Five footballs everyone loves

In the hugely polarized, sentimental world of football, the more idolized a player is by his own set of fans, the more disliked he is by the opposition fans. More often than not, these reasons for dislike have nothing to do with how talented or otherwise the footballer is, sometimes fans will deny themselves the pleasure of enjoying the talent of a genius footballer because he plays for a rival team. Such fans will regularly find a reason to diminish the accomplishments of a rival footballer.

Such statements are rife in football banter: Messi would have been an average footballer without Xavi and Iniesta, Ronaldo needs too many shots to score his goals and is therefore utter dross, Suarez doesn’t score in big games, Rooney is too fat, Hazard is too arrogant, Terry is a terrible footballer because he is promiscuous, Lampard plays like a hunchback, Ramos has no game intelligence because he collects so many red cards, Pique is suffering from Shakira syndrome, Ozil is too lazy. Almost any set of fans can find something wrong with any footballer who doesn’t adorn their colors.

There are however few footballers on Earth who are the darling of everyone. Or at least almost everyone. Fans favorites to their teeming followers, also well appreciated by the opposition. Below is a list of five of them.

Fransesco Totti: Nobody home, or abroad, dislikes the idol from Rome. Totti is the poster boy for loyalty in a money controlled industry. When Roma’s luck changed over the turn of the century, Totti stuck with them though he had no shortage of suitors. Who wouldn’t like a player who when asked why he won’t move to Madrid said “They taught us in school that family is the most important thing. You don’t leave your poor family to go live with rich strangers”

Steven Gerrard

If you saw the enthusiasm Steven Gerrard showed when he scored the first goal in the 3-3 comeback against Milan in Istanbul and you still don’t like him, then odds are that you lack any form of empathy. You probably should be an undertaker. Another fiercely loyal player, whom many people, fan and opposition alike believe deserves to win the premier league.

Andrea Pirlo

Probably the coolest player in the modern game. He has a beard like a movie star, the poise of an assassin, and the intelligence of a nuclear physicist. When your debut goal is at the Maracana, when you’ve pulled off an audacious paneka in a tense European quarter final game, you’ve gotten a standing ovation at the Bernabau, played for all three of Inter, AC Milan and Juventus, and written a book. Pirlo is probably a demi-god, and nobody hates demi gods.

Bastien Schweinsteigger

More often than not when you hear a player described as honest, it almost always means they lack quality, but make up for that lack of quality with a tremendous work rate. Schweinstiegger is the exception to that rule.

Arguably the best box to box midfielder after Yaya Toure, Bastien has everything you want in a midfielder. He can pass short and long, shoot, evade other players, run, tackle, head the ball, shoot, everything. If you need reason to like the new captain of Die Mannschaft, all you need do is watch the replay of the world cup final against Argentina. Watch the point in extra time where Bastien Schweinsteigger bleeds for the cause. There is nothing greater than that.

Kaka

Let me put it like this; liking Kaka should be a question on every personality test. People who don’t like Kaka will probably make quality hitmen, or arsonists, or rapists. Kaka is the absolute model human being. Even though he was from a rich home, he was never arrogant, he dedicated all his goals to the heavens, never drank nor partied.

I once heard he was a virgin till he got married. There probably isn’t anyone on Earth who wasn’t sad that injuries robbed us of what will have been a sterling spell at Real Madrid. If Kaka decided to run for president of Brazil, I’ll forge a passport and vote for him.

 

Adedamola Obisesan