Top 10 wasted football talents

Superstars such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have displayed great consistency throughout their incredible careers, but how many stars have failed to live up to their potential?

PrimeNewsGhana looks at the top 10 biggest waste of talent in the football. 

Mario Balotelli

An Italian journalist once described Mario Balotelli’s career, saying “The strange thing about Balotelli is that champagne corks are popped when he arrives but also when he leaves.” The Italian’s talent is without question, as managers of the calibre of Jose Mourinho, Roberto Mancini and Cesare Prandelli have tried but failed to harness Balotelli’s skills. Steven Gerrard even went so far as to say that Balotelli was a ‘spectacular waste of talent’, highlighting how Balotelli plays for the Italian shirt with pride and endeavour while barely strutting about in the Liverpool jersey.

Balotelli’s off-field antics are well known, although clubs have recently begun inserting ‘good behaviour’ contracts in his clauses. However, Balotelli still seeks the limelight with his social media posts, often stirring up a hornet’s nest with his comments. The Italian was described as ‘unmanageable’ by Jose Mourinho while Jurgen Klopp also allowed him to leave Liverpool. A rather tragic state for a player once considered the best talent in football after Messi and Ronaldo.

Ricardo Quaresma

While a youthful Cristiano Ronaldo was making a name for himself at Manchester United, there was another incredibly talented Portuguese youngster who had made the jump from Sporting Lisbon to Barcelona. Complete with an array of dazzling skills, including the rabona and a trademark trivela in his repertoire, an 18-yr-old Quaresma had the world at his feet.

However, lackluster performances coupled with a spat with manager Frank Rijkaard meant that Quaresma handed in a transfer request and returned to Portugal, this time with FC Porto. Despite some sterling performances, the streak of selfishness in Quaresma’s play hindered his career, with teammates often being critical on the pitch.

The streak continued when he signed for Jose Mourinho-led Inter Milan, displeasing the former Chelsea boss, who said “He is a great talent, but the joy I have at seeing the way Ibrahimovic works for and with the team, I do not yet have with Quaresma. He will have to learn, otherwise he won’t play.” He was voted the worst player in Serie A in 2008, also known as the Bidone d'Oro award.

 Adel Taarabt

Harry Redknapp managed the Morrocan for 6 out of his 10 years in football. The Englishman first managed Taarabt in Tottenham Hotspur and later brought the Morrocan to Queens Park Rangers when the Englishman became the London side’s manager.

“He’s got the ability of a Di Canio or someone. When he came here they called him the next Zidane.”

However, Redknapp’s opinion had changed considerably by then, saying “He’s not injured. He’s not fit. He’s not fit to play football unfortunately. I can’t protect people who don’t want to run and train, and are about three stone overweight.”

Taarabt’s ability has never been in question, blessed with silky dribbling skills married to a wand of a left foot that became famous in the Premier League and Championship for some stunning goals.

However, the fact that QPR were happy to let the Morrocan move to Benfica by releasing him of his contract, followed by Taarabt’s inability to break into the first team, now playing for the reserves, shows just how much he has wasted his undoubted ability. 

 Adriano

Christened L’Imperatore (The Emperor) by Inter Milan fans, little did the world of football know the staggering collapse that would befall Adriano’s career. The tall, powerful striker was blessed with incredible control and dribbling skills, which when added to his powerful left foot, often left opposition defences and goalkeepers bamboozled.

His scintillating form made him the toast of Italian football in the 2004/05 season, a far cry from the poverty of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro that he grew up in.

However, the death of his inspirational father, Almir, in late 2004 started a tragic downward spiral, with Adriano admitting as much, saying “My dad always supported me, he liked to watch me play.”

“Without him I started to drown all my problems in alcohol. I was drinking heavily and couldn’t go out.”

Inter persisted with the Brazilian, but after a couple of loan spells, with weight and discipline issues popping up with regularity, Adriano tore up his contract in 2009, ‘quitting football’. However, he signed with childhood club Flamengo, and later with Roma, Corinthians and Miami United, all clubs that have struggled to keep the striker’s problems at bay. The Emperor has fallen. 

 Antonio Cassano

If there ever were a prototypical Italian footballer, that man would be Antonio Cassano. Cassano’s breathtaking style of play is La dolce vita expressed on the football pitch, but his famous Italian temper also prevents him from ever reaching the heights of world football. His exploits as a youngster for Bari earned him the moniker Il Gioiello di Bari Vecchia (The jewel of Old Bari), and Roma paid a handsome €30 million for his sterling services.

However, a series of clashes with club legend Francesco Totti and Roma manager Fabio Capello, led to the Italian taskmaster coining the term ‘Cassanata‘ to describe his temper – which has since become popular with journalists when describing actions against team spirit. 

Cassano left for Real Madrid, where it became quite obvious that he was more interested in things other than football. Here’s an excerpt from his autobiography :

In Madrid, I had a friend who was a hotel waiter. His job was to bring me three or four pastries after I had sex. He would bring the pastries up the stairs, I would escort the woman to him and we would make an exchange: he would take the girl and I would take the pastries. Sex and then food, a perfect night. It’s no surprise that the Trequartista went down a level, moving to Sampdoria, AC Milan and then back to Sampdoria. A poor return for one of Italy’s most gifted footballers of their Golden generation.

Royston Drenthe

Once considered one of the hottest young prospects at Feyenoord, the Dutchman has gone from Real Madrid and Everton to now turning out for Abu Dhabi side Baniyas, a veritable footballing wilderness.

The left-back was presented to the Real Madrid faithful alongside Wesley Sneijder, and was considered the long-term replacement for Roberto Carlos, sharing similar qualities of pace, and a rocket of a left foot. However, he was shipped off on loan to Hercules and Everton after Marcelo’s rise, not helped by his abrasive attitude.

Reflecting on his Premier League spell, Drenthe was honest about his failure, saying “I used to confront David Moyes, thinking I had the right to talk to him like that. But in hindsight, he was so right about me most times. Now I can’t believe I blew it at ­Everton. My ­attitude and poor mentality are the reasons I ruined my career there.”

Drenthe was released by Madrid, to be signed by Russian outfit Alania Vladikavkaz who also allowed him to move on a free transfer to Reading. The English side could not tolerate the Dutchman either, sending him on loan to Sheffield Wednesday before releasing him. Drenthe’s career took a nosedive, signing for Turkish side Kayseri Erciyesspor and is now turning Sparta Rotterdam.

Adrian Mutu

When Chelsea paid €22.5 million for a 24-year-old Adrian Mutu, a few eyebrows were raised at that figure, but followers of Italian football were not surprised, having witnessed his deadly prowess in front of goal for Parma. Blessed with excellent dribbling skills, Mutu had an eye for a pass while being prolific, earning him comparisons with the legendary Gheorghe Hagi.

However, a promising start to his Chelsea career was blown to smithereens when Mutu was suspended by Chelsea for cocaine use. A lengthy court battle followed, ending with the Romanian being asked to pay a £14 million fee in damages. Mutu briefly reignited his career at Juventus and Fiorentina, but La Viola suffered from Mutu’s indiscretions yet again, with the Romanian serving a one year ban for failing a doping test.

Mutu’s career took a nosedive following his release from Fiorentina, with Cesena and Ajaccio growing frustrated with the Romanian’s temperamental nature. Following a return home to Romanian club Petrolul Ploieti, Mutu announced his retirement after 8 months. 

Adam Johnson

Adam Johnson was the talk of the town when he left Middlesborough for Manchester City in 2010, with several English clubs interested. Considered the brightest young thing in English football, the winger with a wand of a left foot soon put on the English shirt, appearing 12 times for the Three Lions.

Rumours of a party lifestyle abounded as the Englishman’s form began to dip, leading to a fallout with then Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini. Johnson decided to up sticks and move to hometown club Sunderland in a bid to reignite his career, but little did he know that it would prove to be the downfall of his career, and probably his life.

The winger did not set alight the pitch at the Stadium of Light with any regularity, but it was off-field activities that proved his undoing. Convicted of grooming an underage fan, thus surely ending his professional career as a footballer. He was released in March 2019 after serving half his sentence.

While speaking at his trial, Johnson blamed his own ‘stupidity and arrogance’, saying “You get put on a pedestal. People scream your name. It’s the best thing in the world. You everything done for you and get a lot of things easy.”

Anderson

“If I want to I can be a great player.” When Anderson uttered these words in 2011, there was still hope for his floundering career in Manchester United. The Brazilian came to Manchester United with huge promise, winner of the Golden Ball in the FIFA U-17 World Cups, and then winner of the Golden Boy award for the most promising youngster in 2008.

“He was clearly the best player, but there were times when he just stood around.” – This description of Anderson’s performances in the U-17 World Cup ought to have been fair warning to the Manchester United faithful, but they didn’t care, christening the heir apparent to Paul Scholes with a chant that considered him better than Cesc Fabregas.

That everyone, even Sir Alex Ferguson had been hoodwinked by the Brazilian’s talent soon became apparent. Rumours of his large appetite and unintelligence leaked from former United stars such as Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown as they left the dressing room.

Ultimately, after 8 seasons and 181 games, Anderson left the Red Devils, scoring a paltry 9 goals. A player who once had the world at his feet plies his trade for Adana Demirspor in the Turkish First Division.

Giovani dos Santos

Giovani dos Santos left his native Mexico for Barcelona’s La Masia academy at the age of 11. Coming through the ranks alongside Lionel Messi, the Mexican’s style of play resembled Ronaldinho more than the Argentine, thus leading many to consider him a talent who would shape the world of football to come.

As things turned out, Dos Santos left Barcelona on a high, scoring a hat-trick in his last La Liga game, but was tempted by the regularity of first-team football being offered at Tottenham Hotspur. However, a predilection for the party lifestyle upended his Lilywhite career, with Harry Redknapp saying “If he could pass a nightclub as well as he could pass a ball, he would be alright.”

“He’s got bags of ability and fantastic skill. Suddenly he was late on Monday morning – upset stomach. He’d probably been in Barcelona, partying somewhere.”

A series of loan spells at Ipswich Town, Galatasaray and Racing Santander ended with a permanent transfer from Spurs to RCD Mallorca in 2012. There were brief glimpses of a resurrection in La Liga with Mallorca and Villarreal, but the Mexican opted for a move closer to his homeland, signing for MLS side LA Galaxy. A rather large fall from grace for someone once considered the peer of Messi and Ronaldinho.

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