Who do you think is the most underrated player?

Question

Who do you think deserves more credit than he gets? I think Jens Lehmann, but because he had an awful start to his career with Schalke 04, people judge him harshly.

I think Rio Ferdinand and Fabio Grosso are also quite underrated.

Answer 1

I can name 5, and underrated though they maybe, they're some of the better footie players i've seen.

(1) Robinho - always comes up short when compared with the widely heralded messi but headline-hogging aside, robinho I think has the more creative game, shows more consistency, and his agility and speed are simply outstanding.

(2) Zambrotta - Italy’s unsung hero, imo. Cannavaro may have bagged the pricey contract but Zambrotta’s acquisition by Barca is for me THE deal of the season. Lucky for us Barca fans. I’m looking forward to his smashing team up with the Lion Heart.

(3) Sagnol – always played second fiddle to Thuram on the national side but he makes every second counts and his awesome defensive plays makes him one of the best defenders in the world. I love this guy, he’s the reason I watch Bayern Munich.

(4) Emerson - In a team littered with marquee worthy names, it’s easy to be overlooked esp. if you’re playing the crucial but largely unseen role of defensive midfielder. And that's very much Emerson’s lot. He may not have the name recall still he remains a much valued player (recent proof: the Galacticos’ relentless quest to sign him up). What Emerson has to do, he does superbly. His formidable tackling abilities often spark Brazil’s well known attacking plays. The strikers in the Brazilian team may all have the scoring opportunities but most of the time it’s only because Emerson first did his job well.

(5) Joe Cole: Chelsea’s secret weapon. Nuff said.

Answer 2

I would agree with you, at first, I really thought Jens Lehmann shouldn't have replaced Oliver Kahn for the German team, since Kahn represented his country very well. But then, I read a newspaper article describing how Lehmann was actually a substitute for Kahn for almost his entire career, even though their ages are almost the same, so it was only then that I felt some sympathy for him... but both of them are wonderful goalkeepers.

In some ways, Francesco Totti was also very underrated, because he has shown that he has talent, but he hasn't been lucky enough to show the world that he is one of the best football players ever. Also, many people didn't mind that he was suspended for the spitting incident during Euro 2004, while Zidane and Materazzi got tons of media coverage after the headbutt incident this year.

Answer 3

Nick Markakis, RF Baltimore Orioles. here's his year by year stats: 2006: 143 H, 25 2B, 2 3B, 16 HR, 62 RBI, .291 AVG 2007: 191 H, 43 2B, 3 3B, 23 HR, 112 RBI, .300 AVG 2008: 182 H, 48 2B, 1 3B, 20 HR, 87 RBI, .306 AVG 2009: 188 H, 45 2B, 2 3B, 18 HR, 101 RBI, .293 AVG a .990 career fielding %, 36 stolen bases, and one of the three centerpieces of Baltimore's youth movement in the outfield (Reimold, Jones, Markakis) he's never been to an all-star game even though his stats are quite comparable with some of the game's better all around players. i think he's got nowhere to go but up. others i considered: Yadier Molina, C, STL, Joey Votto, OF/1B, CIN.

Answer 4

Jens Lehmann was underrated, the key word, was. I think switching to Arsenal was a good choice. He finally came out of Kahn's shadow. Ever since Arsenal, he's proved himself as world-class and "a tiny bit better than Kahn." Besides, Jens, there's Timo Hildebrand, for him, he was the only player in the team that did not play in WC, and I feel somewhat...sad about it. But he is young, still has the time to be #1 goalie for Germany after Lehmann's gone. I really think that the whole German team are underrated. B/c they kept themselves so down-to-earth. Most players rarely promote themselves. Stars like Klose keeps a very low-profile even with his super star status. Lahm is another example of keeping it down. Torsten Frings, etc. And that is why I like the German team, they seem so humble. They don't over-promote themselves. Unlike Brazilian and English team (they are really overrated, esp. English, the team's not even that good; Brazil is just made up by super stars, so you can't blame them).

Answer 5

Joe Cole. The guy is such a tremendous work horse. He's creative and effective, scoring a decent amount for a winger and setting up A LOT of scoring for his teammates. However, he's rarely mentioned when people talk about the best current English players or even the best players at Chelsea, and he was usually the first midfielder subbed out in England games in the Cup, despite the fact that he played far better than Lampard, Gerrard, or Beckham did.

Answer 6

There are so many players who are underrated. Prior to this WC Pirlo was not rated highly but his consistency has now delivered him some recognition. I agree with you in the sense that many Goal keepers are also under rated. The only time their ability is shown is naturally when they save goals and this WC didn't see all that many scored, which is a credit to the keepers. Ricardo was fantastic this WC as was Lehmann, Buffon and many others. Also I think Brett Emerton and Lucas Neill from Australia were also under rated, but proved their worth this WC. I also think that Zidane and Figo were under rated in the sense that people did not believe these two legends could lift their sides to the heights they reached. Their ability to motivate by their mere presence was what was under rated. So many, it would take a while to list them all.

Answer 7

Cristian Zaccardo.. people look at him for his own goal.. which wasnt even his fault it deflected right off his boot which was upsetting
I felt so bad for him..He was the one who got us to Germany.. with his amazing goal :)
Also Fabio Grosso.. he's amazing, a hero, funny
you gotta love him!

Inzaghi... is an amazing player what upset me this year was that Lippi kept him on the bench and only made him play one game as a substitute! Super Pippo deserves some respect!

Answer 8

Lehmann has been underrated because he is sometimes inconsistent, but not as much anymore, mostly because he proved his value in the world cup. i would say that robinho is really underrated, mostly because on real madrid he has several top players ahead of him and he isn't the focus, but when he played in the world cup, he showed how good he is. i would also say that klose and eto'o are underrated, klose because he doesn't have a very high profile, and eto'o because cameroon didn't qualify for the world cup, and ronaldinho and messi get all the publicity. just my thoughts

Answer 9

Materazzi!

He's smart! He made the goal in the final, a real goal nduring the game... not a penalty like Zidan. He tapped Zidan's nerves and made Zidan humiliate himself in public... and then Materazzi scored again from the penalty at the end of the game. And everybody talks bad about him unfairly. He might have a dirty style of playing but he was made to pay much more than his actual mistake was worth. They made him pay just because of an provocative oral offense, about which Zidane was crying like a little baby about, an offense which every soccer player hears or says every game. Spoiled Zidane! Great Materazzi!

Answer 10

Tim Cahill and Lucas Neill. Neil is often remembered for THAT penalty but he was considered one of the Socceroos best players... so much so that after the WC, wherever he or Cahill went they were given standing ovations