#2 Marcos Senna
Marcos Senna like Deco, Pepe and Diego Costa is another Brazilian player whose talents were not recognized by the Brazil national team and went on to play for a European country instead.
Senna, born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1976, began his professional career with Rio Branco and went on to represent Brazilian giants Corinthians, winning the FIFA Club World Cup with them in 2000. In the summer of 2002 he moved to Spain to sign with Villarreal. The 39-year-old became an integral part of the team, pulling strings in midfield and eventually was appointed the club captain.
He helped the Yellow Submarines reach the 2005/06 Champions league semifinals and finish as runners-up in La Liga in 2008, behind Real Madrid. Before gaining Spanish citizenship, Senna was never called up for Brazil in any category.
Marcus Senna gained Spanish citizenship in early 2006 and went on to represent La Roja at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2008.
The former Villarreal midfielder was the unsung hero of Euro 2008. Senna formed a formidable partnership with Xavi. His tireless running, shielding the defence and winning the ball back for his team in crucial areas provided the much-needed balance to the Spanish team. He sat back and did the dirty job, and supplied balls to the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Silva.
Senna was arguably the most important player for La Roja at Euro 2008 and it wouldn’t have been a surprise if he was chosen as the player of the tournament instead of Xavi. The dynamic midfielder was included in the team of the tournament.
He went on to win 28 caps for his adopted nation, scoring one goal in the process.
