Who were your heros?

Everytime i have seen Gazza play...Even now when i watch clips of him...He brings an instant smile to my face...He was masterful and cheeky...and the cheekiness made him what he is...Another player who i liked to watch even though i hate the team he played for...Dennis Bergkamp...He is the perfect footballer...And i loved his style and passion for the beautiful game!

Yes Gazza was all those things you say... Spot on RTC, but more as well! For me i thought Rooney was going to be like him in terms of Footballing ability, but the reality is he isn't a patch on Gazza!

Whereas Gazza had a smile on his face... A cheeky chappy, he was nicknamed the clown prince after all, Rooney is the complete opposite growling and snarling around the pitch like a caged lion! Yes to sum it up Gascoigne was a one off, and in many ways similar to the late Great George Best in that he could have been so much more... Yet was still that good!

By English standards he is certainly the best, i have seen this country produce?

Ladies & gentlemen keep them coming... If you follow English Football and follow teams other than Tottenham... Were your hero's players like Kevin Keegan or Bryan Robson... The list is endless? It's up to you?

Mr. Longlivetheking26, you did not mention English Football in your original opening, so I'll take advatage of that to say that the best ever, unsurpassed, without a shadow a doubt, no other footballer has ever captivated our hearts and minds by his shear brilliance or utter petulance, love him or loathe him, than the king of allllllllll kings, DIEGO ARMANDO MARADONA, 1986. Not the coked up fatty of 1994, but the master wizard of 1986. Never ever has anyone come remotely close to being worthy enough to be seen in the same light as Maradona '86. There should be a rule outlawing the words "Maradona" and "Gazza" uttered in the same sentence. Simple question, Maradona '86 or Gazza in your team? Who would you chose over Maradona '86 in your wet dream team? no one. Absolutely no one.

ChimpanZee Maradona was arguably the Greatest Footballer ever to have lived... No doubts there, and i was fortunate enough to have watched him in Mexico 86 in his pomp. (His prime)

But this post isn't about who is the greatest player of all time, it is about who is your sporting hero... from when you a were a kid? Mine just happened to be Gazza, who was brilliant as i said before in his own right.

Please note i said other English teams earlier, but also if you support Real Mardid for example that is cool too... Any Footballing hero counts from any continent ;-)

I've seen some colourful and skillful characters grace the hallowed turf of WHL, some more from column A than B and visa versa. I submit for your discussion, Eric Cantona. How's that? I dare anyone to beat that. I could go on about the tenacity of the man, on the field and in the stands (vs. Crsytal Palace). Being a die hard Tottenham fan, I've been privilaged to have seen witnessed some of the most talented craftsmen/artists to grace the hallowed turf of WHL; Archibald, Crooks, Ozzie, Villa, Waddle, Hoddle, Allen, Walsh (I liked him), Linekar, Gazza, Ginola, Teddy (?, no? was that a stretch?) and most recently Berba. Considering I am a Spurs supporter, it goes against my belief to admit that ooo-aaa-Cantona, I said ooo-aaa-Cantona is all of them rolled into moment of bright light and brilliance called Eric Cantona. He was sooooooooo good.

Thanks ChimpanZee Cantona was one of the greatest foreign -

(Check my other post of the PL Greatest imports ;-)

- players to grace the English game, personally though... Call me biased but i prefered Glenn Hoddle, who was every inch as good if not better imo than King Eric. Football is all about opinions and it is healthy on occasion to disagree, it makes things that bit more interesting!

Luiz Ronaldo!!!!

Tell me more Alleagues! I take it by Luiz Ronaldo you mean the original Ronaldo (Brazilian) who set the Nou Camp & world alight when he joined?

Yeh i still like Ronaldo!!...I think he should go to Hull or someone and he's not under contract lol

What a player he was when Bobby Robson took him to PSV he had the world at his feet, and was described as the new Pele... No mean feet, i just wished he never had so many injury problems (For Footballs sake) which stopped him being remembered for all the right reasons... As a truly brilliant Footballer, who had everything a striker could want... speed, power, agility, dribbling/skills, shooting, heading, absolutely everything!

Yeah...I think he wil be very remembered in my opinion...One of my faourite goals of his is when he played for Barca...When he muscled through those 2 defenders and then another one and easily slotted it in!...Pur Genius...

He is probably the most complete striker i have seen play the game, but like i said b4 injuries have been to common for him... to fulfill his true potential? Lets just hope we his like again...

first it was jürgen klinsmann. i was five or six and everyone was talking about him haha

then some time later it was the young michael owen. i wish he'd never left the reds and had not these injuries

yip the original Ronaldo

Yes Klinsmann was nothing short of a revelation when he first joined Tottenham in 1994 and won the Writers Player Of The Year to prove it, along with a hat full of goals to boot! Then 4 years later he returned... to save Spurs from humiliation and relegation, famously scoring 4 goals against the Crazy Gang.

Owen too was a great little player when he burst on the scene some ten years ago, and i agree Helter Skelter he would have been better off staying at Liverpool, as he seems to have gone backwards in recent years... and is not the player he once was.

My sporting hero would have to be Pat Jennings, cool and composed and very hard to beat. Though my game later developed similar to Jens Lehmann's... life is full with ironies...

Yes Jennings was meant to be one of the all time greats, ((Keeper wise) but i don't know about Lehmann lol.

I love a lot of footballers but my favorite are Eric Cantona and Andrea Pirlo. They are midfield masters

Cheers syc1990 Cantona has already had a mention, but your the first to mention Pirlo - Who is great little player, who is underrated imo.

He's a modern day playa but Ronaldinho forget the booze rumours and da late night partyin and shit!!! But every1 was amazed by his breathtaking skill, magnificent runs and amazing goals!!!! What an a amazing playa!!!

No doubt about it... Any player who wins the World Footballer of the year award, has got to be a bit tasty... Ronaldihno at his best, is still arguably the best player out there.

yeh he probably is!!!

It will be interesting to see how he does at Milan, with his fellow Brazilan team mates... Kaka & Pato. They will be a force next season, i would put my money on it!

Yeh what a great attack!!!

It's just a shame they won't be playing, Champions League Football next season!

Yeh it's da Uefa cup 4 them!!!

They will soon be back at the top, with top quality players like that....

Yeh, Ronnie'll be back to haunt Barca!!!

Thanks B4L

Anymore suggestions as to who were your Heros, when you were growing up ladies & gents?

Juan Roman Riquelme

Riqueleme10 i would have never guessed from your name lol, no it's gotta be said Riquelme is a quality midfield play maker up there with the best.

Yeh he's a great playa, shame Barca let him go!!!

Riquelme also is a free-kick master!!!

He certainly was and it is just a shame we never, had the chance to see his talents here in England.

He's been linked wiv Athletico Madrid 4 sometime now!!

Athletico Madrid? I didn't know that? It's a shame Tottenham don't go for him? As he could still do a job... What is he 29, 30? Still got plenty of gas in the tank for a Footballer.

Reply to Longlivetheking26:

Ladies & gentlemen keep them coming... If you follow English Football and follow teams other than Tottenham... Were your hero's players like Kevin Keegan or Bryan Robson... The list is endless? It's up to you?

my favourite player of all time is Tony Currie (all praise to his name)
I was born within 100 yards of Bramall Lane, almost 53 years ago ,where
i lived up until last year (i now live within 200 yards of the ground)
As a 9 year old i used to stand outside the shareholders entrance on
John st waiting for one of the shareholders to take me into the
ground, using his silver shareholders disc.Later on in my teen years i
watched the glory glory years as the blades won promotion to
the first division and went on a run of unbeaten games that took then
to the top of what would now be the premiership.(What price on that
happening now???).during that time i was dumped by my then girlfriend
when she found out that i had,nt actually been to see my sister in
hospital, but had been at the Lane,watching Tony Currie (all praise to
his name) scoring the goal against West Ham that Motty described as
"a quality goal from a quality player ".
I saw TC and Alan Birchenalls "kiss" that was immortalised in a
picture that went round the world.i saw him nutmeg Alan Ball in a game
against arsenal and then sit on the ball and wink at him.
Ball later returned the compliment!(both would probably be sent off now!!!)
when i pass the ground now i still see
TC from time to time,running the Football In The
Community programme, and even though he is getting on a
little and carrying to much weight,i cant help staring,
oh and for the younger members of the group, for Tony currie think Gazza
(all praise to his name) crossed with Glenn Hoddle.

jimbob55 Thank you for your fantastic comments, it's great to get your views... Especially as you are something of a veteran in terms of Football knowledge. Hopefully more people will give us stories like yours, that is what i want... To be taken down memory lane... To reminisce and to remember our hero's whoever they were.

Cantona - He had it all, his arrogance just completed the package. - LINK

Cheers ProdigalSon top man! Yes all 3 of the players you mentioned were brilliant, in there own right... That's for sure!

Thanks for the Links by the way.