International
UK'S 100 Greatest Imports
IT'S THE bane of Michel Platini's life, but the English Premier League has long been the home of heroes for overseas stars. But who are the top 100 imports to UK football? We produced our list...
100 Kasey KellerNationality American
Clubs Millwall, Leicester, Spurs, Southampton, Fulham
The first of a wave of American keepers has been a model of consistency and won a League Cup with Leicester.
99 John Harkes
Nationality American
Clubs Sheffield Wednesday, Derby, West Ham, Forest
The first Yank to play in the Premiership won a League Cup, a Goal of the Season award and played in the FA Cup final.
98 Phillipe Albert
Nationality Belgian
Clubs Newcastle, Fulham
The moustachioed central defender will forever be remembered for “that chip” against Manchester United.
97 Jan Age Fjortoft
Nationality Norwegian
Clubs Swindon, ‘Boro, Sheffield United, Barnsley
An excellent target man who always chipped in with his share of goals.
96 Aiyegbeni Yakubu
Nationality Nigerian
Clubs Portsmouth, Middlesbrough, Everton
Seen as something of a mercenary but the striker has offered pace, power and goals wherever he has played.
95 Paulo Wanchope
Nationality Costa Rican
Clubs Derby County,
West Ham, Manchester City
The rubber-legged striker lurched from the sublime to the ridiculous.
94 Nolberto Solano
Nationality Peruvian
Clubs Newcastle, Aston Villa, West Ham
A dead-ball and crossing specialist, “Nobby” has made over 340 appearances for English clubs.
93 Shunsuke Nakamura
Nationality Japanese
Clubs Celtic
The left-footed playmaker became a double Player of the Year winner in Scotland last season.
92 Tim Cahill
Nationality Australian
Clubs Millwall, Everton
An outstanding goalscorer from midfield.
91 Nwankwo Kanu
Nationality Nigerian
Clubs Arsenal, West Brom, Portsmouth
Sublimely talented and infuriatingly inconsistent. When he’s good, he’s very, very good.
90 Tony Yeboah
Nationality Ghanaian
Clubs Leeds United
In two seasons the powerhouse striker scored 33 goals – several unforgettable screamers – in just 62 games.
89 Antti Niemi
Nationality Finnish
Clubs Rangers, Hearts, Southampton, Fulham
Still one of the best shot-stoppers.
88 Jesper Olsen
Nationality Danish
Clubs Manchester United
The stylish left-winger starred for Denmark and United in the mid-’80s.
87 Dan Petrescu
Nationality Romania
Clubs Sheffield Wednesday, Chelsea, Bradford, Southampton
World-class attacking right-back who arrived after starring at USA 94.
86 Attilio Lombardo
Nationality Italian
Clubs Crystal Palace
The bald winger was voted Palace’s best ever player by fans, despite making just 49 appearances for the Eagles.
85 Pierre van Hooijdonk
Nationality Dutch
Clubs Celtic, Nott’m Forest
The giant striker guaranteed plenty of goals and aggravation.
84 Tore Andre Flo
Nationality Norwegian
Clubs Chelsea, Rangers, Sunderland, Leeds
Succeeded largely as a supersub at Stamford Bridge before proving he could do it from the start with Rangers.
83 Aljosa Asanovic
Nationality Croatia
Clubs Derby County
After starring at Euro 96, the left-footed playmaker was a key signing at Derby.
82 Lucas Radebe
Nationality South African
Clubs Leeds United
Leeds’ captain and defensive lynchpin.
81 Mark Bosnich
Nationality Australian
Clubs Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea
One of the finest keepers in the country before off-field problems scuppered him.
80 Uwe Rosler
Nationality German
Clubs Manchester City, Southampton, West Brom
Great work-rate, fine link-up play and a goal roughly every three games made the German striker a cult hero.
79 Claudio Caniggia
Nationality Argentinian
Clubs Dundee, Rangers
Lightning-fast striker soon silenced the cynics with his work-rate.
78 Benito Carbone
Nationality Italian
Clubs Sheffield Wednesday, Aston Villa, Bradford, Derby, ‘Boro
High–maintenance – and highly paid – but a brilliant playmaker on his day.
77 Frank Leboeuf
Nationality French
Clubs Chelsea
Much maligned but a cultured centre-back who did win “zee World Cup”.
76 Harry Kewell
Nationality Australian
Clubs Leeds, Liverpool
Was PFA Young Player of the Year but suffered injury curse at Liverpool.
75 Gustavo Poyet
Nationality Uruguayan
Clubs Chelsea, Spurs
Poyet’s goalscoring ability from midfield, particularly headers, made the midfielder a crowd favourite.
74 Shaun Goater
Nationality Bermudan
Clubs Rotherham, Notts County, Bristol City, Man City, Reading, Coventry, Southend
The Goat was fed at several clubs and score the Bermudan striker did, usually with an enormous smile on his face.
73 Albert Johanneson
Nationality South African
Clubs Leeds, York City
The first black player to appear in an FA Cup final (in 1965).
72 Slaven Bilic
Nationality Croatian
Clubs Everton, West Ham
England’s tormentor brought a touch of class to English defences.
71 Jussi Jaaskelainen
Nationality Finnish
Clubs Bolton
A bargain at £100,000 in 1997, nearly 400 games later he’s still a model of consistency.
70 Henning Berg
Nationality Norwegian
Clubs Blackburn Rovers, Man United, Rangers
Won the title and League Cup with Blackburn with Man United’s treble tucked in between.
FourFourTwo 2010
Have YOUR say - What do you think about "UK'S 100 Greatest Imports"? Tell us NOW in the comment section below.
This article appeared in the November, 2008 issue of FourFourTwo magazine. To buy back copies of this issue call 03-8317-8121 with a credit card to hand.
Have you got a scoop? Tell us about it and you could be the first to break the news on FourFourTwo.
