Football’s Greatest One-Club Men

Hermawan Arissaputra

Each athlete has a passion to be a
great player on the field. That’s why they signed up for the football
academy in the first place. At the very least, it is their dream to
achieve something during the course of their career. Those who
graduated from football academy — and stay there throughout their
career — take an oath that they won’t leave the club that trained
them. Most players plan to retire with the same club.

Here are some of the players who are
notably loyal to the club that scouted and nurtured their talents:

Paolo Maldini (AC Milan)

Born on June 26, 1968, Maldini retired
from AC Milan in 2009. He spent 25 seasons of his career at the
Italian league, Serie A. During the course, he won the Champions
League five times, as well as seven Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia,
five Super Coppa Italiana, five European Super Cups, and two
intercontinental cups. He played for 14 years for the Italian
national team, making his debut in 1988 before retiring in 2002 with
126 caps and 4 World Cup participations.

Gary Neville (Manchester United)

Born on February 18, 1975, Neville
spent his entire career playing at the Red Devils’ Old Trafford.
Neville was a part of the Class of ’92. Also in the Class of ’92 was
his own brother Phillip Neville (now playing in Everton), and David
Beckham at LA Galaxy, US. He retired from the United last year.

Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)

Born in Wales on Nov. 28, 1973, Ryan
Joseph Giggs made his first appearance for United during the
1990-1991 season and has been a regular player since 1991-1992. From
his early years playing for the Red Devils, the Welsh native has
collected 12 Premier League medals, 4 FA Cup titles, and 2 Champions
League cups. By now Giggs has broken the record as United’s most
appearing player. The left-wing player has collected more than 900
caps and manager Sir Alex Ferguson is still convinced that he’s the
right man for the position.

Paul Scholes (Manchester United)

Born on Nov. 16, 1974, Paul Aaron
Scholes plays as a midfielder for the Red Devils. Scholes retired
from United mid-2011 and has since began his coaching career. Yet in
Jan. 2012, he changed this mind by playing for United until the end
of this season. He revealed that he wants to help United regain its
glory this year because he believes the club has a problem in the
midfield sector.

Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)

Born on May 30, 1980, Gerrard made his
debut with Liverpool in 1998. In 2005, Stevie, as his fans call him,
came in third in the voting for Ballon d’Or, the top player in
Europe. He made his international debut in 2000 and has made himself
the nation’s captain at the 2010 World Cup in the absence of regular
captain Rio Ferdinand. He claims he will not retire from the Three
Lion’s squad before the 2012 Euro Cup and will bring glory to England
with Stuart Peace in the manager’s seat.

Can you think of any other one-club
men?