Naturally gifted slightly underrated footballers?

[Tir Na Nog]

David Bentley had unbelievable talent but never put it together, swear he even retired before he reached 30.

 

[Rex Stone]

Diego was an utter demon for Bremen.

So was Micoud that year they won it.

 

[Macho]

I always liked Diego.

I always thought Forlan was a badman myself, think he gets his plaudits outside UK though so probably doesn't count.

Payet is quality, think he's one of the better shouts I've seen in here.

 

[TromsoGooner]

Hardly underrated but Fernando Redondo was an incredibly elegant and stylish midfielder. Loved watching him.

 

[sergio_giorgini]

Hardly underrated but Fernando Redondo was an incredibly elegant and stylish midfielder. Loved watching him.

You man are picking too many obvious names. I want players who were slightly under the radar, who didn’t get talked about as much as they should’ve.

 

[Bagels]

Guti for me... made passes nobody else in the world could see. Shame he was a bit of a goon/party animal, had an incredible career by most any standard, but genuinely think if he kept his head on straight he could've reached much higher.

I had the privilege of going to play in Madrid for a short period, playing against/with the youth teams of Madrid/Rayo Vallecano (mostly due to my coaches connections, much less to do with my ability), but my coach was good friends with Manuel Pellegrini and I was invited to watch a private training session of Real Madrid's first team. I couldn't believe the things I was seeing Guti pull off consistently, and with such ease. Mind you this was the same year Ronaldo had signed for Real Madrid, and a squad with Ramos, Casillas, Xabi Alonso, Kaka, Marcelo, Raul, and the list goes on. Guti was the standout.

When I left, I went to immediately buy a Guti jersey to never forget how cool it was to watch him train.

 

[TromsoGooner]

You man are picking too many obvious names. I want players who were slightly under the radar, who didn’t get talked about as much as they should’ve.

I am sorry your holiness

 

[Riou]

Jose Reyes...had the speed and dribbling ability to be our best ever winger, if he really wanted it... phenomenally talented player.

Laurent Robert...man could shoot from the halfway line, and have a realistic chance of scoring (great freekick taker too, which is one of the best things to be in football... underrated aspect of Henry's game that too)

 

[ArsenesCoatMaker]

Some of the La Liga players outside of the El Classico teams. Valeron, Mckaay, Tristan and Djalminha for Deportivo and Aimar, Mendieta and Mista for Valencia. Also Riquelme. Juninho Paulista was one of the best players in the PL before me moved to Atletico and broke his leg. Still started some games after that for Brazil in 1998 world cup.

 

[avenellroad]

One of the best players ive seen live.

This is a tough topic because what counts as underrated? What is naturally talented?

Id guess for me anyway id go with two players close to my heart.

Damien Duff is a player that was just immense and had what could have been a great career curtailed by injuries. Fantastic for Ireland and a key player in the early years of the Roman era for Chelsea. Mourinho wasn't keen and he still forced his way back into the Chelsea team. Won a couple of leagues and cups, was massive in the champions league for them, won silverware at Blackburn and was part of a team that took Fulham to a European final. Its a shame there will be a generation of Chelsea fans that couldn't pick Duff out of a line up.

The other player probably more controversial because some will say he is rated just enough. Rubbish to that. If he played for us or another EPL for a significant period of time he'd be regarded as one of the best out and out strikers to grace the game. The all time Europa/Uefa cup top goal scorer, the obly player to score against Mourinho in a European final (he done it twice), European golden boot winner, record spl goal scorer and done all this after recovering from a horrendous double leg break. I know some Arsenal fans cant have him because as Henry said 'People always talk about Ronaldinho, Samuel Eto'o, Ludovic Giuly and everything, but I didn't see them today, I saw Henrik Larsson. He came on, he changed the game, that is what killed the game. Sometimes you talk about Ronaldinho and Eto'o and people like that; you need to talk about the proper footballer who made the difference, and that was Henrik Larsson tonight' - 34 year old in his last game who'd done his Acl the previous season but that just underscores his greatness.
Shocking underrated but such a gifted footballer. Left foot, right foot, chips, header, outside the box, fantastic link up play, super movement and intelligence.

Duff was excellent especially in the early Chelsea teams of Mourinho.

Duff on one wing, Robben on the other caused all sorts of problems.

 

[avenellroad]

Hands down one of my favourite AW signings during that period. Definitely underrated by our fans.

His dribbling was just so good.

He was so so good for those few years.

Shame how it ended…Hleb knows it too and has said as much. I watched a documentary a few months back, where he came back to the Emirates and was basically crying saying how much he loved playing for Arsenal.

 

[AbouCuéllar]

Juan Carlos Valeron.

Some of the La Liga players outside of the El Classico teams. Valeron, Mckaay, Tristan and Djalminha for Deportivo and Aimar, Mendieta and Mista for Valencia. Also Riquelme. Juninho Paulista was one of the best players in the PL before me moved to Atletico and broke his leg. Still started some games after that for Brazil in 1998 world cup.

Yeah, Valerón is always the person I think of in these threads.

Good shouts as usual from you ACM...Aimar and Mendieta are two people who the way or the amount they are remembered by football fans is not proportionate to how good they were (Mendieta especially, Aimar was brilliant but injuries).

My pick here would be Mágico González. He was before my time but every one who watched him, trained him or with him, and everyone involved in spanish football will tell you he was really one of the most talented footballers they've ever seen and could've been Maradona level.

 

[Flying Okapis]

Isco.

His dribbling and low centre of gravity is Messi level.

Underrated or not, I dont know as there was times he was linked with expensive moves away from Madrid and obviously he played for Real Madrid.

 

[Riou]

I always think of Riquelme, with threads like this...he still had a solid career and was a cult hero, but his form for Villarreal and Argentina in 2006...he had the quality to he so much more.

Also this thread proves that football, was just better back then...you don't get as many ballers like this these days.

 

[Keplaz]

I don't know if Santi is appreciated enough. Cazorla is one of the best footballers I have ever seen, and not even all Arsenal fans appreciate his absolute genius.

Slightly from the left fied, but Lee Trundle was magnificent in the lower leagues. His technique was outrageous but didn't quite have enough to play at a higher level.

 

[2Smokeyy]

I don't know if Santi is appreciated enough. Cazorla is one of the best footballers I have ever seen, and not even all Arsenal fans appreciate his absolute genius.

Slightly from the left fied, but Lee Trundle was magnificent in the lower leagues. His technique was outrageous but didn't quite have enough to play at a higher level.

Great footballer but for me, he’s slightly overrated by our fans which is why I probably wouldn’t add him to this list. The people who rated him so highly are those that didn’t get to experience the period of the invincibles and all those great footballers at the club.

Not taking anything away from his ability as he was a great technician. In terms of our club, Santi should probably be rated a little less than he is and I’d push up Bacary Sagna higher than people rate him, very underrated and another top signing by AW.

 

[Flying Okapis]

Slightly from the left fied, but Lee Trundle was magnificent in the lower leagues. His technique was outrageous but didn't quite have enough to play at a higher level.

Bruh, you cant talk about Lee Trundle and not drop a link!

 

[MD3 Gunner]

Vicente Rodriguez

 

[MD3 Gunner]

Vicente Rodriguez

@A__G You just knew it was coming, didn't you

 

[Bloodbather]

Sergen Yalcin - I’m not Turkish but this guy was almost on a par with Zidane in terms of elegance and creativity.

Sergen was a party animal and gambler. Being the best footballer he could be was never a priority for him, he just enjoyed playing football and happened to be very good at it. He acknowledges it himself. He once said "Big clubs in Europe are really thorough with their research. Bayern Munich wanted to sign me back in the day, then they did their research, so it didn't happen."

Going the Turkish route, I'd argue that the entire midfield trio of the Turkish national team that placed 3rd in the 2002 World Cup fits this bill. Tugay Kerimoğlu, Emre Belözoğlu and Yıldıray Baştürk. All three had brilliant technique, vision and balance. Tugay was an unsung hero of the Premiership at Blackburn, Emre had his shots at Inter and Newcastle but was never consistent enough with his recurring injuries, and Yıldıray peaked early at Leverkusen and had his career derailed by injuries also.