{"id":7317,"date":"2019-07-09T17:03:12","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T17:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blnebeuk.serveur04.com\/blog\/?p=7317"},"modified":"2019-07-09T17:20:34","modified_gmt":"2019-07-09T17:20:34","slug":"players-so-good-even-the-opposition-cheered-for-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.netbet.co.uk\/blog\/2019\/07\/09\/players-so-good-even-the-opposition-cheered-for-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Players So Good Even The Opposition Cheered For Them"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

Playing against Lionel Messi isn\u2019t a prospect we can imagine filling many players with hope. He\u2019s coming up on breaking 700 goals overall in his career to date, and after he scored his 51st<\/sup> hat-trick earlier this year in March, even the Real Betis supporters had no recourse but to stand up and cheer along with Barcelona \u2013 he\u2019s just that good. It takes a true fan of the sport to put team loyalties aside and cheer for goal-scoring excellence. How often does that happen? Well, actually not that often. But occasionally, it does \u2013 here are some of the times.<\/p>\n

Steven Gerrard<\/h2>\n

\"\"
\nHaving announced his retirement in 2015, one of his last games was against Chelsea. Gerrard played well, equalising with Chelsea before he was substituted, and was applauded by Chelsea and Liverpool fans alike as he exited the pitch. Despite this, he was later heard to comment, \u201cI\u2019m not going to get drawn into wishing Chelsea fans well [\u2026] it was nice of them to turn up for once today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thierry Henry<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Henry managed to score a goal against Sunderland during the 2002-03 season, but Arsenal\u2019s 4-0 win wasn\u2019t just down to him. Proving himself an honourable player indeed, he set up three goals for his teammate Freddie Ljungberg, who managed to bag a hat-trick, and was duly applauded by the vanquished opposition for his valour.<\/p>\n

Cristiano Ronaldo<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Another hat-trick in 2003, as Ronaldo bagged three con ecutive goals to best Manchester United and land Real Madrid a spot in the Champions League semi-finals. Ronaldo\u2019s performance was widely praised long after the match ended, with opposition fans even going so far as to chant \u201cFergie, sign him up\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dennis Bergkamp<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

2003 was a good year for conciliatory football. After Arsenal thrashed Manchester City, City supporters joined in with applause for striker Dennis Bergkamp as he left the pitch. Manager Kevin Keegan summed up the situation: \u201cAny other club in the world, boos would have been ringing in our ears [\u2026] I suppose you could say we\u2019ve got the crowd, we just haven\u2019t got the players.\u201d Harsh but fair.<\/p>\n

Lionel Messi<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

No surprises here. Nope, not this year \u2013 but back in 2009, and once again against Real Madrid. After Barcelona thumped Real Madrid 6-2, defeated fans acknowledged defeat and applauded their rival\u2019s great performance. It was to be the start of a great run of games for Messi, as last Sunday proved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Playing against Lionel Messi isn\u2019t a prospect we can imagine filling many players with hope. He\u2019s coming up on breaking 700 goals overall in his career to date, and after he scored his 51st hat-trick earlier this year in March, even the Real Betis supporters had no recourse but to stand up and cheer along […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7322,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[293,764,1859,294,99,767],"class_list":["post-7317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football","tag-cristiano-ronaldo","tag-dennis-bergkamp","tag-hat-trick","tag-lionel-messi","tag-steven-gerrard","tag-thierry-henry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPlayers So Good Even The Opposition Cheered For Them - NetBet UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Every so often, there appears a player so unbelievably talented that even those on the other side have no option but to applaud them. 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