The Best Footballers You've Never Heard Of

A small list I've compiled and created in my spare time of some quality footballers and promising young talent which you may not have necessarily heard about.

NIGEL DE JONG


Age: 24
Club: Manchester City
Position: Defensive midfielder
Nationality: Dutch
He hasn't caused the splash at Manchester City that he deserves. Nigel De Jong is a powerful holding midfielder for Manchester City, but previously playing at such glamorous clubs as Hamburg and Ajax. De Jong, with his excellent reading of the game and and a quality passing, has been likened to such stars as Patrick Viera. Although not a known goalscorer, he doesn't need to be. The shielding he provides his defence in that holding role is undoubted. With already 30 appearance for the Netherlands national side under his belt, De Jong will continue to become even better as he matures - like all great defensively-minded midfielders.

EDIN DZEKO


Age: 23
Club: VfL Wolfsburg
Position: Striker
Nationality: Bosnian
Bundesliga experts and fans will have already heard about Edin Dzeko, who has come out of relative obscurity to become the leading goalscorer in the European qualifications for the 2010 World Cup, and at one point was leading the goalscorers chart in the Bundesliga this season. Dzeko is clearly a prolific goalscorer with a killer first touch and an even better finish; scoring 24 goals in 53 games for Wolfsburg and 9 goals in 15 games for his country. From his humble beginnings at FK Željezničar in Bosnia's capital, Sarajevo, he went to two Czech clubs in the space of as many years before being scooped up by Wolfsburg for 4 million Euros: peanuts if you compare his worth now, with major clubs from England and Italy already knocking on his door.

MIRALEM SULEJMANI


Age: 20
Club: AFC Ajax
Position: Attacking midfielder
Nationality: Serbian
Miralem Sulejmani, a Gorani Muslim from Serbia, was scooped up by Dutch club Heerenveen before his 16.25 million Euros move to Ajax. He's a fast young player who can play all over the attacking midfield, on the wing or even as a striker. Already making a senior cap for the Serbian national football team in 2008 at only age 19, Sulejmani is looked upon as one of the rising stars of European football. He's contracted until 2013 at Ajax, but don't be surprised if he moves to a big club, like Chelsea FC for example who have shown interest in him in the past, before his contract is up. Sulejmani is already proving his potential at Ajax and you'll be hearing a lot more of him in the near future.

GOKHAN INLER


Age: 24
Club: Udinese
Position: Central midfielder
Nationality: Swiss
Gokhan Inler, a Swiss national of Turkish origin, is already a known star of the Serie A, but still of a certain unknown quality to those who only watch the Premier League. Inler is a very defensively-minded central midfielder, who can play that holding role just as well as he can play the roaming central role. He's a quality passer and can effectively pull the strings from wherever he plays in the midfield. Inler has already attracted interest from the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City, but it's doubtful Udinese would let him leave without a high price tag, given the importance his creative passing and defensive role plays in the team.

 

OMAR KOROMA


Age: 19
Club: Portsmouth
Position: Striker
Nationality: Gambian
Plucked out of The Gambia by Harry Redknapp and Portsmouth, Omar Koroma is a powerful centre-forward who spent the majority of the 2008/09 season on loan to Norwich City and out through injury. He's strong enough to play a lone strikers role, but he's also deceptively quick and has been likened to such players as Emmanuel Adebayor and Kanu. With Kanu mentoring him at Portsmouth, Koroma is already one of their most expensive players and his price tag will increase once he becomes a starting regular and realises his potential.

VALON BEHRAMI


Age: 24
Club: West Ham United
Position: Winger
Nationality: Swiss
Born in the poverty-stricken region of Kosovo, Valon Behrami rose to become a household name in Italy during his three year stint with Lazio, becoming an integral part of their midfield and their attack. Now at West Ham United, Behrami has yet to prove his true ability and potential to English fans because of some injury problems. However, those who watched Behrami play for Genoa and Lazio in Italy will know that he's a quick but versatile midfielder, who has been known to play at fullback in emergency situations. He has excellent vision and is a very solid crosser of the ball, and can only improve further under the guidance of Gianfranco Zola at West Ham United. With already 24 Swiss caps, Behrami has the potential to be even better than what he already is, and if this is the case, West Ham United will find it difficult to hold onto him.

IBRAHIM AFELLAY


Age: 23
Club: PSV Eindhoven
Position: Attacking midfielder
Nationality: Dutch
Ibrahim Afellay, of Moroccan descent, has been a product of the PSV Eindhoven youth academy since the age of 16 and has developed into a potent attacking midfielder or winger. He has fantastic skill on the ball and can always find space for himself or for a teammate. Afellay has already played 99 games for PSV and 14 for the Netherlands, and can play on the left or right side, although his preferred isin the centre. A young player of significant creative qualities, he can yet improve to become one of the stars of European football.

MIRALEM PJANIC


Age: 19
Club: Olympique Lyonnais
Position: Attacking midfielder
Nationality: Bosnian
Moving to Luxembourg because of the war in Bosnia & Herzegovina, Miralem Pjanic was first sighted by scouts from FC Metz and signed for them as a 17 year old. Pjanic progressed quickly to become a star player in the team, and was one of their most outstanding players in a season were Metz were eventually relegated. Lyon pounced and signed Pjanic for 8 million Euros in 2008, for good reason too. Pjanic is an extremely fast attacking midfielder who has a beautiful crossing ability and a keen eye for goal as well. Before he signed for Lyon, clubs such as Arsenal, Juventus, Liverpool, Chelsea and Bayern Munich expressed interest in the youngster and will most likely continue to do so in the future as he improves at a big club like Lyon.

 

SOFIANE FEGHOULI


Age: 19
Club: Grenoble Foot 38
Position: Attacking midfielder
Nationality: French
Sofiane Feghouli, of Algerian descent, is another player with an extremely bright future ahead of him. He can play almost anywhere in midfield, but states his preferred role is the creative role going forward; and he is a quality playmaker with fantastic vision. Feghouli has already played for the French Under-21 national team and has attract interest from Inter Milan, Manchester United and Lyon, and his notable ability to slot in the perfect pass and create a chance is the cause of this interest. Ironically enough, Paris Saint-Germain rejected him after a trial in 2006, stating he wasn't creative enough for their liking. Feghouli is definitely a player you should look out for in the future.

ARDA TURAN


Age: 22
Club: Galatasaray
Position: Winger
Nationality: Turkish
Arda Turan is a winger of immense skill and potential who can play on any side of the field. With already 123 appearances for Galatasaray and 30 Turkish national team caps to his name, many people would have heard about Arda Turan after his excellent performances for Turkey in EURO 2008 and indeed he attracted interest from AC Milan, Juventus, Arsenal and Bayern Munich; this was months before Newcastle United had a 9 million pound bid rejected after Galatasaray refused to sell their most prized player and the new Golden Boy of Turkish football. Arsene Wenger admitted he was a big admirer of the player, so I don't need to go into his creative ability and speed because that explains it.

LORIK CANA


Age: 25
Club: Olympique de Marseille
Position: Defensive midfielder
Nationality: Albanian
Those who are followers of the French Ligue 1 will know Lorik Cana; and even some who don't follow the Ligue 1 will know him. He's probably the most "well-known" player out of this entire list - he's the captain of Marseille. A strong and capable defensive midfielder for Marseille, Cana can also play central midfield and at central defence too. He's a quality player really. Fantastic at reading plays and a strong runner when the counter-attack is on. Cana is already an established star of French football and has attracted interest from the likes of Lyon and Arsenal in the past.

NENAD KRSTICIC


Age: 18
Club: Sampdoria
Position: Attacking midfielder
Nationality: Serbian
Although yet to make an appearance for Sampdoria as he only transferred there in January of this year, I watched Krsticic in his days at OFK Beograd and he is a player with an extremely bright future. Excellent at holding play up and a real talent for finding space for himself, Krsticic is definitely a rising star of European football. Look out for him when he can break through at Sampdoria and play some consistent first team football.

 

You were in before the edit.

 

Politics can piss off out of this thread. Discuss the players.

 

Lol **** off Bender. Seriously.

 

I was thinking about putting others in this list, but some were too well-known to be considered and for the rest I was cbf... honourable mentions though:

Wojciech Szczesny
Freddie Sears
Mihail Aleksandrov
Yasser al-Qahtani
plus heaps more that made the shortlist.

 

**** off Lukic, keep that shit out of this thread.

 

He was low key to your average soccer fan that doesn't watch the Bundesliga - he deserves recognition tbh.