Various Liverpool players were named in FourFourTwo’s Main 100 Youthful Players of 2001 – however the rundown has not matured well
Liverpool’s foundation has delivered a few fantastic players during the Head Association time.
Steven McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Jamie Carragher, Michael Owen, and Steven Gerrard broadly completely featured for the Reds subsequent to blasting onto the scene in the nineties, while any semblance of Dominic Matteo and David Thompson additionally got through simultaneously.
After graduating from the Academy, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Curtis Jones, and Caoimhin Kelleher are crucial members of Jurgen Klopp’s first team, whereas Harvey Elliot and Stefan Bajcetic were signed for the youth ranks when they were in their mid-teens. Fast forward to the present day.
Ben Doak, Bobby Clark, Conor Bradley, and Jarell Quansah all hope to be the next players to make important first team moves, and the Academy conveyor belt isn’t slowing down.
The Reds’ academy, on the other hand, has not always been the “gold mine” it is today. Throughout the 1990s, it was frequently lamented that Gerrard was the last graduate to become a key member of the first team.
People were puzzled by Liverpool’s failure to find the next Gerrard, Owen, or Carragher despite the decade’s success, which was mentioned alongside Manchester United’s class of 1992. In the end it took various changes in the background, directed by any semblance of Rafa Benitez and Brendan Rodgers, before the Reds genuinely got back on way under Klopp.
However, despite this, Liverpool boasted a number of highly regarded youngsters who, in the end, failed to live up to expectations during their lackluster run. This is clearly demonstrated by FourFourTwo’s 2001 list of the 100 best players in world football.
The list included six Reds players, all of whom ranked in the top 40 and two in the top 10. In the meantime, the top five would be made up of three future Liverpool players, and one future academy signing would bring their total to 10. However, thinking back, only one of those can really profess to have truly been one of the most amazing stars of their age.
The list includes some of the best players of the 21st century. However, if you consider that 2007 Ballon d’Or winner Kaka, who won both the World Cup and the Champions League during his legendary playing career, only finished 95th, you can get a sense of the direction we are about to take.
Kaka, congratulations! You were rated higher in 2001 than David Prutton, Alexander Hleb, Erdal Kilicaslan, Daniyel Cimen, and Benjamin Auer! We can’t remember that last trio either, so don’t worry. Unfortunately, Shaun Maloney and Kieran Richardson both put higher than the amazing Brazilian in places 100-91.
We have our first future Liverpool player since the 1980s. The Calliste Ramon Then of Manchester Joined together, he won the FA Youth Cup with the club in 2003 yet left the Red Demons for the Reds in 2005 and was the stores’ top goalscorer in 2005/06.
On the advice of national team manager John Toshack, the Welshman joined Scunthorpe United after just one season. However, during his first preseason, the Welshman suffered a severe ankle dislocation. He had to leave the game due to that injury, which meant he couldn’t live up to his early potential.
Dimitar Berbatov is ranked 82nd, Michael Essien is ranked 78th, and Championship Manager legend Cherno Samba is ranked 71st as we move down the list!
Even though Liverpool offered £1.5 million to acquire the Millwall striker, they were unsuccessful in reaching an agreement with the Lions. Samba never fulfilled his potential as a result of the failed transfer to Anfield, which ultimately sent him on a downward trajectory.
After signing with Cadiz, Samba went on to play for Malaga B, Plymouth Argyle, Wrexham, Haka, Panetolikos, and FK Tonsberg before an injury forced him to retire early in July 2015, when he was just 29 years old.
Moving on, 70th place goes to Matteo Brighi, who was with Juventus at the time. Another computer game legend, he was oddly the most elevated evaluated player in FIFA 2003 with a unimaginable rating of 97. The only player in the game’s history to ever receive a rating that was higher than that of EA is Brazilian Ronaldo, not Cristiano. Interestingly, not in 2002/03, despite his World Cup success and Ballon d’Or victory that year.
Yes, from a virtual perspective, Lionel Messi and Ronaldo (Cristiano, not Brazilian) are “worse” than Brighi. Due to injuries, the midfielder never lived up to his potential, so Juventus sold him to Parma in the same summer. Recognizing a repetitive subject here? We digress… There are a few well-known names between 70th and 40th, with Real Betis’ Joaquin in 42nd place easily being the most successful. However, if you want the full experience of the past, you can see the complete list at the end of the article.
Thus, our first player, a Liverpool player! Chris Kirkland set 38th! Not terrible for a tipped goalkeeper to be a future Britain number one.
He was just 20 years old when he signed for £6 million from Coventry City in September 2001, making him the most expensive goalkeeper in British transfer history. In any case, wounds would at last wreck his time at Anfield.
He played 45 games over the course of five years for the team that won the Champions League in 2005 and had actually replaced Jerzy Dudek as Benitez’s first-choice player earlier that season. However, he was unable to play in both the semifinal and the second half of that campaign due to a back injury.
After a four-year battle with depression, he made permanent moves to Wigan Athletic, Sheffield Wednesday, Preston North End, and Bury before retiring in 2016. Fortunately, Kirkland is in a superior spot nowadays, is an ordinary in the Anfield press box and works intimately with the LFC Establishment.
Dean Ashton, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and striker Gareth Barry finished 36th, 35th, and 31st, respectively. We would have a second Liverpool representative if not for Aston Villa and Martin O’Neill’s stubbornness.
However at that point edging in front of Jermain Defoe, we have the Reds’ next then-player to take care of business in protector Gregory Vignal. After signing with the Reds in September 2000, the Frenchman made 20 appearances and enjoyed a prolonged run in the starting lineup at the start of the 2001/02 season.
Notwithstanding, a broke foot wrecked his advancement and managed him out of the time. He played for Lens, Birmingham City, Atromitos, Dundee United, and AS Beziers before joining Portsmouth in 2005 after a string of loan moves. He retired in 2013. He was promoted to assistant manager at FC Versailles earlier this summer. He is now a coach.
Milan Baros ranks 21st on FourFourTwo’s list, beating out players like Arjen Robben, Maicon, and Ricardo Quaresma, among others. The striker, who was acquired from Banik Ostrava in 2002 for £3.2 million, made an immediate impact at Anfield, scoring a respectable 12 goals during the 2002/03 season.
He won the Golden Boot at Euro 2004 as Czech Republic reached the semi-finals, recovering from a broken ankle in September 2003. In the 2004/05 season, he was Liverpool’s leading goal scorer with 13 goals as they won the Champions League.
That wasn’t sufficient to hold his place in Benitez’s arrangements however, as he was offered to Aston Manor in a £6.5m bargain. After stints with Antalyaspor, Lyon, and Galatasaray, he was forced to retire in 2020 due to injury after several stints back in his native Czech Republic.
now in the top 20. The major leagues, and what a start with Andres Iniesta’s 20th place finish. Six spots in front of him we have our next Liverpool contestant – John Welsh.
Once tipped to be a ‘next Gerrard’, Welsh never satisfied such expectations. He showed up for the Reds prior to being exchanged with Frame City for youthful winger Paul Anderson in January 2006.
After that, Welsh played for Tranmere Rovers, Preston North End, and Grimsby Town on a permanent basis. He spent the majority of his playing time as a midfielder in League One, but he eventually switched to non-league play with Atherton Collieries and Stafford Rangers. He is now a coach for Preston North End’s professional development phase (U18 and U16).
French cousins Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec are ranked ninth and seventh, respectively, in the top 10. After starring at the FIFA Under-17s World Cup in 2001, they had already been signed by Liverpool. However, they remained on loan at Le Havre for two more years.
Both officially moved to Anfield in 2003, and while they contributed to the Reds’ run to the Champions League title in 2005, they never lived up to the initial expectations. Le Tallec showed up for the club, scoring once, prior to getting back to France for all time with Le Monitors in 2008 after various advance moves away.
Spells with Auxerre and Valenciennes followed, enduring assignment with both, before moves to Greece and Romania with Atromitos and Astra Giurgiu. He’d then get back to France with Orleans, prior to completing his vocation with Annecy in 2021.
Pongolle’s performance was slightly better. The former France international left Liverpool in 2006 for La Liga, where he impressed with Recreativo de Huelva and Atletico Madrid, scoring nine goals in 65 appearances. Be that as it may, his fortunes thrashed after an ineffective move to Donning Lisbon.
As a result, he would play in Russia, the United States, Scotland, and Thailand, playing for Rostov, Chicago Fire, Dundee United, and Chainat Hornbill before returning to France in 2019 to play for Saint-Pierroise.
Venturing over Rafael van der Vaart in 6th, we’re currently into the best five with three future Liverpool players still to highlight! Imagine how excited you would be if FourFourTwo published a list in 2023 and announced that three of the top five teams would relocate to Anfield within six years?!
In any case, fifth place goes to Jermaine Pennant. Then of Arms stockpile, the upset winger, joined Liverpool from relegat
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