contributed little.
8 Glenn Helder
Glenn HeLder was a Dutch player whom Arsenal bought in 1994 (I think) in an attempt to add some flair to midfield which simply had no flair. In a match against Norwich he managed to reproduce the Cruyff turn. Aside from that though, his purpose was not fulfilled.
7 Nigel Jemson
This player looked like Lee Dixon, but he was a forward and played for Nottnigham Forest in the early 90s. He scored a few tap-ins and everyone thought 'Wow! He's good!'. In the summer of 2000 he was unemployed. He is now playing for Shrewsbury Town.
6 John Jensen
I think the Danes still consider this player a hero, having blasted in a goal that helped their national team claim their only ever honours, the European Championships in 1992. However when he played for Arsenal it took him over 2 years of playing regularly to find the net. By that time the Arsenal fans were all calling out 'SHOOT' whenever he got the ball, even if he was standing on the halfway line and facing the wrong way! In late 1994 it came to light that Arsenal manager George Graham had only bought him so that he could receive an unofficial commission. Hmmmmm.
5 Eric Cantona
Eric was always a great player. He always had his collar turned up. When he played for Man United he also took a lot of abuse from anyone who wasn't Man Utd fan. He once did take a flying kung fu kick at an opposing supporter, who was abusing him. After that things were never the same. In a press conference he once turned into a philosopher and compared the press to fishing trawlers following sardines (or something like that). Since then he has earned his money by appearing in adverts for Nike and has appeared in the film 'Elizabeth'. I'm sure he's still earning comfortable wages.
4 Andrea Silenzi
A very tall player (about 6'5"). He was a forward stood in the area and headed the ball goalwards when necessary. One season this tactic brought over 25 goals for Torino. He later he moved to Nottingham Forest but it didn't come off, indeed he hardly ever played.
3 Thomas Brolin
Some people age much more quickly than others, as proved by this player. He was a Swedish star player in the early 90s and scored a goal that helped eliminate England from the European Championships in 1992. He later played for Parma and then Leeds United, but that didn't work out. He has now put on a lot of weight and would probably struggle to get into pub team.
2 Stan Collymore
A big man with a big mouth. He helped Nottingham Forest gain promotion to the Premiership in 1994. The following year he was purchased by Liverpool for £8 million, a British record at the time. I remember him scoring a good goal on his debut. From then on it was downhill, and now nobody wants him.
1 Gianluigi Lentini
£8 million in 1995 was a lot for a player, but in 1992 Gianluigi Lentini was purchased by AC Milan for a record-breaking £16 million! Admittedly, I had never seen him play prior to that, but I guess he must have been a promising young player. His performances at Milan though were definitely not worthy of that transfer fee. His cause was not helped when he he spent 6 months in hospital after a high-speed car crash. Should he have taken up motor racing instead of football? Clearly he was useless at both.
Anyway, it's that price tag that wins him the top hero to zero award.
So that the end of the list. I know that all of these players were forward or midfield players, but lets face it, when has a defender ever been considered a hero.
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