Home is the 12th man. Football is all about what 11 players do on the pitch but the thousands who surround them in ascendency play a major role in the game. You have almost 60,000 people willing you on at home.
Away from home though, they are whistling the ears out of you, not letting you focus or concentrate, leading to misplaced passes, dispossessions, two-minded decisions etc.
When you go to the opposition ground and still come out on top, you're likely to be whistled at and booed by the crowd. There are players who have shut the crowds up with their contribution in the game. Think back to Dier against Arsenal this season, Pique against Espanyol, Messi against Madrid almost every time at the Bernabeu.
Defeating a team or defeating a crowd is a feat that many players have achieved but winning them over is something only a few have done. We are recounting the great players who have won over the crowd with their performances.
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#5 Cristiano Ronaldo vs Juventus
So, it was a cold night in Turin and Juventus were facing Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Quarter Finals. It was just two minutes on the clock before a right foot tapped the ball into the back of the net. Isco's dancing feet with a ball across and one right foot got to the ball ahead of Chiellini.
Around 63 minutes, Carvajal got another cross into the box, a high one, and yet again, one man jumped above all in a bicycle orientation. The ball sailed past Gianluigi Buffon who stood rooted to the spot. Who else? Cristiano Ronaldo had put Real Madrid two ahead on the night. The Bianconeri fans stood on the place and applauded the piece of skill from the Madeira man.
But Ronaldo is a cruel man. Even after he got applauds from the fans for the goal, he still went on to assist Marcelo for a third goal. Eventually, 3-0 was too much for Juve to overcome in the second leg.
#4 Lionel Messi vs Atletico Madrid
Who can forget all those amazing Lionel Messi moments against Atletico Madrid? The freekick last season at Camp Nou which rose above the jumping Diego Costa in the wall and then dipped away from Jan Oblak's diving attempt.
The freekick against Thibaut Courtois at Vicente Calderon. But apart from all those moments, one that stands out is the hattrick against the Rojiblancos that he scored aged 21.
At the Vicente Calderon, the physical Atleti team was tossing Messi around like a rag doll whenever they had the chance. The Blaugrana were without Xavi in the midfield, Eto'o in the attack, and Puyol in defence. The only real goalscoring threat upfront was Messi whom Atleti were trying to deal in a physical way.
The Colchoneros defence of Heitinga, Seitaridis, and Pernia dealt with Barcelona's attackers in their own way. But they were left dumbfounded when Seydou Keita and Lionel Messi combined to bypass them as Messi kept his cool to finish behind keeper Coupet. 12 minutes in, Barcelona led thanks to the 21-year-old.
In the second half, Messi won himself a penalty thanks to an immature challenge by Heitinga. The latter saw red while Messi converted from the spot. The game burst into a piece of magnificence when Messi took the ball from the halfway line and dribbled all the way to the goal. Something that would become his trademark in years to follow.
This time, he dribbled away from Pernia in the wings, Seitaridis on the entrance to the box, and took the shot under Perea's nose which came off the post.
However, he would go on to round Coupet and complete his hattrick in the 80th minute. When Pep Guardiola took his brainchild off the pitch, the hostile Vicente Calderon who was whistling Barcelona till then would stand up in awe of a kid.
A kid who would go on to conquer the footballing world through sheer genius in the coming decade. A standing ovation for a 21-year-old who would win his first ever Ballon d'Or later that year.
When the Colchoneros fans look back at that day, they need not rue themselves for giving a stranger that ovation. They would be known as the fans who had applauded the great Lionel Messi before his genius was even known to this world.
#3 Ronaldo Nazario vs Manchester United
The real Ronaldo as many call him. On the Champions League night in 2003, the Los Blancos visited the Red Devils at the Theatre of Dreams.
Leading 3-1 from the first leg, Madrid did fancy their chances but this United side, under Sir Alex, were no pushovers. But even though the Madrid outfit lost by conceding 4 on the night, they were lucky to have a man among them who would strike back.
El Phenomeno was through on goal in the 12th minute by Zidane's through ball. With a lot to do from the wide angle that Ferdinand created for him, Ronaldo didn't even take a control touch and blasted the ball past Barthez towards his near post. 1-0, Real Madrid.
The Devils were not called-so for no reason and they harassed Madrid in the first half with Nistelrooy pulling a goal back. Not long into the second half, Ronaldo would strike again, this time no fancy finishing required from him. A simple tap-in from Roberto Carlos's cutback would make it 2-1.
If that wasn't enough, Ronaldo showed the world what exactly El Phenomeno meant. Receiving the ball in the final third, he dribbled a bit before thrashing a 25-yarder high past Fabian Barthez. The third goal on the night the United were dominating on the pitch but got struck by a Phenomenon on the scoreline.
When Solari made way for him, the crowd stood up and applauded the mastery of the player who had knocked them out of the UEFA Champions League for sure but was a name to be remembered for generations to come.
#2 Andres Iniesta vs Real Madrid
4-0. The scoreline of the El Clasico in 2014 in which Lionel Messi did 'NOT' start for Barcelona. The Argentine was named in the squad but since he was returning from injury, there were no chances being taken with his inclusion in the first 11.
To be fair, Barcelona didn't miss Leo Messi one bit but Madrid would have been glad that he wasn't present to make it any worse.
The pivot for the victory who did not make Leo's absence felt was none other than Andres Iniesta. The midfielders of Los Blancos danced to his tunes on the night. He would give the warning sign with a lobbed through ball to Sergi Roberto. In the 38th minute, he would then go on to punish Madrid for letting him dribble while picking the perfect assist for Neymar.
To cap off his brilliant night of passing, dribbling, intercepting, and everything else, he would combine with Neymar one more time. In the second half, again a result of letting him dribble too much, Iniesta passed to Neymar and received it back via a neat backheel. He would go on to smash the ball past Diego Lopez into the net to make it 3-0 at the Bernabeu.
When he handed his captain's armband over to Lionel Messi, fans with white scarfs on their necks would applaud the artistry of Andres Iniesta.
#1 Ronaldinho vs Real Madrid
The most infamous person to be applauded by the rival fans. Ronaldinho's performance against Real Madrid is known to one and all. It was a piece of art, sheer brilliance, and class, something that cannot be trained and prepared for.
Yet, even the man who executed the perfection did not prepare it in advance or practice for it. That was Ronaldinho. A person with a touch of pure magic, someone who loved this thing with the ball, someone who was natural and couldn't be bound to systems and tactics.
The night at Bernabeu was nowhere close to the greatest ever performances from the player. You could possibly find 10 to 12 better performances than this one. But what it presented was a piece of beauty. An insight into what football would look like if the master would take control of it if and when he wanted to.
Ronaldinho's goals were nothing but artistic. Free-flowing, from the left wing, a simple dribble past a reckless Ramos, a swivel past Helguera, and then the finish past Iker, with Roberto Carlos helplessly sliding to block the shot. All in a matter of almost 12 to 13 seconds. The goal did not need to be seen. Ramos on the ground, Helguera playing table tennis on an invisible table, Iker still trying to comprehend what materialized, that was enough.
Then came the second goal, similar positioning, and dribble to the first, this time Ramos did not tackle but did it even matter? Ronaldinho just dribbled past him with a burst of pace when he reached the box, Helguera decided not to meddle into the master's business as the ball went between Iker's legs.
When the dancing celebration came on, a gentleman with a thick moustache stood up and applauded the artistry, so did the entire Bernabeu. This man wasn't made to play in systems, he was made to enjoy the game and make us enjoy it too.