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Seeing Anderson and Carrick being schooled by Spanish masters Xavi and Iniesta the other week got me thinking. It was an undoubtedly poor performance from United and man for man they simply didn’t match up to the Catalan giants. But from one to eleven there were no visibly weak links in United’s side, no players that we would look back on ten years later and scoff: ‘how the hell did he play in a Champions League Final?’
With former Premiership stars Gerard Pique, Thierry Henry and Sylvinho performing so admirably for Barca, I decided to rack my brains and think of those Champions League finalists not so worthy of acclaim. So here it is - the worst former Premiership players to have ever appeared in a Champions League Final XI!
GK- Cesar Sanchez (Real Madrid 2002)
Spent half a season at Tottenham, during which time he couldn’t displace the gaffe-tastic Heurelho Gomes.
RB- Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal 2006)
Famously booed by his own supporters, but can take some solace in the fact that he is ‘the best dancer at the club’.
CB- Boris Zivkovic (Bayer Leverkusen 2002)
Ran crying to the papers about Harry Redknapp’s management style after some high profile blunders threatened to undermine Pompey’s survival bid. Harry then cancelled his contract after just six months.
CB- Roque Junior (AC Milan 2003)
Started five Premiership games for Leeds, during which time the Whites conceded 20 goals. 46 caps for Brazil but woefully off the pace.
LB- Djimi Traore (Liverpool 2005)
Widely recognised as the poorest player to have ever won Europe’s top prize, Traore has played less than 40 Premier League games since Liverpool’s triumph in Turkey.
RM- Nordin Wooter (Ajax 1996)
Three goals in over 60 games during his spell with Watford. Also contributed to a dire top flight campaign in which they only won six times.
CM- Edouard Cisse (Monaco 2004)
Lanky and instantly forgettable midfield player who turned out regularly for the West Ham team that was ‘too good to go down’.
CM- Maniche (Porto 2004)
Famed for a nightmare Chelsea debut that included presenting James Collins with a goal, hitting the crossbar and getting sent off, Maniche played eight times for the Blues on loan. Needless to say he wasn’t taken on permanently.
LM –Finidi George (Ajax 1995, 1996)
One of the Premiership’s most infamous foreign flops, Finidi was part of the Ipswich side that beat Inter Milan in Europe but couldn’t avoid relegation from the Premiership, despite having finished 5th the previous season.
FW – Michele Padovano (Juventus 1996)
One of an influx of foreign players that descended on Crystal Palace for a doomed shot at Premier League survival, the Italian one-cap wonder scored once in 12 games and disappeared off to Metz a year later.
FW- Shabani Nonda (Monaco 2004)
Feared in Europe after tearing apart Chelsea, Blackburn unfortunately inherited a clumsy, slower version of the Congo forward following knee surgery and sent him straight back to Roma.
Subs
Nuno Valente (Porto,2004)
Jorge Costa (Porto 2004)
Mauricio Pellegrino (Valencia 2000, 2001)
Kiki Musampa (Ajax 1996)
Jesper Blomqvist (Manchester United 1999)
Jermaine Pennant (Liverpool 2007)
Fernando Morientes (Real Madrid 1998, 2000, 2002)
So there’s my suggestions, have I missed anyone? Who would make your team?
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1. Mark, Stevenage
wrote...
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I'd disagree with Maniche. He was great for Porto and I remember him scoring a cracker for Portugal in Euro 2004 as well. Therefore I'd replace him with Igor Biscan. |
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2. Nick, Ipswich
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Centre midfield was a tough one as Biscan only sat on the bench in the 2005 final.
Maniche has certainly had his moments, but his time in England was pretty uninspiring.
Plus he looks like a girl... |
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3. tom, Manchester
wrote...
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Jonathan Greening's got a CL medal from '99...worth a mention |
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