My A to Z of Football [Part 1 of 4]

I've been fortunate to have watched The Beautiful Game for two decades now and in that time been "introduced" to a number of players who have left an indelible mark on my life.
This post looks at these individuals, jogging our memories as we remember some of their exploits...

Pablo AIMAR [Pablo César Aimar Giordano]
One of many to be burdened with the title of "the next Maradona"...arriving from River Plate to Los Che, he never quite lived up to this and what followed was a short spell at Zaragoza before his move to Benfica, where he seems to have found a new lease of [footballing] life. His composure on the ball, fluid movements and silky skills make his footballing style easy on the eye.

Special mention to Eric ABIDAL who continues to defy life as we know it in his pursuit of playing football and then there's the underachieving ADRIANO, who after superb exploits for Brasil at COPA '04 where he won the Golden Boot Award, has continued to do the unthinkable and is now clubless.

David BECKHAM for his pin-point crosses, deadball abilities and all round contributions at MUFC. Not a prolific goalscorer, but the magnitude of the goals scored and amount of assists cannot be overlooked. His goal against the Magpies in '96 is one that stands out in my memory. Played through by Cantona, beating the offside trap, he looks up and dinks it over the advancing 'keeper. Audacious!

Another MUFC legend in Eric 'King' CANTONA. FA Cup Final vs Liverpool '96. Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Oooh Aaah Can-to-na! Besides that, remember the chipped finish vs Sunderland after he had bamboozled a few players prior to the deft finish. There were also some sharp statements and a bit of kung fu as well. I'll remember him for his subliminal football skill.

 Besides 'Golden Balls" lets take a moment to remember the marauding fullback CAFU [Marcos Evangelista de Moraes], who undoubtedly gave us a different perspective on how defenders should play the game. High-energy football for his native Brasil as well as successful spells at both AS Roma and then AC Milan.

D is for DUNGA, known as "The General" for his tough-tackling exploits in the engine room of a rather flambuoyant Brasilian team. It's also for Edgar DAVIDS a box-to-box midfielder who wasn't short of breathtaking skill, despite his nickname "The Pitbull"...lastly, its for Paolo DI CANIO. The eccentric Italian. A fascist if you would, but there's no denying his ability on the football field [see volley against Wimbledon as one bit of proof] and most notably his 'fair play' moment against Everton, where he caught a cross so the Toffees' 'keeper Paul Gerrard could receive attention for his injury.  

Moving on then, i remember a footballer who pretty much gave his life for this game. An unfortunate own-goal in the '94 FIFA World Cup resulted in him being shot and subsequently killed. What's fantastic to note is that he was remembered for always saying "Life doesn't end here" Here's remembering the Colombian, Andres ESCOBAR

 Cast your minds back to June 2003. FIFA Confederations Cup. Cameroon vs Colombia. MARC-VIVIEN FOE collapsing on the field, and after about an hour of trying to resuscitate him, he was declared dead. Manchester City have since retired his no.23 shirt in honour of the midfielder. Here's a footballer who unknowingly gave his life to football.




Today we've remembered the talented, the eccentric, the colourful and the unfortunate 'characters' of this The Beautiful Game.

Join me next time as we look at players [G-M] who have made an impact.