The Humble Hounds

One of the most famous expressions in discussions about the beautiful game is “unsung hero”. This refers to the player who turns up, puts in a shift every day, can be relied upon all the time but somehow fails to get the recognition his abilities deserve. If this lack of credit was among only lay followers of football, it wouldn't be so disturbing. Often, some of these unsung heroes are not given the appropriate credit by experts and even coaches. Today, about 50 days from the opening match of the World Cup, The Beautiful Game is presenting to you a top ten list of such players going to the World Cup. We believe this is important as we expect that per usual, these players will largely go unnoticed. We however want you to remember their names when the event starts and closely follow their geniuses. Making a top ten list of anything is a difficult task so we would appreciate it if you can let us know about other players whose names have not been mentioned on this list:

10. Branislav Ivanovic, Defender, Serbia. He's strong as an ox, pacy going forward and is a threat from set plays. Strangely, it took him almost a year to get a game for Chelsea. Although a centre back by trade, he has deputised brilliantly for Jose Bosingwa as right back at Chelsea and we expect him to play in that position for Serbia in South Africa. Such has been his competence as a full back that we think he is now among the top 5 right backs in the world.

09. John Paintsil, Defender, Ghana. Here is another right back who will be playing in Group D. He became infamous throughout the world for waving an Israeli flag after Ghana scored against the Czech Republic in the last tournament. For that and his stop start introduction to the Black Stars team, he has never really been very popular among the extremely demanding football public in Ghana. He is however a very strong full back who rarely puts a foot wrong for either Ghana or his club side, Fulham.

08. Tim Cahill, Attacker, Australia. He was one of the good performers at the last World Cup. Perhaps the tiniest player among the giants of Australia, he defies logic by being its most dangerous player from set pieces. His last 13 goals or so have been headers. He is also hard working, technically brilliant, possesses a powerful shot and has a good eye for goal.

07. Jean Makoun, Midfielder, Cameroun. Everything good in the Cameroun team passes through Makoun. Only about 5'7” tall, he has got tremendous stability, craft with either feet, great vision and a thunderous shot. If Cameroun is to do well at this tournament, they need him to link up effectively with Samuel Eto'o. If they do, it is a terrifying prospect for the other teams in Group E.

06. Park Ji Sung, Midfielder, South Korea. He is so good that his club manager, Alex Ferguson, plays him in only the important matches. Perhaps his lack of plaudits is due to the fact that he is Korean and fans generally underestimate Asian teams and players. Park Ji Sung is however the true unsung hero - all about the performance on the pitch and little about the publicity off it. It surprises me that people forget that he was one of the standout performers at the Japan/Korea fiesta; his brilliance typified by this sumptuous goal against Portugal.

05. Daniel De Rossi, Midfielder, Italy. Now this is a truly world class player. It took us a long time to appreciate De Rossi's play but in a changing world of football where the anchorman is perhaps evern more important than the playmaker, De Rossi is one of the best of the generation. He breaks up play brilliantly, can spot a pass from 40 yards out and is deadly from set pieces too. So long as De Rossi and others like Adrea Pirlo are grossly underrated, Italy will continue to shock the world at major events.

04. Steven Pienaar, Attacker, South Africa. One could make a top ten list of underrated players from Everton FC alone. Tim Cahill's team mate is one who took longer than usual to live up to his talents. When he played for Ajax with other youngsters like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Rafael van der Vaart and Mido, it seemed Pienaar was going to be the world's best player two years from then. A series of injuries and accompanying loss of form slowed his progress. He has however been completely reinvented at Everton. He is so skilful that even Cristiano Ronaldo has confessed to watching him for some moves. He should definitely be playing for a team with bigger ambitions, especially as we see the likes of Nani and Salomon Kalou playing Champions League football every year. Maybe with the tournament in his home country, this is the time for him to prove his ability to the entire football world. Expect some outrageous tricks, breathtaking runs, a goal or two and innovative celebrations from this little South African.

03. Javier Zanetti, Defender, Argentina. I am lost for words when it comes to Zanetti. It seems impossible that a player can be so good for so long without being known outside of hardcore footie followers. The Inter Milan captain should be there for his third World Cup, bombing up and down either flank as he always does, even at age 36. If he is required in central defence or midfield, he will also boldly step up and do a job. A true legend of the game and one who deserves a World Cup medal before the sun sets on his career. I am fervently hoping Diego Maradona selects him for the World Cup, unlike Jose Pekerman who dropped Zanetti for the 2006 showdown


02. Miroslav Klose, Attacker, Germany. He will come, he will see, he will conquer. Klose seems to be someone who is just cut for the big time. Top scorer at the last world cup and second top scorer in the one before, Klose is the one player who poses a genuine threat to Ronaldo's record as the highest world cup goal scorer of all time. With the likes of Michael Ballack and Philip Lahm sweeping crosses on to his head, I expect him to bang a few more goals at this tournament. His talents may not be celebrated today, but posterity will rightfully view him as one of the all time goal scoring greats.

01. Esteban Cambiasso, Midfielder, Argentina. Maybe not so anymore due to Inter's performance in the Champions' League this year. Cambiasso has been consistently good since he broke on to the scene as a 17 year old at Malaysia '97. He spent so many years in the shadows of other good players from that phenomenal Argentine youth team: Juan Riquelme, Pablo Aimar and even to an extent, Walter Samuel. He is however one of the greatest defensive midfielders in the modern game and he will be extremely crucial to Argentina's play. With all the attacking riches Argentina has, it will need Cambiasso at his best to break up play when teams counter attack against them. Fortunately if anybody can do that, then Cambiasso can. Here's to hoping that he will indeed step up and step out of the shade into the limelight for a change.

Honourable mentions: Jonas Gutierrez (Argentina), Dejan Stankovic (Serbia), Patrice Evra (France), Diego Forlan (Uruguay), Lukas Podolski (Germany), Joseph Yobo (Nigeria)

In our next article, we will be reviewing the unknown players who are likely to take the World Cup by storm. Every tournament we get a few players who go from relative obscurity at the start to stardom at the end. If you have any such player in mind, let us know about him by sending us an email: tkyeiboateng@gmail.com.