Top 10 Unsung Heroes

Unsung Heroes are the players who always put in a good shift and play an important role for their team but don't always get the credit they deserved.

The game of football has seen many of them over the years and especially during the modern era.

Every successful team of course has the superstars who carry the team and get all the plaudits, but they also have the players who go under the radar and quietly go about their business.

It's because they quietly go about their business that they're not talked about very much and it's about time we give them the credit they deserve.

All the players in the list were viewed as underrated by both the media and supporters and here is it:

James Milner

Olivier Giroud

Michael Carrick

Sergio Busquets

Gareth Barry

Victor Valdes

Javi Martinez

Dani Carvajal

Sami Khedira

Dirk Kuyt

10. Sergio Busquets

Busquets had to be at no.10 because he wasn't as unsung as the other players on the list as he still got a fair bit of praise during his career.

He's arguably the greatest holding midfielder of the modern era because of the way he could dictate play in midfield and sniff out danger and him doing that role allowed the likes of Xavi and Iniesta to do what they did for both Barcelona and Spain.

But he was still underrated in that he didn't get as many plaudits as his teammates at both Barca and Spain got.

He was the player in both teams who quietly went about his business in protecting the defence whilst the attacking players were getting all the praise.

He won everything on offer in the game including 9 La Liga titles and 3 Champions League's with Barcelona and both the Euros and World Cup with Spain in 2012 and 2010 respectively.

9. Victor Valdes

Valdes is one of if not the most underrated keeper of all time because he was never considered in the same conversation as the likes of Buffon, Casillas and Neuer despite being one of the best keepers in Europe for a number of years.

He was a keeper who was both good with his feet and his hands as he was comfortable with the ball at his feet and would make many big and top class saves to keep his team in games.

He won everything on offer at Barca including 6 La Liga titles and 3 Champions League's and his solid performances between the sticks played a key role in every success he achieved.

8. Dani Carvajal

Carvajal has played a key role in every success he's achieved at Real Madrid but hasn't always got the credit he's deserved.

He was an integral part of the Real side that won those three Champions League's in a row under Zinedine Zidane, but he didn't get as much credit as the likes of Ronaldo, Benzema, Modric and Kroos.

He's won 6 Champions League's at Real Madrid alongside 4 La Liga titles and his contributions at both ends have played a key role in every success he's achieved.

He's been a reliable defender throughout his time at Real both defensively and offensively and he's been one of the best full backs in Europe over the last few years because of this.

But he hasn't always been given the credit he's deserved because of his fellow teammates getting the majority of the plaudits and especially at Real Madrid.

7. Javi Martinez

Martinez won everything on offer during his nine seasons at Bayern Munich including a Bundesliga title every season he was there and the Champions League twice in 2013 and 2020 respectively.

He played a key role in every success he achieved at Bayern but he didn't always get the praise he deserved because he quietly went about his business whilst the likes of Lewandowski, Muller, Robben and Ribery were getting all the plaudits.

He was a versatile player at Bayern as he was used both in central defence and as a holding midfielder with the latter being his preferred position.

But wherever he asked to play, he always put in a good shift for his team because he was very good on the ball, a brilliant reader of the game, always timed his tackles well and had the vision to pick out passes from anywhere on the pitch.

6. Dirk Kuyt

Kuyt was almost certainly underrated and especially when he was at Liverpool because he scored a lot of important goals during his time there but didn't always get the credit he deserved.

He was a good all-round and versatile attacker on his day as he could play anywhere across the frontline including as a no.9, no.10 and both wide positions, and would both create and score goals.

He scored goals wherever he went including both spells at Feyenoord with his first one being the more prolific as he netted 20+ Eredivisie goals in each of his three seasons during that first spell.

He was also a player who worked hard without the ball and especially when he was at Liverpool as he became known for his work rate without the ball as well as his ability to both create and score goals.

Gerrard and Torres got the majority of the praise during his time at Liverpool, but he still played an important role there by popping up with big and crucial goals every season.

5. Gareth Barry

Barry currently holds the record for most appearances in the Premier League with a staggering 653 but he didn't aways get the credit he deserved.

He might not have been the most technically gifted player, but he still put in a good shift for his team by being a good reader of the game and making crucial interventions whenever his team needed him to.

He helped Aston Villa become a side that would consistently push for Europe season after season and was an important part of Man City's early success under their Abu Dhabi ownership by being part of the sides that won the FA Cup in 2011 and Premier League in 2012.

He was a valuable player at every club he played for and often went under the radar by quietly going about his business whilst his other teammates were getting all the plaudits.

4. Olivier Giroud

Giroud might not be the greatest striker in the world, but he was still an effective centre forward due to his aerial ability, link up play ability to hold the ball up, create space for players to run into and score important goals.

He's had an incredible career in the game as he's won some of the biggest trophies in the game including the 2018 World Cup with France, the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021, 4 FA Cup's with 3 of them coming at Arsenal and a Serie A title with AC Milan in 2022.

He's also France's record goal scorer with 57 goals and despite this and what he's won in the game, he hasn't been given the credit he's deserved.

He was an important part of France's World Cup winning side in 2018 by holding the ball up and allowing space for the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann to run into.

He might not have scored or had a shot on target at the tournament, but he still played a key role for his team which was key to France winning the World Cup that year.

He has scored goals wherever he's been throughout his career but somehow hasn't been given the respect he deserves.

3. Sami Khedira

Khedira has almost everything on offer in the game including league titles in Germany, Spain, and Italy, the Champions League and the World Cup.

As a player he was calm and composed on the ball, could sense danger and snuff it out, always looked to play the ball forward and was a brilliant carrier of the ball as well.

But he didn't always get the credit he deserved as he quietly went under the radar whilst the majority of his teammates got most of the praise.

He was used both as a holding midfielder and as a no.8 and could play both roles very well because of his energy, range of passing and work rate off the ball.

2. Michael Carrick

Carrick was one the finest passers of a ball on his day due to his incredible vision and ability to play any kind of pass from anywhere on the pitch.

But he didn't always get the credit he deserved which was quite surprising because he was an important player for Man United throughout his time there through his ability to dictate play in midfield.

He won everything on offer at United including 5 Premier League titles, 3 League Cup's, the FA Cup and the Champions League and he played vital role in every single success.

He should've had more England caps to his name because he could've given England something they were lacking in a proper defensive midfielder who can dictate play and having him there could've freed up Gerrard and Lampard.

1. James Milner

Milner had to be my no.1 because of his versatility and his longevity in the game which doesn't get enough credit.

He's played in a variety of position throughout his career including out wide, as a central midfielder, as a false 9 and even both full back positions and wherever he's asked to play, he always puts in a good shift for his team.

He was certainly a versatile player at Liverpool as he filled in a lot at full back and never let his team down whenever he played there because of his attitude and professionalism.

He's still playing at the age of 40 which shows that he's looked after himself very well and he only needs to play three more games in the Premier League to break Gareth Barry's appearance record.

MY TOP 10:

1. James Milner

2. Michael Carrick

3. Sami Khedira

4. Olivier Giroud

5. Gareth Barry

6. Dirk Kuyt

7. Javi Martinez

8. Dani Carvajal

9. Victor Valdes

10. Sergio Busquets