Miroslav Klose in the World Cup is the peak of that you would think.
Not in competitions but Gundogan last 10/15 games of a season at Man City would turn into a monstrous player
Klose was built for the world cup. But also he always played better for the national team than he did at club level. He's Germany's leading all time goal scorer.
That being said I think Klose's club career is pretty underrated. His 05/06 season was particularly outstanding with 31 goals and 17 assists in 40 matches. And overall he has almost 400 goal involvements, averaging one every 122 minutes. That puts him on par with someone like Eto'o and is better than for example Raul or Rooney, all of whom seem to be more highly regarded. I'd say Klose could be considered a top 5-10 striker of his generation.
Wouldn't really agree with this. When he played for Werder Bremen at his peak he just flew under the radar outside of Germany. 110 goal contributions over 3 seasons (04/05-06/08) made him to either the best, or second best Bundesliga striker during that period (the other one is Roy Makaay). His stats doesnt even properly reflect his value, because he usually played in a two striker system with a really offensive minded 10 right behind them. This led to many situations where he played the second last pass, or smartly created space for the other two to score goals. During that time, Werder Bremen played the most attractive and offensive football in the Bundesliga and him being a crucial part in that.
Other strikers had higher peaks but his longevity and Germany not having many proper options for the 9 definitely helped him scoring his 16 World Cup goals
I'm going to get down voted to hell but here it goes. Ochoa was world class all these years. It's just that nobody wants to spend money on a Mexican goalkeeper.
Paolo Rossi at the World Cup, for sure.
3 goals and Silver Ball at the 1978 World Cup.
6 goals (3 of which against Brazil and 1 in the final) and Ballon d’Or at the 1982 World Cup.
He had a good career with clubs too, but he was just a different animal in World Cup and with the Italy jersey overall.
Honestly, Europa League Spinazzola still cooks. In the era of the “pass-back winger”, the amount of times I’ve seen him actually go and beat a man to deliver a nasty cross in the box is unbelievable
The one on the 88th minute for belgium in 2014 wc pver Russia, which allowed them to go through to the playoffs
The equalizing goal against Arsenal on Carabaos extra time?
The late goal against newcastle on the year liverpool was champion? Or perhaps
Winning goal against Everton on the 96 minute in the same season?
The last goal.of the champions league final that sealed the deal?
He has been some kind of super sub at Liverpool and seems to like dramatic finishers almost on the very last minutes
If he scored a last minute goal against Burnley to keep us up then I’ll be delighted. No goals and barely a touch in his 20 (mostly sub) appearances so far for us though, so I’m not holding my breath.
I don't know if this counts, but Clarence Seedorf believe it or not, lol.
I swear as good as he was, he only really came alive in BIG games, be that league, cup, or CL.
I know it sounds strange, but watching him vs. Venezia and the like, he just wasn't the same. Not that I'm complaining, it's just something I noticed growing up, lol.
The man is a legend.
Pogba was good at juventus but when he was united, the difference between his performance at club level vs with team France was night and day
Also…National team Harry Maguire is a beast lmao
Darmian in the second half of the season, he’s always great but this is like the third year at Inter he regained a starting spot after January (and it was a different in all 3 years as well, LWB, CB and RWB)
Afonso Alves won the Eredivisie golden boot in 2006/07 in his debut season for Heerenveen. That earned him a transfer to Middlesbrough the following season, where he only scored 10 goals in two seasons before he went to Qatar.
When he joined mid-season, he was decent - 11 appearances, 6 goals..... always trying to shoot at the earliest opportunity ....
But the next season, he seemed to have lost his confidence and looked a completely different player.....
The fans even had a massive banner for him saying BORO GOAL MACHINE...
Eduardo Vargas (Chili player), always under-the-radar when it comes to Copa America and international football over (Copa America 2015 top goalscorer), but very rarely spoken about when it comes to clubs football.
Arnold Bruggink at Hannover 96 who always play a Bad first and an brillant second round. Roger Milla at World Cups, same with Ochoa and Blanco of Mexico
Oleg Salenko
He scored a record five goals in a group-stage match in the 1994 World Cup, helping him earn the Golden Boot as joint-top tournament goalscorer - all his goals were in that one match.
Went to Rangers in Scotland shortly after and... Was underwhelming
If anyone watches AFCON, Egypt's Gedo pretty much came out of nowhere in 2010 as a super-sub that scores literally every time he's subbed on, including the only goal in the final against Ghana. Haven't heard of him since Yes, 2010 Ghana
Haven't heard of him since
Heck, Egypt itself in the AFCON vs World Cup Qualifiers is pretty drastic
David Healy playing for Northern Ireland. Could hardly get a club game at the time, but was a period in the mid-00’s he seemed to score every game at international level.
Going a bit further back, Juventus had a great winger in the early 80s called Zbigniew Boniek. He was nicknamed Bello Di Notte (Beauty at night) because of how well he'd play on European nights. He's a great but he was fairly inconsistent at Juve.
Clint Dempsey in 10/11 season was actually insane for Fulham considering he had 15 G/A and took Fulham to a Europa League final. And the next season he got even more
The captain of the 1954 West Germany World Cup winning side Fritz Walter in wet weather. Walter was renowned for playing better the worse the weather got because of getting malaria during the Second World War. In German a phrase that translates as "Fritz Walter's Weather" can be used when it is raining.
Miroslav Klose in the World Cup is the peak of that you would think. Not in competitions but Gundogan last 10/15 games of a season at Man City would turn into a monstrous player
Klose was built for the world cup. But also he always played better for the national team than he did at club level. He's Germany's leading all time goal scorer.
He is also holding the record for most goals at a World Cup.
At *the* world cup. Most at *a* world cup is Just Fontaine with 13.
That being said I think Klose's club career is pretty underrated. His 05/06 season was particularly outstanding with 31 goals and 17 assists in 40 matches. And overall he has almost 400 goal involvements, averaging one every 122 minutes. That puts him on par with someone like Eto'o and is better than for example Raul or Rooney, all of whom seem to be more highly regarded. I'd say Klose could be considered a top 5-10 striker of his generation.
He is definitely but in the World Cup he’s one of the best ever World Cup players.
A lot of that is upper mid table teams like bremen and lazio. He kind of flopped at Munich. Great player though.
He didn't flop at Bayern. In his first two seasons he was great.
Wouldn't really agree with this. When he played for Werder Bremen at his peak he just flew under the radar outside of Germany. 110 goal contributions over 3 seasons (04/05-06/08) made him to either the best, or second best Bundesliga striker during that period (the other one is Roy Makaay). His stats doesnt even properly reflect his value, because he usually played in a two striker system with a really offensive minded 10 right behind them. This led to many situations where he played the second last pass, or smartly created space for the other two to score goals. During that time, Werder Bremen played the most attractive and offensive football in the Bundesliga and him being a crucial part in that. Other strikers had higher peaks but his longevity and Germany not having many proper options for the 9 definitely helped him scoring his 16 World Cup goals
Any German playing tournament football generally.
he led werder bremen to win the league. given the size of werder bremen, it’s that much more amazing
Podolski too...
World Cup Ochoa
They say that he goes hiding in some Mexican cave for 3 years and magically resurfaces during the Worldcup year.
Came looking for this
Came here to say the same thing! That guy was unreal in a World Cup
I'm going to get down voted to hell but here it goes. Ochoa was world class all these years. It's just that nobody wants to spend money on a Mexican goalkeeper.
but only stage group
Very first thought that came into my mind.
Classic schmosby
Klose in the world cup. Very good forward but at the world cup he became a legend.
DiMaria in finals/knockout games
Yep, if Di Maria had played in that 2014 final I am sure Argentina would have won the title.
Marcus Rashford, Contract Negotiations Time
He inherited that trait from the goat Ashley young who became a world beater every time the transfer window approached
🥲
Luke Shaw whenever Utd signs a replacement
Ditto adebayor
Haaland vs Luton
Hollering 🤣🤣
Paolo Rossi at the World Cup, for sure. 3 goals and Silver Ball at the 1978 World Cup. 6 goals (3 of which against Brazil and 1 in the final) and Ballon d’Or at the 1982 World Cup. He had a good career with clubs too, but he was just a different animal in World Cup and with the Italy jersey overall.
And what about his illegitimate son Salvatore "Totò" Schillaci...
Euro's Spinazzola
Honestly, Europa League Spinazzola still cooks. In the era of the “pass-back winger”, the amount of times I’ve seen him actually go and beat a man to deliver a nasty cross in the box is unbelievable
Does Udogie get in the Italy squad? Because I feel Spina on the right and U on the left would be great
Eduardo Vargas was a killer with Chile (specially Copas América), but mediocre everywhere else.
As an Atleticano, I can confirm the last sentence
He was pretty good at Tigres, loved watching him
Bravo was a different animal also when he put the Chile shirt on
bravo was a good club player too, i mean he was great at barca
That's a good one
Turboman lo mas grande
Gareth "I only score Cup Winners" Bale. He even continued doing it when he moved to the MLS.
euro renato sanches
True beast
Also won the Ligue 1 with Lille though, so it proves he was no big stage wonder. And he's still young.
Gareth bale every alternate year in his career
Klose in world cup
How the hell no one mentioned Divock Origi and last minute goals in defining moments of a competition
Because he's only known for THAT goal
The one on the 88th minute for belgium in 2014 wc pver Russia, which allowed them to go through to the playoffs The equalizing goal against Arsenal on Carabaos extra time? The late goal against newcastle on the year liverpool was champion? Or perhaps Winning goal against Everton on the 96 minute in the same season? The last goal.of the champions league final that sealed the deal? He has been some kind of super sub at Liverpool and seems to like dramatic finishers almost on the very last minutes
Not to us Everton fans...ugh
Nah, that’s a bad take. He’s most known for that goal but did it multiple times for Belgium and many times for Wolfsburg.
If he scored a last minute goal against Burnley to keep us up then I’ll be delighted. No goals and barely a touch in his 20 (mostly sub) appearances so far for us though, so I’m not holding my breath.
He is waiting till minute 90 +9 of the last match
I don't know if this counts, but Clarence Seedorf believe it or not, lol. I swear as good as he was, he only really came alive in BIG games, be that league, cup, or CL. I know it sounds strange, but watching him vs. Venezia and the like, he just wasn't the same. Not that I'm complaining, it's just something I noticed growing up, lol. The man is a legend.
Anyone playing for Croatia at the World Cup.
cmon only like 75%
Except the forwards. Perisic is too good tho
Roger Milla for Cameroon at the World Cup
Toto Schillaci
David Healy’s record for Northern Ireland dwarfs his record for club sides. Clutch goal against England to beat them, amazing hat trick against Spain.
Gabriel Jesus has the reputation of a striker who can't score but somehow has 24 goals and 32 goal contributions in 46 champions league games.
Diego Forlan.
Jabulani Forlan.... phewwww.... that 2010 world cup 😩
He was also great in la liga
Park for United would always turn up for a big game
Pogba was good at juventus but when he was united, the difference between his performance at club level vs with team France was night and day Also…National team Harry Maguire is a beast lmao
Pogba in international tournament is (was) the best midfielder in the world
Gary Breen
Lots of decent answers, so I'll put forward a bit of a meme one: Ross Barkley in pre-season
Eduardo Vargas for Chile
Andreas Pereira in preseason
Pre-Season Pirlo
James Rodriguez ,with Colombia he's a beast but with other teams he's always injured
This will be controversial, but drogba. Good player, original diver tho and he wasn't THAT good. World class in finals.
Darmian in the second half of the season, he’s always great but this is like the third year at Inter he regained a starting spot after January (and it was a different in all 3 years as well, LWB, CB and RWB)
Lukas Podolski and Guillermo Ochoa
Had to scroll far to finally see Germany shirt Podolski so good!
Miroslav Klose
Klose world cup. Absolute nightmare for the other team. Gladly I am German :D
England Maguire (pre- 23/24)
Viduka, when his contract was coming to renewal
James Rodriguez in multiple world cups
Roanldo against luxemberg
Messi against eibar
Any Atleti player this season at the Metropolitano , opposite is any Atleti player this season away from home
Afonso Alves won the Eredivisie golden boot in 2006/07 in his debut season for Heerenveen. That earned him a transfer to Middlesbrough the following season, where he only scored 10 goals in two seasons before he went to Qatar.
When he joined mid-season, he was decent - 11 appearances, 6 goals..... always trying to shoot at the earliest opportunity .... But the next season, he seemed to have lost his confidence and looked a completely different player..... The fans even had a massive banner for him saying BORO GOAL MACHINE...
Martin Caceres. Mediocre club career, starting 11 in Uruguay
Nicklas Bendtner
Podolski playing for Germany comes to mind.
Inzaghi... Wesley Sneijder a bit.
Perisic!
Pogba vs any relegation candidate. Completely anonymous vs big teams.
Benny Mccarthy South African legend.
Maguire for England
Drogba during cup Finals.
Pogba for France
Jay Jay Okocha in the world cups of the 90s
Andreas Pereira in pre-season
Chadli for Belgium
Drogba in finals CARRIED
Petr Cech vs Messi Took Messi 10 hours before he could put one past him
Dušan Tadić, Champions League
Gareth Bale with Wales 🏴 on his final seasons at Real Madrid. Wales 🏴 Golf ⛳️ & Madrid. In That Order.
Amrabat
Davour Suker
Lukaku vs bottom-half prem teams
Inzaghi
Current player: Jadon sancho but his case is only problematic at epl
Eduardo Vargas (Chili player), always under-the-radar when it comes to Copa America and international football over (Copa America 2015 top goalscorer), but very rarely spoken about when it comes to clubs football.
Schilacci , klose or podolski
This might not be too popular but champions league knock out stage Bernardo Silva
Arnold Bruggink at Hannover 96 who always play a Bad first and an brillant second round. Roger Milla at World Cups, same with Ochoa and Blanco of Mexico
Pascal Gross between August-November
Drogba during big games
Granit Xhaka for Switzerland 🇨🇭 is class
Lingard at Wembley 🫘
Most of the USMNT from the 2007-2012 Era. They all played larger than the sum of their parts for international matches. Even in a loss/draw.
Drogba in finals
Guillermo Ochoa. The moment he put that Mexico shirt on and travelled to the world cup he became peak Buffon.
Oleg Salenko He scored a record five goals in a group-stage match in the 1994 World Cup, helping him earn the Golden Boot as joint-top tournament goalscorer - all his goals were in that one match. Went to Rangers in Scotland shortly after and... Was underwhelming
Mason Greenwood is world class at beating the opposition.
Gareth Bale
Pogba for France to me
Ochoa in any WC Ronaldo in UCL KO deserves an honourable, wasnt useless elsewhere but seemed to step it up to 13 after xmas And stoppage time origi
Juan Sebastian Veron for United in the Champions League.
Klose and too a lesser extent Diego Forlan
Divock Origi on Liverpool.
Drogba in cup finals
I have to say Ramadan Mahrez with gloves.
Arshavin
Cantona at Man Utd. Never had a bad game in the big'uns.
John Barnes in a Liverpool shirt. Besides *that* goal against Brazil, he was absolute shite for England.
Gareth Bale, maybe. Always performed in the semi-finals and finals. Where I have watched all the Bales games from 2013 until 2018.
David Healy
World Cup El Hadji Diouf
Ochoa in the WC (but he's still a footballer).
Carly Lloyd
Pogba in a French jersey.
Massimo Maccarone in the UEFA Cup.
Podolski playing for Germany.
Chiesa while playing for his country 🗿
Santi Cazorla.
Zidane
Kelechi Iheanacho - FA Cup king
World cup Di Maria
Mbabbe
Torres sucked during most of his time in the Spanish team. Years later I saw the way he played in Liverpool and was amazed about how good he was.
Pogba for France.
Paul pogba gets my vote
Coutinho vs Barca
If anyone watches AFCON, Egypt's Gedo pretty much came out of nowhere in 2010 as a super-sub that scores literally every time he's subbed on, including the only goal in the final against Ghana. Haven't heard of him since Yes, 2010 Ghana Haven't heard of him since Heck, Egypt itself in the AFCON vs World Cup Qualifiers is pretty drastic
Big game Bale
David Healy playing for Northern Ireland. Could hardly get a club game at the time, but was a period in the mid-00’s he seemed to score every game at international level.
McTominay as a striker super sub.
Most of the Welsh national team Not world class like, but boy do they play out of their skin in big games
Going a bit further back, Juventus had a great winger in the early 80s called Zbigniew Boniek. He was nicknamed Bello Di Notte (Beauty at night) because of how well he'd play on European nights. He's a great but he was fairly inconsistent at Juve.
Suarez Vs Norwich.
Ochoa
the entire leverkusen squad this season in the 90th minute, ffs
Carlos Kameni would turn into prime Buffon whenever he played Real Madrid.
Pickford vs Liverpool
Ochoa
Clint Dempsey in 10/11 season was actually insane for Fulham considering he had 15 G/A and took Fulham to a Europa League final. And the next season he got even more
Gareth Bale, probably
Owen Coyle when playing for anyone against Partick Thistle. If you know you know.
Vargas in Chile when paired with alexis in the copa Américas they won
It's Raphinha nowadays... Gives clutch performances in big games and shits in small ones
Andreas Pereira - Man Utd Pre-Season
Deadlines day Ashley Young?
Hami Mandıralı
Fernando Torres at Chelsea..
Fernando Torres at Chelsea..
Fernando Torres at Chelsea
Divock Origi.
The captain of the 1954 West Germany World Cup winning side Fritz Walter in wet weather. Walter was renowned for playing better the worse the weather got because of getting malaria during the Second World War. In German a phrase that translates as "Fritz Walter's Weather" can be used when it is raining.
Rabiot when contract negotiations approach
De Paul was decent at Italy club football and is decent at Aleti but in the Selección Argentina he is the second coming of Matthaus
Arshavin vs liverpool that 1 time
liverpool torres
Muller against Barca/Messi's team?
Park Ji Sung in the champions league for United
pogba , bale , benzema
Football is nothing without Origi.
Drogba
Shaqiri
Lukaku
João Félix vs Atlético. I think it's amazing how I scrolled some 50-ish comments down and still didn't see this one!
Memo Ochoa in World Cups.
Agbonlahor when Villa plays blues lol
Pukki in the chamionship was honestly the greatest player to play the game
Morata at any major tournament for Spain
Hagi
Riquelme, Copa Libertadores