Ever since Dimitar Berbatov made a £30.75 million move from Spurs to Manchester United in 2008, fans at Old Trafford have labeled the Bulgarian forward a huge bust. Berbatov has played just fine, but his season totals in goals have been far less then the record transfer fee man was expected to accumulate. In his first two seasons with the powerhouse club, Berbatov only would score 21 goals which was only 6 more then his last season with Tottenham in 2007/2008.
RandallHall
Alex Ferguson recently admitted that Wayne Rooney isn’t the only Manchester United forward that is currently attempting to improve problems with his psyche. The legendary coach revealed that £30.75 million record signing Dimitar Berbatov has had trouble shaking off the critics negative energy over the last few seasons with the Red Devils due to the added pressure of that large deal it took to land the Bulgarian star.
In my post ”The Bard’s 100 Best Soccer Players: Series Preview“, I promised you that I – William J. Shakespeare (aka “The Bard”) – would offer up unto you 100 posts about the most gifted gents to ever play the greatest game on the globe: soccer. But, alas, the Final Act of the Bard’s blogging career is now upon us, and I must forge on to other literary endeavors without finishing my magnum opus. ‘Tis a shame, really, as I did write half the series. Yep, lurid limericks and all.
photo credit: ROBBO WRH, PFB, WD…..Team Robbo
The Pick: I know what you are likely thinking. There were two excellent soccer stars who went by the name “B. Robson”, Bobby and Bryan. So, which B. Robson has the Bard selected to join his pantheon of the 100 Best Soccer Players ever? Drumroll! It’s Bryan, of course. Don’t get me wrong, I like Bobby, but Bryan is the all-time longest serving captain for Man U (+340 with the armband). He is also a legend for the English team (90 caps and 26 goals).
The Pick: George Best is probably too high on my list. My rankings are flawed. I never should have given players bonus points if their son nailed Lindsay Lohan, but c’est la vie. George hit a lot hotter shit than LiLo though. In fact, he was known as the biggest playboy of his day. He also got a lot of action on the pitch, which is really why he is on this list. He notched more than 150 goals in over 300 pro games and 10 goals in approximately 40 games for his Nats.
The Pick: Sir Bobby Moore fittingly joins the Bard’s Best 100 Soccer Players Ever today, and I have decided to dedicate this soliloquoy to him to mark the occasion. He certainly earned it during his +700 pro matches and +100 caps for England. He was Captain of the 1966 World Cup champion side. He not only did great things on the pitch, he also appeared in films on the silver screen like Victory. Well, maybe he really did do great things only on the pitch.
The Pick: Sir Stanley Matthews deserves a spot in the Bard’s Top 100 due to both his celebrated career and his clutch character. He enjoyed a long career spanning nearly four decades and over 700 games (almost exlcusively with Stoke City and Blackpool), but he will always be best remembered for just one of those games, the 1953 FA Cup Final, now known as ”The Matthews Final”. That moniker is impressive when you consider his mate had a hat trick in the game.
photo credit: themikelee
The Pick: A good many of you likely think I have Thierry Henry too high on this list (Arsenal, Barca and Bleus fans, for instance), and you could persuade me to put him lower by lecturing me about his +50 international goals, two Prem titles, La Liga title, Champions League title, World freaking Cup title, and his warehouses full of individual awards and accolades. But some of you also don’t think I shouldn’t “hand” him a spot in my Top 100 at all (Ireland fans).
photo credit: Mike__Lawrence
The Pick: The people of Wales idolize John Charles, and they should. He rose in esteem during his early career at Leeds United, but he blossomed into a soccer legend during his later years with Serie A giant Juventus. He averaged a goal every other game over his entire 600 match career. But he will also be most legendary in my eyes though because he was never cautioned or sent off during his entire 600 match career too. And I mean never. That’s discipline.
photo credit: melyviz
The Pick: Every soccer-loving Brit born in the last four decades has at one point pretended to be Gordon Banks between the posts. After all, only one or two other keepers ever could really compete with the classy Banks when it came to keeping their sheets clean. Moreover, he is also known for making perhaps the greatest save in the history of soccer against Pele. People remember that save, but they forget Banks and his English mates lost that game.
