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The urge of a footballer to prove himself in a new club, especially if he carries a hefty price tag, can do funny things. The sooner they get the monkey of their back, the better it is.
The pressure would just not be on the player but on the manager and for that matter, on the fans too. What if one had overpaid, what if the player turns out to be a flop or what if he is not the hero that the fans think he is.
Millions of questions arise. Here is a list of footballers who quickly put those doubts to rest. Amazingly, almost all of them have gone on to have illustrious careers.
Alan Shearer
In 1988, Alan Shearer, a 17-year-old, took the world by storm when he scored a hat-trick in Southampton’s 4-2 victory against an Arsenal side, that went on to become league champions twelve months later, on his full debut.
He was also on the scoring sheet in his first international match for the Three Lions in their 2-0 win over France in 1992.
As if these achievements were not enough, in the same year he also bagged a double on his debut for Blackburn Rovers and later played a crucial part, by scoring a season high of 34 goals, and helping his team win the Premier League title in 1994-95.
Subsequently, he joined Newcastle United and retired in 2006 after having scored 260 goals in EPL, a feat that still remains unscaled.
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
If ever Manchester United had an iota of doubt on shelling out £26 million for an 18-year-old, it lasted for just a game.
Wayne Rooney started his career at Old Trafford with a hat-trick on debut against Fenerbahce in the Champions League, the biggest stage of them all.
An injury delayed his debut for his new club and he made Fenerbahce pay for it, annihilating them to a 6-2 defeat. The striker now has 197 goals for the Red Devils and remember, he is only 27-years-old. Look out Alan Shearer!
Sergio Aguero
Sergio Aguero
Sergio Aguero was introduced late into the match, in the 59th minute to be precise, on his debut. But that was enough for the Argentine to announce his arrival in the Premier League as he scored two and set up one more to thrash Swansea 4-0 in Manchester City’s first match of the 2011-12 season.
It was just the beginning though. City were level on 2-2 with QPR on the last day of the 2011-12 season, with just a minute to go and with rivals Manchester United already jumping with joy in anticipation of the trophy. Citizens needed a goal and Aguero responded by sliding one past Paddy Kenny in the 94th minute of the game to clinch City’s first league title in 44 years.
After having a slightly indifferent follow up season, with injuries adding to his woes, the 25-year-old has started the 2013 season on the right note.
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane
France were 0-2 down against Czech Republic in a friendly in 1994. In came Zinedine Zidane to turn the game on its head. He scored a 25 yard pile driver, which was followed by a header, both finding the back of the net. The game ended 2-2.
It was the start of a career that saw a couple of Serie A titles with Juventus, La Liga and UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid and a FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000 with France.
Ten years later, in 2004, he was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years by the UEFA. Zidane is now the assistant manager and Sporting Director of Real Madrid.
Jimmy Greaves
Jimmy Greaves
Be it for Chelsea, against Tottenham Hotspurs, in 1957 or England, versus Peru in 1959, or Tottenham against Blackpool in 1961 or West Ham against Manchester City in 1970, two things were common – Jimmy Greaves’s debut and Jimmy Greaves’s debut goal.
To simply put, Jimmy Greaves scores on debut. There was no changing that. Having scored 220 goals for Spurs, he is their all time highest goal scorer.
Romario
Romario
Romario’s hat-trick on debut for Barcelona against Real Sociedad in 1993 was only the beginning as four more followed and he ended the season with a tally of 30 goals, highest by any player in La Liga that year.
The Brazilian striker was instrumental in his team winning the FIFA World Cup in 1994. He has scored a record 929 goals in his career in first flight football. After being runner up in 1993, he won the FIFA Player of the Year in 1994.
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Ruud Van Nistelrooy
The retired Dutch international, whose Manchester United debut was delayed by an injury, much like his Red Devils’ teammate Wayne Rooney, netted his debut goal against Liverpool in the Charity Shield game and followed it up with a double against Fulham on his Premier League debut.
With 56 goals in the Champions League, he is the third highest goal scorer in the league’s history.
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
Making his Serie A debut for Parma against Milan at an age of 17 in 1995, Gianluigi Buffon produced a series of saves to keep the eventual league champions at bay, thereby, helping his team get a point in a 0-0 draw.
He is the only goal keeper to have won UEFA Club Footballer of the Year, in 2003. Known for his incredible shot stopping abilities, the Italian international won the FIFA World Cup in 2006.
Ronaldo
Ronaldo
The real Ronaldo, as Jose Mourinho would refer to him. After arriving at Real Madrid for a record breaking £40 million move from Inter Milan, the Brazilian international scored a double on his debut at the Santiago Bernabeu, coming off the bench with only 27 minutes to the full time whistle.
He has won the FIFA Player of the Year award three times during his career, a joint second with Zinedine Zidane, only trailing to Lionel Messi, who has won it four times.
Tony Cottee
Tony Cottee
Tony Cottee, one of the most prolific goal scorers that English football has ever seen, smashed a hat-trick on his debut for Everton. The Toffees spent £2.2 million to buy the striker from West Ham, making him the most expensive player ever signed by the club in England at that point of time.
He could not have started any better, as he scored a hat-trick to help his team defeat Magpies 4-0 on his debut. He also netted on his debut for West Ham at the age of 17.
It does not end there. Players like Robbie Keane, Alan Smith, Fabrizio Ravenelli, Alvaro Recoba, Jermain Defoe, Robbie Fowler, Bobby Charlton and Christian Vieri also had sparkling starts to their career in football.
Irrespective of what followed, whether they went on to become celebrated personalities or lost their identity, one thing was sure, all of them had the potential to become greats.
