You Either Die a Hero, or Live Long Enough to See Yourself Become the Villain

by McAgger Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:12 am

This is a thread for heroes and legends alike. For those that gave their hearts and souls to the club yet were poorly treated at the back end of their careers.

There are players like Zidane, Cantona, Platini, Van Basten, Brian Laudrup, Rijkaard, etc. who retired as heroes at the pinnacle of their careers. Guys who didn't see themselves become just another average Joe in their respective teams but left on the high note. These are players who we worshiped to the end of their short careers.

Then there are the diminished heroes whose popularity went down the drain with the fans because of their decisions to withhold retirement just to stick around to beat a couple of club records or for whatever other reason. Some were forced out to lesser sides because their worthless clubs did not want them anymore.

I say let's honor the legends that were mistreated, let's remember those that did not die as heroes but lived long enough to see themselves become the villains.

I'll get it rolling.

Jaime Carragher - There was a time when Pool fans sang that we wanted 11 Carraghers on the starting team. Ever since his legs gave out he has been the bud of the jokes, and at the tail end of the blames for poor performances.
You Either Die a Hero, or Live Long Enough to See Yourself Become the Villain LpoolDM_468x329

You Either Die a Hero, or Live Long Enough to See Yourself Become the Villain LpoolDM_468x329

by Red Alert Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:16 am

Just rename the thread to Emile Heskey. :bow:

by juventus101 Wed Dec 12, 2012 7:39 am

Great thread idea.

Fabio Cannavaro. Similar situation to Carragher but even more extreme. Was one of the best defenders of all time in his early Juve days, and won the Ballon Dor for.his amazing performances at the world cup, yet then comes back to Juve and gets hated onbecause hes opd and past it. Also got hated on at Madrid. He was past it, yet constantly criticized. Give the guy a break.

Bonucci to a point as well, even though his career is not even close to beinover. But in 10/11, in the first half of the season, with a Bonucci-Chiellini CB partnership, we lost the forst game and then went 19 games unbeaten. Bonucci was a big part of that. Then in the second half of the season everyone was hating on him. He is error prone, but has been improving with each season and at this point is an excellent defender.

by barca 2011 Wed Dec 12, 2012 8:11 am

Raul Gonzalez Blanco. Probably Spain's biggest legend and I couldve sworn he retired. He hasnt. He just faded into obscurity.

by StevieRayVaughan Wed Dec 12, 2012 9:22 am

barca 2011 wrote:Raul Gonzalez Blanco. Probably Spain's biggest legend and I couldve sworn he retired. He hasnt. He just faded into obscurity.

You know Raul left Real for Schalke, where he managed to be a legendary figure that they even retired his number for 1 year. He was instrumental to their success. He managed to left his mark in two different clubs, that is quite something. Plus, not all players want to quit playing soccer at a high note, some players love football too much to do that.

by barca 2011 Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:02 am

StevieRayVaughan wrote:
barca 2011 wrote:Raul Gonzalez Blanco. Probably Spain's biggest legend and I couldve sworn he retired. He hasnt. He just faded into obscurity.

You know Raul left Real for Schalke, where he managed to be a legendary figure that they even retired his number for 1 year. He was instrumental to their success. He managed to left his mark in two different clubs, that is quite something. Plus, not all players want to quit playing soccer at a high note, some players love football too much to do that.

I know he left for Schalke. They didn't exactly win a BL title. You contradict yourself a bit though. Not all players want to quit at a high level, Because they love the game too much? So, theres love, but where's the legacy? This thread, to my understanding was about players who had ended their career on a bit of a low. Now financially, Raul's career is not on a low, what with playing in Qatar and all. But he won CLs with Galacticos at one point. Madrid LEGEND. Do you remember when he left to Schalke, how ordinary it was? And he had just become La Liga's top ever scorer.

My question to you is, which was the last Qatar Premier League (do they even call it that?) match that you saw? Because I haven't seen one. Raul went from Raul Madrid to irrelevance.

by rwo power Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:19 am

Well, Raúl won his first national Cup (DFB-Pokal) at Schalke (beating Bayern in München and scoring the winning goal there in the process) and he brought them to the CL semi, which was farther than Real for a while Very Happy

by 7amood11 Wed Dec 12, 2012 10:25 am

Definitely true to some extent.

by barca 2011 Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:22 am

rwo power wrote:Well, Raúl won his first national Cup (DFB-Pokal) at Schalke (beating Bayern in München and scoring the winning goal there in the process) and he brought them to the CL semi, which was farther than Real for a while

And I wouldnt discredit his brief career in Germany but again, This is Raul. His farewell from Madrid was weak. And as far as his career after Schalke when was the last time you heard of him?

by rwo power Wed Dec 12, 2012 11:38 am

barca 2011 wrote:And I wouldnt discredit his brief career in Germany but again, This is Raul. His farewell from Madrid was weak. And as far as his career after Schalke when was the last time you heard of him?

Unfortunately not after Schalke - I just wanted to point out that you can't say that Raúl faded after leaving Madrid. He had two more great years at Schalke where he left quite an impression, too. :bow:

by fatman123 Wed Dec 12, 2012 12:13 pm

im pretty sure Egdar Davids is still playing somewhere in the 3rd or 4th division of England Laughing

Gary Neville springs to mind too

by The Franchise Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:10 pm

Ronaldinho's Barca career falls directly into this category..he obviously hasnt retired but this whole situation is basically what he became.

We owe him alot, he came and literally took us from mediocrity to Champions and did it in the most entertaining way anyone could imagine.

But the last 2 years of his career with us....some Barca fans seem like they cant think of anything else besides that. He became a villain in many peoples eyes so it seems.

Marquez went this way too, he wasnt really a hero, but he was fantastic at his best and was with us a long time. But his last year was some of the worse defending I ever seen from one of our players the last say 10 years. His last year was worse than Chgyrisnky Very Happy

by Dante Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:20 pm

Where would this thread be without Rivaldo . The ex-everything player Laughing

by The Franchise Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:26 pm

Rivaldo isnt a villian to anyone though.

by Dante Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:34 pm

The Franchise wrote:Rivaldo isnt a villian to anyone though.

He is a villain in my eyes , the same way some Barcelona fans see Ronaldinho now , like you mentioned. Even though there's more to add .

by The Franchise Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:38 pm

But Rivaldo was an old man you got for free and who wasnt that important to the team at any stage really.

Ronaldinho was our star, a key player, who still should of been in his prime, but wasnt because he abused his body and stopped caring.

I dont really the similarities.

by Dante Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:49 pm

The Franchise wrote:But Rivaldo was an old man you got for free and who wasnt that important to the team at any stage really.

Ronaldinho was our star, a key player, who still should of been in his prime, but wasnt because he abused his body and stopped caring.

I dont really the similarities.

There doesn't have to be exact similarities. Rivaldo was one of my childhood heroes in football. Watching him taking down the road since years now , next scrub team after the other , it wasn't nice for me .

You seem not to care and it's cool if you ask me , but i am sure many people have a different opinion about Rivaldo these days. It's not to say we are correct about it , but you cannot deny Rivaldo has let his image go down the road all these years.

The last years , he seems to join clubs here and there to gather his last money. It's sad , considering the player he was.

by S Wed Dec 12, 2012 1:52 pm

Tbh i think most people/fans are respectful to their club legends even if they are past their prime or being detrimental to the team etc.So i think Raul isnt the greatest example in this case as he's been such a superb servant for Madrid.

Even though Seedorf wasnt viewed as a 'villain' by Milan fans there were times when they were calling for his head for his poor performances especially in the first half of the 2010-11 season where some people thought he has stayed long enough at the club than they ever pictured he would..Although some vintage performances near the end of his Milan career made the fans forget that 'dry patch' of his as well.He left in a respectable way eventually.

by The Franchise Wed Dec 12, 2012 2:03 pm

Dante wrote:
The Franchise wrote:But Rivaldo was an old man you got for free and who wasnt that important to the team at any stage really.

Ronaldinho was our star, a key player, who still should of been in his prime, but wasnt because he abused his body and stopped caring.

I dont really the similarities.

There doesn't have to be exact similarities. Rivaldo was one of my childhood heroes in football. Watching him taking down the road since years now , next scrub team after the other , it wasn't nice for me .

You seem not to care and it's cool if you ask me , but i am sure many people have a different opinion about Rivaldo these days. It's not to say we are correct about it , but you cannot deny Rivaldo has let his image go down the road all these years.

The last years , he seems to join clubs here and there to gather his last money. It's sad , considering the player he was.

OK, now I understand.

I still admire him honestly, because he loves the game and doesnt want to give it up. If it means playing in a lower divison then so be it.

by Dante Wed Dec 12, 2012 2:07 pm

Surag wrote:Tbh i think most people/fans are respectful to their club legends even if they are past their prime or being detrimental to the team etc.So i think Raul isnt the greatest example in this case as he's been such a superb servant for Madrid.

Even though Seedorf wasnt viewed as a 'villain' by Milan fans there were times when they were calling for his head for his poor performances especially in the first half of the 2010-11 season where some people though he has stayed long enough at the club than they thought..Although some vintage performances near the end of his Milan career made the fans forget that 'dry patch' of his as well.He left in a respectable way eventually.

That's true . Some Milan fans , not just here , said stuff about Seedorf in his last years,mostly down to him being slow and all..

Yet , i don't see the point mentioning Seedorf here. Even his regular critics would tell you how highly they think of him. You just mentioned a minority here , whom despite their opinions , never really made Seedorf look any lesser .

You already said he left in a respectable way eventualy and you already said we haven't considered him a villain too. I don't see the point behind this post really.

_
And i thought of a player that suits this thread very well , sadly. Dida.

Haven't seen much love since he left us and in his last two years , he had become a joke amongs our ranks and i suppose elsewhere in the football world. He was once one of the best shot stoppers in the world and he wrote history with Milan , only for the fans to be happy he left the club ..

by VanDeezNuts Wed Dec 12, 2012 3:31 pm

did anyone know edgar davids was still playing?

well now you know. lol.

i wouldnt exactly say he has become the villian, hes still loved but not he plays for some english league 2 team and has fallen into complete obscurity.

by drakefyre Wed Dec 12, 2012 4:49 pm

Wenger seems to be walking that path...

by RealGunner Wed Dec 12, 2012 4:52 pm

drakefyre wrote:Wenger seems to be walking that path...

by McAgger Mon Sep 16, 2013 8:05 am

I think it's time we induct Kaka into this thread in light of the news of his injury.

by billy_gr Mon Sep 16, 2013 8:52 am

I think brabnding Ronie a "villain" is a bit too much. I know I was angry on fis final seasons in Barca mainly because I knew what he was capable of but he will always be one of the most important players of teh club for me

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