5 players whose careers were ruined due to a single game
Football is the most popular sport in the world and enjoys a massive global following. With so many eyes on you, every move a footballer makes is scrutinized.
Many players have come and gone in the long history of football, with some earning a reputation as one of the gems of the game. Meanwhile, some have been embroiled in controversies that have harmed their football careers.
We all have football heroes, whether from our favorite local teams or from World Cup winning giants. We admire them, and children learn from them. We might even want to know everything there is to know about our favorite football players, from their humble origins to their training methods, or even their favorite cereal.
Footballers, like the rest of us, are only human and can make terrible mistakes. Over the years, a number of footballers have had their careers ruined by dreadful errors. Here are five examples of fallen idols.
#5 David Luiz
Prior to the 2014 World Cup, David Luiz was frequently ranked as one of the best defenders in the world.
After a string of outstanding performances for Benfica, he joined Chelsea in 2011 and played an important role in the club's FA Cup and UEFA Champions League triumphs that season.
Then came the 2014 World Cup semifinal between Brazil and Germany. Luiz was chosen to captain the team in Thiago Silva's absence due to suspension, and he presided over the worst 90 minutes in Selecao history.
After being humiliated 7-1 on home soil by Germany at Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte, Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari described the experience as "the worst day of my life." Luiz should have felt the same way.
ON THIS DAY: in 2014, Mesut Özil helped Germany humiliate Brazil 7-1 in the semi finals of the World Cup.
“I went to David Luiz and said 'I really apologise, you have a nice country and nice people. We learned there and had a really good time." https://t.co/WjOI5WU0zK
This harmed David Luiz's reputation considerably. Everyone turned to PSG, who had signed him two months earlier for £50 million from Chelsea. During his two seasons in French football, he did, however, win all four domestic competitions.
Luiz returned to Chelsea in August 2016 and ended up winning the Premier League and finishing runner-up in the FA Cup that season.
He was transferred to local rivals Arsenal in 2019, where he won the FA Cup and FA Community Shield, but his inconsistent performances indicated that he was nearing the end of his career.
People's perceptions of David Luiz changed after the 7-1 defeat at the World Cup and despite club success later on, his career and reputation took a hit.
#4 Asamoah Gyan
It is difficult to decide how Ghana should be remembered for their performance in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, especially for Ghanaians.
Every African football fan is familiar with Ghana's journey in 2010. The Black Stars were one penalty kick away from becoming the first African country to reach the tournament's semifinals after Cameroon (1990) and Senegal (2002) failed to break the quarterfinals ceiling.
A Ghana free kick caused havoc in the Uruguay box, with Dominic Adiyiah heading what appeared to be a goal-bound effort, but Luis Suarez was on the line and stopped the ball with his hand.
On this day exactly, 10 years ago, Gyan Asamoah missed a penalty which would have sent Ghana to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Semi-finals after Luis Suárez handball.
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Suarez was sent off and Ghana received a penalty. The audience was ecstatic. Asamoah Gyan stepped up. He had already scored penalties against Serbia and Australia in the group stage to advance Ghana to the knockouts.
He couldn't possibly miss it, could he? He did, striking the ball against the crossbar to force a penalty shootout, which Ghana lost.
One could argue that the Quarter Final match between the Black Stars and La Celeste was the World Cup 2010's "sliding doors" moment. It had the same effect on Asamoah's career, who was playing for Rennes in France at the time.
Scoring a last-minute goal in the extra period of a World Cup quarter-final would have given him a lot of attention. Perhaps he would have ended up playing for clubs other than Sunderland, Al Ain, Shanghai SIP, Shabab, Kayserispor and Northeast United.