You need to understand underrated football players that you won’t know how valuable they are until you learn about them. This article is about the most underrated footballers of all time. These talented footballers had the misfortune of playing at the wrong time for the wrong team or were overshadowed by bigger names. This list of underrated football players primarily includes retired professionals from the modern era. There are not many current footballers included because they may still receive the recognition they deserve.
5. Hristo Stoichkov
Date of birth: February 8, 1966
Country: Bulgaria
Playing position: Forward
A prolific forward, he is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and is regarded as the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. He won the Ballon d’Or in 1994.
4. Michael Laudrup
Date of birth: June 15, 1964
Country: Denmark
Playing position: Attacking midfielder
He is a Danish professional football coach and former player. He is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. During his playing career, Laudrup won league titles with Ajax, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus, playing mainly as an attacking midfielder, although he was also capable of playing in other attacking positions. He was a member of Johan Cruyff’s “Dream Team” at Barcelona, where he won nine trophies, including four successive La Liga titles from 1991 to 1994 and the European Cup in 1992. Laudrup moved to arch-rivals Real Madrid in 1994, with whom he won his fifth La Liga title in a row.
3. Davor Šuker
Date of birth: January 1, 1968
Country: Croatia
Playing position: Striker
He is a Croatian former professional footballer and president of the Croatian Football Federation from 2012 to 2021. He is also on the FIFA 100 list of great footballers, as the only Croatian on such. Šuker is also Croatia’s all-time top scorer with 45 goals altogether. He is generally regarded as the greatest Croatian striker of all time. The crowning moment of Šuker’s career was the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, where he won the Golden Boot by scoring six goals in seven matches. He also won the Silver Ball as the second-best player of the tournament, behind Ronaldo.
2. Ronald Koeman
Date of birth: March 21, 1963
Country: Netherlands
Playing position: Defender
He is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. Koeman was capable of playing both as a defender and as a midfielder; he frequently played as a sweeper, although he was equally known for his goalscoring, long-range shooting, and accuracy from free kicks. In 1989, Koeman moved to Barcelona and became part of Johan Cruyff’s “Dream Team”, helping the club win La Liga four years in a row between 1991 and 1994, and the 1991–92 European Cup, where he scored the winning goal of the final against Sampdoria. At the international level, Koeman was one of the stars of the Netherlands national team, Koeman won UEFA Euro 1988.
1. Andrea Pirlo
Date of birth: May 19, 1979
Country: Italy
Playing position: Midfielder
He is an Italian professional football coach and former player considered one of the best playmakers ever, Pirlo was renowned for his vision, ball control, technique, creativity, passing, and free-kick ability. He won two Serie A titles, two UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, a FIFA Club World Cup, a Coppa Italia, and a Supercoppa Italiana. He departed for Juventus in 2011, where he won four consecutive Serie A titles, two Supercoppa Italiana titles, and another Coppa Italia.