The Best Players That Haven't Lived Up To Their Potential?

Landon Donovan.

 

Pablo Aimar

 

A few I really thought could be superstars:

Hugo Viana- Was supposed to be Portugal's savior, then he went to Newcastle........

Antonio Cassano- Trapattoni said he was the future of Italian footbal, but numerous disputes with teammates and coaches and a bad attitude have attracted more media attention than his actual play which at times has been disappointing. Things are on the up though as he is having a great season after his move to Sampdoria despite a few more controversies

Andres D'Alessandro- Amazing at youth level and has shown flashes of brilliance in Europe, but not as good as people thought he would be

Javier Saviola- Don't know what happened there, I remember seeing him at River Plate and during his first season at Barcelona and thought he was destined for greatness

Alvaro Recoba- One of the most skillful players I've ever seen, his career in Europe started off great, but he wasn't tough enough mentally to do bigger things

 

Adriano is a good example. I would also say Ronaldinho hasn't been living up to his potential. He was one of if not the greatest player in the world for a few years. Ever since the World Cup he has been relatively mediocre for both club and country. He still has years left in him (he's 27) but he has wasted a few.

 

Cassano up to now is really wasted talent. If he had the personality of someone like Del Piero or Baggio he'd be one of the best players in the world at the moment. However along with huge talent he has a huge personality problem, which really has hindered his progress. He still has time to turn it around since he's only 25, and his making good progress at Sampdoria.

 

My personal favorite unfulfulled potential case is Denilson, because he is routinely billed as a bust because he was the world's most expensive player in 1998, but the facts are different.

At club level he was a bust for Real Betis, Bordeaux, and Dallas. But on the national level, he's done extraordinarily well with 61 Brazilian caps and every title possible (Copa America, World Cup, Confederations Cup). Additionally, he was the MVP of the Confederation Cup.

I've never seen anyone else with such a great disparity between club and country.

 

100% spot on. Enormous talent. Enough that he really should be a driving force for a big club and perhaps THE star of the national team. He has had ups before and it is hard for me to believe he had grown up this time, although I and most Italians I know would like to. Shame.

 

Riquelme hasn't achieved what he should have, but in a lot of these cases you don't know what they are being told by their inner circle.

 

A big part of Owen's problem has been bad luck with injuries.

 

Gianluigi Lentini was the world's most expensive player in the early 1990's when AC Milan brought him for £13 million in 1992. Sadly, a tragic motor accident destroyed his career. He was a regular Serie A player for the rest of his career, but never lived up to his tag.

Before Ronaldo blasted into the scene as a 17 year old star player in the Brazilian league, Nii Lamptey was the teenage sensation who was touted as the next Pelé. After leading Ghana to victory at the FIFA World Cup Under-17 in 1991, he successfully made the jump to the U-20, the U-23 level before making his senior national team debut as a teenager. He was just liked Pele in 1958 and Maradona in 1978. Instead, he starred a few more seasons with Anderlecht and PSV Eindhoven. And then, he became a journeyman playing for weaker leagues around the world.

 

Sebastian Deisler. A great prospect. One of the most talented German players ever. His problem: an incredible injury-proneness (something like seven severe injuries). Spent more time in Vail, Colorado, undergoing surgeries than on the pitch. Furthermore, these injuries have caused some psychological problems as well. So he retired from football last year at the age of 27. He is more reclusive now than Salinger. What a pity...

 

I'm surprised that I forgot to mention Ronaldo. Ronaldo could have been one of the greatest of all time (up there with Pele and Maradona) had it not been for his serious injuries.

 

Ronaldo will still be up there with the greats but he won't be in Pele and Maradona's league for the reasons you have given.

Gascoigne and Best didn't live up to their full potential due to booze. If they stayed away from the drinks, Gazza may be rated amongst the all-time greats (maybe Top 30 or 40, if not higher) and Best would be in Pele and Maradona's league.

Lentini fits perfectly here as well as another Torino star, Gigi Meroni. He was a star with Torino in the 60s and a winger like Lentini but he got run over and died in 1967. You could fit in members of Il Grande Torino here as most of their careers were cut short due to the Superga tragedy.

Mario Corso, who was star with Inter in the 60s, was very gifted but he was too inconsistent. He also had a bit of a temper and that lessed his chances of playing for Italy at a major tornament.

 

I think of two more Americans who some thought would be the greatest ever American players.

Jovan Kirovski, at one point, was touted as the best Man Utd player out of their very talented reserve team that included Beckham, etc. He never made anyway in Europe. He was only a decent player in MLS, but he did pick up 60 caps for USA.

Gus Kartes, a son of Greek immigrants, was once touted as the greatest Greek(American) player ever. He became the youngest player ever to sign a first-division contract in Greece. However, he did not fulfill his promise. He returned to the USA and signed with the MLS. However, his MLS career never took off.

 

Del Piero never lived up to his potential after that injury he got in 1998.

Ortega never lived up to expectations after World Cup 98.

Italians will remember that Morfeo was supposed to be something big but it never happened.

As others have mentioned, D'Alessandro, Saviola and Romagnoli. Cavenaghi aswell! What the hell has happened to him?!

 

Biggest one I can think of off the top of my head is Recoba.
Some Portuguese ones I can think of are Dani, Joao Viera Pinto, Hugo Viana and if he doesn't go to a big league and smarten up Quaresma.

 

Landon Donovan is a great example. With out a doubt the most talented player the US has produced but just doesn't have the mental make up to shine.

Recoba is another one.

There are several players playing for Tottenham who have yet to live up to their potential, Ledley King (injuries), Jermaine Jenas and Aaron Lennon. Now the last two are still young and may very well develop into stars but as of yet they have been lacking.

One of the biggest ones I can think of is Titus Bramble. Supremely gifted physically but just makes so many mental mistakes. When I watch him play I see a technically sound monster of a CB who just loses any composure at least once or twice a game.

 

Canhoteiro: [SIZE=-1]The bow-legged angel had it's counterpart in Brazil: Garrincha played on the right, Canhoteiro on the left, and they both were known for dancing circles around their opponents. Stories tell one time Zizinho was too tired to play the final minutes of a game and so he asked Canhoteiro to keep the ball at his feet for a couple of minutes. Despite the opposition's struggle, that's exactly what he did. Garrincha played for Botafogo, Canhoteiro for Sao Paulo, and the two of them loved the women and the booze even more than the game. To make things worse, Canhoteiro was also afraid of taking airplanes, so it was a rare sight to see him play outside of the Morumbi. Canhoteiro was cut from the '58 national team by the manager Feola when caught partying, and the world didn't get to know one of the most natural talented players Brazil ever had. In 1960 Canhoteiro took two unsuccessful cirurgies and his career went downhill. Capped only fifteen times to the national team, only a few people outside the Sao Paulo state saw him playing live. Canhoteiro is certainly one of the best players you haven't ever seen.
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Landon Donovan was an overhyped player, rather than someone who didn't live upto their potential.

It's like me saying "Danny Cadamarteri".

At 17 years of age, he came into the Premiership with loads of pace and able to take the ball past anyone. He lost his head, believed his own hype, slapped a girl on the street as an everton player and ended up taking drugs when playing for bradford. He was too overhyped for his own good, he was the first Wayne Rooney. He's playing for Huddersfield Town now, but has played for 9 different clubs since he left Everton in 2002 and at one point was playing for Greys Athletic.

 

Hugo Viana- Was Rui Costa 2.0 ..world young player of the year, amazing talent on the level of cronaldo.

Then newcastle arrived....

 

Most of the ones I can think of have been mentioned. All the CM players out there know this one, but Cherno Samba was a good one.

 

Cavenaghi shouldn't have went to Russia. Why did he go to Spartak? Staggering. Likewise with D'Alessandro going to Wolfsburg.

 

Nicolas Anelka
Matt Le Tissier