There are footballers like Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who have had tremendous success at club level but have experienced underwhelming international careers. There are also players like Joan Capdevilla and Pepe Reina, who have experienced better international careers compared to their club careers.
Whilst there are also players like Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm, who have won it all. But, there are some great footballers who did not get an opportunity to play in a major European tournament, let alone win it. We take a look at five such legendary players who have had contrasting club and international careers:
#1 Ryan Giggs (Wales)
Ryan Giggs for football is equivalent to the ‘Friends’ series for television; lasting and legendary. The 41-year-old Welshman kept on going as if age did not matter. The all-time appearance record holder for the English Premier League and a member of the 100 plus goals club, Giggs has played in a total of more than 670 matches throughout his career for Premier League giants Manchester United.
Giggs played for the Welsh national side from 1991 until 2007 when he retired from international football to continue focusing on his club career with Manchester United. In total he was capped 64 times, scoring 12 goals. Unfortunately for Giggs, he did not get to play in the World Cup. As for the Euros, he played the qualifying games for Wales since 1991, but has never seen his country go past that stage.
#2 Alfredo Di Stefano (Spain)
Alfredo Di Stefano was capped 31 times by Spain Argentine-born Alfredo Di Stefano is perhaps the most prolific goal scorer of all time who went on to represent three countries in his internanational career viz. Argentina, Colombia and Spain. His footballing career consisted of more than 543 appearances for club and country, with a total of 405 goals , which is approximately 3 goals every 4 games.
He made a name for himself in the Spanish capital with Spanish giants Real Madrid, where he scored a staggering 216 goals in 282 games. His most famous club achievement is winning five straight European Championships with Los Blancos between 1955 and1960.
Stefano was capped by three different nations during his ‘nomadic’ international career. He was capped six times for Argentina, scoring six goals. Additionally he was capped four times by Colombia and played 31 matches for Spain, scoring 23 goals.
The Madrid legend featured in all the 1958 European Championship Qualifying matches for Spain, scoring a few goals in the process. However, Spain could not qualify for the main tournament, which made the qualifying tournament, Stefano’s final appearance at the international stage. He announced his international retirement in 1961, making him one of the few players to have never featured in neither the Euros nor the World Cup.
#3 George Best (Northern Ireland)
Most famous for his time at English giants Manchester United, Northern Ireland legend George Best had a career that spanned just over 600 matches (604) which saw him score 239 goals in three separate continents for various clubs. The Irish winger played a couple of years with United’s youth team and was drafted into the main team, in 1963.
For eleven years (1963-74), Best ruled the world of club football, winning over 20 awards for his club performances. However, he made only made 37 appearances for his national side scoring a paltry 9 goals. With gambling and alchoholism taking over his life, he lost his way and ended becoming the perfect example for the ‘hero to zero’ story.
#4 Eusebio (Portugal)
Widely regarded as the greatest Portugese player, Eusebio won over fans across all nations. His ability to score goalsis hard to match. Having found the back of the net a staggering 423 times in 431 games in his club career (scoring every 91 minutes), he was considered a goal machine.
His record at Benfica is by far, the best in any club’s history. For the Portuguese giants, the Black Panther, as he was called, scored 317 goals in 301 apperances a record which is likely to stand the test of time.
Eusebio found success even at international level. Having been capped 63 times for Portugal, he scored 41 times in the process. He was part of the Portugese team which played the 1966 World Cup in England, where he finished the tournament as top scorer with an impressive 9 goals to his name.
As for the European Championships, Eusebio could not help his team to qualify for even one tournament during his 12 year international career.
#5 Roy Keane (Republic of Ireland)
The 44-year-old Manchester United legend has been regarded as one of the best players to ever wear the Red Devils’ jersey. He made 326 appearances for the Machester based club, having captained them to numerous trophies. The midfielder is arguably one of Republic of Ireland’s greatest ever players.
He was in the squad for the 2002 World Cup, but a bust up with coach Mick McCarthy saw his walk out from the team, days before the tournament even started. He captained the Irish team during the qualifying stages for UEFA EURO 2000, but just missed out on a spot in the main tournament after a heartbreaking loss to Turkey in the play-off stages.
Leaving behind a great legacy, Roy Keane achieved everything at club level. Only the honours at International level eluded him of a nearly-perfect career.
