SUMMARY
- Soccer has witnessed stars like Ronaldo and Messi dominate the game from a young age and continue to do so. Their success is a result of years of hard work.
- Some players start well but then fade from the soccer world due to poor performances or other reasons.
Soccer over the years has seen superstar players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi embrace the sport at the highest level. These players started at a very young age and are still ruling the center stage even in this era. But, nothing comes easy, as players like CR7 and Leo have worked quite hard for years to get to this level.
However, not every story has success written all over it. Some players started brightly and then faded from the soccer world due to a downfall in performances or several other reasons. Here we look at the 10 worst players in the world to play the game of soccer.
Ali Dia
Ali Dia is termed to be the worst soccer player ever to take the field. Dia was handed out a substitute appearance during one of the Premier League matches for Southampton FC. However, he was taken off just after half an hour of play.
It has been reported that one of his friends in the soccer hierarchy helped him in making his debut at the highest level. However, the lack of several on-field skills hampered Ali Dia’s career before it even started fluently. Despite going on to play for some of the lower-level clubs in English soccer, Dia never made it back to any of the top leagues around the world.
Freddy Adu
Freddy Adu signed a professional contract with the MLS club DC United at the age of 14. The player then went on to give a trial for Premier League giants Manchester United just two years later. However, things didn’t pan out accordingly for Freddy upon his arrival to Portugal to represent SL Benfica.
The player found it difficult to garner adequate game time at the Portuguese club. He was also loaned to different clubs during his time at Benfica in Portugal. Due to the lack of game time, he was also dropped from America’s national team.
Nicklas Bendtner
Nicklas Bendtner had a decent start to his club career for Arsenal in the Premier League. After a promising spell at the London-based club for about four years, the Denmark-born player saw a major downfall in his performances and form.
The player was loaned out by Arsenal’s hierarchy to their fellow English rivals Sunderland AFC. During the later stages of his career, he also represented clubs like Juventus in Italy and Wolsfburg in Germany. But, Nicklas never managed to regain his prime form back again and failed to capitalize on the decent start to his career.
Bebe
The player from Portugal only played twice for English giants Manchester United. Both of his on-field appearances came when he was used as a substitute rather than a starting player. However, the player was then loaned out to different clubs for the majority of his time at the Red Devils.
After some seasons, he exited the club. As per reports before joining Manchester United, the player wasn’t much known in the soccer world. He was also termed as an “untested” player by the fans of the club. It is worth mentioning that the great Sir Alex Ferguson, who was United’s manager at that time, never saw Bebe actually playing a match, before he joined the Red Devils.
Bojan Krkic
Brojan Krikic was called “the Next Messi” at the start of his club career at FC Barcelona. As per the reports, Brojan is the fourth cousin of Lionel Messi. At the very young age of 17, he scored an important goal for Barca in one of the Champions League games.
However, he soon saw a drastic drop in his on-field performances. He was reportedly doing well under manager Frank Rijkaard at the La Liga club. As soon as the manager departed the club, Bojan found it difficult to consistently break into the club’s playing 11. The player then moved on to play in England’s Championship soccer. However, struggled for playing time even there.
Fabio Coentrao
Fabio Coentrao had a decent start to his career. The player represented Portugal in the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup. His decent on-field attributes resulted in the La Liga giants Real Madrid signing him in the year 2011. However, the player struggled to cement his spot in the club’s playing 11.
Fabio during yesterday’s match against Monaco 💚💚@Fabio_Coentrao #coentrao #fabiocoentrao #coentraocrack #andreiasupporters pic.twitter.com/LU5cfnGc3Y
— Team Fabio coentrao (@team_coentrao) July 23, 2017
The player was loaned out by the Los Blancos several times during his time at the club. When Coentrao witnessed a return to Real Madrid in the year 2016, injuries got the better of him. Having been able to play just three games for the club in his return season, he was transferred back to his home country club Rio Ave FC.
Gabriel Obertan
Gabriel Obertan was signed by Manchester United in the year 2009. The French player, however, failed to convert his talent into substantial performances for the Red Devils. In 27 top-flight matches for the club, he just managed to score one goal.
He was then moved by United to their fellow Premiership club Newcastle United. However, the transfer didn’t make much difference to Gabriel Obertan’s career. During his time at the Toons, he only managed to score three goals. After a string of below-par performances, Newcastle United’s hierarchy terminated his contract and released the player.
Gus Caesar
Gus Caesar represented one of the top teams in the Premier League, Arsenal during his soccer career. Mainly playing as a defender, Gus’ role was to help his team out in overseeing the opponent’s attacking threat. However, his defensive play wasn’t too sound and the player struggled to cope with the pace of English soccer.
The Arsenal fans back in the day were never pleased with his performances. As per the records, Gus Caesar had a really bad outing against Luton Town during one of the domestic finals in England in the year 1988. Despite having a decent build, Gus wasn’t a difficult defender for the attacking players to play against.
Chris Kamara
Being termed as one of the wittiest soccer presenters ever, Chris Kamara wasn’t successful as a soccer player in his career. Most of the matches that Kamara played were played in lower divisions. One of the main weaknesses of Chris Kamara was his inability to control the ball.
The player took too many bad touches during his playing days. For any soccer player, it remains quite an important thing to efficiently utilize the time they are presented with the ball. However, Kamara wasn’t able to improve this side of his game much for the majority of his career.
Roystone Drenthe
Roystone Drenthe gained instant recognition in the world of soccer when La Liga giants Real Madrid signed him in the year 2008. However, Drenthe failed to live up to the expectations of the Los Blancos’ supporters and the club’s hierarchy.
There were several instances when the player was booed by the fans of Real Madrid at their home ground. Derenthe mainly played as a left winger in his career. But, could play as a left-back if required by his team in certain match situations.
However, fans around the world would know that soccer isn’t an easy sport to play. It takes a lot of courage and determination to even rise to the highest level in soccer. Some players can capitalize on their talent and make a stellar career out of it, while some fail to live up to their potential. It’s just the way the game goes.