The English portal Give Me Sport compiled a list of the ten most underrated football players of all time.
At the very top was the legendary Dane Michael Laudrupa former Barcelona and Real player for whom he Franz Beckenbauer once stated: “Pele was the best in the sixties, Cruyff in the seventies, Maradona in the eighties, and Laudrup in the nineties.”
He found himself in a very high, fifth place Robert Prosinecki. The legendary midfielder of Red Star and the Croatian national team.
He was a part national team of Yugoslavia who won the World Youth Championship in 1987. He was also a key cog in the wonderful Crvena zvezda team from Belgrade that won the Champions League in 1991. Magical with the ball and very talented on the break, Prosinečki attracted the attention of the world’s biggest clubs.
He played for Real Madrid and for Barcelonabut we haven’t seen his true brilliance during the La Liga era. Prosinecki would often save that for the international stage. After Croatia declared independence, he was a key part of the team that finished third at the 1998 World Cup. Later in his career he spent a short time in Portsmouth. Fans of the south coast club often claim him as one of their own favorite players of all time, they said from Give Me Sport.
He was born in Germany in 1969, where he played for Stuttgarter Kickers, a club that is now part of the lower, regional league. A couple of decades ago, they played a professional competition and were known for their good work with young people. Prosinečki returned to Yugoslavia with his parents as an 11-year-old. He played his first senior minutes in the Dinamo jersey, and in 1987 he went to Red star.
The Belgrade club was then one of the best in Europe.
I saw myself as an artist. The next dribble, the next one-on-one situation was most important to me. I wanted to show the viewers something spectacular. Of course, I was criticized by some for playing only for myself, not for the team. I’ve actually always considered myself a team player, said Prosinečki in an interview with Transfermarkt, reports Index.
In 1987, Prosinečki was part of the Yugoslav U-21 national team, which in Chile became world championand he was declared the best player of the tournament. Three years later, with the senior national team, he reached the quarter-finals, where they lost to Argentina on penalties. Prosinečki scored from the first penalty. With Zvezda, he beat Marseille in 1991 and won the title club champion of Europe.
He said that Zvezda’s title was important for the whole country and that thousands of fans welcomed them.
We celebrated the title for days. The whole country rejoiced. In fact, they greet me more often on the street in Belgrade than in Zagrebsaid Prosinečki.
In 1991, he signed for Real Madrid. In Spain, he did not live up to expectations and after the episode in Oviedo, he went to Barcelona in 1995, then to Sevilla in 1997, and in the same year to Dinamo, then Croatia. Prosinečki won with Croatia bronze at the 1998 World Championships in France.
After Dinamo, he played for Hrvatski Dragovoljac, Standard Liege, Portsmouth, Olimpija Ljubljana and Zagreb. He ended his career in 2004. After his playing career, he started coaching, and is currently the menu of Montenegro.
The ten most underrated players according to the Give Me Sport portal
- 1. Michael Laudrup
- 2. Thomas Müller
- 3. Jordan Henderson
- 4. Dani Carvajal
- 5. Robert Prosinecki
- 6. Franck Ribery
- 7. Sergio Busquets
- 8. Gheorghe Hagi
- 9. Michael Carrick
- 10. Rudy Voller
(www.jabuka.tv | Photo: Nino Strmotic/Vecernji list)
