Thierry Henry, Raul And Del Piero – 3 Forgotten Legends Who Are Still Playing Abroad

They were once revered, worshipped and adored by the fans for the great moments they had given to the cheering masses, and have brought a smile on the face of many a neutral. Yet, with the winds of change blowing at these footballing institutions, these legends have moved on, spending the twilight of their glittering careers in obscurity. Here’s a look at three of best who are yet to hang up their boots, fighting it out in the far reaches of the world.

Thierry Henry

The Frenchman started his career at Monaco before moving to Juventus, but it was at Arsenal that he made his name as one of the world’s best strikers. Despite initially struggling to adjust to the Premier League, he went on to become of the most prolific strikers in the Premier League era and Arsenal’s all-time leading scorer with 228 goals.

After 8 seasons in north London which earned him legendary status at the club, Henry moved to Barcelona and spent 3 seasons in Spain. During a glittering career, he has won numerous trophies including a World Cup title, a European Championships title, a Champions League title, two Premier League titles, two La Ligas and a Club World Cup to go with many individual awards.

Despite winning so many awards and accolades, the 36-year old has spent the last four seasons in the relative obscurity of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the USA. He is one of the highest paid players in the MLS, and led the New York Red Bulls to their first major trophy in their 17-year history in 2013 when they became champions of the regular season.

Raul

Often regarded as regarded to be one of Spain’s greatest ever players, Raul spent 16 years of his career playing for Real Madrid having joined from cross-town rivals Atletico Madrid’s youth team. He is the club’s all-time top goalscorer with 323 goals as well as the most capped player in the history of the club with 741 appearances. With Real, he won six La Liga titles, three UEFA Champions League titles (scoring in two finals), one UEFA Super Cup and two Intercontinental Cups, becoming the Champions League’s all-time leading goalscorer and second most capped player.

He moved to German side Schalke in 2010, and following a slow start to the season, he helped Schalke win the DFB-Pokal and the DFL-Supercup by scoring goals at crucial junctures. He signed with the Qatari side Al Sadd in 2012 after deciding not to extend his contract, and won the Qatar Stars League in his first season. The 36-year old Spaniard looks likely to play out his career in the relative footballing wilderness of the Middle-East, but his knack for scoring goals remains as good as it ever was.

Alessandro Del Piero

The Italian was truly a one-club man, playing almost his entire career for Juventus, having joined from Padova in 1993. Nicknamed as “Il Pinturicchio”, the Italian International was in the hearts of every Juventus fan for as long as 19 years. He holds the record for the most goals (290) and the most appearances (705) in a Juve shirt. Having been named in the FIFA 100 as well as the list of best European players for the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll, he is also among the UEFA Champions League’s all-time top scorers at tenth spot.

After Juventus were demoted to Serie B and their last two Scudetti were revoked due to the infamous Calciopoli scandal, Del Piero stayed to captain the team in Serie B and helped the club gain promotion, showing his dedication and loyalty. He has won one World Cup, one Champions League and six Serie A titles among many others.

After his 19-year spell with Juventus, Del Piero left the club to become a free agent and signed a two-year deal with Sydney FC, becoming the highest-paid footballer to ever play in the A-League. Even in the twilight of his career, the 39-year old has been lighting up the faces of fans in Australia with his performances, and has won several awards during his short time Down Under.

 

References from Wikipedia  – Alessandro Del Piero, Thierry Henry, Raul