Footballers need both luck and proper decision making to ensure that they have successful careers. While some hit the ground running wherever they go, there are others who make very absurd choices when it comes to selecting a club to play for.
A lot of factors affect their choice and sometimes these choices are forced on them due to their form or fitness.
Here we take a look at five footballing icons who made bizarre moves and played for clubs you didn’t know about:
#5 Pablo Aimar (Johor Darul Ta’zim)
Pablo Aimar started off as a 17-year-old who came up through the ranks at River Plate and went on to become a well-known footballer in Europe as well as in his country. The Argentine was an inspiration for the likes of Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero, who grew up idolising the midfielder.
Valencia signed him up in 2001 for €24m and Aimar played a key role in their run to the Champions League final in the same year, where they lost to Bayern Munich on penalties.
He also won the league with Valencia twice (in 2001-02 and 2003-04) and made over 200 appearances for the club in all competitions. He completed a bizarre move to Malaysian side Johor Darul Ta’zim in 2013 and became the highest paid player ever to feature in the Malaysia Super League.
He signed a two-year contract with the club but made only eight appearances, scoring two goals, before being released in 2014 after suffering numerous injuries.
#4 Edgar Davids (Barnet)
Arguably one of the most unique and recognisable players on the field, Edgar Davids was considered as one of the greatest ever in his generation. He stood out in the world of football due to his dreadlocked hair and the protective goggles he wore due to glaucoma, an eye disease which results in damage to the optic nerve and vision loss.
During his time, the Dutchman was a combative midfielder, and yet very skilful and creative on the ball.
Davids started out at Ajax and was a part of the 1994-95 Champions League winning side that featured many legends including the De Boer brothers, Patrick Kluivert and Clarence Seedorf. In his five years at the club, he won 13 trophies and scored around 20 goals in 100 appearances. He enjoyed a successful spell in Italy with Juventus and also played for both the Milan clubs.
However, in 2012, he took over as a player-manager at League 2 side Barnet but resigned from the post in 2014 after making 36 appearances for the club.
#3 Gary Lineker (Nagoya Grampus Eight)
Gary Lineker began his career at his hometown club Leicester City as an 18-year-old and helped them secure promotion to the first division. Lineker scored 46 goals for the club from 1983 to 1985 and became one of the division’s most prolific scorers, forming a formidable partnership alongside Alan Smith.
A target for the bigger clubs in the league, Lineker eventually signed for Everton, who were the champions of the division at that time, for a fee of £800,000. He was an instant success at Merseyside and became the first division’s leading scorer with 30 goals.
He went on to play for Barcelona as well as Tottenham Hotspur and did justice to his goal-scoring record even though he failed to win any major trophies. In November 1991, Lineker signed for Japanese club Nagoya Grampus Eight in a £2m deal, a bizarre move considering that he had offers from Blackburn Rovers and Southampton in England. He spent two years in Japan before announcing his retirement in 1994.
#2 Jurgen Klinsmann (Orange County Blue Star)
Like Gary Lineker, Jurgen Klinsmann also made an unexpected decision after his second spell at Tottenham. The player announced his retirement and relocated to the United States where he led a relaxed life for five years before agreeing to play for American fourth division side Orange County Blue Star.
At the age of 41, the former Bayern Munich star came out of retirement to play for the side and managed to score five goals in eight appearances, not a bad return considering the fact that he was in his 40s.
Klinsmann enjoyed a prolific playing career and was a part of the West Germany team that won the 1990 World Cup and the unified German side that won the Euro Championship six years later. He also finished as the runner-up for the Ballon d’Or in 1995.
#1 Rivaldo (Bunyodkor)
If you’re a poor club in some part of the world, chances are that Brazilan legend Rivaldo has played for you at some point. The player made his name at Barcelona and also enjoyed a spell at Milan where he won the Champions League in the 2002-03 season. He also went on to win the World Cup with Brazil in 2002 and is considered as one of the greatest players to have graced the game of football.
He played for as many as 14 clubs in a career that spanned over 24 years at the top level. But the most surprising of them all was his decision to play for Uzbekistan side Bunyodkor. The player joined the club in 2008, just three years after its formation and went on to make over 50 appearances, scoring 33 goals in his two seasons and winning three titles in the process.
Rivaldo ended his career at Mogi Mirim where he scored a goal and also assisted one for his son in his final game as a professional footballer. A remarkable feat achieved by a remarkable player!
