10 Legends and the farewells they were given by their club

“The last impression is the lasting impression”. Though not as commonly used as its hackneyed “first impression” counterpart, there’s no doubting the truth in this statement. People, and sportsmen in particular, are almost always remembered by the grace (or the lack of it) with which they made their final bow. Some, like Glenn McGrath departed bathed in glory; others, like Andre Agassi, left us with mixed feelings about the timing of his swansong.Footballers are no exceptions to this rule. While some of them leave the game on open top buses with champagnes adorning their farewell snippets, others walk away silently, having to reminisce about their heydays. However, a lot of how they call it a day, depends on the culture, values and ethos of the clubs they played for. Let’s take a look at ten legends of the game, who have almost always, if not always, been one club men, and the farewells afforded to them by their clubs.We’ll move across the spectrum, going through the good, the bad and the ugly cases.

#1 Xavi Hernandez, FC Barcelona

Who better to begin with, than arguably the greatest midfielder the game has ever seen? Xavi Hernandez represented not just a style of football, or a football club – he represented what is a way of living in his beloved FC Barcelona. The unassuming, majestic Spaniard, saw spaces in the football pitch that nobody else saw, and threaded balls through these spaces with the accuracy of Agent 47.

Xavi bade farewell to the Blaugrana, by lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy last season. Yes, his last match for the club he grew up with, was the biggest match in club football. However, he hadn’t just lifted the Ol’ Big Ears in his final season at the Camp Nou. Xavi was the treble winning captain of arguably the greatest club in the world, lifting the Copa Del Rey and La Liga trophies, before that night against Juventus.

Barcelona couldn’t have given a better farewell to one of their greatest and most loyal servants than this. After all, they had become the first team in history to achieve the European treble twice. Xavier Hernandez was the anchor of the first treble, and the commander of the second. What a legend. What a farewell.

#2 Matt Le Tissier, Southampton

Among the greatest footballers to have never played in either the European Championships or the FIFA World Cup for England, Matthew Le Tissier is a bona fide legend in the South Coast of the Old Blighty. Having amassed 443 appearances for Southampton over a span of 17 years, and 161 of the silkiest and most effortless goals scored by any Englishman in the modern game, it is a shame that the Saints superstar is never mentioned alongside the likes of Alan Shearer, Michael Owen or Wayne Rooney.

Probably the greatest penalty kick specialist the game has ever seen – he converted 47 of the 48 kicks he took in his career – Le Tissier’s continued absence in various Three Lions squads was baffling and appalling. However, Southampton’s very own Le God, was held in the highest regard in the upper echelons of the British football circle, and this was evident from the testimonial match they gave him on his farewell.

Playing against an England XI, which featured the likes of Shearer, Ian Wright and Peter Beardsley, at the St Mary’s Stadium (the game witnessed their second largest crowd ever), Le Tissier’s Southampton managed a wildly entertaining 9-9 draw. Le Tissier himself scored twice in the game, but the icing on the cake was his 10 year old son, Mitchell coming on to score four goals. What a day for the family.

#3 Gheorghe Hagi, Galatasaray

Comparisons of good footballers with the likes of Pele and Maradona are seldom true, with most of them bordering on melodramatic and even myopic. Some, however, have done more than their fair share to garner such illustrious comparisons. Gheorghe Hagi, the Maradona of the Carpathians, was one such incredible footballer. In a career that was a highlight reel of some of the greatest goals ever scored, Hagi carved out a niche for himself, with his bazooka of a left foot.

Having played for the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona in a stellar, yet nomadic career, Hagi finally found his spiritual home in Turkey, with Galatasaay. In a five year spell that coincided with the club’s Golden Age, Hagi was the darling of probably the most passionate fans in the game. Comandante, as he was lovingly called, retired from the sport in 2001, winning a host of unprecedented trophies in his final season with the Istanbul giants.

In his final season of top flight football, Hagi won every possible trophy with Galatasaray, with the iconic “I love you, Hagi” chants resonating across Cimbom to this day. Indeed, very few overseas players have left an indelible mark on their clubs, the way Hagi did with Galatasaray.

#4 Dennis Bergkamp, Arsenal

One of those players who remind us what the adjective in the beautiful game stands for, Dennis Bergkamp was among the classiest footballers of the last two decades. With his innate Oranje flair and scarcely believable ball control, Bergkamp was among the Invincibles of English football, with Arsenal. Along with the likes of Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira and others, Bergkamp made fans forget the days when “one nil to the Arsenal” was the order of the day.

Like Le Tissier, Bergkamp didn’t call it a day covered from head to toe in silverware; in fact, he too had a testimonial match, that would live long in the memory of Gooners, and will also go down in history as a momentous occasion. For few footballers would ever have the honour of knowing their farewell match would be the first, in one of the most iconic stadiums in modern football.

Dennis Bergkamp’s last caress of the ball coincided with a new era in the history of Arsenal. Indeed, while one era ended poignantly, another dawned upon Arsene Wenger and his men. In the testimonial match, Arsenal played his old club, Ajax, with both Bergkamp’s father and his son, featuring in the match, along with greats of the game including Johan Cruyff, Marco Van Basten and Frank De Boer.

#5 Steven Gerrard, Liverpool

On one hand, it would be unfair to term the brilliant, emotional and trademark Anfield farewell that Liverpool gave Steven Gerrard as bad. On the other, it was only his Anfield farewell, and not his club farewell. Gerrard played his final game for the club he idolized and symbolized, the following week at the Britannia Stadium, in Stoke. It wasn’t however, an occasion to remember.

The Reds lost the game 6-1, their worst defeat in 52 years, with Gerrard scoring a consolation goal. However, it was hardly the farewell befitting a legend of his stature, and needless to say, his teammates failed him, on an occasion that was indescribably emotional. But then, that was Steven Gerrard’s career in a nutshell. Snatching glory from the jaws of disaster; snatching disaster from the jaws of glory.

The legacy and the void he has left at the club is humongous – the likes of which has been never seen in the Premier League since its inception. For, the name of Steven Gerrard was almost always synonymous with that of Liverpool Football Club. And while a hero of his ilk fully deserved the emotional send off his loving fans gave him at Anfield, he certainly didn’t deserve the almighty drubbing he received a week later.

#6 Raul Gonzalez, Real Madrid

Raul Gonzalez’s Real Madrid farewell was bad purely because of one reason – they didn’t give him one. Yes, the club’s all time highest goal scorer didn’t get a testimonial match, or a bronze statue or even a plaque, for namesake. In fact, he was gently shown the door by Florentino Perez, with Cristiano Ronaldo hurriedly inheriting the number 7 jersey that Raul had worn with so much pride.

The extent of Los Merengues’ apathy towards one of their greatest player of all time came into further limelight two years later, when Schalke, the club who signed him from Madrid, retired his number 7 jersey, for an indefinite period – such was the respect Raul Gonzalez commanded.

The Spanish striker had a poetic ending to his Real Madrid career; his final touch of the ball for Los Blancos was a goal against Real Zaragoza at La Romareda, the venue where he made his debut 16 years back. A minute later however, he fell down injured, and never played for Real Madrid again.

The club arranged a dressed up, PR inspired testimonial three years after he departed the club, as Real Madrid took on Raul’s last club, Al Sadd. However, it was what it was – a PR stunt.

#7 Paolo Maldini, AC Milan

If Steven Gerrard and Raul Gonzalez were icons at their respective clubs, Paolo Maldini was a veritable institution at his club, AC Milan. Maldini spent an incredible, eye popping 31 years with the Rossoneri, with a quarter of a century being spent in top flight football. In fact, he almost wore the Milan shirt across five different decades, missing the fifth decade by a few months.

Il Capitano, undoubtedly the greatest defender the world has seen since Franz Beckenbauer and his own mentor at San Siro, Franco Baresi, won five European Cups (yes, five) – easily the most any player has ever won, since the early days of the competition. Such was the great man’s loyalty, that he spurned a big money loan move to Chelsea at the grand, old age of 40, in favour of staying at Milan.

However, Maldini’s very own Milanello failed him in his final game for the club. For reasons that are vague to this day, Brigate Rossonere, a Milanese Ultra group, booed Maldini, as he bade farewell to his beloved San Siro. This shocking reception was best symbolized by an ultra banner which read, “There’s only one captain, Baresi”. Hardly the treatment a player like him deserved.

#8 Fabio Cannavaro, Juventus

If the treatment meted out to Maldini is his final game was bad, the one meted out to fellow Azzurri legend Fabio Cannavaro, was downright ugly. However, unlike any other player in this slideshow, some would argue that Cannavaro deserved a bit of the flak that came his way in his final season with the Old Lady of Turin.

The Italian was a fan favourite in his first stint at Juventus, winning a host of personal awards, including Club and League Player of the Year in 2006. However, when the Calciopoli scandal hit the Turin giants hard, and led to their demotion, Cannavaro jumped ship, along with many others. His mistake, however, was coming back to the club after their promotion, in three years’ time.

While he wasn’t received very well by his fans, good performances from his side would’ve assuaged their reservations about him. Instead, he put up one shambolic showing after another in the centre of the defence, culminating in his dismissal against Fulham in acrimonious fashion, in a Europa League clash.

Needless to say, his contract wasn’t renewed at the end of the season, and his hometown club, Napoli didn’t even attempt to sign him, even though they were interested in signing him earlier. A sad end to a magnificent career.

#9 George Best, Manchester United

George Best had a bad boy image – rugged, dishevelled, and a real maverick. However, the Northern Ireland great, was a marvellous footballer and a Manchester United legend. In his 11 year spell at Old Trafford, Best was often compared with the likes of Pele and Eusebio, such was his greatness.

However, he departed the Red Devils in sad circumstances in 1974 and his career never recovered. Over the next decade, Best played at sixteen different clubs, becoming a real rolling stone. However, all this was put in motion by his forgettable Manchester United farewell.

A part of the “old guard clique” that rarely talked to younger players, during United’s rapid decline in the early 1970s, Best epitomized the free fall of the club. In fact, his final match for the club, United lost 3-0 to Queens Park Rangers, following which Best indefinitely dropped for the rest of the campaign. He was then arrested for theft and never played for the club again. Manchester United went on to be relegated that season, with George Best being a relic of their wonderful past and slipshod present.

#10 Iker Casillas, Real Madrid

While Xavi Hernandez departed his beloved Barcelona in a blaze of glory, the other great Spanish footballer of this generation, Iker Casillas, was pushed out the Real Window by Florentino Perez. The greatest custodian the club has ever seen, Iker Casillas was a man in danger, ever since his form started dipping two seasons back. However, no performance of his warranted the jeers and boos he received from the so called Bernabeu faithful.

At the end of the 2014/15 season, Casillas was informed that he was free to leave the club he had joined as a child and captained for so many years. Having had enough of the criticisms and brickbats, the Spanish great departed for Lisbon, moving to FC Porto. However, the farewell given to him by the club he had served so loyally, was shocking to say the least.

Not a single Madrid official, player or socio was present during the goalkeeper’s farewell press conference. Not even a single human being next to him, as he broke down in front of cameras, letting go of all the frustration and disappointment that was seething inside. After a barrage of criticism was aimed at the club, Madrid finally organized a pretentious farewell for him. However, the damage had been done already. Real Madrid’s conduct was horrible.