ok on a lighter side of things...

who was the one hero that made you look at English/Spanish/Italian/German/French etc etc football as the reason you love the Beautiful Game?

all I remembered during that time was the 3 cards that were my prize possession and Ian Rush was the main reason I really got hooked.

to be fair it was the whole squad but "Goal Rush" was the reason for me when I watched modern football

Note: Lets keep this thread light hearted and lets actually have a nice neutral respectful thread of any players

I was first introduced to football back when i was 10 and it was all bcz of Eric Cantona, and that's probably why I supported Man Utd. Other childhood heroes were Ravanelli, Zidane, Klinsmann. Like RedShaun, i love the whole United squad, especially when Beckham and co were all rising stars, but the reason why I watched football will always be traced back to The King.

This post has been edited by Makakeke: May 15 2009, 01:58 PM

ROBBIE FOWLER

King Kenny, Rushie and John "Digger" Barnes.

definitely becoz of eric cantona....

i only started to watch football at the 98 world cup, and i remembered the most was David Beckham's red card...so i followed through his progress at his club, and after that, bcome supporter of United

It was Cantona for me. The commentator went something like "...and here is CANTONAAAAAAA!! What a goal!" The crowd was cheering so loudly the camera focus was jumping all over the place.

same with me here.......

but the player tat influence me into football was batistuta aka batigol n also ariel ortega......from the moment i saw them playing i know tat i born to support argentina........

PAUL SCHOLES

park ji sung ..

I first supported Arsenal around 1990. Back then, my heroes were Anders Limpar and Alan Smith (the one that scores, not the one languishing in Newcastle's reserves). I was only 9, so I can't pinpoint why exactly I liked them. Probably coz Alan Smith scores and Limpar dribbles.

But in my teenage years when I was playing football, I was usually forced to play on the left wing, due to the fact that we had no left footers and the right winger was too good to challenge for that position. But I noticed Overmars and later Pires were predominantly right footed, but still able to "cari makan" on the left so I was kind of inspired by them.... But unfortunately, admiration can only take you so far if you don't have much talent! ... But to this day, I'm still playing on the left though. Albeit on a smaller pitch with less ppl due to age catching up

This post has been edited by Zan81: May 15 2009, 02:39 PM

Lose that belly, you're actually our Gael Clichy.

U will always be our favourite flying wingback la

For me i started watching football during the 98 world cup, and the reason i support ManUtd is David Beckham!
MU FTW

Ya hoh, now that u mention it, I always see you on the left side of the pitch. Still can cari makan la, don't worry. If giotto then susah abit....

hehehe, i used to only play defender becos I get to kick legs and the ball occasionally.

yeah, lazy ma, so when the ball arrives just whack it away only lor. but that was ages ago, now i dun even have the stamina to climb 3 flights of stairs

well, my pic profile sums it all about me, started loving football...

Jokers...

Anyway, some players from other teams I enjoy/enjoyed watching: -

Figo - Superb dribbling ability despite not having searing pace.
Paul Gascoigne - The tricks and flicks he did were amazing, even though he played for Spurs. Very similar to Joe Cole, who I also think is brilliant.
Edgar Davids - The pitbull! Probably the most skillful defensive midfielder I've ever seen.
Barcelona Ronaldo (before he became fat) - His one year there was probably the best form he's had in his entire career, and along with the new Ronaldo's 42-goal season, probably the most devastating performance by any player in a season.
Kaka - Probably the most complete footballer today. CRon's perhaps even more complete but for me personally lah, I find hard to like CRon coz of his attitude.

baggio, cantona, bergkamp , and vinnie jones

He is my only regret for not supporting/watching United play during my younger days.

Anyways, during my childhood, my first football memories were the WC 94. I thought to myself, "what the hell man, this is so cool." No, football wasn't cool to me that time, but rather the chance to stay up late watching the tele with my dad. I don't remember any player in particular nor do I remember who won the WC that year. Fast forward 4 years, and we had the WC 98 on the tele again. I remembered that I woke up 2 hours early every single day to watch live games before my mom would drag me from the tele to school. WC 98 was special because I fell in love with Holland and the players.

Van Der Sar, Kluivert, Overmars, De Boer brothers, and of course, Dennis Bergkamp. I had my first ever football orgasm watching him bringing down a 50-60 cross from de boer/overmars and scored, something similar to Berbatov's setup goal for Tevez against Citeh, but 10x better. Bergkamp was always in my mind (i have no idea how to make that sentence less gay than it already is) after that goal. One thing led to another, I was introduced to Arsenal (oh, what a curse! ) by my dad, who is an Arsenal fan, after knowing I liked Bergkamp so much. We would watch Arsenal games whenever we had the chance to.

Then, came Giggs. I guess I wouldn't need to elaborate on how he came into my life and erased anything I have learned about football so far. Defying the odds, Giggs produced one of football's greatest goal, a goal that would then ensure United to stay on course of The Trebles. Giggs, my friends, gave me my second footballing orgasm experience. This is when I'm expected to be called a glory hunter, because Giggs scored and United won, right? Supporting the team that wins, I would be the first to raise my hands.

However, in retrospect, had I been exposed to more football than just Arsenal games, had Giggs played for England instead of Wales, had I not able to watch that particular FA semi-finals, and had my dad been supporting other clubs instead, I believe I would have watched Giggs in action more than I hoped. Still, I have much respect for Arsenal (only Bergkamp) and still follow their progress through my dad, haha. Of course, he noticed that I stopped watching games with him, and I started banters with him, for my allegiance stand for United.

So yeah, I'm proud (equally guilty) to say that my first football hero is Bergkamp hahahaha.

hmm lemme think...
karl heinz rummenigge, dino zoff, ray clemence, paolo rossi, kenny dalglish, gary gilliespie, phil neal, andreas dossena

gary lineker at spurs...

John Barnes and Van Basten for me.

Started watching football at age 10 during the 98 World Cup. The first player that caught my eyes was Ronaldo (yup, the fat one though he was slim at that time), still remember the first heartache when they were trashed 3-0 by Argentina.

Only then I started playing and watching football. After the post WC season, remember they are showing EPL matches that time. And of course Man Utd was on tv most of the time. That's were I started admiring Man Utd through Beckham excellent crosses, and Cole, Yorke partnership at that time

DENNIS BERGKAMP was the sole reason i watched football when i was younger. i think i was, oh,7 and a friend of my cousin was talking abt bergy to my cousin, and i was like, "who is bergkamp?" and my cousin(mu fan) was like, "bergkamp is another word for God" and i got to watch 'God' play that night and i was awed. and i thought he was kinda cute too(typical girl ), so at the age of 8 i became arsenal fan coz of bergy and he will forever be my favourite player

king henry for me, love his dribbling
and of course when he score's, his trademark celebration!! cool and calm"

hohoho for me it's gonna be

roberto "little buddha" baggio - that ponytail, that vanquished freeze in front of tafarel's post WC94'
guiseppe signori, sinisa mihailovic, matt le tissier - best freekick takers and shooters i ever known
gabriel batistuta - brought glory to fiorentina, relegate with fiorentina, hit back top flight with fiorentina
david ginola - played so well but missed world cup 94'
savo milosevic - playmaker for aston villa n real zaragoza
mcmanaman - need me say more?
ian wright - henry's the french version.
andrei kanchelskis - passing no need vision...use "feel" wan
fernando hierro - the spanish rock
rui costa - changed the phase of portuguese football...alongside figo

my era...

This post has been edited by slcroy: May 15 2009, 07:23 PM

giggs cantona beckham

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Added on May 15, 2009, 7:24 pmoh i forgot two more players, romario n bebeto

This post has been edited by munky: May 15 2009, 07:24 PM

Yeah this is from my younger teen days as well.

I'm a Gooner but... Ian Wright = Henry? Different la bro... But both top notch goal scorers.

And McManamanamanamamnaman's dribbling!!... He's probably the only guy who does stepovers without stepping over the ball! You get the skill I'm trying to describe when he dribbles? Damn funny but effective.

And Ginola was class. But too bad play for Spurs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3jVh_IJwO0

matt le tissier in action... crazy half and first timer...

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Added on May 15, 2009, 7:30 pmhahaha...yeah...ian wright is masterclass in his era...but henry beat his record nevertheless....

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Added on May 15, 2009, 7:37 pmLiverpool fans...remember this player? karl heinze riedler?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2VcWtvwu-0

demolished juventus 1997 CL final.

juventus with zidane, alan boksic, del piero angelo peruzzi,...also loose

hohoho.

This post has been edited by slcroy: May 15 2009, 07:37 PM

eric cantona
actually he is one of the 1st player that i know ( cos my father is MU supporter )

lim teong kim, wee lynn kerk, roman hagba, alistair edwards, abbas saad, dollah salleh

khalid jamlus

This post has been edited by slcroy: May 15 2009, 08:42 PM

still remember I went to the stadium just to watch him play...pure legend..Suparman..I used to call him superman back then

my hero in football must be the one and only...Paolo Maldini!!!!

Michel Platini



This post has been edited by solstice818: May 15 2009, 09:00 PM

Ah the good ol' Semi Pro days... Selangor had ex World Cup keeper from Czech, Karel Stromsik (sp?) as well. And even though he's Singaporean, Fandi Ahmad was damn bloody good. So many more to name as well... K. Sanbagamaran, Yap Wai Loon, V. Sundramoorthy, Malek Rahman, Annuar Abu Bakar, Erwin Boban, that gwailo with the bushy hair and 80's moustache who played for Terengganu...

... Tapi semua makan duit!

Eh u remember one australian? like paul scholes...one of the best shooter i think for selangor...

aha not forgetting JOHN HUNTER...semi pro's very own duncan ferguson!

tony cottee was here too from leicester... yap wai loon i think got play alongside shebby for KL...

alunbumi adigun...kedah's samuel eto'o... singapore midfield general, malek awab...

i think fandi got play in europe before...a stint.

wawaweewa...good ol days bro.

This post has been edited by slcroy: May 15 2009, 11:57 PM

The OZ = Scott Olerenshaw!!... He played for Sabah.
The Selangor OZ was David Mitchell, but so-so only... But not as bad as Tony Cottee!

I think this thread lari topic already!

Ah, the Selangor glory days. Dave Mitchell, Adnan , Suparman and Abu Bakar - ah legends!

This post has been edited by Makakeke: May 16 2009, 12:26 AM

pls dont mention his name...worst import ever

no la tak din lari topic ma...these r heroes...i think the semi-pro better than theliga pro now!!

sigh...since brunei n sg blah from malaysia...sien la.

my homeground stadium kubu...hohoho.

ya david mitchell...rm500,000 signing fees. dtill remember.

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Added on May 16, 2009, 12:45 amtony cotee too hype up coz he from premier...lol

This post has been edited by slcroy: May 16 2009, 12:45 AM

to be honest,i was an MU and denmark fan because of Peter Schmeichel.but as soon as he moved to sporting lisbon i stopped supporting them.

my other childhood heroes:
gabriel batistuta
emmanuel petit
david beckham
dennis bergkamp

and the man who made me love arsenal-Sol Campbell.my friends compared me to him because of my height and my tackling.

The whole Selangor squad in 1995 and 1996

I liked K Sanbagamaran so much. Delighted when he did really very well for Malaysia in 1996 Tiger Cup. IINM, he was awarded as the Man of the Tournament.

Maybe because of him I like midfielders more than forwards. I think players like Pirlo, Scholes, Guardiola and Xavi should be Ballon d'Or winner someday.

Dennis Bergkamp, Marc Overmars, Patrick Kluivert...
the oranje team of 1994/1998.....

I started to really like and love football is when i watch Real Madrid playing Bayern in 2007 when Beckham being the real hero in that european first leg night. True hero spirit!

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/footbal...ess-437183.html

This post has been edited by miccy: May 17 2009, 01:17 PM

David Beckham

With players like Sparky, Keano, Brucey, McClair, Sharpe, Giggsy followed by Eric the King... and also the uprising of Fergie Fledgings.

That's how I growed into supporting Man Utd.

John Barnes for me. How many remember that super goal he scored against Brazil? He was simply superb in his prime. I've said enough of him before and won't repeat myself.