Post by Victoria BarrettOkay today we had a few Zidane-ophiles come out of the woodwork and
say that he's their favourite player, and Loul in the Best Ligue 1 XI
thread has been outted as worshipping on the altar of Pauleta. :)
So, who is your CURRENT favourite player?
I'd say Juninho Pernambucano. It's a mistery to me why he isn't a guaranteed
starter for Brasil. I feel he could play for just anybody.
He was Vasco's key player in its recent golden period, although always
shadowed by Romario and Edmundo. It ashames me immensely to see how Vasco
treated him, he was practically ran out of the club because the gangsters in
charge of the club could no longer afford his wages. Even then, he still
refers to the club as the one he's most identified with, that his problems
were with the board, not the club or the fans.
I have a lot of fond memories of him playing for Vasco, but two of them are
stuck to my mind. The first was the Libertadores'98 semifinal, second leg,
away to River Plate at a crowded Monumental. We were 0-1 down and under
immense pressure, holding our own to try to get to the penalties (agg was
1-1). I will never forget the long distance free-kick that set our way to
the final. Granted, the keeper was Burgos, but it was still a marvellous
shot, in the angle. Zico would've been proud.
The second, the Merco$ul 2000 final. 0-3 down away to Palmeiras at halftime,
we manage to pull score level with 5 minutes to go. Juninho rushes to the
small section reserved for Vasco fans and fires them up, waves his arms
around, as if saying "c'mon, it's not lost yet!", showing the club crest.
Three minutes later, it's 4-3 to us...
French fans will have a more balanced opinion of him, as they get to see him
play every week for Lyon, while I have only a biased set of memories to work
with. Still, one can say that he's one hell of a player, that more often
than not rises to the occasion, which would be very useful to most teams in
the world.
Post by Victoria BarrettAnd, who was your childhood favourite player? Or did you never have
only one player who was your idol (then and now)?
Roberto Dinamite, mostly... Romario too, 'till 'WC'94.
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Lléo