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Football is a game of great skill and passion. As a sport that is very connected with its fans, there is a lot of focus on winning and winning in great style. As professionals, players have a duty towards their club to ensure as much success as is possible.However, there are some players who have been able to mesh this success very well with great flair and style. These players always provide great entertainment to the fans with their play, at times enthralling the audience.Here, we look at 5 such players who experienced varying degrees of success in their careers but were all born entertainers, players who played for the crowd:
#1 Alvaro Recoba
Alvaro Recoba, the Uruguayan forward, who ascended to prominence during his time with Internazionale, was once considered one of the best attack-minded players in football. He had all kinds of moves and tricks in his bag and was renowned for his powerful left-footers from outside the box.
Recoba showed his mettle in his debut match for Inter, when he scored twice, first from a rocket-like shot from nearly 40 yards out and the second one from a brilliant curling free-kick right into the top corner.
‘El Chino’, as he was called back home, was once the highest paid player in the world and his immaculate long passes and perfect crosses lit up every striker’s eyes. His favourite position was as a second striker, the no.10 position, but he was equally good as an attacking midfielder and as a left winger.
#2 Pablo Aimar
Pablo Aimar, the Argentine playmaker, was one of the most technically gifted and ingenious attacking midfielders during his prime. Notably, Lionel Messi has admitted on many occasions that Aimar was the player he always looked up to.
Aimar was an exquisite playmaker who had immaculate dribbling and passing skills, which gave him the nickname "El Mago" (the magician). He was bought by Valencia for €24 million in 2001, where he famously won two La Liga titles in 2002 and 2004 under Rafa Benitez.
The Los Che team was built around the playmaker as he dazzled the Spanish League and made more than 200 appearances for the club. His performances even prompted the great Diego Maradona to go on to say, “Pablo is the only current footballer I'd pay to watch.”
#3 Denilson de Oliviera
Denilson de Oliviera, the Brazilian left-winger who famously won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002, was famous for his dribbling skills. He had a gifted left foot and silky skills which prompted Real Betis to break the world-record transfer fee for him in 1998.
The La Liga club paid £21.5m for the playmaker but he was unable to fulfil his potential as he scored only 13 goals in his seven-year stint with the club.
He was technically very gifted and could do a lot with the ball at his feet. Denilson was most famous for his ‘step-over’ dribbling technique which was later used by many top flight players around the world.
#4 Jay-Jay Okocha
Jay-Jay Okocha is considered as the best Nigerian player of his generation and one of the best African footballers to have ever graced the game of football.
He was a swift and adept playmaker, famous for his momentum with the ball and his dribbling techniques. Okocha was rated so highly that the Bolton faithful started a chant for him which goes like, 'so good that they named him twice'.
The Nigerian played for clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Fenerbahce and Eintracht Frankfurt in his career as well. He was twice awarded the BBC African player of the year in 2003 and 2004.
#5 Rivaldo
Rivaldo was considered as probably one of the most skillful and creative players of his generation. His bending free kicks, overhead kicks, long distance shooting, immaculate dribbling, accurate passing and near-perfect ball control was a treat to watch.
He was named the FIFA Player of the year in 1999 and took Brazil to a World Cup triumph in 2002. The attacking midfielder spent five years at Barcelona, where he scored 92 goals in 182 appearances.
He twice won the La Liga with the Catalan giants and also has a UEFA Champions League medal to his name, which he won during his time at AC Milan. He was also named in the World Cup all-star team in 1998 and 2002.
Rivaldo, who was left-footed, favoured the attacking midfielder position, but was equally efficient as a wide midfielder or a winger.
