Mirror mirror on the wall who is the most loyal of them all?

Matt Le ‘God’ Tissier 

Remember that kid…Buck teeth. Funny looking. A dog eared blazer. A packet of Walkers salt n’ vinegar crisps in one hand. There was a look of boredom across his face as other boys ran around like headless chicken, kicking the ball back and forth, as he continued to stuff his mouth. Then the ball came flying towards him. He took a step back to instantly control the ball on his chest. As the ball fell to the ground he wrapped his left foot through it to send it dipping into the goal, which of course was made from two rusty bins full of school lunch detritus. He then continued eating his crisps.      

That boy became Matt Le Tissier. The last of his kind. Of the bygone era.  A non-athletic, incredibly talented footballer. A cultural left foot. A wand of a right foot. He signed for Southampton as a YTS. He played for 16 seasons, 443 games and scored 161 goals. All of which could have won goal of the season. He was the first midfielder to pass a 100 premier league goals. Yet, in all those seasons, Southampton flirted ominously with relegation but never went down thanks to Matt loitering with intent. Every “top” club coveted him: Man United, Tottenham, Arsenal, Liverpool. But he didn’t leave. He remained loyal. He became Le God. A hero to the neutral fans. A deity to fat kids with vivid oozing cheese induced dreams. A saint at The Dell.  

Ryan Giggs *

   

Yes, he is 40 years old. Yes, he played for Man United his whole career. Yes, he is nearing 1000 games. Yes, he is rightfully a club legend. But is he loyal like Le Tissier? Would Giggs have played his whole career at Southampton…? Hence the *. Playing for the best club in the country, who pay all the money you ever wished, and delivers you trophy after trophy…is that loyalty? Yes and No. It’s like having the perfect wife and never cheating on her…Is that surprising, obviously Giggs would disagree. It was worth cheating. So his wife wasn’t perfect, but Man United were. So yes well done Giggs. We applaud you. Very loyal. A gent.   

Stevie G 

Loyalty. This man has it written all over his face. Look at it. Covered in wrinkles shaped by sleepless nights, hope and the what if's...He didn’t have the best club. If we continue the analogy. He had the wife who had fallen off the wagon. Once the prettiest in town, now her age had caught up with her. She was mutton dressed as lamb. She was Liverpool circa 1997 onwards.

Yet through all this, and despite admiring looks from Chelsea, and a cheeky flash of leg from Man United he stuck with the wife. Through the AA meetings, the verbal abuse, the knowledge that disappointment was always one minute away from full time. Why? Cause he bloody loved her! He was Liverpool through and through. And in 2005 he was rewarded. A European Cup. Now only a premier league title awaits…And no one deserves it more for what they’ve sacrificed.

The Back Four

Loyalty is a rare thing. So when 4 come along at the same time you’d be crazy not to include them on a list of all things loyal. Those 4 also happened to form, in my opinion, the greatest defensive line of all time. Golden like Fort Knox. And they showed loyalty to their club, AC Milan. Loyalty to each other. Loyalty to their father figure coach, Arrigo Sacchi. They won it all at domestic and European level. They were the foundation of the last team ever to retain the European Cup, in 1989 & 1990. That is how special those 4 footballers were. All 4 are club legends. Will it ever happen again? Well, have you ever seen the same bus turn up 4 times in a minute…? Not any bus. I’m talking about the most reliable bus in your wildest dreams (It is worth pointing out I like buses and parking the bus especially, which is what these specialised in.) The answer is NO! It will never happen again. So take a bow Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta, Mauro Tassotti and Paulo Maldini. 

Honourable Mentions 

Within the Italian league it’s not uncommon to see players throughout their careers play for AC MiIan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Lazio and Roma. They move around with much freedom. Merry go round and round they go. Players with multiple big clubs include Andres Pirlo, Christian Vieri, Mario Balotelli and Roberto Baggio.

However, there are times when the Italian player is a forever present force. Loved by the club like a son. He, wide eyed and tearful sees his mothering team. A mama’s boy they be…Headlining this group of mama’s boy who just can't cut their ties are Francesco Totti & Alessandro Del Piero. Such-a-good-a-boys-don-na-be-a-shy-come-a-give-a-your-mama-a-hug.