From Rags to Riches: Players Who Resurrected Their Careers
A touch of passion resilience and determination for the love of football can go a long way. Most players break out as precocious teenagers, but some experience false starts, injuries, even anonymity before emerging gloriously. A handful of stars were dismissed earlier in their careers, only to bounce back up and etch their names into the footballing history books. The stories of transformation prove that hard work and determination can convert failure into success.
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Going from unknown to Ballon d’Or winner: Luka Modrić
The rise of Luka Modrić: the boy in war-torn Croatia to one of the greatest midfielders of all-time As a young player, he was considered too small and too soft to ever make it in professional football. Modrić was loaned out to Bosnian opponents Zrinjski Mostar after sitting in Dinamo Zagreb’s youth setup for too long; the move would prove fortuitous, as he would gain a new physique from the rough play in the league.
He made his big break when he returned back to Dinamo Zagreb, won several league titles and then moved on to join Tottenham Hotspur. His 2012 move to Real Madrid was widely derided as a flop after a disappointing debut season, though. When it was suggested that he should be left out of this year’s starting XI, Modrić proved the doubters wrong by taking the centre of Real Madrid’s midfield home and winning each of those final stages of the Champions League that he later claimed to be a Demigod with multiple footsteps or cries for the coming many. His pinnacle year was 2018, the year he beat Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for the Ballon d’Or.
Jamie Vardy – Non league to Premier League winner
The rise of Jamie Vardy is the stuff of underdog fairytales. Vardy didn’t make his debut until his mid-20s, when he played in England’s non-league football, working in a factory while playing part-time for Stocksbridge Park Steels. It was when he joined Fleetwood Town that he really started grabbing headlines for his goals and soon enough Leicester City came calling.
Vardy struggled early in the season in the Championship, but soon rounded into form and was instrumental in Leicester’s promotion to the Premier League. His goal-scoring record in 11 straight Premier League games during the 2015-16 season helped Leicester to an improbable title victory. Vardy has gone from non-league hopeful to Premier League champion and England international in a classic zero-to-hero story.
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Antonio dI natale – The slow starter
In his early years, Antonio Di Natale was never thought of as an elite striker. He was already on the wrong side of his 20s when he signed for Udinese and had spent most of his career in Serie B He was seen as a reasonably good squad player, not a world beater, yet he became one of the all-time best centre-forwards in Serie A.
It was when he reached his 30s that Di Natale turned into a serial goal-scorer, eventually picking up the Capocannoniere (Serie A top scorer) title in both the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons. He had many offers from bigger clubs, but stayed loyal to Udinese, who he took into several European campaigns. Sometimes that never happened story is a great story.
Mohamed Salah – The superstar “Chelsea rejected”
Mohamed Salah’s first taste of Premier League football with Chelsea was a forgettable one. After being signed from Basel in 2014, he failed to hold down a regular spot under José Mourinho and was subsequently loaned out to Fiorentina and Roma. He was dismissed as another failed Premier League signing by many.
But in Italy, Salah reinvented himself, becoming a devastating winger. The start of an incredible journey came in 2017 with Liverpool, when he returned to England. He shattered the single season goal record in the Premier League, won several Golden Boots, and was a key driver of Liverpool winning their Champions League and Premier League. One of the greatest comebacks in football history is of Salah, who was an underrated Chelsea player, but now a global superstar.
Kevin De Bruyne – gutted from Bundesliga pretender to world class midfield maestro
Kevin De Bruyne’s time at Chelsea was similarly brief to Salah’s. Described as surplus to requirements by Mourinho, he was subsequently offloaded to Wolfsburg in 2014. Rather than allow this setback to dictate his career, De Bruyne thrived in the Bundesliga, establishing himself as one of the league’s top playmakers.
He turned into a promise we thought we could deliver, and now back in England where Manchester City saw something in him in 2015. De Bruyne became one of the finest midfielders of his generation, collecting multiple Premier League titles as he spearheaded City’s era of dominance under Pep Guardiola. This experience is a testament to prove that there is no help and rejection is the stepping stone to success.
Diego Milito — The striker they underestimated who became a legend
Diego Milito struggled to earn the respect he deserved as one of the best centre-forwards in Argentina, Spain and Italy throughout most of his career. He was consistently good but never really got his dues until moving to Inter Milan in 2009.
He enjoyed the best season of his career under José Mourinho in 2009–10. He netted vital goals in Serie A, Coppa Italia and the Champions League final as Inter Milan secured a historic treble. He went overnight from the most player to watch, he became an night-legend.
Virgil van Dijk: Dutch second division to best defender in the world
However, the rise of Virgil van Dijk was anything but straight forward. He began in the Dutch second tier at FC Groningen before bigger clubs passed him over. When he went to Celtic, there were still question marks over whether he could do it at the top of the European game.
Everything turned when he went to Southampton back in 2015, where he really made a name for himself as a solid centre-back. In 2018, Liverpool made him the most expensive defender in history, and what a return that has been. After arriving at the club, Van Dijk quickly evolved into the backbone of Liverpool’s defense, winning them the Champions League and the Premier League whilst also winning the UEFA Player of the Year.
Adriano – The player whose career was in two halves
Adriano’s story is different from the others on this list. A hero to zero who just as quickly made his way back to the top and then fell…injury had a role to play in this. Once dubbed as the next Ronaldo, the Brazilian forward largely ruled the Serie A with Inter Milan. His career nose-dived after he started losing the will to fight and dealing with personal demons.
Adriano had a few attempts to reignite his career, returning briefly to both Flamengo and Corinthians. He never quite got back to his best but his early career and attempts to salvage it make for an interesting tale.
Final thoughts
Football is full of surprises. You can never truly count out a player as the following will show, some are written off as duds early only to rebound from the ashes and ascend to greatness. By hard work, perseverance, or sheer genius, it wasn’t the first time these footballers proved that setbacks are the secret ingredient to success.
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