The Top 10 Other Guys in Football

Mohamed Eldin Masri by Analyst Written on July 02, 2009

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JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - JUNE 25:  Gilberto Silva of Brazil looks on prior to the FIFA Confederations Cup Semi Final match beween Brazil and South Africa at Ellis Park on June 25, 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa.  (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Image
Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Ever sat down with your friends and talked about the greatest player in your favorite team? Of course you did...but what about that other guy?

You know, that other guy who you might try to remember his name for hours but still can't quite remember anything about him.

We're not talking about flops here, we're talking about World Class names that never got the credit that they deserved. The players that always get the crappy attributes in video games and look generic.

These guys are doomed, destined to be "The other guys", even the newspapers never cared to write about them.

For instance, Liverpool might win 6-0 and the newspaper goes like this " Stevie G scored a brace, Torres scored a Hat-Trick and some other guy scored a goal."!!!

See, they're not even trying to hide that fact, and to add insult to injury, they end up giving nick names to the other players, like Stevie G and El Nino.

These guys were destined to be forgotten...Until the awesomeness that is me comes here and pay tribute to these unsung heroes.

I might have forgotten to put a few names, but that doesn't mean these players are forgotten.

No. 10 Gilberto Silva

MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM - FEBRUARY 16:  Gilberto Silva of Arsenal looks dejected after the FA Cup sponsored by E.ON 5th Round match between Manchester United and Arsenal at Old Trafford on February 16, 2008 in Manchester, England.  (Photo by Laurence G

One of the most underrated Gunners of all time, Gilberto Silva never got the credit he deserved.

He was part of the Invincibles and he was never even treated like one.

Sadly, when the game would end with Arsenal losing, some of the fans would go "It's all because of Gilberto, he's too old he doesn't even run anymore." .........He wasn't even playing, he was on the bench for God's sake.

Even Arsene Wenger took Gilberto for granted, once Henry departed, he gave the captaincy arm band to Gallas (Because we all know what an amazing born leader Gallas is).

No. 9 Guti

MADRID, SPAIN - OCTOBER 24:  Jose Gutierrez of Real Madrid controls the ball during the UEFA Champions League Group C match between Real Madrid and Olympiakos at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium on October 24, 2007 in Madrid, Spain.  (Photo by Jasper Juinen/

Let's forget for a moment about the rumors surrounding Guti, and let's concentrate on one thing, he was one of the few survivors of the Galacticos era, and he spent his entire career at Real Madrid.

While Raul originally came from Atletico Madrid (when he was 15), Guti was a Madrista all along. Calderon said that Real Madrid might probably vacate the No. 7 shirt after Raul retires, but what about Guti, didn't he do enough to earn such an honor?

No. 8 Massimo Ambrosini

Aug 1996:  A portrait of  Massimo Ambrosini of A.C Milan taken during the club photocall. Mandatory Credit: Allsport UK

Did you know that Ambrosini has spent close to 15 years at Milan ?

A lot of people don't even of think Ambrosini as a World Class player, that is just stupid. The fact that he spent close to 15 years in Milan proves that he is.

He won two champions league medals, and he's been treated like someone who doesn't even know how to play football.

No. 7 Yaya Toure

VALENCIA, SPAIN - MAY 13:  Toure Yaya of Barcelona celebrates the first goal during the Copa del Rey final match between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao at the Mestalla stadium on May 13, 2009 in Valencia, Spain.  (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty I

Yaya has finally proven to the world that he is pure class.

In the past however, people used to call him "Kolo's little brother" (Jerks), now Yaya has proven that he is indeed worth every penny, he is the most likely player in the list to earn the respect of others, especially after this years heroics.

No. 6 Yossi BenAyoun

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 04:  Yossi Benayoun of Liverpool celebrates after scoring the matchwinning goal deep in extra time during the Barclays Premier League match between Fulham and Liverpool at Craven Cottage on April 4, 2009 in London, England.  (Photo

The number of times Ben Ayoun saved Liverpool this season proves that he has earned a contract extension (unless of course Rafa ruins it and exchanges him for a Penguin...In Rafa we trust).

I honestly don't know why he is so underrated. But sadly, the fact that he is an Israeli citizen meant that almost the entire Arab region never admitted for a moment that he is a great player (Whether we like it or not, Racism does exist in Football).

No. 5 Mikel Arteta

LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM - AUGUST 09:  Mikel Arteta of Everton pictured during the pre season friendly match between Everton and PSV Eindhoven at Goodison Park on August 9, 2008 in Liverpool, England.  (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Watching the Spanish team exit to the USA, I couldn't help but wonder, could Arteta have made a difference ? The answer is yes, I think he could have.

Everton fans might have given Arteta the respect he deserves, but the rest of the world never did. Arteta is not behind Xavi, Fabregas, Alonso or Iniesta in any way.

Why he was never selected in the Spain national squad is beyond me (Manager of Spain = Douchebag).

No. 4 Richard Dunne

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 29:  Richard Dunne of the Republic of Ireland during an International friendly match between the Republic of Ireland and Nigeria at Craven Cottage on May 29, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images)

Let's be honest, will planet Earth ever stop talking about how many red cards Richard Dunne keeps getting every season ? Of course not.

Why not talk about the good he's done for a change.

Sadly, as an Arab I could assure you all, that the Arabs who bought Manchester City simply plan to get rid of any player good or bad, to build a dream team.

It doesn't even have to be a good team, they just wanna buy any big name players, they could even be living on their former glory (Hi Owen :D), and it's people like Dunne who are gonna end up paying the price.

No. 3 Sebastian Frey

BERGAMO, ITALY - FEBRUARY 9: Frey of Fiorentina during the Serie A match between Atalanta and Fiorentina at the Stadio on February 9, 2008 in Bergamo, Italy. (Photo by New Press/Getty Images)

(Who ever edits this article, please don't change this part because I am trying to prove a point. Thank you).

Domenech, you stupid #*$ #$* #%*(#%@%, you second rate manager piece of #^@&, you worthless #**%(%#) _^)##*@(%@)*#!, you wouldn't know where talent is if it slapped you in the face and kidnapped your woman and asked you for ransom.

Let me put this straight, the main reason Domenech didn't pick Pires for the 2006 World Cup was because he is a Scorpio (Domenech is an amateur astrologer), he doesn't pick anyone who plays in Serie A (I have no clue why).

And the talents like Mexes and Frey are all victims of this second rate joke/flop of a manager (Pathetic loser).

Frey's performance against Everton in the Champions League alone should put him as one of the most talented Goalkeepers in history.

Heck, even video games put Frey as one of the best in the game, but was never selected because of Domenech.

In all honesty, if France doesn't qualify for the World Cup, then the French Football Federation deserved every moment of sadness they get.

If anyone in B/R is stupid enough to defend Domenech, then I will let the other users to do the dirty work for me (Everybody hates Domenech).

No. 2 Jamie Carragher

LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 03:   Jamie Carragher of Liverpool in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Anfield on May 3, 2009 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Until the very last minute I was planning to put Carragher as No. 1, and honestly, if I put the entire Liverpool team, this list would still make perfect sense. Why? Because of two very good reasons.

No.1 - Steven Gerrard
No.2 - Fernando Torress

Everyone keeps talking about these two guys that they make us forget that the other nine players even existed.

I honestly don't know how Carragher was able to spend his entire career along Steven Gerrard and watch Gerrard take all the glory.

Carragher also spent his entire career at Liverpool, but for some reason it's always Gerrard that everyone talks about (Last I checked, Carragher never threatened to leave the club).

Carragher might never have been as fit as Gerrard, but that shouldn't make him forgotten.

Carragher never even had the success he deserved with the National Team, always being a substitute for Terry and Ferdinand. He retired from International at the age of 29.

Carragher is a Liverpool legend and someone who deserves to be remembered by Liverpool fans and Football fans alike.

And the No. 1 Other Guy is (DRUM ROLLLLL)

Adriano

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 15:  Adriano of Inter Milan controls the ball during the Serie A match between Inter Milan and AC Milan at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on February 15, 2009 in Milan, Italy.  (Photo by New Press/Getty Images)

Hehe, juuuust kidding.

Adriano is a sissie douche bag overrated video game character, spread the word people.

And now, the REAL No.1 other guy in Football is...

No.1 Diego Forlan

MADRID, SPAIN - FEBRUARY 24:  Diego Forlan of Atletico Madrid looks dejected during the Champions League  Round of 16, First Leg match between Atletico Madrid and FC Porto at the Vicente Calderon on February 24, 2009 in Madrid, Spain.  (Photo by Jasper Ju

How on Earth can you define this guy?

Forlan is without a doubt the most underrated player I've seen in my life.
He is, simply put, a predator in the box.

When it comes to him there is no excuse why he hasn't even been nominated for the Ballon d'Or. Forlan has been underrated for a long, long time.

And for good reasons too. Do you know when did the majority of the Football community realized that Forlan won the Golden boot? When he won his second one, he won the first along with Henry as the joint top scorers in Europe.

And While Henry achieved that with Arsenal, Forlan achieved it with Villareal, that I assure you is a harder task. This season, Forlan scored an amazing 32 goals in 33 matches.

Not even C.Ronaldo was able to pull that off with Man United. He was one of the main reasons Atletico Madrid qualified for the Champions League, something they haven't achieved in almost 10 years, and this year he has helped them qualify again.

If only Sir Red Nose was a little more patient with Diego, he wouldn't have been forced to buy an overrated guy like Berbatov.

No matter what the media thinks of this man, he will always be a legend in my opinion, to take on every striker in Europe from teams such as Villareal and Atletico Madrid is an achievement that should not be taken lightly.

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written on July 02, 2009 Opinion

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