5 great footballers who have never featured in the Euros
There are footballers like Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who have had tremendous success at club level but have experienced underwhelming international careers. There are also players like Joan Capdevilla and Pepe Reina, who have experienced better international careers compared to their club careers.
Whilst there are also players like Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm, who have won it all. But, there are some great footballers who did not get an opportunity to play in a major European tournament, let alone win it. We take a look at five such legendary players who have had contrasting club and international careers:
#1 Ryan Giggs (Wales)
Ryan Giggs for football is equivalent to the ‘Friends’ series for television; lasting and legendary. The 41-year-old Welshman kept on going as if age did not matter. The all-time appearance record holder for the English Premier League and a member of the 100 plus goals club, Giggs has played in a total of more than 670 matches throughout his career for Premier League giants Manchester United.
Giggs played for the Welsh national side from 1991 until 2007 when he retired from international football to continue focusing on his club career with Manchester United. In total he was capped 64 times, scoring 12 goals. Unfortunately for Giggs, he did not get to play in the World Cup. As for the Euros, he played the qualifying games for Wales since 1991, but has never seen his country go past that stage.