The 10 Most Underrated Soccer Players in History

To be underrated means you deserve much more respect than people give you.

Often, footballers who fall into this category were either overshadowed by greater teammates, forgotten as invaluable members to a winning team or just not recognised.

This list isn't an exhaustive one; it's just my personal list of 10 footballers who do not receive as much praise as they should.

Without further ado, here is the list of the 10 most underrated players in football history.

10. Fernando Redondo

I find it quite fascinating how Claude Makélélé's reputation as an unnoticed selfless team player shifted to an underappreciated footballer, to now being the reason why defensive midfielders are in fashion.

What's ironic is that his predecessor, Fernando Redondo, is confined to archival football films—even though he last played six years ago.

Whilst the "Makélélé role" has become part of football lingo, why isn't there a role named the "Redondo role" to describe the artistry he conjured up at Los Merengues?

People often forget the Argentine could also defend, as Rivaldo found out when he was man-marked out of the game in a 2-0 loss to Argentina.

It's interesting how full circle Makélélé's legacy has become, yet Redondo's legacy still reflects a career hampered by injuries, even though he could do things Makélélé couldn't even do on FIFA 12.

9. Roland Nilsson

Roland Nilsson was a consistent performer year in and year out for Sheffield Wednesday. 

The Swede amassed 116 international caps and was a quiet but important member in Sweden's shock run to the 1994 FIFA World Cup semi-finals.

8. Claudio Gentile

Claudio Gentile is the archetypal hard man, which was ironic considering his last name translates to gentle.

Perhaps his best achievement was man-marking Diego Maradona and Zico out of the 1982 FIFA World Cup.

The Italians would later be crowned world champions.

7. Wynton Rufer

A pioneering New Zealand footballer, the name Wynton Rufer is identifiable only by those Kiwis blessed to have seen him play.

With 150 goals in European football, it a record goal haul no Kiwi will overhaul anytime soon.

6. Nicky Butt

For Manchester United, Nicky Butt was an underrated, hard-working midfielder whose playing time was significantly cut by Roy Keane and Paul Scholes.

Though, when Butt did play, whether a start or off the bench, there was no doubt he had class.

So much class that Pelé predicted Butt to win the Golden Ball during the 2002 FIFA World Cup (he didn't win). 

5. Serginho

When Serginho was at peak fitness in his prime, he had to be the best left back in the Serie A and perhaps close to the best left back in the world.

His searing pace, dribbling ability and work ethic made him invaluable to A.C. Milan.

Rossoneri supporters should never forget Serginho's greatest game ever, when he was basically the reason why Inter Milan were thrashed, 6-0.

He would have been a great servant to Brazil—if only Roberto Carlos played in a different era.

4. Rabah Madjer

There's the great story of Rabah Madjer winning a car for his performance in the Intercontinental Cup, selling the car and dividing the money amongst his teammates.

Madjer was not only a role model for young Arabs growing up, but his flair, his finishing and his achievements rank him as perhaps Algeria's best ever player—maybe second only to the elegant Lakhdar Belloumi.

3. Mohamed Aboutrika

A few years back, after a master class against Brazil, I ranked Mohamed Aboutrika up there with the best midfielders in the world.

Such is the Egyptian's flair, skill and football IQ; it's a crying shame he refuses to take the risk to play in Europe.

What’s sad about Aboutrika is that he’s still playing, and no one outside of African football really knows who he is.

2. Didi

Such was Didi's skill, that Real Madrid took a risk in signing the Brazillian (Spanish clubs had Spanish footballers, and Brazilian clubs had Brazilian footballers back then).

Didi was a pioneer of kicking the ball in such a way that it dipped and spun in an unorthodox fashion.

It was called the "folha seca," which translates to falling leaf, as the ball would fall like a leaf.

1. Gérson

I was flabbergasted as to how Pelé left out Gérson, a teammate on the legendary 1970 FIFA World Cup-winning squad, on his list of the 100 greatest (125 players were included) footballers.

Just watch archived footage of the 1970 World Cup, and it's so apparent how much of a genius Gérson was in retaining and distributing possession—and he did it whilst being a chain smoker.

In retaliation to Pelé's public rejection of Gérson, the fiery Brazilian tore up his teammate's list on live television.

Please also read: 10 Exceptional Goals You Have to See.