Players who have been catalysts for your club

Fortitude

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.. or in general.

The Vidal hype train is chugging along as a fair old pace now, and outside of him being a fantastic player, the main reason why I'd want him at our club is because I believe he has the catalytic properties that our players and support alike will feed off of.

Which players have come through your club, or the game in general, who you would say have been massive catalysts for positive change and/or outlook for your/their club?

I think the biggest one of the last 5yrs has been Saurez. He changed the Scouse delusional rhetoric into something tangible, for once, and played the biggest hand in their whole team playing with belief and purpose. Without him, we'll get to see how much of their play has been down to Rodgers and the other players.
 
The obvious answer would be his royal majesty the king of kings Eric cantona. He lifted all around him to new heights, always made the supporters believe anything was possible and was the closest I've ever seen to the total embodiment of utd in one player.
He played for utd the way I always dreamed I could, with style skill flair passion aggression and arrogance. The first player I told my daughter about when she was old enough and the first I'll tell my grand kids about some day
 
Michael Carrick. There, I said it.

Joined us at a time when our midfield was lacking real quality and provided Scholes with the perfect partner. Someone who could match his passing ability and also cover for his lack of defensive nous. His passing game was the key to unlock Ronaldo and Rooney and gave us a foundation for counter attacking football.
 
Pexbo said:
Michael Carrick. There, I said it.

Joined us at a time when our midfield was lacking real quality and provided Scholes with the perfect partner. Someone who could match his passing ability and also cover for his lack of defensive nous. His passing game was the key to unlock Ronaldo and Rooney and gave us a foundation for counter attacking football.
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Been very underrated by some, myself included at times, but a good shout
 
Pexbo said:
Michael Carrick. There, I said it.

Joined us at a time when our midfield was lacking real quality and provided Scholes with the perfect partner. Someone who could match his passing ability and also cover for his lack of defensive nous. His passing game was the key to unlock Ronaldo and Rooney and gave us a foundation for counter attacking football.
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That's a really interesting one. For all the stick he gets, he really did enable us to play the kind of football we did and provide Scholes with the defensively capable passing foil to truly express himself.

Funny when thinking about such a thread that all that initially come to mind are the fire and brimstone players such as Keane, Cantona and the like when someone as understated and subtle as Carrick played a massive hand in our most successful period of football ever as a club.
 
Rooney and Cahill. I think these two defined the Moyes era at the club. Key players leaving for big fees and cheap buys ending up as bargains and they both happened in the same summer.

I was only 11/12 when he left us and Cahill joined but i'd imagine the team was determined to show that we would survive without Rooney and we could compete for continental qualification each season. The season after he was sold we finished 4th after all. Cahill, Jagielka, Baines, Howard etc - All will be remembered with fond memories by all Everton fans.
 
In my lifetime the ultimate is and probably always will be Eric.

Maybe Bergkamp for Arsenal? Seemed to signal the end of the old dour Arsenal.
 
Vialli and Zola were the big ones for us I reckon that really signaled the change in direction of the club. Then later JT and Lamps setting in place a new approach.
 
Helder, Kiwomya and Jimmy Carter.

Finally led the Arsenal board to go WTF! and get rid of George G. We haven't looked back since.
 
Modric. Buy for relatively cheap, sell on for a lot more and replace with a mediocre player who isn't even good enough to clean his boots. Then buy a load of turd in other positions.


See Chadli for Bale and Pavyluchenko for Berbatov.
 
Di Stefano. Emilio Butragueno in the 80s who was the most prominent player of the Vultures Cohort team. Also Raul in the late 90s but to a much lesser extent than Di Stefano. Although not a player, mourinho made madrid a force in Europe again after years of going out earlier than is expected. La decima would not have been won if it were not for his work along with the other trophies Madrid have won in recent years.
 
Sparky_Hughes said:
The obvious answer would be his royal majesty the king of kings Eric cantona. He lifted all around him to new heights, always made the supporters believe anything was possible and was the closest I've ever seen to the total embodiment of utd in one player.
He played for utd the way I always dreamed I could, with style skill flair passion aggression and arrogance. The first player I told my daughter about when she was old enough and the first I'll tell my grand kids about some day
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This is such a beautiful post, and I agree with every word.
The part I've bolded is probably the best in-a-nutshell description of King Eric I've ever read.
Now I will shut up before I come over all RAWK.
 
Carrick a catalyst? Scholes coming back from a serious eye injury and Ronaldo, Vidic and Evra stepping up were all far more influential events (and the shrewd signing of VdS the year before). Carrick was a good compliment but he wasn't a catalyst, a lot of pieces fell into place with that squad.
 
Deco.

We would be nowhere near the back-to-back EL/CL win without him, more so than without any other player. From then on, Porto's budget tripled, and the standards of what is seen as an acceptable European season have changed.
 
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Arruda said:
Deco.

We would be nowhere near the back-to-back EL/CL win without him, more so than without any other player. From then own, Porto's budget tripled, and the standards of what is seen as an acceptable European season have changed.
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As examples go, this one's pretty damn good.
 
Mats Hummels.

The prime example of a Klopp player and symbol of the rise from the ashes. Embodies everything the era Klopp stands for: bravery, honesty, loyalty and fighting and team spirit.

Was part of the youngest CB pair of the league at the age of 18. Undisputed starter since then. Head of the defense and member of the player council since 21, third captain and primary spokeperson of the team on and besides the pitch since 23. Could have earned way more money and several more titles by now, but decided to stick around because he believes in Klopp´s vision more than anyone else. With 25 already a club legend, two times German champion, German cup winner, CL finalist and now World Champion. Could become the greatest player in the clubs history if he decides to stay for the long run.
 
Ronaldinho for Barcelona is an obvious one
Perhaps rivaldo as well.
 
Beckham.

Great player, but his biggest contribution was raising the Manchester United brand to a whole new level to the point that we can get record sponsorships long after his departure. Beckham's popularity transcended football into mainstream media.
 
Waltraute said:
This is such a beautiful post, and I agree with every word.
The part I've bolded is probably the best in-a-nutshell description of King Eric I've ever read.
Now I will shut up before I come over all RAWK.
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Cheers :) I could talk about Eric all day, I'd write a book about him but it would just be 600 pages of me gushing about how awesome he was
 
Sphaero said:
Mats Hummels.

The prime example of a Klopp player and symbol of the rise from the ashes. Embodies everything the era Klopp stands for: bravery, honesty, loyalty and fighting and team spirit.

Was part of the youngest CB pair of the league at the age of 18. Undisputed starter since then. Head of the defense and member of the player council since 21, third captain and primary spokeperson of the team on and besides the pitch since 23. Could have earned way more money and several more titles by now, but decided to stick around because he believes in Klopp´s vision more than anyone else. With 25 already a club legend, two times German champion, German cup winner, CL finalist and now World Champion. Could become the greatest player in the clubs history if he decides to stay for the long run.
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Sammer?
 
Fortitude said:
Can you explain that one? What did he change at your club?
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His goals put us on the path to being a big English club with European success and set the stage for the likes of Bergkamp and Wenger to take us to the next level. Prior to that we won two league titles but began to slide with the rise of you lot. Without him we'd have probably won nothing in those 5 seasons before Wenger. But we played in 7 different domestic and European cup finals in that period.
 
Fortitude said:
Sammer?
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What about him? Great player and a leader on the pitch. Also a club legend, although not even being close to the greatest player in the club´s history.

Hummels has right now already a higher status among fans as Sammer did in the 90ies, because of his loyalty and commitment to the club.
 
Sphaero said:
What about him? Great player and a leader on the pitch. Also a club legend, although not even being close to the greatest player in the club´s history.

Hummels has right now already a higher status among fans as Sammer did in the 90ies, because of his loyalty and commitment to the club.
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Isn't that with hindsight, though?

During his playing career, Sammer put your club on the international map, no?

Out of curiosity, who is greater than him in your club's history?
 
Grinner said:
His goals put us on the path to being a big English club with European success and set the stage for the likes of Bergkamp and Wenger to take us to the next level. Prior to that we won two league titles but began to slide with the rise of you lot. Without him we'd have probably won nothing in those 5 seasons before Wenger. But we played in 7 different domestic and European cup finals in that period.
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Wow, didn't know he'd be deemed a catalyst. Never really thought of him in that way before, actually.
 
Fortitude said:
Isn't that with hindsight, though?
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Not really. I was comparing Sammer´s standing in the 90ies with the one of Hummels right now among fans.

During his playing career, Sammer put your club on the international map, no?
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Yeah, as did Riedle, Chapuisat, Möller, Kohler, Lambert and several others. Our squad back then was filled with top class players at their peak. Sammer had an significant part in the success of the team, though.

Out of curiosity, who is greater than him in your club's history?
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Michael Zorc and Manni Burgsmüller are the two obvious choices. Especially the former, who is the biggest club legend. If you ask all adult Dortmund fans the question about THE club legend, 90% will name him. Played his whole career for us, second best all time scorer depite being a midfielder and captain for a very long time. He is the most defining personality of the club, loyal to us for 36 years now.

For the record, the greatest player =/= strongest individual player for me, but the one with the biggest impact on the club as a whole.
 
Sphaero said:
Not really. I was comparing Sammer´s standing in the 90ies with the one of Hummels right now among fans.



Yeah, as did Riedle, Chapuisat, Möller, Kohler, Lambert and several others. Our squad back then was filled with top class players at their peak. Sammer had an significant part in the success of the team, though.



Michael Zorc and Manni Burgsmüller are the two obvious choices. Especially the former, who is the biggest club legend. If you ask all adult Dortmund fans the question about THE club legend, 90% will name him. Played his whole career for us, second best all time scorer depite being a midfielder and captain for a very long time. He is the most defining personality of the club, loyal to us for 36 years now.

For the record, the greatest player =/= strongest individual player for me, but the one with the biggest impact on the club as a whole.
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I've been wondering this for a while but in the eyes of most Dortmund fans does Sammer's recent association with Bayern taint his legacy?
 
Big Ben Foster said:
I've been wondering this for a while but in the eyes of most Dortmund fans does Sammer's recent association with Bayern taint his legacy?
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Yes, which is why I used the term "in the 90ies" in this comparision. It is less the position itself, but more some of the statements he made in that position towards Dortmund and the rest of the league, which enraged a good portion of the fan base.
 
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