Top 10 Underrated Players of The Decade

10. Toni Kroos(30, Real Madrid):

Let’s think of all the REALLY significant events that took place in

the last decade, we’ll notice the presence of one certain German

midfielder. He checks out almost all the boxes for the major events

of the decade: Bayern Munich’s historic Treble back in 2013, the

iconic match between Germany and Brazil that ended in whopping

7-1 victory to the German sides, Real Madrid’s three Champions

League titles in a row. The underrated Jahrhunderttalent (talent of

the century) played a key role in making these crazy stats

achievable.

9. Edinson Cavani(34, Manchester United):

Even though the Uruguayan missed a total of 21 clear-cut chances

back in 2017-18, his goal-scoring record remains remarkable. A

total of 374 for the club and country over the last 10 years, placing

him into an exclusive club which includes the likes of Sergio

Aguero, Robert Lewandowski and Luis Suarez. Furthermore, he

has finished almost all the seasons as PSG’s top scorer ever since

his arrival from Napoli. Not to mention that he has won 1x Copa

America Cup for Uruguay, 1x Italian Cup for Napoli, 6x French

Shield, 4x French Cup, and 5x Ligue 1 Title for PSG.

8. Thiago Alcantara(29, Liverpool):

“Thiago or nothing” as Pep Guardiola once said, Thiago had
become the pillar of the record champions Bayern Munich’s game.
Most known for his composure and his passing, Thiago can take
the entire opposition’s defence out of the game with just a single
pass. But what people fail to see is his defensive abilities.
Although he was a playmaker for Bayern, Thiago would also play
as a CDM during defensive duties, dropping in between the
defenders and filling in gaps or errors made by them before the
the opposition could take advantage of it. Thiago has won La Liga
(x2), Copa del Rey (x2) and Spanish Super Cup (x2) with
Barcelona, Bundesliga titles (x7), DFB-Pokal (x4), and
DFL-Supercup (x3) with Bayern Munich. Not to forget his 2
Champions League titles, 2 club world cups and 2 UEFA super
cups. Crazy how this guy doesn’t receive the love and support that
he deserves.

7. Angel Di Maria(32, Paris Saint Germain):

Few players have spent the last decade playing for bigger clubs
than Angel Di Maria. Yet, in spite of his incredible return on
investment, the Argentine remains an underrated gem, rarely
spoken of in the same breath as current and former teammates,
Ronaldo, Neymar or Mbappe. He was considered to be one of the
future stars while serving for Real Madrid, but one bad spell at
Man United made everyone think that he was just another
washed-up Argentine. He got a chance to regain himself at PSG
and frankly speaking, he is doing much better than everyone’s
expectations but people will not appreciate him enough as
he is playing in a ‘Farmer’s League.’ I guess he’ll spend the rest of
his career at PSG in the shadows of Neymar and Mbappe...

6. Jamie Vardy(33, Leicester City):

Leicester City’s goal-scoring machine is one of the most
underrated no.9 in the world. Vardy’s work often goes under the
radar with the striker rarely getting the plaudits he deserves,
making him perhaps one of the most underrated players in the
league. Since his arrival to the league in the 2014/15 season, only
Harry Kane (124) and Sergio Aguero (116) have scored more
Premier League goals than Jamie Vardy (82), despite playing for
Leicester City who are often considered to be as the underdogs.
The Englishman has consistently shown that he has what it takes to
perform at the highest of levels, but his impressive return is often
forgotten by fans and pundits alike. No one can forget Leicester
City’s unbelievable title-winning season in which Jamie Vardy
played a key role.

5. Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gomez(32, Atalanta):

Papu Gomez is not just one of the underrated players in the world,
he is also very little-known. The 32-year-old doesn’t get duly
credited for his performances, thus surprisingly, most football fans
beyond Italy don’t even know him. Gomez exemplifies the team’s
spirit with his incredible work-rate, leadership, and goal
contributions- he had an impressive 7 goals and 12 assists in 33
games in all competitions in the 2019-20 season. He is the captain
of the Bergamo-based club, Atalanta, who have been punching
above their weight, since the beginning of 2019-20 season as they
reached the Coppa Italia final last term and also shockingly
qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the first time in
their history. In his entire senior, Gomez only has 5 caps for
Argentina, scoring 1 goal and giving 1 assist.

4. Dani Parejo(31, Villareal):

The Valencia playmaker and legend and now Villareal captain is one

most underrated Spanish players of this generation. An extremely

talented and technically gifted midfielder, Parejo doesn’t get the

recognition his talent and efforts deserve. One of the best set-piece

takers of the current generation, he led Valencia to an unexpected Copa del Rey title in the 2019-20 season while also inspiring the Los Che to the top spot in their Champions League group that also contained Chelsea and 2018-19 season’s semifinalists, Ajax. Valencia were forced to sell midfielders Francis Coquelin and Dani Parejo to La Liga rivals Villarreal due to increased financial strain caused by the coronavirus

pandemic.

3. Santi Cazorla(35, Al Sadd):

Another world-class footballer supporters at times tend to overlook is

Santi Cazorla, whose injuries sadly forced his time in England to come to an end prematurely. The Spanish midfielder, who spent six years at Arsenal from 2012 to 2018, had an array of skill in his locker and is perhaps as technically gifted as anybody. He has flair, he is speedy and he knows his way around a dead-ball situation. Santi had been deprived of 668 days of his career during an agonising two years in which he had 11 operations. Just walking again, let alone playing, wasn’t a given. At the age of 35 though he isn’t solely surviving or going through the motions like an old man trying to chase a former glory; he is thriving and has so much more to offer. His dreams of representing Spain are far from dead; he made a comeback in 2019 and was playing his way into contention for Euro 2020, as one of the last bastions of the era which yielded the historic treble of two European Championships and a World

Cup between 2008 and 2012.

2. Cesar Azpilicueta(31, Chelsea):

Cesar Azpilicueta has been under the radar ever since he joined the blues back in 2012, and it’s safe to say that he has been one of the most consistent players in his position(RB) in arguably the most competitive league in the world. Over the years he has improved massively and now wears the captain’s armband. A captain who can adapt to any defensive position, be it a full back, a wing-back or even a centre back, depending on where his team wants him to play. The right-back has played just 25 times for Spain over the years, which feels like a little considering his years of prominence. He not only teaches the young players off the field but also encourages them by helping them gain confidence on the field. Chelsea prospect- Reece James has said that their game is mostly influenced by Azpilicueta’s style of play.

1. Keylor Navas(33, Paris Saint Germain):

There are some goalkeepers who are going to be remembered
throughout history, like Buffon: the world cup winner; Neuer: the
two-time treble winner; and Lev Yashin: the only goalkeeper to
win a ballon d’Or. Yet there are some like Keylor Navas who
name isn’t seen anywhere near the greatest goalkeepers of this
generation. The Costa Rican is an amulet. A man who with a low
profile managed to place himself among the best goalkeepers in
history, who brought out his character and mentality in the most
difficult moments of his clubs, he did not even need words to
motivate his teammates, his colleagues understood him well. What
I’m trying to say, is that a popular player had 1 good year and was
nominated for THE BEST, while Navas took 3 years of
exceptional performances to be recognized (still with a hint of
doubt) as the Real Madrid goalkeeper, not the best in La Liga, not
the best in Europe, not the Best in the world, just the main one in
his team. If that is not “underrated”, I don’t know what is.