Denilson, Oleg Salenko rated as top flops
Ten Post World Cup Transfer Flops
Posted: 2010-07-21 16:00
Clubs sometimes get caught up in the hype of the World Cup and sign players without doing the proper research, as these 10 examples show.
David Odonkor
Borussia Dortmund to Real Betis (2006)
Signed on the back of a decent 2006 World Cup campaign, Odonkor has not exactly set Betis alight. His time in Seville has been blighted by knee injuries on no fewer than four separate occasions. The Andalusians have not seen much of a return on their €6m investment in the past four years and have even suffered the ignominy of relegation.
Ilie Dumitrescu
Steaua Bucharest to Tottenham Hotspur (1994)
The attacker formed a formidable triumvirate in America with Florian Raducioiu and Gheorghe Hagi as Romania progressed as far as the World Cup quarter-finals. In doing so he earned a transfer to the Premier League with Spurs, but failed to make an impact during his time in London.
The White Hart Lane team featured, under Ossie Ardiles, an attacking five with Dumitrescu deployed alongside Darren Anderton, Nick Barmby, Teddy Sheringham and Juergen Klinsmann. The wheels came off quickly for club and player. Off the field incidents meant Dumitrescu was moved on to Sevilla, while Ardiles was sacked in November of 1994 with the club in the relegation zone.
Salif Diao
Sedan Ardennes to Liverpool (2002)
Senegal matched the achievement of Cameroon's 1990 World Cup team by reaching the quarter-finals in 2002, where they were eliminated narrowly by Turkey. A key factor in their push to the last eight was the warrior-like midfield play of Salif Diao. He tackled, passed and ran as well as any other team in the competition and earned a lustrous transfer from his modest French side to Liverpool for a fee of around £5m.
Unfortunately for the Reds, the most they saw of Diao was the sight of him celebrating the 2005 Champions League final triumph after contributing very little to the campaign. He moved on loan to Birmingham City, Portsmouth and Stoke City before settling at the Potters on a permanent deal after being utterly exposed at Anfield.
Daniel Amokachi
Club Brugge to Everton (1994)
Nigeria were one of the surprise teams of the 1994 World Cup, led by the striking instincts of Rashidi Yekini and Amokachi, as well as the midfield guile of Sunday Oliseh and Finidi George. Amokachi was in decent touch throughout his time in Belgium and his form in America persuaded Mike Walker to shell out some £3m for his services.
But His time at Merseyside was inconsistent and he failed to dislodge either Duncan Ferguson or Paul Rideout from the starting-XI. From there, after winning the 1995 FA Cup as a late substitute, he joined Besiktas.
Kleberson
Atletico Paranaense to Manchester United (2003)
The World Cup winner impressed for Luiz Felipe Scolari's formidable unit in 2002 and seemingly had the pick of Europe's top clubs after the games in the Far East. However, his young girlfriend could not legally become his wife until after her 16th birthday, inhibiting his departure from his homeland of Brazil. When they married, in 2003, Kleberson joined the Red Devils for a fee in the region of £6.5m.
An early season injury meant that Sir Alex Ferguson had to plan his line-ups in his absence for the best part of two seasons and he was shipped out to Besiktas with his reputation damaged. He has since rejuvenated his career with success at Flamengo and earned a call-up to the 2010 World Cup with the national team.
Dragan Stojkovic
Red Star Belgrade to Olympique Marseille (1990)
Moved from Red Star Belgrade to Marseille, but never really settled and seemed unable to co-exist with Abedi Pele. Had a miserable three or four years there before leaving for Japan where he earned his nickname ‘Piksi’. At Marseille he played against his beloved Red Star in the 1991 European Cup final and he refused to take a penalty against them. There are even rumours he joined in with the celebrations of Red Star after the game.
Denilson
Sao Paulo to Real Betis (1998)
The exciting left-wing became the most expensive player in history when he signed for Real Betis as a sort of vanity project of then president, Manuel Ruiz de Lopera. The Spanish side liked what they saw of Denilson at the 1997 Tournoi and his transfer was ratified only days after the 1998 World Cup final. An eye-watering fee of £21.5m was agreed.
All did not go to plan for the winger in Andalusia though and he departed the club on loan to Flamengo in 2000 after the club's relegation to Segunda. His club career remained fitful throughout his tenure in Spain and winning the World Cup title in 2002 remains his highlight.
Lukas Podolski
FC Koln to Bayern Munich (2006)
‘Prinz Poldi’ became a shining light for a new generation of German internationals at World Cup 2006, winning the FIFA Young Player of the Tournament award. On the eve of the competition a move from home-town club FC Koln to Bayern Munich for a fee in the region of €10m was agreed. Despite his consistency for Die Nationalmannschaft, Podolski could not replicate his performances at club level and threatened to slip completely off the radar.
Three unhappy seasons came to an end last summer when FC Koln pieced together enough funds for his return home. Last term was no bowl of cherries for the 25-year-old either, scoring only twice. In fact he has scored only 17 Bundesliga goals in the last four seasons. In the same time frame he has hit the net 25 times for Germany.
Stephane Guivarc'h
Auxerre to Newcastle (1998)
The France World Cup winner was acquired by the Magpies immediately after winning the trophy on home soil but was quickly moved on after only four matches and one goal. Guivarc'h was signed initially by Kenny Dagleish, but the Scot was handed his marching orders early in the 1998-99 season.
His replacement, Ruud Gullit, had little time for the Frenchman, who permitted his sale to Rangers. Guivarc'h has since been scathing in his criticism of the former AC Milan midfielder. He claims that Gullit commuted to St James Park on Wednesdays and matchdays from his home in The Netherlands as nothing more than a 'tourist'.
Oleg Salenko
Logrones to Valencia (1994)
The World Cup 1994 Golden Boot winner was a true international striking anomaly. He scored six goals at the finals, including five in one match against Cameroon, but failed to hit the net either before or after the United States finals. He transferred from Logrones to Valencia following the tournament, but only lasted one underwhelming season before being shipped on to Rangers. Most recently, Salenko has been involved in discussions to sell his Golden Boot to Saudi Arabian businessmen for a sum of $500 000.
Goal.com
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