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The UEFA Champions League has always been the tournament where many players have announced themselves to the world. The most prestigious club tournament has also seen some stand out performances from many iconic players. Zinedine Zidane in the final of the 2002 edition, Liverpool's Steven Gerrard inspired comeback at Istanbul in 2005 and the Didier Drogba show in 2012 are some of the best examples that come to mind.Similarly many players have left their mark on the tournament with their performances over the years, be it in the finals or in the group stages. This year many such players including some Champions League winners will not be participating in the historic tournament and here is a look at 10 of them.Honourable mentions: Radamel Falcao (Manchester United), David De Gea (Manchester United), Ricardo Montolivo (AC Milan), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Stephen El Shaarawy (AC Milan), Keisuke Honda (AC Milan) and Diego Lopez (AC Milan)
#10 Marek Hamsik SSC Napoli
The Napoli captain is one of many top players missing out on the tournament this season.
His team lost their playoff tie against Athletic Bilbao this season and will therefore play in the Europa League. His goal gave Napoli the lead on aggregate at one point in the tie, but Bilbao responded with three goals to settle the tie.
Hamsik is a very good goal scoring midfielder and many clubs have been linked with him over the years, but he has always stayed loyal to the Serie A side.
The Slovakian has been with the Naples club for seven years now and has been a key player for them as they returned to the Champions League in the 2011-12 season after many years. He scored the team’s winning goal upon their return, as Napoli recorded their first ever win in the UEFA Champions League.
#9 Gonzalo Higuain SSC Napoli
The former Real Madrid hitman has never won the tournament, but a player of his caliber deserves to play in the tournament.
Higuain has only managed to reach the semi-finals of the tournament in his career and all of his semifinal appearances came for Real Madrid. The Argentine has scored 14 times in the tournament. The Argentine entered history after he scored Real Madrid’s 700th goal in the tournament.
He moved to Napoli last season and helped his team win 4 out of their 6 group stage matches, but it was not enough as they finished third behind Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal. After their final group stage game against Arsenal which Napoli won and still failed to qualify for the next round, the cameras captured an emotional Higuain.
#8 Samuel Etoo - Everton
Eto’o is only the 4th player in the history of the tournament to have won the competition in back to back seasons with two different clubs.
The Cameroonian has worn the winner’s medal three times in his career. His first was in the 2005-06 season where he scored six goals leading up to the final. Arsenal goal keeper Jens Lehmann was sent off for a foul on Eto’o in the final, and he eventually scored the equalizer for Barcelona in the second half and the Catalans won the game 2-1.
He scored in the final for Barcelona against Manchester United three years later in 2009 as they finished 2-0 winners and completed a treble. The following season he moved to Internazionale and won the treble again and thus became the only player ever to win the treble in consecutive seasons.
Eto’o played in the tournament last season with Chelsea and will now play with Everton in the Europa League. He has so far scored 30 times in 78 appearances in the Champions League.
#7 Nemanja Vidic - Internazionale
Vidic left Manchester United for Internazionale on a free transfer after eight years at the club. The former club captain was part of the side that won the trophy in the 2008 after defeating Chelsea in the final in a game which he started and finished.
During the final Chelsea’s equaliser came after Essien’s shot was deflected off Vidic and Ferdinand and fell to Lampard.
He was later involved in what was arguably be a crucial incident in the game. In the dying minutes of the second half of extra time, a huge brawl broke out which involved several players from both teams. This ended with Drogba being sent off for a slap on the Serbian in the 116th minute of the game.
This meant that the Ivorian was not available for the penalty shootout. This was said to be one of the reasons why John Terry had to take Chelsea’s fifth penalty in the shootout. It was match point for the Londoners at this point, but Terry missed the kick and eventually United won the game during sudden death.
#6 Mario Gomez ACF Fiorentina
Gomez was a treble winner with Bayern Munich in 2013. Last season he moved to Fiorentina, which surprised many as the Italian club were not playing in Europe. The German made a late appearance for Bayern Munich during the final in 2013 when they lifted the trophy. He was also part of the teams that lost the finals in 2010 and 2012.
In the 2010-11 season, Gomez scored 8 times and finished second behind Samuel Eto’o in the top scorers list in the Champions League. What made this feat remarkable was that the Bavarians were knocked out in the Round of 16.
One of his best performances in the tournament came in 2011, when he scored a hat-trick against Napoli in a group stage match. In the same season Gomez scored 4 times in match against FC Basel in the knock out stage as the Bavarians scored 7 goals to overturn a 1 goal deficit in the away leg.
He successfully converted his penalty during the shootout in the final against Chelsea, but his team eventually lost the game. Gomez has scored 26 times in 44 appearances in the UEFA Champions League.
#5 Robin Van Persie Manchester United
Robin van Persie was an unused substitute for Arsenal in their Champions League final loss against Barcelona in 2006. One of his best moments in the tournament was when he scored a goal from a tight angle in a match against Barcelona in 2011 and gave Arsenal a win heading into the away fixture at Nou Camp. During the second leg, he received a controversial second yellow card and was sent off for time wasting as he took a shot after the referee had blown the whistle calling him offside just a few seconds earlier.
Van Persie left the Gunners and joined rivals Manchester United in 2012 with whom he lifted his first league trophy. His second season at United saw the team finish outside the Top 4 for the first time in the Premier League era and fail to qualify for the Champions League.
The Flying Dutchman scored a hat-trick in the Round of 16 game against Olympiacos at Old Trafford last season to put United through to the next round, after they had lost the first leg 2-0 to the Greek team.
#4 Juan Mata Manchester United
Juan Mata went from being Chelsea’s player of the season in two back to back seasons to an outcast at the London club. He moved to Manchester United this January, but he couldn’t feature for them in the Champions League as he was cup tied due to his involvement in the competiton with Chelsea.
Mata played a key role in Chelsea’s European triumphs in the two seasons he played for them. In his first season Chelsea lifted the UEFA Champions League and in his second season they won the UEFA Europa Leage.
The Spaniard scored the only goal for Chelsea in their first knockout stage match in the 2011-12 season in the Champions League against Napoli in an away fixture. This goal would prove crucial to Chelsea in the reverse fixture as it nullified the goal Napoli scored at Stamford Bridge and took the game to extra time. Chelsea eventually won the game in extra time.
It was from Juan Mata’s corner that Didier Drogba scored the equalizer in the 88th minute of the game in the final that year. Mata was one of the players who participated in the shootout, but saw his shot saved by Manuel Neuer.
#3 Wayne Rooney Manchester United
Manchester United are a high profile absentee and Wayne Rooney is yet another Champions League winner who will miss the tournament. He made his debut for Manchester United in a Champions League match against Fenerbahce almost 10 years ago and scored a hat-trick and gave an assist in the game. That performance made Rooney the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the tournament aged 18 years and 335 days. Talk about announcing yourself on the biggest stage!
The current Manchester United and England captain lifted the trophy in 2007-08 when his team defeated Chelsea in the final. He also played for his team in the finals of 2009 and 2011, both times when they were defeated by Barcelona and he scored the only goal for United in the 2011 final.
#2 Kaka Sao Paulo
The former Ballon d’Or winner may not be the player he once was, but Kaka is still capable of producing moments of magic out of nowhere. The Brazilian had participated in every edition of the tournament from 2003 to 2014 during which time he played for AC Milan and Real Madrid.
Kaka has lifted the prestigious trophy once in his career with AC Milan, back in 2007. He was also runner up with Milan in 2005. He was the top scorer of the 2006-07 edition of the tournament and one of his best performances of the tournament came against Manchester United in the semi-finals that year when he scored 2 goals in the away defeat and 1 goal in the home win.
Kaka moved to Real Madrid in 2009, but his stay at the Spanish capital was marked with injuries. He eventually left Real in 2013 and returned to AC Milan, but even his presence and performances were not enough to help an under par AC Milan squad qualify for the Champions League this year or get past eventual finalists Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 tie last season. Kaka scored Milan’s only goal against Atletico Madrid which now stands as Milan’s last goal in the tournament.
#1 Angel Di Maria Manchester United
Di Maria was the Man of the Match in the final of the 2013-14 UEFA Champions League. The Argentine made an amazing run past three Atletico Madrid players in the 110th minute of the game even after fatigue started to kick in and then took a shot on target which was desperately saved by Thibaut Courtois, but the rebound fell to Gareth Bale, who headed it in to give Madrid the lead for the first time in the game.
Di Maria completed a move to Manchester United this summer after heavy speculationregarding his future throughout the transfer window. The move also made him the most expensive player in English football, breaking the record held by Fernando Torres.
The 26 year old was a key player forArgentina at the World Cup and he scored the only goal against Switzerland in extra time to help his team reach the quarterfinals. His absence was felt during the final against Germany and it was further illustrated after Di Maria ran riot against Germany last week in a friendly Argentina won 4-2.
Di Maria could go on to become the signing of the season and he will surely play a pivotal role in Manchester Uniteds quest to return to Europes elite. But the Champions League will miss the Argentine this season. (Remember the incredible rabona assist to Cristiano Ronaldo last season?)
