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Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben - Sports (3) - Nairaland

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Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Dizzyrascal(m): 11:59am On Aug 13, 2019
Josskute:
you are the one mistaken Oga, cos Quagliarella was clearly robbed. That's the point I was trying to make, you'd have understood if you were remotely smart enough.
copy copy.
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by DimIsaac10(m): 12:21pm On Aug 13, 2019
Ribery won 6 trophies in 2013 but one Opportunist stole his balloon d or
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Evangkatsoulis: 12:22pm On Aug 13, 2019
Bomboiy:



Ronaldo deserved 2013 balon d'Or because he scored the highest goals that year but Messi didn't deserve 2010.



Can you please tell who was the highest goalscorer in 2010?

How many goals did Luiz suarez score in 2010 for ajax and uruguay?
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by presleYzzi(m): 12:37pm On Aug 13, 2019
Beverlyjean:


Zidane was better than him so as ronaldinho

On point !!![color=#990000][/color]
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by privaldo: 12:38pm On Aug 13, 2019
obembet:
The summer of 2019 is practically over. And as all good things come to an end, the end of this football season has marked the end of the careers of some true legends.
League heroes and club legends, the following 5 players
have all hung up their boots at the end of 2018/19 – and will go on to be remembered as amongst the all-time greats in the game.

Xavi
Former Barcelona legend Xavi retired at the end of 2018/19.
Along with Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta, perhaps no other player symbolises the Pep Guardiola-era Barcelona side that conquered the world more than Xavi.
The Spanish midfield maestro – famed for his incredible range of passing and ability to dictate the flow of the game – spent an incredible 17 seasons at the Nou Camp before leaving in the summer of 2015 to finish his career in Qatar.
During his time with Barca, Xavi practically won it all. Produced by the famed La Masia academy, he broke into the Blaugrana first team in the late 1990s and became a key player under the tutelage of then-boss Louis van Gaal, winning his first LaLiga title in 1998/99.

Xavi won two more league titles – as well as a first Champions League – under Frank Rijkaard, but he'll always be intrinsically linked with the Guardiola regime at the Nou Camp.
Barca won a treble of LaLiga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League in 2009/10, and soon became recognised as arguably the best club side in history.

More trophies followed for Xavi; two more league titles and another Champions League under Guardiola and then the same again under different bosses, as well as the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 with Spain.
Since leaving for Qatari side Al Saad in 2015 Xavi had largely faded from view, but with the announcement of his retirement this month he should go down as one of the all-time great midfielders.

Petr Cech

Petr Cech will go down as one of the Premier League's greatest ever goalkeepers.
Of the five players on this list, Petr Cech is the only one who may yet play one last game.
There's a chance the Arsenal goalkeeper may appear in their Europa League final against his former club Chelsea, but that feels unlikely given that Cech is reportedly about to make his way back to Stamford Bridge in a technical role when he hangs up his gloves in the summer.
Regardless of his role in the future, Cech will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest goalkeepers in Premier League history.

Signed by then-Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho in the summer of 2004 for a fee of £7 million – the Czech international immediately broke records by keeping an unbelievable 24 clean sheets across the season in a Blues side that conceded just 15 goals.
Cech went on to win the Premier League title that season and then repeated the feat a further 3 times while at Stamford Bridge, also winning the FA Cup on 4 occasions, the EFL Cup on 3 occasions and in 2011/12, the Champions League.

The final of that competition – against Bayern Munich - saw Cech save a penalty from Arjen Robben in normal time and another 2 penalties in the eventual shootout that saw Chelsea triumph.
After the emergence of Thibault Courtois at Chelsea, Cech moved to Arsenal in 2015 and immediately became their first choice keeper, too.

Trophies were harder to come by for Cech at the Emirates but he still managed to pick up one more FA Cup in 2016/17 – coincidentally by beating Chelsea in the final.
Despite a less successful end to his career, though, he'll definitely go down as one of the all-time great goalkeepers – one who was dependable until the very end.

Arjen Robben

Everyone can predict what he is going to do, but no one can stop him.
Robben enjoyed a glittering career at the top of European football, winning a host of trophies for PSV, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern.
It was at Chelsea – whom he joined in 2004 – where he established himself as one of world football's great promises, helping the club to back-to-back Premier League triumphs in 2004-05 and 2005-06 and an FA Cup win the following season.
His subsequent move to Real Madrid was less successful on a personal level, though he did win LaLiga in 2007-08.
Bayern snapped him up in 2009 and, though injuries were a regular occurrence, he still managed to enjoy a sparkling 10-year stay at the Allianz Arena.

He won eight Bundesliga titles in that time, plus the Champions League in 2012-13, making 309 appearances across all competitions.

Despite the injuries, Robben still managed to score 144 times for Bayern, including six in 19 matches in his final campaign.
The winger had been tipped to return to his first professional club Groningen after his Bayern contract expired, but he has since opted to end his career altogether.
On top of a glorious club career, Robben also won 96 caps for his country in 14 years, netting 37 goals.

Wesley Sneijder

One of the most perfect No.10 in football history.
Sneijder began his senior playing days with Ajax in 2002 and went on to play for Real Madrid, Inter, Galatasaray and Nice in a storied career in Europe.

He was a star performer for Jose Mourinho's Inter side of 2009-10, which won the treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia and Champions League titles.

Sneijder then inspired Netherlands to the final of the 2010 World Cup, where they lost 1-0 to Spain, and won the Silver Ball as the tournament's second-best player.

His omission from the final three-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or of the same year was widely considered to be unjust.
Sneijder played 134 times for the Netherlands from 2003 to 2018, becoming the most capped Dutch player of all time.

Robin van Persie

Robin Van Persie will go down as one of the best strikers of his generations.
Dutch striker Robin van Persie may not have won as many trophies across his career as other legends – a single Premier League title in 2012/13 and FA cup in 2004/05 stands as his only triumphs during 11 seasons in the Premier League – but arguably, he made the biggest impact of any single player on a side in the history of the competition when he moved from Arsenal to Manchester United in the summer of 2012.

Van Persie played in all 38 of United's games in 2012/13 as they marched to their most recent Premier League title – the final one under the stewardship of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson – and scored 26 goals, enough to win him the Golden Boot.

While his first season at United was definitely RVP's highest watermark, he was also brilliant for Arsenal for the majority of his 8 seasons there, and he signed off his time at the Emirates by delivering a phenomenal 30 goals in 38 Premier League games.

Throw in his strong record on the international stage for the Netherlands – 50 goals in 102 games including the best goal of the 2014 World Cup, his flying header against Spain – and despite a lack of trophies to his name, van Persie must be considered one of the best strikers of his generation – and he’ll definitely be missed now he's retired.

Andrea Barzagli

Andrea Barzagli won 8 consecutive Serie A titles with Juventus.

Most top-level players tend to begin to slow down by the time they reach their mid-30's, and so it's rare to see someone pushing 40 still plying their trade at the top level.

That wasn't the case for defender Andrea Barzagli, though.

The Italian international announced his retirement earlier in 2019 and hung up his boots last weekend at the ripe age of 38, but while he only made 7 appearances for Juventus in 2018/19, he managed 38 in 2017/18 – remarkable for a player of his age.

Barzagli had somewhat of a topsy-turvy career; in the early 2000s he made his name as a tough, no-nonsense defender with mid-level Serie A clubs like Palermo and Chievo before moving to Wolfsburg in Germany, and while he had success there – surprisingly winning the Bundesliga in 2008/09 – by the time he moved to Juventus in early 2011 he was already pushing 30.

But forming a rock-solid defence alongside fellow Italian stalwarts Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, Barzagli had an instant impact in his first full season with the Old Lady, as they won the 2011/12 Serie A title, in large part thanks to their impregnable back line.

For Italy, Barzagli won the 2006 World Cup, but due to poor performances in 2008, he was spared the Azzurri's blushes in their disastrous 2010 campaign. He returned to the side in time for Euro 2012 – and helped them make the final – and appeared in the 2014 World Cup and at Euro 2016, too.

Barzagli will go down as an all-time great Italian defender for longevity alone, and he feels like the type of player who Juve fans will probably miss most when they fully realise he's gone.

Tim Cahill

Tim Cahill is arguably the best Australian player of all time.

Tim Cahill might not be as decorated as the other players on this list; his best accomplishment, in club football at least, was probably his Division II title with Millwall back in 2000/01.

But ask any football fan from Australia and you'll probably find that Cahill is as big a legend Down Under as any other player to appear for the Socceroos.

Largely playing as an attacking midfielder, Cahill debuted for Australia in 2004 and helped them to win that year's OFC Nations Cup, before playing a pivotal role in the Aussies' first World Cup qualification for over 30 years.

The 2006 tournament turned out to be a mild success for Australia as they reached the Round of 16, but it was a huge success for Cahill, as he became the first Australian to score a World Cup goal with a brace against Japan, enhancing his reputation heavily in the process.

Cahill would play in two more World Cups – 2010 and 2014 – and despite Australia failing to make it out of the group stage in either tournament, Cahill himself managed to score in both, with his goal against the Netherlands in the 2014 edition being one of the very best goals on offer that year. With 50 goals in 108 appearances for his country, Cahill remains Australia's all-time top goalscorer.

Despite his club achievements being overshadowed by his international ones, Everton fans will always remember his famed celebration – shadow-boxing the corner flag – fondly too, as he spent 8 seasons at Goodison Park at the peak of his career.

A true cult hero, it might be a while before Australia produces another player of his caliber.

Source

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.allfootballapp.com/amp/news/Headline/Sneijder-Xavi-Cech-Robben...-Seven-football-LEGENDS-who-retired-in-2019/1423864

Where is Frank Robert Op, he deserves a place in that list ahead of the likes of Tim Cahill with due respect
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Rockyrascal(m): 12:50pm On Aug 13, 2019
Dizzyrascal:
I agree with you that sneijder was robbed in favour of a certain Leonel Messi. Till today I still regard sneijder as the true winner of the 2010 ballon d'Or and not Messi. Ojoro cancel Ojoro
he won a treble with inter Milan in 2010, he helped neitherland to reach the World Cup final that same year. Sneider made a huge contribution and was significant both for club and country that year, he played a huge part in inter Milan's success and was on the top scorers chart in the 2010 world cup.

I don't know what was the criteria for winning the FIFA player of the year in 2010 and 2018. Wesley Sneider should have had more votes, if modric was crowned the winner in 2018...why not Sneider?

2 Likes

Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Beverlyjean(f): 12:51pm On Aug 13, 2019
Josskute:
Best player that lost league golden boot to a 37years old samdoria player? Smh

So only top scorer should win best player in the league... U are outrightly insane
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Baselm: 12:54pm On Aug 13, 2019
Beverlyjean:


There was no exceptional player in that Bayern squard of 2013... They were all equally good just like the 2014 German world cup winning squard .... Besides, ribery wasn't mentioned by the op... U can't even compare sneijders loss cos it was a WC year and he directly defeated lionel in the 2010 CL and also carried the Dutch to the final just like modric...

You forgot Inter defeated Barcelona by marking out a fatigued Messi at the San siro, remember Barcelona had to travel 11hours by rail due to bad weather and arrived Italy few hours before the match started. I don't remember Inter winning the match because of any extraordinary display of Sneider.

as matter of fact,the men who marked Messi out of the game, Cambiasso, Zanetti, , Lucio, Walter Samuel and Diego Milito having the best season of his career were arguably more instrumental in Inter's victory than any form of genius you might want to allude to sneider.

Sneider is a good player, don't get me wrong, but he wasn't the best player on the planet that year

2 Likes

Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by femmoy(m): 1:02pm On Aug 13, 2019
Bomboiy:


Same way they gave it to Messi in 2010 because of goals.




And they will also give it to him this year because of goals too.




Even Harry Kane deserved 2017 balon d'Or because he was the highest goal scorer that year. undecided

do u know what you are talking about? 2010 was a WC year and they judge by performance in the WC,Messi didn't score a goal in WC and sneijder scored 5,same thing Diego forlan,yet it was given to someone who couldn't score a goal. I stopped watching the ballon d'or award since then because it's highly controversial.

1 Like

Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by engrchykae(m): 1:03pm On Aug 13, 2019
Beverlyjean:


Zidane was better than him so as ronaldinho
even the maestro rui costa and eusebio,riquelme,del iero ,rivaldo,clarence seedorf.
the league of gods
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Beverlyjean(f): 1:07pm On Aug 13, 2019
Baselm:


You forgot Inter defeated Barcelona by marking out a fatigued Messi at the San siro, remember Barcelona had to travel 11hours by rail due to bad weather and arrived Italy few hours before the match started. I don't remember Inter winning the match because of any extraordinary display of Sneider.

as matter of fact,the men who marked Messi out of the game, Cambiasso, Zanetti, , Lucio, Walter Samuel and Diego Milito having the best season of his career were arguably more instrumental in Inter's victory than any form of genius you might want to allude to sneider.

Sneider is a good player, don't get me wrong, but he wasn't the best player on the planet that year

Does sneijder play defence?? At least he scored the winning goal...
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Baselm: 1:10pm On Aug 13, 2019
engrchykae:
even the maestro rui costa and eusebio,riquelme,del iero ,rivaldo,clarence seedorf.
the league of gods

Please, Riquelme
Del peiro never really replicated Juve's form for Italy
Clarence Seedorf is a great player but he can't influence the game like Xavi does

I also think Xavi's longevity will give him edge over Rivaldo.

I don't agree he is the best midfielder ever, but I also don't agree, some of these players you listed were better than he was.
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Baselm: 1:16pm On Aug 13, 2019
Beverlyjean:


Does sneijder play defence?? At least he scored the winning goal...

Sneijder scored the equalizer, Milito scored the winning goal and gave the assist for the other 2 goals and also went on to score the 2 goals in the finals
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Beverlyjean(f): 1:20pm On Aug 13, 2019
Baselm:


Sneijder scored the equalizer, Milito scored the winning goal and gave the assist for the other 2 goals and also went on to score the 2 goals in the finals

Whatever...he still scored and scored 5 goals in the world cup... Messi that was given balon d'Or, did he score in the semi final or in that WC??
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by iambuchimoses(m): 1:30pm On Aug 13, 2019
Dizzyrascal:
Kai, which year did ribery deserve to win the ballon d'Or ahead of RONALDO? I shake my head for you bros.
no be small bend head for him ooo
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Chukalemon(m): 1:35pm On Aug 13, 2019
Vincent kompany is my legend,my best CD.
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Blabbermouth: 2:10pm On Aug 13, 2019
Beverlyjean:


Whatever...he still scored and scored 5 goals in the world cup... Messi that was given balon d'Or, did he score in the semi final or in that WC??
You bark about "Winning champions league". Let's say sneidjer deserved the 2010 ballon d'or , if u want to use DAT point, never omit the trophyless Ronaldo winning ballon d'or in 2013.
What did I hear u say abt '2012'?.
Stop relating and depending Ronaldo ballon d'or wins with Messi's own. What history will remember is Messi-5 ballon d'or, Ronaldo-5 ballon d'or (Until further notice)
Come December, If Messi wins the ballon d'or, 7 years later an ignorant fanatic will come and argue how sallah deserved it (As if we all didn't witness how Messi was by cosmic distance the best player this year)
Isn't ballon d'or awarded for the best player by individual performance?

1 Like

Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by hefelove(m): 2:17pm On Aug 13, 2019
peterd53:


Dz guy can lie....... I’m sure you’re not aware that sneidjer didn’t even make the podium.
Lmaooooo Yes Messi was surprised! I felt bad for Sneijder because despite playing all his life that year he didn't even make the podium, i think the only trophy he didnt win that year was the World Cup. We all thought at least Iniesta should have won
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by hefelove(m): 2:20pm On Aug 13, 2019
Bomboiy:



Messi was surprised that he won the balon d'Or ahead of sneidjer that didn't even make the top three?
Messi was surprised that he won it among iniesta and xavi, we all knew Sneidjer ought to be among sef, even If not messi, at least Iniesta.
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by engrchykae(m): 2:22pm On Aug 13, 2019
Baselm:


Please, Riquelme
Del peiro never really replicated Juve's form for Italy
Clarence Seedorf is a great player but he can't influence the game like Xavi does

I also think Xavi's longevity will give him edge over Rivaldo.

I don't agree he is the best midfielder ever, but I also don't agree, some of these players you listed were better than he was.
you dont remember juan roman riquelme
barca and villarreal.
you are right about xavi contrlling the flow of the game.
imagine xavi and iniesta at times will decide to pause the game and we the viewers would think the referee stopped the game not knwing that it was the duo of xavi and iniesta that decided to pause the game
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by DonMekino(m): 2:26pm On Aug 13, 2019
A post made about legends of the game that retired this year, u immature mofos turned it into Messi vs Ronaldo debate game.... Tufiakwa
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by OgaBuhari: 2:29pm On Aug 13, 2019
OP u only mentioned about their performances for their respective clubs without crediting their roles to their countries.
are u a Messi fan?

1 Like

Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by hefelove(m): 2:30pm On Aug 13, 2019
Rockyrascal:
he won a treble with inter Milan in 2010, he helped neitherland to reach the World Cup final that same year. Sneider made a huge contribution and was significant both for club and country that year, he played a huge part in inter Milan's success and was on the top scorers chart in the 2010 world cup.

I don't know what was the criteria for winning the FIFA player of the year in 2010 and 2018. Wesley Sneider should have had more votes, if modric was crowned the winner in 2018...why not Sneider?
You have said it all o bro, when I said Messi was surprised that he won it sef them think say I dey lie, Messi was shocked that year, we all are expecting Iniesta should have won sef

1 Like

Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Josskute(m): 2:47pm On Aug 13, 2019
Beverlyjean:


So only top scorer should win best player in the league... U are outrightly insane
After being schooled on front page cos of ignorance, you still have something to say? You should hide your head in shame or better still go play with your mates.

1 Like

Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by toffyz(m): 3:08pm On Aug 13, 2019
What of Fernando Torres?
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Nobody: 3:09pm On Aug 13, 2019
I personally can't wait for Messi and Ronaldo to retire, so football conversations can become exciting again.

How the convo went from 7 legends retiring to Messi vs Ronaldo is beyond me.

undecided sad

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Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Amieinu123(m): 3:34pm On Aug 13, 2019
Dizzyrascal:
I agree with you that sneijder was robbed in favour of a certain Leonel Messi. Till today I still regard sneijder as the true winner of the 2010 ballon d'Or and not Messi. Ojoro cancel Ojoro


if you still dont believe,oga sir change the history
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by rolams(m): 4:07pm On Aug 13, 2019
Elnida:


Even Mark Viduka is ahead of Harry in Australias all time greats

Another great footballer. Thanks for reminding me!
Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Bahddo(m): 5:21pm On Aug 13, 2019
Dizzyrascal:
Kai, which year did ribery deserve to win the ballon d'Or ahead of RONALDO? I shake my head for you bros.
2013. They extended voting by 2 weeks so Ronaldo could win.

1 Like

Re: Seven Football Legends Who Retired In 2019: Sneijder, Xavi, Cech, Robben by Penaldo: 6:39pm On Aug 13, 2019
emma321:
LMAO typical penaldo fan.
Shut up

1 Like

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