Most underrated footballers

[Furbo]

Thought I'd create a thread where we can share the names of players who does not/did not get the recognition they deserve(d) for whatever reason there might be. Obviously there are tons of them and I feel they all deserve a place where they can finally get that praise the estasblishment is denying them.

My first nominee will be Brazilian Fenerbahce legend Alex De Souza. As he spent almost all of his career and certainly his whole peak at the less praised league of Turkish Super League, he has been looked down upon and really completely ignored in an almost criminal way imo.

A pure genius who had it all. Technique, vision and absolutely delicious feet. He could have easily played and made himself a name in any of the top leagues of Europe, but as he never did I feel way ntoo many people don't even known who he is. A huge heart too. Remember his final goodbye at Fenerbahce where he got himself a statue and could not keep himself from crying.

Pure legend!

[ACMILAN1983]

I'm going to name one from Milan for this, Billy Costacurta. That isn't to say he's not well respected, but I think his value both on and off the pitch over the years was almost on par with Maldini and Baresi, yet he's rarely recognised as much for his work. His position in the national team was also limited compared to what it could have been, but others were generally preferred ahead of him for whatever reason.

I believe Sacchi once said that Costacurta would play a game without needing to move on the pitch, as his positioning was just that good. Ironically, I believe Billy actually set a record in his latter years in the odd match of having run the least on the pitch.

It's not just coaches who recognise his contribution, but also former players, as Gattuso has previously commented on him, while Pirlo in his autobiography outright stated that during his time in Milan, Billy and Maldini were the undisputed leaders of the dressing room, with the players in awe of the two.

Edit: Nice idea for a thread btw.

[Stitch]

When I saw the name of the thread, I immidiately knew Dev will post in it. I also knew the names he would talk about: Allan and Xahka (sp?)

Was very surprised he did not mention them

EDIT: I'm loving this guy Furbo's enthusiasm on MM. We need more members like that

[ACMILAN1983]

lmao, this is the kind of thread I love

Allan I do think is underrated, but in both in his and Xhaka's case, I want to see how they perform over a year or two before saying anything lol.

[xudong]

When I saw the name of the thread, I immidiately knew Dev will post in it. I also knew the names he would talk about: Allan and Xahka (sp?)

Was very surprised he did not mention them

EDIT: I'm loving this guy Furbo's enthusiasm on MM. We need more members like that

 

same thought here. 

I would also put Costacurta there. Another name would be Paul Scholes. 

More names to follow, if I can think of any.

[Acmir]

One of the most underrated, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

[am I Milan enough?]

One of the most underrated, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Yeah he was so underrated, whenever he comes on from the bench, he surely grabs a goal at least.

Nice thread, I will try to get some names.

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

[Aficio]

For me, they are Sebastiano Rossi and Filippo Galli.

The quartet of Tassotti, Baresi, Costacurta, and Maldini was too brilliant that the contribution of GK and a jack of all trades defender was neglected. But without them there would have been less trophies for us, the most doubtful one was the glorious CL 1994.

[Furbo]

EDIT: I'm loving this guy Furbo's enthusiasm on MM. We need more members like that

I recon this forums has a lot of potential. Compared to the other Milan platforms out there I feel the overall quality and maturity is much higer here. Definitely more highbrow, so I am just trying to wake you guys up with an energy-injection.

Another name to add to the list would be Riquelme who probably was the best player in the world during the 00's, but who never got recognized simply because of not represting a top club.

[ACMILAN1983]

I agree with a lot of the names mentioned, especially Galli who isn't often known today.

Riquelme's an odd one imo, I think his peak came at a time when players of his type (traditional playmaker) were in real question. I think had he played during the 90s, he'd have been much more recognised.