Players Outside the Realm of Cristiano and Messi

In today’s world, football has become one of the most watched sport around the globe. Day by day more and more people are attracted towards this beautiful game.

But the problem is that due to some big name players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, football fans have just forgotten about other brilliant players. Instead of watching out for new talents, we are busy fighting over who is the best, who is the number one, who is the leader, is it Ronaldo or is it Messi?

Players are getting overshadowed by the so called “BIG NAME” players. People seem to have forgotten that there are great players (if not the best) other than Messi and Ronaldo. And its high time people stop fighting over who is best and watch out for some “UNSUNG” heroes and “UNHEARD” of players.

Here are some players who haven’t received the respect and admiration they deserve.

• Raphael Wolf

? At 23, standing over 6 foot tall, Wolf is a goalkeeper to watch out for. He currently plays for Austrian Football Bundesliga side Kapfenberger SV. He has also played for Hamburger SV II making 25 appearances. So far in his career, Wolf has been very impressive with amazing reflexes and superb saves. It would be great to see him play for a top club in England, Spain or Italy.

• Adil Rami

? At 25, Adil Rami is a French football player of Moroccan descent who currently plays for Spanish club Valencia in La Liga. He plays in central defence for the club and is known for his physical strength, free kicks, and imposing height standing at nearly 6 ft 3 in (1.90 m). Rami may attract some attraction from the world after signing for Valencia, but before he arrived in Spain, Rami was very under rated. He is a great defender. His tackles, his marking, his positioning is perfect. He is going to be one good defender in the coming years. He is nicknamed “Shrek” by former Lille teammates and Lille supporters.

• Urby Emanuelson

? At 25, Emanuelson is a Dutch footballer of Surinamese descent, who plays for Serie A club Milan. He plays as either a left midfielder or left back. Despite playing as a defender, he is best known for attacking attributes such as pace and dribbling. Even after joining a huge club like AC Milan, Urby hasn’t been praised for his efforts. He has made 9 appearances for Milan and scored a goal. Emanuelson can play ANYWHERE on the left. He is a great crosser of the ball and is a good dribbler. Ajax was his previous club with whom he made 173 appearances and scored 17 goals.

• Hossein Kaebi

? At 25, Kaebi is an Iranian football player who currently plays for Rah Ahan in the Iran Pro League and the Iran national football team. Hossein is the youngest of a 14 siblings family, including 8 older brothers and 5 older sisters. Hossein plays as at right back. He is very quick and agile. His crossing and passing techniques are beautiful. If given a chance at the top level, Kaebi can prove to be one of the greatest right backs of all times.

• Issiar Dia

? At 24, Dia is a French-born Senegalese footballer. He currently plays for the Turkish Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe. Dia is a winger and can play on either wings. He is fast with bags of pace. He is amazingly fast whether he is running with or without the ball at his feet. He can sprint with a sudden turn and surprise any opposition player with his quickness. Dia has made 25 appearances for Fenerbahçe scoring on two occasions. He has scored once in 9 appearances for Senegal. He is also one of the most under rated players in football.

• Yannis Salibur

? At 20, Salibur is a French football player who currently plays for French club Boulogne-sur-Mer in Ligue 2. He is a midfielder and can also play on the wings. I wouldn’t call Salibur under rated because he is yet to make an impact, but so far his performances have been delightful. And all I hope for is that this player should play on the top level because he has what it takes to be one of the best players on earth. He has made 6 appearances for France U-19 side scoring on one occasion.

• Jozy Alidore

? At 21, Altidore is an American striker who currently playing for Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar, and for the United States national team. Altidore started his career with Ney York Red Bulls. On 37 appearances, Altidore scored 15 times. He was 17-18 years old then. Later on he joined Villarreal and scored once in 9 appearances for them. In 2011, he signed up AZ Alkmaar and scored on his debut. He is a real good striker and has the ability to harass the opposition goalkeeper every now and then. He has scored 12 times for USA.

• Park Chu-Young

? At 26, Chu-Young is a South Korean footballer who plays for AS Monaco in Ligue 2 and is the current captain for the South Korea national team. He plays as a striker. For his current club AS Monaco, Park has scored 25 times in 91 appearances. He is known for his powerful shots, and headers. Park is a constant threat whenever he is lurking near the opposition goal. His accuracy is fantastic, and he can hammer in goals from long range. Park has 17 goals in 51 appearances for his National team. Yet he has not received the admiration which he deserves.

• Kermit Erasmus

? At 21, Erasmus is a South African footballer who currently plays for South African club Supersport United. He is a young striker with some stunning pace and amazing accuracy. Even though he is just 21, Erasmus plays like he has been playing the game from a long time. His passing and team work abilities are just brilliant. In 2009-10 he was loaned to Excelsior. He scored 11 goals in 30 appearances. He is an upcoming talent to watch out for in the future. He scored 6 times in 7 appearances for South Africa U-17. For South Africa U-20, he has scored 4 times in 8 appearances. He has only played 1 match for his National side. Erasmus is being compared to Wayne Rooney and Brazilian legend Romario and has already represented the Under-17s and Under-20s scoring plenty of goals.

These players deserve some respect and admiration, but due to blind faith these amazing stars are just “ORDINARY” in the eye’s of this world. Its time we stopped wasting our time cribbing over who is the best than the rest, and embrace these upcoming talents.

The players I talked about are only a handful, there are still many more “EXTRA-ORDINARY” players out there, waiting for recognition.