For footballers that suffer career-defining injuries, its the cruellest fate that could happen to a professional. Here, we pay homage to six players who were victims of their own failing bodies.
Hands up who had the greatest career curtailed by injury? Yes, thats right, its you Marco.
Three-time Ballon Dor winner Marco van Basten played his last football match aged 28, which is an even more surprising tidbit than the Dutchmans nickname The Swan.
Thankfully, in his 12-year playing career, Van Basten packed in a ridiculous amount of success. A serial winner for club and country, he won six league titles, two European Cups and a European Championship in 1988. Thats a medal haul that could be shared between a normal squad of 25.
Van Bastens ankles first became problematic in 1987 his first season at Milan. The Dutchman was restricted to 11 appearances for the Rossoneri and it began a tumultuous relationship between himself and his anatomy.
However, that time to heal was well received and Van Basten went on an absolute tear. He put his recovery time to good use by winning the 1988 Euros and scoring one of the greatest goals ever against the Soviet Union in the final.
Perception changed immediately following that competition; Van Basten had entered a new stratosphere. The Dutchman would then continue to dominate as a vital part of Arrigo Sacchis Milan side, a team that went 58 games unbeaten and are viewed by many to be the greatest club side ever.
By 28, after a season on the sidelines, Van Basten couldnt do it anymore the Swans troublesome ankles had returned.
What might have been otherwise? World Cup winner? Five-time Champions League winner? The first man to win a trophy on the moon? Probably.
Its only appropriate to follow up the greatest Dutch striker with the greatest English striker.
Dean Ashtons 2005/06 campaign will live long in the memories of Hammers fans, whose tortured fandom means that Deanos exploits nearly 15 years ago are some of their most treasured memories.
To be fair to Ashton, his career trajectory following that season was only pointing one way (hint: it wasnt down). Joining West Ham from Norwich in the January transfer window, the Hammers new number nine settled in immediately.
Premier League defenders found it difficult to deal with Ashtons pace and power as he helped himself to six strikes in sixteen appearances. His play meant that after a few months at Upton Park, bigger Premier League clubs started sniffing around.
There were even calls for Ashton to make a late claim for the 2006 World Cup squad, but old Deano didnt make the 23. However, Ashton didnt have to wait long for England to call as he joined a training squad later that year.
In a cruel turn of events that wouldnt seem out of place in a Hollywood movie, Ashton suffered his most serious injury during England training.
Deanos barely believable first six months in the Premier League had led to immediate success, a potential lucrative big-money move, England recognition and a serious injury.
Ashton would bounce back 12 months later with form that again led to England recognition, an England cap and plenty of Hammers fans swearing these streets wont forget Deanos 2007/08 season.
However, Ashtons body couldnt recover to its former glory, perpetually injured with ankle issues and cruelly, at 26, Deano had to call it a day.
King would get the ball off you without you even noticing hes the only defender in England who doesnt hold onto you, and he sometimes still gets the ball off my feet easily.
If Thierry Henry rates you, then youve got to be pretty good.
Ex-England manager Fabio Capello called King without doubt, one of the greatest defenders in England. Ex-spurs boss and professional smoker Martin Jol described King as the best central defender I have ever seen.
Simply put, Ledley King was the greatest defender that England never really had. 21 caps could easily have been 100, King was that good.
Under George Grahams management, King started his career in midfield. Graham was blown away by how athletic King was and felt that he wouldnt be out of place in a position that wasnt his. Graham was right.
In his debut season, King scored the Premier Leagues fastest goal in 2000, a record that lasted 18 years. Just five seasons later, King would be starting as part of Englands golden generation at the 2004 Euros.
Playing football at a different frequency, King had been touted for England from the early days. Ledley was sometimes considered a prospect level with John Terry a teammate at the vaunted youth team Senrab.
However, rather than one bad tackle changing everything, chronic knee issues would derail Kings progression. So debilitating was Kings pain that towards the end of his career, the Spurs man couldnt train.
However, on Saturdays, King would return to the starting line-up and boss Premier League strikers around. Not bad for a man with one knee.
The second coming of Patrick Vieira, Abou Diaby must be forever cursing ex-Sunderland defender Dan Smith after a mistimed tackle changed his career forever.
Arsenal went to the Stadium of Light needing a win to keep their challenge for fourth-place alive in 2006. In the final minutes of a comprehensive 3-0 win, Smith overhits a pass that Diaby mops ups and passes on.
Frustrated for giving the ball away, Smith dives in late, breaking Diabys ankle and rupture his ligaments. Arsne Wenger never forgave the Sunderland man, claiming Diaby had been a victim of an assassins tackle that went unpunished.
Diaby suffered 21 injuries during his eleven years at Arsenal and Marseille, never managing to break the shackles of his ailing frame.
He would occasionally flash the potential that had seen him win a place at Frances elite footballing academy, Clairefontaine.
Diabys performance at Anfield in 2012 will always be the headline of what might have been for Abou.
The Frenchman bossed the game, outplaying Steven Gerrard as Arsenal went to Liverpool and comfortably won the game 2-0. Diaby cruelly tempted Arsenal fans, with a performance that looked like the Gunners next world-class player.
Accurately summing up his Arsenal career, Diaby would go onto to make ten other league appearances in a season that promised so much more.
However, his returns from injury would perpetually be referred to as like a new signing, but unfortunately, he would always end back in the treatment room.
Given his stint at Stoke, the hours of embarrassing content that Owen produced in the 1990s thats readily available on YouTube and his online persona, youd be forgiven for thinking of Owen as something of a comedy figure.
However, when the 18-year-old Michael Owen scored his wonder goal against Argentina at World Cup 98, these thoughts were far from everyones mind. Dreams of Maradona were in every Englishmans heart were we watching the next footballing superstar?
Fast forward three years on and after winning a treble (not the treble) with Liverpool, Owen wins the Ballon dOr. These are lofty times for Michael in 2001, theres the genuine belief that Owen can fire England to glory.
Tracing the route of Owens injury concerns, it all began when he was 19 and he tore his hamstring. It was so harsh that the muscle group that gave Owens unique and vital acceleration was already troubling him so early in his professional career.
Its the cruel thing about debilitating injuries they allow you to play and reach your highest level occasionally. Owen was able to reach his 1998 level for example in 2001, but the Englishman was forever thinking about doing more damage.
Speaking to BT Sport, Owen said: I was petrified of running into a channel. I just knew I was going to tear a muscle. The worst thing about it is your instinct is to do what you have done all your life but you start thinking: Oh no, dont.
It was remarkable to see how differently Owen moved in 2004, just three years removed from winning the Ballon dOr. For a player that seemed destined to bring England out from the doldrums, it was a meteoric fall as Owens unique acceleration disappeared.
Whenever Owen Hargreaves pulled on an England shirt, he always performed.
The midfielders work at the 2004 Euros and 2006 World Cup made him a contender for Englands best player. It was surprising to see Hargreaves perform on such an elite stage but the thing about him was that hed only played on an elite stage.
Starting your career at Bayern means youre introduced to pressure, constant criticism and hundreds of eyes watching you. At Germanys top club, standards are high, and if theyre not met, theres a simple solution. Youre out.
The midfielder was forged in the fires of Die Roten so when he arrived in England, Hargreaves had already won four Bundesliga titles and a Champions League.
Cruelly or perhaps luckily depending on your perspective, Hargreaves only season where he could contribute was Uniteds 2007/08 season. Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez lead the line in an absolutely stacked team. A league and Champions League double summed up a sparkling season for the club.
Hargreaves even stamped his authority on the season by scoring a brilliant free-kick that ended Arsenals brief title challenge. However, in three more seasons at Old Trafford, the midfielder would go on to make only four more appearances for the club.
A litany of problems would curse the next four years of Hargreaves professional life as he complained that even walking downstairs became problematic. It was such a cruel ending for a player that looked set to enter the peak of his playing power.
Hargreaves drifted out of national consciousness (do you even remember his spell at Manchester City?) to end an excellent career. At least well always have the training videos.
Football 365
Vanguard
Related
Read this article:
6 top players whose careers were ruined by injuries - Vanguard
- 7 Reasons to Retire and Relocate When Savings Fall Short ... - ThinkAdvisor - October 9th, 2023 [October 9th, 2023]
- Strive Asset Management vs. Engine No. 1: How Did the Activists ... - Morningstar - September 21st, 2023 [September 21st, 2023]
- New Taskforce to build UK nuclear skills - GOV.UK - July 31st, 2023 [July 31st, 2023]
- National Bank of Canada FI Has $16.22 Million Position in ... - Defense World - June 26th, 2023 [June 26th, 2023]
- RIT part of National Science Foundation grant to help spur next ... - Rochester Institute of Technology - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- 2023 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Regional Awards - U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- P&I wins ASBPE national gold award for managers microsite - Pensions & Investments - May 22nd, 2023 [May 22nd, 2023]
- The National - January 30th, 2023 [January 30th, 2023]
- Dimon Highlights Need For More Oil And Gas Investment As Vanguard Bails On ESG Group - Forbes - December 16th, 2022 [December 16th, 2022]
- About Us | National Vanguard - November 19th, 2022 [November 19th, 2022]
- Vanguard News Network - October 11th, 2022 [October 11th, 2022]
- Retirement Clearinghouse Announces Auto-Portability Network with Fidelity, Vanguard and Alight | PLANSPONSOR - PLANSPONSOR - October 11th, 2022 [October 11th, 2022]
- Abenaa Jones named Ann Atherton Hertzler Early Career Professor - Pennsylvania State University - August 6th, 2022 [August 6th, 2022]
- City of Detroit, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, join the Black Theatre Network (BTN) to host Broadway Comes Home to Detroit, a... - July 25th, 2022 [July 25th, 2022]
- California Senate Votes to Keep Legalized Slavery in its Prisons - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Schneider National (NYSE:SNDR) Now Covered by Analysts at Credit Suisse Group - Defense World - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- Introducing the Truckstop.com Partner Marketplace: A Comprehensive Transportation and Logistics Ecosystem Empowering the Freight Community - Yahoo... - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- A Pilgrimage to the Birthplace of the Modern Womens Rights Movement - AFAR Media - June 29th, 2022 [June 29th, 2022]
- White Child Adopted by Black Reality TV Star Beaten to Death - June 24th, 2022 [June 24th, 2022]
- National Car Rental - Wikipedia - June 24th, 2022 [June 24th, 2022]
- Down 15% in 2022, is it time to jump on Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF? - The Motley Fool Australia - June 24th, 2022 [June 24th, 2022]
- LIVE BLOG: 2022 Corps at the Crest - San Diego - FloMarching - June 24th, 2022 [June 24th, 2022]
- Greater Sacramento Attends Bio International Convention in San Diego - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis - June 22nd, 2022 [June 22nd, 2022]
- Vanguard International Semiconductor : VIS and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Cofound Intelligent Manufacturing and Management Laboratory -... - June 22nd, 2022 [June 22nd, 2022]
- The Shadow Of June 12 - The Left and Nigeria's Democratic Revolution, By Baba Aye - SaharaReporters.com - June 22nd, 2022 [June 22nd, 2022]
- Yolo County Honors Juneteenth with Celebration - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis - June 22nd, 2022 [June 22nd, 2022]
- Commentary: Why San Francisco May Not Be the Best Test Case for Progressivism - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis - June 22nd, 2022 [June 22nd, 2022]
- As tennis fans gather Wimbledon worries expansion won't get over the line - The National - June 22nd, 2022 [June 22nd, 2022]
- Vanguard Charitable survey: More than 1 in 3 American donors gave half or more of their charitable contributions to disaster relief efforts in the... - May 20th, 2022 [May 20th, 2022]
- National Grid warns on cost-of-living challenges after strong profit (NYSE:NGG) - Seeking Alpha - May 20th, 2022 [May 20th, 2022]
- Is it a good time to buy the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF? - The Motley Fool Australia - May 20th, 2022 [May 20th, 2022]
- Student Opinion: The Biden Administration and Cable Companies Working Together to Bring Internet to Millions of Households - The Peoples Vanguard of... - May 20th, 2022 [May 20th, 2022]
- THE POWER OF LEADERSHIP - THISDAY Newspapers - May 20th, 2022 [May 20th, 2022]
- Vanguard may be shorting much vaunted 'owners' of its low-cost index funds as it upshifts to more Wall Street-style exec-comp tactics to thwart... - May 17th, 2022 [May 17th, 2022]
- Opinion | BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street Control a Piece of Nearly Everything - The New York Times - May 17th, 2022 [May 17th, 2022]
- Somalis receive explosive threat reduction training | Shephard - Shephard News - May 17th, 2022 [May 17th, 2022]
- JV Article: Platinum Group Metals is at the vanguard of next generation lithium-ion batteries - The Northern Miner - May 17th, 2022 [May 17th, 2022]
- Neo-Nazi Alex Davies guilty of belonging to banned terror group National Action - Tell MAMA - May 17th, 2022 [May 17th, 2022]
- Firearm-Related Homicides Reach an Unprecedented Level in the 21st Century - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis - May 17th, 2022 [May 17th, 2022]
- Satellites, the Space Race, and Supercomputing: How NASA Goddard's Beowulf Cluster Computer Became an Award-Winning Space Technology - NASA (.gov) - May 17th, 2022 [May 17th, 2022]
- Vanguard may be shorting much vaunted 'owners' of its low-cost index funds as it shifts to Wall Street-style exec-comp tactics to thwart competitors... - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- Senate Democrats Fail to Codify Abortion Rights; Don't Have Votes to Overcome Filibuster Dem Manchin Votes with GOP - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis - May 15th, 2022 [May 15th, 2022]
- The School Buzz: Vanguard rocketry team competing for national title - KRDO - May 9th, 2022 [May 9th, 2022]
- The Anglo-Indian-Nigerian designer at the vanguard of British fashion - The National - May 9th, 2022 [May 9th, 2022]
- Candidate for Yolo County District Attorney Cynthia Rodriguez Announced Her Growing List of Endorsements in a Press Release on Thursday - The Peoples... - May 9th, 2022 [May 9th, 2022]
- Commentary: Trends Are Pushing Tech, Housing Toward Sacramento Region - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis - May 9th, 2022 [May 9th, 2022]
- UK Government announces 2 billion investment into nuclear submarines - The National - May 9th, 2022 [May 9th, 2022]
- Workers grapple with new stresses as they return to office - Tampa Bay Times - May 9th, 2022 [May 9th, 2022]
- Who is Ib Kamara, the new Off-White art director to fill Virgil Abloh's shoes? - The National - May 9th, 2022 [May 9th, 2022]
- Vanguard Lions Defeat Statesmen To End The Year - Victory Sports Network - April 15th, 2022 [April 15th, 2022]
- Other days - Arkansas Online - April 15th, 2022 [April 15th, 2022]
- Democrats are in danger of losing three congressional strongholds in South Texas - Standard-Times - April 15th, 2022 [April 15th, 2022]
- Remembering the WNBA's Portland Fire - Vanguard - Psuvanguard.com - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- Honoring the life of Amara Marluke - Vanguard - Psuvanguard.com - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- The grim outlook of owning and renting - Vanguard - Psuvanguard.com - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- 2022 NAIA Women's Outdoor Track & Field Rating Index Week 3 - U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association - April 13th, 2022 [April 13th, 2022]
- ECOWAS and Nigeria Agree on a Roadmap to Institutionalise a Government and Society Wide Approach - African Business - March 17th, 2022 [March 17th, 2022]
- LA Treasurer joins other states in divesting Russian investments - KATC News - March 8th, 2022 [March 8th, 2022]
- How the US and Europe helped Ukraine prep for insurgency - ArmyTimes.com - March 8th, 2022 [March 8th, 2022]
- A Trailblazing Engineer Says Invention Is in Everything I Do - Tufts Now - March 8th, 2022 [March 8th, 2022]
- Russias Invasion of Ukraine and Implications for the Korean Peninsula - Council on Foreign Relations - March 8th, 2022 [March 8th, 2022]
- Vanguard University saying goodbye to the Pit - Los Angeles Times - January 14th, 2022 [January 14th, 2022]
- Energy Ended Up as a Good Bet Last Year. But Now What? - The New York Times - January 14th, 2022 [January 14th, 2022]
- Kensington Vanguard National Land Services - December 19th, 2021 [December 19th, 2021]
- Barry Harris, Pianist and Devoted Scholar of Bebop, Dies at 91 - The New York Times - December 10th, 2021 [December 10th, 2021]
- From Our Archives: a Profile of Bob Dole, Once the Senate's "Funniest Member" - Washingtonian - December 7th, 2021 [December 7th, 2021]
- National Auto Care on acquisition spree amid F&I consolidation - Automotive News - December 5th, 2021 [December 5th, 2021]
- A decade of marketisation has left lecturers with no choice but to strike - The Guardian - December 5th, 2021 [December 5th, 2021]
- A New Vanguard Is Reshaping the Art World - HarpersBAZAAR.com - December 5th, 2021 [December 5th, 2021]
- Opinion | The Trump Conspiracy Is Hiding in Plain Sight - The New York Times - December 5th, 2021 [December 5th, 2021]
- The forgotten importance of the War of Jenkins' Ear - The Economist - December 5th, 2021 [December 5th, 2021]
- What Conservative Critics of Higher Education Share - The Atlantic - December 5th, 2021 [December 5th, 2021]
- The Unite the Right trial is exposing the chasm between who plans White nationalism's battles and who does the fighting - ABC17News.com - November 19th, 2021 [November 19th, 2021]
- Tordue Salem: Journalists ask National Assembly to order independent inquiry into death of missing reporter - Premium Times - November 19th, 2021 [November 19th, 2021]
- Abu Dhabi to Welcome Two New Museums in Addition to Guggenheim and Zayed - Artforum - November 19th, 2021 [November 19th, 2021]
- Gauteng government at the vanguard of SAs green economy plans - Business Day - November 17th, 2021 [November 17th, 2021]
- 25 years of school and family connections | Hub - The Hub at Johns Hopkins - November 17th, 2021 [November 17th, 2021]
- Opinion: Organized crime is a top driver of global deforestation and climate change - Houston Chronicle - November 17th, 2021 [November 17th, 2021]
- Letters to the editor: Lend a hand to these family caregivers - Austin American-Statesman - November 15th, 2021 [November 15th, 2021]
- University of Chicago to award four honorary degrees at 2022 Convocation - UChicago News - November 9th, 2021 [November 9th, 2021]