The top 10 losers of world soccer

Reaching the final in soccer competitions of any serious level is always a reason for incredible excitement of players. More vivid and unforgettable emotions bring only victory in the decisive match or played bet on Melbet, but the defeat threatens to remind of itself serious emotional problems, and if you not have Melbet app download, a lot goes by you. Especially if losing in the final in the career of an individual player becomes too much...

Today we offer to talk about ten players who most often in their career lost in the decisive matches....

8-10. Lothar MATTEUS - 5 defeats

Matches played: 783

Clubs: 4 (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Bayern Munich, Inter, New York MetroStars).

National team: Germany

Lothar Matthäus is one of the outstanding midfielders and then defenders in the history of modern German soccer. He still owns a unique achievement - participation in five World Cup finals, something no other footballer can boast of. In 1990 Matthäus together with the German national team won the title of world champion, but in two previous attempts - in 1982 and 1986 - the Germans lost in the decisive matches.

Also one of the most painful defeats in Matthäus's career is Bayern's fiasco against Manchester United in the final of the Champions League-1998/99, when Munich won 1: 0 until the start of extra time, but phenomenal goals by Sheringham and Sulscher brought victory to Alex Ferguson's wards, and Lothar and other "indestructible Germans" were forced to collapse on the Camp Nou lawn after the final whistle....

8-10. Gonzalo IGUAIN - 5 defeats

Matches played: 676

Clubs: 7 (River Plate, Real Madrid, Napoli, Juventus, Milan, Chelsea, Inter Miami).

National team: Argentina

Argentine forward Gonzalo Iguaín, 34, is a current professional soccer player as he has a contract with Inter Miami until the end of this year. He has won quite a few different titles in his career, but Champions League and World Cup victories are not among them, although Iguaín has played in the finals of both of those competitions.

First, in 2014 Argentina lost to Germany in the deciding match of the World Cup, and it was an incredible disappointment for fans of the team, whose colors were then defended by Messi, Iguain, Sabaleta, Mascherano, Lavessi, Agüero and others ... And in the season-2016/17 Juventus with Gonzalo in the squad with a cracking loss of the Champions League final to Real Madrid - 1:4. The Argentine forward spent the entire match on the field, but was unable to help his team.

8-10. Anthony DE AVILA - 5 defeats

Matches played: 713

Clubs: 4 ("America" Cali, "Union" Santa Fe, "New York MetroStars", "Barcelona" Guayaquil).

National team: Colombia

This Colombian forward played in the 80s and 90s of the last century, and never played for European clubs. Largely for this reason, the person of Anthony de Avila is little known on the Old Continent, but in South America it is quite a legendary personality. The fact that de Avila's teams five times reached the finals of the most prestigious club tournament on the continent - the Libertadores Cup, but every time they lost to their opponents.

Four times with de Avila in the lineup lost in the finals "America" from Cali (in 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1996), and another time it was Barcelona from Guayaquil (in 1998). It is noteworthy that neither "America" nor "Barcelona" have never won the Libertadores Cup, and therefore for them Antoni's persona can certainly be considered a non-farthing, but on the other hand, it was with him in the lineup that these teams reached such a late stage of the competition...

7. Arjen ROBBEN - 6 defeats

Matches played: 616

Clubs: 5 (Groningen, PSV, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich)

National team: Netherlands

The brilliant Dutch winger Arjen Robben has a Champions League victory with Bayern Munich and two English Premier League titles with Chelsea, but teams with the Dutchman still lost decisive matches quite often.

The most difficult in terms of memories for Robben is probably 2010. In May, he as part of Bayern Munich lost in the Champions League final to Inter (0:2), and a month and a half later, already in the ranks of the Dutch national team got to the decisive match of the World Cup, which was hosted by South Africa, but even there did not find happiness, because the "orange" in extra time lost to Spain (0:1). In addition, in 2012, Robben again with Bayern reached the final of another Champions League, but there he lost - in a penalty shootout to Chelsea. A year later, in 2013, Arjen finally celebrated a triumph in Europe's most prestigious club tournament, when Bayern defeated Borussia Dortmund, and Robben became the author of the decisive goal (2:1).

6. MICHAEL BALLACK - 8 defeats

Matches played: 604

Clubs: 5 (Kaemnitzer, Kaiserslautern, Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Chelsea)

National team: Germany

Michael Ballack can be safely called one of the best German midfielders of the last few decades. This player managed to have a fantastic career, in which he consistently rose from Kemnitzer to Kaiserslautern and from Bayer to Bayern to Bayern and Chelsea. As a result, Michael won the German championship four times and once became the champion of England, but the Champions League Ballack never conquered.

It is important to note that Ballack played in the finals of the most prestigious soccer competitions. Twice Michael lost in the decisive matches of the Champions League (with Bayer in 2002 and with Chelsea in 2008), and once lost in the finals of the World Cup (2002) and European Championship (2008). If Ballack had managed to emerge with his teams victorious from all these tournaments, he would definitely be one of the greatest footballers of modern times, but as it is... Going back to the beginning, he's just one of the best, which isn't a bad thing either.

5. Patrice Evra - 9 defeats

Matches played: 725

Clubs: 8 (Marsala, Monza, Nice, Monaco, Manchester United, Juventus, Marseille, West Ham)

National team: France

The career of French left fullback Patrice Evra has been quite colorful and intense. He has played for eight different teams from Italy, France and England, played 81 games in the national team of his country, and also has a lot of different awards, both personal and team.

Evra had time to catch the golden age of Manchester United, with whom he became 5-time champion of England, and in 2008 won the Champions League and the Club World Cup. Then he went to Juventus, where he also won five trophies, including two championships. However, Patrice also lost a lot - in nine finals his team left the field defeated. The most disappointing defeats for Evra, of course, are the fiasco against Portugal in the final of France's home Euro 2016, as well as four (!!!) failures in the decisive matches of the Champions League (with Monaco in 2004, with Manchester United in 2009 and 2011, and with Juventus in 2015). He is the one who had very mixed memories and impressions about the Champions League throughout his life....

4. Javier Mascherano - 11 defeats

Matches played: 837

Clubs: 7 (River Plate, Corinthians, West Ham, Liverpool, Barcelona, Hebei China Fortune, Estudiantes)

National team: Argentina

Two-time Olympic champion Javier Mascherano, alas, more nothing significant has not won with the national team of Argentina, although in that, in addition to him, played a lot of bright personalities, if not to say - the stars of world soccer. The main defeat in the career of Mascherano and company is the aforementioned 2014 World Cup final against Germany. By the way, then Javier, like Gonzalo Iguaín, which was discussed earlier, came out in the base, but unlike his partner, spent on the field the entire game - 90 minutes plus a compensated half-hour, which was required to identify the winner.

At the club level, Mascherano's career has been very busy. He played for two European grands, winning 19 trophies as part of Barcelona, including two Champions Leagues. What is true, his first European Cup final, which happened in 2007 with Liverpool, Mascherano lost to Milan (1:2). Yes, and four defeats (2004, 2007, 2015, 2016) with Argentina in the finals of the America's Cup also can not not be written down in the list of serious disappointments in the career of Javier...

3. Lionel MESSI - 12 defeats

Matches played: 805

Clubs: 2 (Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain)

National team: Argentina

The great ones lose, too. And Lionel Messi is no exception here. Basically, like Mascherano, the greatest player in the history of Barcelona and all of world soccer, too often left defeated from the field in the finals of various tournaments in the national team of Argentina. This is the notorious final of the 2014 World Cup, and a number of painful defeats in the decisive matches of the America's Cup, which Leo managed to win only last year, even at the fifth attempt!

Although in general Messi has so many trophies, both personal and team, that hardly anyone will ever seriously pay attention to the number of finals with his participation, which Lionel's team lost....

1-2. Gianluigi BUFFON - 15 defeats

Matches played: 951

Clubs: 3 ("Parma", "Juventus", "Paris Saint-Germain").

National team: Italy

The legendary Italian goalkeeper, who agreed to go through a kind of Serie B "purgatory" with Juventus when the Turin side were banished there for involvement in match-fixing, is a symbol of the last two decades of soccer in Italy. In his career, he has had all sorts of high-profile victories and crushing defeats. The former include 10 titles in Italy, as well as the triumph with the national team at the 2006 World Cup, but the latter....

The most unpleasant final defeat for Buffon is probably the fiasco at Euro 2012, when the Italians were destroyed by Spain (0:4), and Gianluigi was the captain of his team. In addition, Buffon has never won the Champions League in history, although he reached the final of this competition three times with Juventus, but each time he lost...

1-2. Paolo MALDINI - 15 defeats

Matches played: 902

Clubs: 1 ("Milan")

National team: Italy

Paolo Maldini is a legend of AC Milan and the Italian national team. As part of the former, he became the country's champion seven times, won the Champions League five times, and also won a lot of less important trophies, but with the national team Paolo did not win anything, although four times (twice at the World Cup and European Championships) was very close to it.

First of all, it is worth remembering the fiasco of the Italians in the final of the World Cup-1994 in the United States and the final of the World Cup-2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands. In both cases, Maldini came out in the starting lineup Apennines and spent on the field full matches, but ... In addition, despite five victories in the Champions League, there are in Maldini's biography and three defeats in the decisive matches of this tournament - in 1993, 1995 and 2005. On the other hand, Maldini's career has been so great that if he lacked anything, it was just significant trophies in the national team, because with the club he won everything he could.