Most under-rated XI of the decade
We live in the era of greats such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Sergio Ramos, and many more. All of these players have stolen the limelight in world football showcasing their talents and bagging important results time and again for their teams. They have been the flagbearers of the beautiful game across the globe in the past decade and they did it in sublime fashion.
But football hasn’t always been about these global superstars. Alongside them, there have been players, often playing in lesser leagues who have been brilliant for their teams over many seasons. In this article, we take a look at the underrated XI of the decade, the ones who did their job very well without getting much of the limelight and didn't recieve enough appreciation.
Goalkeeper: Rui Patricio
31-year-old Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio began his youth career in Leiria e Marrazes and played as a striker. He then was scouted by Sporting CP and they found him to be adept at goalkeeping after he joined the club in 2000. He made his debut in November 2006 as an 18-year-old. Since then, he went on to become the first choice keeper in Lisbon and went on to make 327 appearances for the capital club over 12 seasons.
He went through all the youth levels of the Portuguese national team and made his debut for the senior team in 2010 and has been the starter for them ever since. He won the Euro 2016 with Portugal and in summer 2018 he made a move to England signing for Wolverhampton Wanderers on a 4-year deal. He has been immense for Sporting Lisbon for over a decade and also featured in the UEFA European Championship Team of the tournament in 2016 and the UEFA Europa League squad of the season in 2017.
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