STATS are king in football nowadays, no two ways about it, and the death of individuality in football should be mourned.
Enter, ‘The Streets Won’t Forget’ ballers.
Getty Images – GettySantos-era Neymar is perhaps the ultimate ‘streets won’t forget’ player – but we’re focusing on Premier League icons[/caption]
If you are not familiar with the term, these are the Premier League crowd-pleasers, show-boaters, and entertainers of the game, who bought out never-seen-before skill moves, and gave us moments of brilliance that will live on forever.
These players captured the hearts of the footballing romantics, those of us who grew up celebrating nutmegs like goals on the school playground, before heading home and scoring rockets with Adriano on Pro Evo 6.
So without any further ado, stick on ‘Written in the Stars’ by Tinie Tempah and get ready for some real Barclays’ heritage with SunSport…
7) Yannick Bolasie
Getty Images – GettyYannick Bolasie was immortalised in PL history for his Bolasie Flick[/caption]
Any player out there who invented a skill move should automatically qualify for this list, but unfortunately only the finest of the bunch can make the cut.
Run it back to December 2014, when the Crystal Palace number seven drew Christian Eriksen and Roberto Soldado into the corner, before performing a ‘Bolasie Flick’ to escape them and burst towards the touchline.
It was a moment of magic from the Congolese forward, which left all spectators, Eriksen included, spellbound by his wizardry.
It wasn’t just the ‘Bolasie flick’ either, he was always pulling out moments of beauty that bought true entertainment to the Selhurst Park regulars, the kind of tricks you would only attempt on FIFA Street.
He always seemed to enjoy playing against Liverpool, once swiping the turf with his hand before breezing past Dejan Lovren, he just always looked like he was enjoying himself.
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He provided them with more pain when he flicked the ball off his knee and over his head, beating his man in the process, and then laying the ball off for Joe Ledley to sweep home.
He was special, and that’s not even getting us started on his rap career, the streets won’t forget his grime clash with Bradley Wright-Phillips either.
A diamond in a Crystal Palace.
6) Jay-Jay Okocha
GettyA moment please, to appreciate this kit and player combo[/caption]
So good they named him twice.
Commentators ran out of superlatives to describe the tech of Jay-Jay Okocha, and it is easy to see why, it almost feels like a disrespect to have a player so legendary in this category.
If you only got into football in the last ten or fifteen years, then you would probably think of a Bolton as a team that hangs around mid table, somewhere in the EFL, but it never used to be like that.
Believe it or not he left a PSG team that included Ronaldinho and Laurent Blanc to join Sam Allardyce‘s Bolton, and while really it made NO sense, that’s why we are so grateful it happened.
I mean, imagine Neymar turning round and deciding to join Southampton? (no offence, Saints fans)
In the early 2000s Bolton became a team that made a mockery of defences, and became one of the most entertaining teams to watch, mainly down to the talents of this man and the slightly less consistent Youri Djorkaeff.
They rocked up to each game in a simple white shirt, sponsored by Reebok which has become a classic, and rightly so.
That kit, with OKOCHA 10 on the back, saw him score a wonderful solo goal against West Ham, and go on to have the audacity to rainbow flick the invincibles from a short corner.
Vintage brilliance, vintage Barclays – Jay-Jay Okocha.
5) Morten Gamst Pedersen
Getty Images – GettyMorten Gamst Pedersen – Icon[/caption]
Forget Magic Mike, in 2005 it was all about Magic Morten.
To be honest, Blackburn had a host of players that we could have put in this list, Roque Santa Cruz, a one season wonder with a gorgeous name, or Tugay, who only scored belters.
Nonetheless it is Pedersen who made the cut, and he is the finest of the bunch.
There are certain versions of players you never want to face as a defender, think skinhead Rooney, World Cup James Rodriguez, or Lingard at West Ham, that will just cause you nightmares.
When MGP showed up with his frosted tips, loose fitting Blackburn shirt and rocket left foot, you knew it was over.
He could score all types of goals, but his trademark finish was stood over a dead ball before driving the ball into the back of the net with his left foot.
It was scary hours for the brave men in the wall when Morten was in town…
4) Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse
Demba Ba celebrating his goal after Steven Gerrard’s slipNews Group Newspapers Ltd
Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba were a brilliant Senegalese duoGetty Images – Getty
When Drake and 21 Savage made ‘Treacherous Twins’, you’d be easily forgiven for thinking of these two.
No, we don’t care that you think we should choose one or the other, these two should never be separated.
When pondering great duos, you might think of Romeo and Juliet or Bonnie and Clyde, but footballing romantics will struggle to think of a better love story than this.
The two Senegalese front men were tasked with replacing the goals of Andy Carroll, which was no easy feat back in the day.
They did it with ease. Twenty nine goals between them in the 2011/2012 season saw them set the league alight, and gain the adulation of the streets in the process.
“But what about their iconic moments?” I hear you ask…
For Papiss Cisse, who could forget that goal against Chelsea. Throw in on the left hand side, chested down, it bounces twice before the number nine smashes it with the outside of his boot into the right top corner.
It was a goal so good that it makes his left footed flick and volley in the same game look feeble.
As for Demba Ba, his love for strawberry syrup supposedly fueled his goal scoring talents, which were on display when he pounced on Steven Gerrard’s slip to score for Chelsea.
3) Michu
Getty Images – GettyMichu in the white and gold of Swansea, the Welsh Los Blancos[/caption]
Into the top three, and on to a man who might have more Dream Team’s named after him than any other player (See; Nice to Michu, Michu There, etc)
The original one season wonder, the best there ever was, the man who Erling Haaland idolised growing up.
It has been over a decade now since Swansea splashed out just £2.3 million on Michu from Rayo Vallecano, who was pretty much unheard of at the time.
What a piece of business it was though, after scoring a brace on his debut he went on to score 22 goals in 43 games in his first season with the Swans, helping them lift the League Cup in the process.
This spectacular season saw him have the streets in a choke hold in 2013, and inspire tall strikers all over the world – one being Erling Haaland.
The Norweigan used to tag himself in photos on Instagram as the Spanish striker, and he has since gone on to speak glowingly of him and copy his trademark celebration.
Michu, as they say in Spain, sensacional.
2) Hatem Ben Arfa
Hatem Ben Arfa scored one of the best ever PL solo goals against BoltonGetty Images – Getty
Another Newcastle entrant, but surprisingly the first Frenchman in the list considering the array of silky players that nation produces.
Hatem Ben Arfa would be at the top of this list for many people, but he has to settle for second in SunSport’s list.
Toon fans will never forget HBA, a magisterial dribbler who was able to glide past defenders in a way that not many others could. He played as though he was still on the streets of Châtenay-Malabry where he was raised.
That’s what made him so special, he bought to life the imagination of all of us on the playground ducking and diving past tackles before slotting the ball away and wheeling off in celebration.
Let us take you back to his goal against Bolton, a solo goal that you would think only the likes of Eden Hazard and Lionel Messi could pull off (who he was once compared to by Djibril Cisse).
The ball is rolled into him in his own half, and he sets himself on his way with a chop that leaves the Bolton midfielder scrambling on the floor, career essentially in tatters. He then goes on to part the Bolton defence like Moses with the Red Sea, and slots it home past Bogdan with aplomb.
St James Park erupts, Pardew applauding, scenes.
A special goal from a special player.
1) Adel Taarabt
Adel Taarabt: The king of the streetsNews Group Newspapers Ltd
Adel Taarabt. The definition of ‘The streets won’t forget’.
It is testament to his cult status that Adel Taarabt is not best remembered for his time in the Premier League, but his 2010/11 season in the Championship for QPR.
The attacking midfielder bought the North African flair that we have come to expect from Moroccan players since him, the likes of Hakim Ziyech, Oussamar Assaidi and Sofiane Boufal.
This man was dubbed ‘King of the nutmeg’ and ‘King of the streets’ and ended the careers of numerous defensive midfielders and full backs, who were left clamouring for mercy with the ball between their legs.
When Taarabt turned up with his black gloves and white base layer on a bitterly cold day at Loftus Road, you knew to approach with your legs closed for fear of being in a ‘goals and skills’ compilation at some point in the near future.
The Moroccan Maestro – Adel Taarabt – The streets will never forget.
Honourable Mentions
Dimitri Payet (West Ham)
Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal)
Yakubu (Everton)
Seb Larsson (Sunderland)
Amir Zaki (Wigan)
Geovanni (Hull City)