Osvaldo ardiles biography books

From Pelé and Diego Maradona in the last century, to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in this one – each generation produces a handful of players that are truly elite. These are the superstars of the sport whose on-the-field displays can confound even the sharpest analytical minds.

Even though these are the players that frequently dominate the headlines, there is another just as well-loved category of footballer and that is the “cult hero.”

 

Be it Juninho Paulista at Middlesbrough, or Jay-Jay Okocha at Bolton Wanderers, these players define eras rather than generations unlike the aforementioned megastars, but their impact still cannot be understated.

 

There’s something about a talented player joining a traditionally unfashionable club that instantly ingratiates them to the fans and, if they are seen to embrace the culture of the club, they can be immortalised in club legend.

One such figure in English football during the 1980s was the Tottenham legend Osvald