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As a sport, apart from the abundance of cash and fame that football has to offer, it also has oodles of silverware one can target winning. It is this part of the beautiful game that actually places a footballer on the pedestal and guarantees him stardom.
But, life never maintains a consistency in the leniency it offers to us. Sometimes, we may work scarcely and gain things beyond the wildest of our dreams. On the other hand, we may go the extra mile to achieve our targets, but the results might not be up to par with our expectations.
Similarly, when it comes to football, the beautiful game has both kinds of examples to showcase. Some players win more than they actually deserve while some others have to make do with unsatisfactory results that fail to fulfil their desires.
On that note, let's take a look at 10 such currently active footballers who deserve to clinch silverware to a greater extent but have had a mediocre number of trophies in their cabinet.
#10 Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)
Now, Marco Reus might be a debatable inclusion considering how less he has contributed to his team's success knowing that he is an injury-prone player.
However, just take a look at some of his major personal laurels.
Bundesliga Player of the Season (2011-12, 2013-14), German Footballer of the Year (2012) and Dortmund Player of the Year (2013-14). Also, make no mistake, he has been a part of the Bundesliga Team of the Season four times since joining Borussia Dortmund in 2012.
He might be decorated personally, but collectively, Marco Reus has a meagre amount of medals to brag about. 1 DfB Pokal and 2 DFL Supercups is all that he has won with his current employers while finishing as a runner-up in the Champions League once in 2013.
Whether he deserves to have a Champions League medal dangling down his neck is actually debatable. But there definitely is a dire need for league titles above in that list, don't you think?
Another thing, Marco Reus must have suffered miserably as he watched his nation win the World Cup in 2014. If it wasn't for his injury, he could have looked up to his World Cup medal as a consolation for his scarcity of laurels in club football. Can fate actually get lousier than this?
#9 Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid)
Since the past five years, Diego Godin has emerged as one of the finest centre-backs in the world. After all, a player who is courted by heavyweights in every transfer window surely has world-class abilities.
But, once he hangs up his boots, the Uruguayan might have a pang of regret in his heart for not joining any of those clubs when he looks at his trophy collection. He has won 2 Europa League titles, 1 Copa Del Rey, 1 La Liga, 1 Spanish Super Cup and 3 UEFA Super Cups since joining the Rojiblancos in 2010.
He came close to winning the Champions League twice in his career but finished as a runner-up on both the occasions.
It's crystal clear that he needs to have a Champions League title and a couple more league and domestic titles, knowing that his tally of personal accolades is far better than his collective one.
#8 Mesut Ozil (Arsenal)
Mesut Ozil has been one of the best playmakers of the decade. He is very much renowned for his impeccable passing skills and the ability to create chances from the tightest of angles. However, when it comes to his collection of collective trophies, he lies forgotten amongst his peers
First and foremost, Mesut Ozil's stars haven't exactly been kind to him as a footballer. When he was at Real Madrid, he had to cope up with Barcelona's domination. Now at Arsenal, he is fighting the other five Premier League heavyweights for titles. Also, the fact that Real Madrid's era of utter dominance started form 2014, precisely the year he left them in to join the Gunners.
At the Emirates since 2014, FA Cup is the only major title he has clinched. He has lifted it 3 times in 2014, 2015 and 2017. A player of his finesse, the German does account for Champions League and Premier League titles, don't you think?
#7 David De Gea (Manchester United)
David De Gea is probably the best shot-stopper there is in the world at the moment, isn't he? The Spaniard's performances on the pitch have hardly deviated downwards since the first two years he took to settle down at Manchester United.
The 27-year-old holds the record for winning the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award thrice in a row (2014, 2015, 2016) and has been a consistent presence in the PFA Team of the Year since season 2014-15.
While those individual accolades are a testament to his prowess between the sticks, one could hardly recognize him as the world's best keeper should he take a look at his collective trophies.
Since joining Manchester United from Atletico Madrid in 2011, the Spaniard has won only 1 Premier League title, 1 FA Cup, 1 Carabao Cup and 1 Europa League.
A player of his calibre certainly deserves to win the Champions League at least twice, not to mention a couple more league titles and domestic cups. Rumours of his contract extension at Manchester United are rife at the moment, but only time will tell if he can win more silverware under Jose Mourinho in the future.
#6 Marek Hamsik (Napoli)
Napoli skipper Marek Hamsik might not be a household name, but that doesn't account for his abilities as an attacking midfielder to be underestimated.
The 31-year-old is a tactically versatile player who can operate as a central midfielder, winger and an attacking midfielder. He is also capable of functioning as a box-to-box midfielder and a deep-lying playmaker. He has excellent leadership skills and is also a set-piece specialist.
That kind of resume is the reason why the 31-year-old has been hunted by many big clubs in the past. However, Hamsik has turned out to be a loyal servant for the Partenopei, having continued at the club since 2007.
Now in his 12th year at the club, it is perhaps the immense scarcity in his trophy cabinet that has deprived him of the fame and recognition he richly deserves for his talents. Since 2007, he has only lifted the Supercoppa Italiana once and the Coppa Italia twice in his entire career.
How much more silverware does he deserve, according to you?
#5 Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Antoine Griezmann has built a reputation as one of the nimblest and the most dangerous goalscorers in the world right now. While his panache and flair in front of the goal have never been in question, his trophy room certainly needs to be.
The Frenchman may feel like he has won almost everything after he lifted the World Cup this summer. However, there's a bunch of challenges to face, if he desires to be in the league of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
However, his winnings seem to be scanty when compared to the number of years of his services for the Rojiblancos. Since joining the Spanish outfit in 2014, he has won only 3 trophies viz. a Spanish Super Cup, a UEFA Super Cup and a Europa League title.
That tally speaks nothing about a player who has finished 3rd in the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA Men's Best Player of the Year awards. Want to know more? the 27-year-old has been the French and the La Liga Player of the Year in 2016 and has also won the UCL Golden Boot.
It doesn't end here - he's also the current Bronze Ball and Silver Boot holder following the World Cup 2018.
League and the Champions League titles are mandatory for Antoine Griezmann, period.
#4 Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Eden Hazard is probably the next big thing after Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, isn't he? The Belgian superstar has talents many of his counterparts can only dream of having, and he has used them to their full potential to become the player he is today.
Let's just not talk about his personal achievements because they are too much to count! The list of his individual trophies overshadows that of his collective medals by miles.
As one of the top 5 players in the world right now, Eden Hazard has won the Premier League twice, a Europa League title, an FA Cup and a Football League Cup at Chelsea.
Considering that he is a player amongst those in the highest echelons of football right now, he deserves to have a couple of more league titles and at least 2 Champions League titles.
It seems ages since Real Madrid have been circling around Eden Hazard and there can't be a better time than now to say yes to Los Blancos, in the hopes of tasting European glory. No disrespect meant for Maurizio Sarri's men, but even at their lowest, Julen Lopetegui and co can guarantee him a better shot at than Chelsea at the UCL title.
#3 Christian Eriksen (Tottenham)
Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen might not be the best playmaker in the world, but he certainly isn't one you should ignore. The Dane is counted amongst Premier League footballers who are in the highest echelons of the Premier League right now, and for that, he deserves worthy appreciation.
Eriksen is well-versed at the art of stringing a pass and creating chances out of nothing. He is one of the finest chance creators in the English top-tier, but his awards tally is far from justifying the level of his play.
Having been with Tottenham since 2013, the 26-year-old hasn't won a single trophy with the London-based club. Finishing runner-up in the Football League Cup in 2015 is his biggest and only achievement since his association with the Lillywhites till date.
He has been hunted by clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona almost every summer and it's high time he decides to part ways with Tottenham in search of the silverware he so richly deserves.
#2 Ivan Perisic (Inter Milan)
Ivan Perisic was one of the stand-out performers in this summer's World Cup. He played a mammoth part and was highly influential in Croatia's road to the finals.
Now, Ivan Perisic is probably one of the best wide players on the planet and arguably the finest crosser in the game at the moment. Add to that his exhilarating displays at the World Cup and you have a player who has been hawked by almost every giant club in Europe in recent times.
But, his decision to stay with Inter Milan has been nothing short of astonishing. Your jaw will drop further when you know that the last time he lifted a collective trophy was in 2015 when he won the DFL Supercup with former club VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.
It would be safe to say he might have forgotten what silverware tastes like, wouldn't it?
Ivan Perisic is getting no younger as days pass by and at the age of 29, he could do better by joining a new club in search of the deserved league and UCL titles. There can't be a better time than now to end his three-year association with Inter Milan.
#1 Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Harry Kane announced himself to the football world in a flamboyant fashion in season 2015-16 by winning the Premier League Golden Boot.
As the opposition fans branded him to be a one-season wonder, the Englishman further mastered the art of shutting his haters quiet by winning the Golden Boot in the following season and finishing runner-up to the same in season 2017/18.
Harry Kane is arguably the best no.9 in the world right now. Another testament to his impeccable goal-scoring skills is the World Cup Golden Boot he lifted in Russia this summer. Well, his CV definitely makes him fit for winning major titles, doesn't it?
However, much like his teammate Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, too, has the second-place finish in the Football League Cup as his greatest achievement with Tottenham till date. What's more astonishing is that Mauricio Pochettino has convinced him to stay at the club till 2023.
A player of his calibre deserves so much more, and Tottenham can hardly be considered as the right place where he can fulfil his dreams and potential.
