Paul Pogba, who finished a long rehabilitation at Juventus, played a comeback match. But after about 20 minutes he collapsed once again, shocking me. In addition, the media (Goal.com) UK edition, which I saw while watching the collapsed Pogba, selected the top 12 representative ‘injury nightmare superstars’ in the soccer world. Here, we introduce the main players.
Jonathan Woodgate was selected as the 12th place in the glass body selected by Goal.com UK Edition on the 18th (Korean time). Woodgate, who made his professional debut at Leeds United and played well as a centre-back at Newcastle United, moved to La Liga Real Madrid in 2004, but suffered injuries and only made nine appearances between the two seasons. He made his debut at Santiago Bernabéu 17 months after his transfer, but was only humiliated with an own goal and accumulated yellow cards.
In 10th place is Abu Diaby, who played for Arsenal. After leaving Auxerre in January 2006 and transferring to Arsenal, his first six months were very successful, thrilling Arsenal fans and French fans in his home country. However, he played against Sunderland in May 2006 at the end of second half extra time when he was tackled deep by Dan Smith. Diaby collapsed with a scream and suffered a serious ankle fracture. He returned in January 2007 after three surgeries and eight months of rehabilitation, but was not in the same shape as before. Subsequent injuries kept him from making just 124 league appearances during his 10 years at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger lamented, “(against Sunderland) it was completely ruined by a sniper tackle.”
In ninth place was Louis Saha. In 2004, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson hand-picked striker Saha, who scored seven goals in his first 14 appearances in excellent form. However, his frequent injuries kept his time off the pitch longer. In the end, Saha, who lost his place at Manchester United, had no choice but to transfer to Everton in 2008. At the time of his transfer, Ferguson regretted it, saying, “It was absolutely not allowed to transfer because of a lack of talent. (Due to frequent injuries) we couldn’t include him in our plans.”
Jack Wilshere, once considered one of England’s greatest talents, was ranked eighth. Wilshere made his professional debut for Arsenal in 2008 at the age of 16, breaking the record previously held by Cesc Fabregas for being the youngest player to debut. However, he has not been able to find himself since he fractured his ankle in 2011. At the time, England manager Fabio Capello called him “England’s future”, but his post-injury form was poor. In the end, he left Arsenal in 2018 after 10 years and found a breakthrough, but announced his retirement in 2022 at the age of 30. He expressed regret, saying, “I haven’t reached my potential as a player. It’s a hard fact to accept.”
In fifth place was Adriano from Brazil. He was highly anticipated as Ronaldo’s successor during his time at Inter Milan. His exceptional physique and talent stood out. His impressive form on his second Inter Milan debut was expected and he was expected to perform well, but injury soon hampered him. In the end, his talent failed to blossom, and the Brazilian national team failed to continue the lineage of legendary strikers following Ronaldo. He later said, “I have a hole in my ankle. The other is in my heart.”
Number one is the legend Marco Van Basten. He is called the most perfect number 9 in football history. At the European Championships in 1988, they defeated the then Soviet Union and gave the Netherlands the trophy. However, in the summer of 1995 he announced his retirement. This is because he could not overcome his recurring ankle injury. He was only 30 years old. Coach Fabio Capello said, “Van Basten’s retirement is unfortunate for him and also for the football world.”먹튀검증
Others on the list include Ronaldo, Michael Owen, Marco Reus, Thiago Alcantara, Mario Gotze and Yoann Gourcuff.