Currently i'm doing a video + text series about Forgotten (great) footballers, and i'm wondering if anyone has some good ideas for more players. 'Forgotten' can mean truly obscure players, but also ones that the general public just has forgotten about. so far i've done episodes on the Danish dribbler Preben Elkjaer and the Brazilian playmaker Mario Sergio (see http://4dfoot.com for the vids and texts) i'm thinking about doing Litmanen, Netzer and Van Hanegem in the future. What other former footballing greats are sorely lacking in fame nowadays?
You could do one on Nicolae Dobrin. He' a legend in my country. There is a DVD about him but it is very dissapointing in my opinion(maybe because of lack of footage or people not being that interested).
Also Ceulemans if you had access to enough footage from Bruges. Of course from Euro '80 onwards you might be able to compile some good footage from Belgium games. I noticed you have the full Brazil v France game from WC '58 on your excellent webpage - maybe someone like Fontaine, Kopa or even if feasible Jonquet or Piantoni could be a good addition?
Scifo is at least known outside of Belgium, but definitely a classy player and worth a compilation. A real, literally, forgotten star is Lozano, a player for Anderlecht in a time when Belgium had, according to the UEFA-coefficients, the third strongest league in Europe. Lozano was voted behind Rensenbrink and Pär Zetterberg as the third best foreign player the Belgian League ever had. He somewhat failed as a player at Real Madrid but really shined at Anderlecht, a very strong side in the 1980s! (those were the days)
Well, at least Scifo was known in his WC performance (to the rest of the world). Tostao was among "forgotten" legends. Often he was a shadow of Pele at WC, while his performance in Brazil league were disregarded. in recent, sooner or later Laudrup would also become one "forgotten"
I doubt it, the Denmark 1986 team will always be remembered and he assisted/produced some fine goals in that tournament. Also, the Barcelona 'dream team' will always remain "the first", in the words of Guardiola (no, I'm not a staunch Barcelona supporter, in case you may think ). In the Barca-fairytale it will forever go down as the team where it all started.
A current great footballer who risks the danger of being forgotten is Wesley Sneijder. He or Xavi should have won the Ballon D'Or 2010 but until now he hasn't reached the top. Despite winning the treble and being a major player for his national team, he was part of sides who won't be remembered for good and bad reasons. That will hurt his image. About 20 years some people will look at his résumé and say: he failed at the biggest club in the world (Real Madrid). (this also underlines why Laudrup will never be forgotten I think, for the coming 50 years or so)
Very nice idea. Good luck with it. Here is a name you might want to consider: Kazimierz Deyna (This midfield general was behind Poland's 1970's success). One of the best players of the 70's. In 1974, he was named the 3rd best player of the World Cup, (behind the legandary Cruyff and Beckenbauer) In (Poland) he is regarded by many as the best Polish Player in history, often ahead of such players like Boniek and Lato. His nickname was.... "Kaka".... amazingly enough, he played the exact same position as the Brazilan "Kaka" and his playing style and body build was very identical...... He was tall, skinny... a little shy... and had amazing vision and "final pass." The likes of Real Madrid and other giants were dying to sign him, but cold-war politics wouldn't let him leave Poland. Once, he was finally let out of Poland, at the age of 31... he played for Manchester City. According to Wikipedia: "He was regarded as an exceptionally gifted playmaker and became a cult figure with City fans." He also became a cult figure for Legia Warsaw (Polish side), where he played in his best years, and remains so till this day. He ended his career playing for San Diego (US). In his best years, he led Poland to WC 1974 (3rd place), WC 1978 (4-5 place), Olympic Gold 1972, Olympic Silver 1976. I think he is largely a forgotten legend. He is no longer alive (due to a 1989 car accident in San Diego). True Legend ! [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCg1oeKuIwQ&feature=related"]? Kazimierz Deyna ? Un Campione Indescrivibile ? 1947 - 1989 ? HD ? - YouTube[/ame]
Wow, thanks for all the suggestions guys. (btw this is the OP, switched back from my old account. couldn't open a thread with this one yet). Some of the names mentioned aren't even familiar to me, so they definitely qualify as "forgotten footballers" Whether someone like Tostao is "forgotten" is a matter of perspective. Players like him and Kopa may mean a lot to us - but to the average 15-40 year old football fan they could be meaningless sequences of letters. I have friends who are big current day football fans, but I had to explain them who a certain 'Zico' was. The challenge here of course is whether there is enough quality video material available to convince people watching "hey this player was great, he really should be more famous!" It can be a series of goals, or if those aren't available highlights from a player in one match, like with Mario Sergio I'm adding all suggested names to a list and will try to see if i can find material. But right now i have to say Lozano and Kazimierz Deyna look very interesting!
I can see what you're saying, but I don't think Sneijder will be forgotten any time soon. Winning the CL and then being topscorer at a World Cup (where he slayed Brazil) turned him into a real celebrity. As for Dutchmen, Wim van Hanegem might be a good candidate. Sure he's super famous in Holland, but his celebrity status stops at the border. Never played in a big European league, and in the '74 World Cup he pretty much played in the service of Cruyff. For some reason there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of material about him. I don't think i've ever seen a youtube video about Van Hanegem.
Brilliant thread. I'm learning already. PuckVanHeel might know my suggestion. ONO Shinji. Don't know if he did "enough" to get such accolade (of a legend) but in a career hampered by injury, a UEFA Cup win is his highest achievement. Ono is sort of the prototype footballer for me. Ambidextrous, with supreme completeness in both attacking and defending. He'd dispossess oponents and that's when his "Genius" nickname came into play. Setting the tempo but delivering brilliant through balls as well. He is still only 32. Here, a video trying to do him justice (courtesy of a japanese great uploader, christinayan01): [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df2IltAVLFI"]Shinji ONO(?? ??) pass skills compilation - christinayan - YouTube[/ame]
Some, maybe superfluous, hints: you can look at some small leagues that were once 'big'. Belgium is a good candidate, but also Portugal and Scotland. Furthermore: you can look at some 'fortgotton' countries. For example Hungary. Of course, everyone know the 1950s generation but the also quite talented 1960s generation is somehow forgotten. The same can be said about Austria. They had until the 1980s some very fine players like Kurt Jara and Herbert Prohaska. Poland is indeed a fine candidate too.
To give an impression (by no means his best moments, I remember some of them but I couldn't find those moments on youtube) of what Lozano was capable of: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=8K3O1-0_UNQ#t=72s Nice, clean shot towards the top of the corner in the first round of the European Cup (campaign ended in a 1-0 semi-final aggregate defeat against Aston Villa) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=j_rUM-uwEoQ#t=219s Nice touch, controlling the ball in one move into 'stone dead' position. Assisted by Coeck. Should have been rewarded with a penalty. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=H5pVgUQxLfI#t=30s An 'olympic goal' by Lozano in the quarter-final European Cup against Red Star Belgrade. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZQ_1xCk51A"]RSC Anderlecht 2-2 Bayern - YouTube[/ame] Match against Bayern in 1987. You see him heading, scoring and in the beginning a couple of nice first touches which creates distance between him and his marker. The full match is on youtube, I believe. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PNT7MT3ujt8#t=1s Acting as a winger. A nice move to get himself past his man, and a nice cross. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=SbScs0G77vA#t=14s The UEFA Cup final, which was back then a more respected competition, against Benfica. Lozano is here in the libero position and sends a nice pass to his forwards.
Van Hanegem is a good candidate indeed. I do not exaggerate when I say that 90% of the Dutch population see him as the best midfielder Feyenoord ever had and maybe even the best midfielder the Netherlands ever had, certainly for the post-war era. The baby-boom generation ranks him often in second place behind Johan Cruyff. There is a fine documentary/portrait made about him, also available on youtube (unfortunately without subtitles) which explains his popularity, his hate against Germans (to keep the story short: he lost his father in the war), his mentality as a footballer and a couple of other things. Has also some footage of him, in particular about his 'never die' attitude on the pitch (in a famous European Cup match Feyenoord and Barcelona met each other, with Johan Neeskens in midfield for Barcelona; Neeskens and Van Hanegem literally destroyed each other in that match, footage too look for when you decide to make a vid about him).
Is Kluivert perhaps a good candidate? Overshadowed by Rivaldo at Barcelona but what a player (especially for the Dutch NT, and not solely for his goals).
PuckVanHeel, since I really want to know, I'll ask again: What's your take on Ono Shinji? Did you get to see him live? For how long was he injured during his stint with Feyenoord? Thanks.
-I think Kluivert is pretty well known. Scoring the winner in a CL Final at age 18, and goals against Brazil and Argentina in World Cup KO games means you won't be forgtten anytime soon. -Ono was a big promise initally, but, perhaps due to his injuries, never really made true on that promise.
van hanegem you should do. forgotten outside holland cause he never went to spain or italy. but overhere we hold him in high regard he is considered the ebst dutch playr after cruyff. better then gullit, van basten, bergkamp etc etc. a very complete player and very important to holland and his club feyenoord. he had a perfect pass very much football intellect. could head very good and tackle vry good was hard as a rock. also as someone else said deyna. indeed greatest polish player ever. above boniek.
Kaka will be forgotten in 10 years despite being one of the best attacking midfielders in the world in the mid 2000s. Rivaldo has also been forgotten by a lot of people. He was a superior player to Figo but only has a fraction of his fame.