E is for...
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
Article summary
uefa.com's A to Z countdown to the UEFA Champions League final takes a look at some great Es.
Article body
As uefa.com Action's A to Z countdown to the UEFA Champions League final on 25 May continues, it is time for some unforgettable Es.
European football has been blessed with some tremendous players over the years, some real crowd pleasers the entertainers of the modern game. Whether it be scoring great goals or showing some fine individual skill the following players all have something a little bit special.
Faustino Asprilla made a huge impact on Tyneside when he moved to Newcastle United FC. He became a big favourite with the fans and became known for his trademark goal celebration. Meanwhile, Roberto Baggio lit up the Italian game with his array of skills and goalscoring.
For Manchester United FC fans there was no-one like Eric Cantona, while Luís Figo, Hristo Stoitchkov, Jay-Jay Okocha, Gheorghe Hagi, Mario Járdel, George Weah, Gianfranco Zola and Michael Laudrup all possessed the skills to get crowds up in their feet.
He may not have been an entertainer by nature, but Stefan Effenberg's tough tackling and determination were a great symbol of German football, and key factors in FC Bayern München's success in the 2000/01 Champions League final against Valencia CF at the San Siro.
Effenberg showed his cool-headedness to great effect in that final, cancelling out an earlier penalty from Gaizka Mendieta with a spot-kick of his own during normal time, and converting from the spot again during the decisive penalty shoot-out to erase the memories of Bayern's added-time collapse against United in the final two years earlier.
It took a while for the career of Samuel Eto'o to really take off - the Cameroonian international initially signed for Real Madrid CF before finding his goalscoring form with RCD Mallorca and taking his big step up to the top level of European football with Frank Rijkaard's FC Barcelona.
Always in the right place at the right time, Eto'o is very much a striker's striker, and even though Barça failed to reach the Champions League quarter-finals this time round, his four goals were a signal to the Camp Nou faithful that Eto'o's best may be yet to come.
