Top XI of One Man Club

Loyalty is a rare commodity in football today, as a transfer usually means more money for a player. Back before Bosman, there are quite a few one man club around. Of course, there are less money available for a club to retain a player they've groomed from the academy back then. Now, Barcelona and Real Madrid are able to retain Casillas and Messi for infinity by offering money and demigods status.

Let set aside the money vs loyalty argument. Here, i'll try to compile a list of players who've served only one club in their respective careers. For the sake of reducing arguments, i won't include those who's still playing as they might suddenly moved to another club just to annoy the hell out of me (hence the absence of Casillas, Terry, Xavi, Carragher - eventhough i'm willing to bet that they'll stay).

For the purpose of this article, I'll use the in vogue formation at the moment, 4-2-3-1 with a double volante. It's hard to accommodate all these greats into a single working formation, so let's just turn a blind eye to the functionality of this lineup.So starts with;

Goalkeeper : Lev Yashin

The first of the Russian great tradition of goalkeepers, Lev Yashin stayed with his beloved Dynamo Moscow throughout his career. He won the USSR football championship five times and the USSR Cup three times in his stint there (1950 -1970), not to mention a host of cool nicknames; "The Black Spider", "The Black Octopus", ans "The Lion". Now eat that, Iker. That's way cooler than Saint Iker.

Rightback: Gary Neville

"Yeah! There's no Kopites in this article!".

Now a respected/loathed pundit. Before that, he was the vocal outlet for all Manchester United fans, very open in his disdain towards Liverpool. One of Fergie's Fledgelings,he was capped --- times by England and though the most unspectacular of all his Academy peers who made it, he gets the nod as the only fledgeling to be in this list (remember, bosom buddies Giggs and Scholes hasn't retired yet).

Centreback: Thomas Schaaf

His kingdom.

A one club man as a player, who later coached the only club he plays for. A centreback for trade as a player, and a cavalier adventurous coach. Schaaf played in 281 top flight games retiring in 1994 at the age of 33. During his time with his only club, he helped the Hanseatic outfit win two national championships. He was always destined to be the manager of the club; he starts by coaching the U17s and U19s as early as 1987, eight full years before he retired, and was player/assistant manager for two years!

Centreback: Tony Adams

In the sequel to this article, John Terry will take his place someday.

Centerback, captain, alcoholic, poet, recovering alcoholic, coach, manager - he's pretty much done everything. There's never really a possiblity for Tony to quit Arsenal after he joined as a fresh faced youngster. He was the John Terry of his time (in term of playing style, not the dickwad superstar), full of defensive glory, willing to sacrifice his body for club and country. After his Portsmouth adventure, he might not (ever) have the chance to manage Arsenal, but the neutrals in all of us will him to at least be at the club, maybe as a coach.

Leftback: Who else? Paolo Maldini

There's really no one else for this position, isn't it? And even if there is, i doubt that they would be able to take this spot from him. Cups after cups after another freaking cups, made the LB spot his own for club and country, the only blot in his career is only in the international arena. So good that his shirt stank of Armani after a game.

Defensive Midfield: Claude Puel

Seriously, i can't find any pic of him as a player. Sic, excuses.

 The younger generations might know him better as his recent incarnations as a manager, but he was also the defensive manager of AS Monaco for 17 years. Before being appointed as the manager of Monaco in 1999, he was the physical trainer and manager of the Monaco's reserve team. He managed to win Ligue Un as a manager in 2000, adding to the mythical status he enjoyed at the club. His 24 year alliances with AS Monaco ended in 2002, only because the club refuse to renew his contract.

Defensive Midfield: Franco Baresi

I dare you to punch him and outrun him over a football pitch.

 More known as a centerback, he also play as an attacking midfielder in a team of Catenaccio defenders. In 1999, Baresi was voted AC Milan Player of the Century and is widely regarded as one of the finest defenders of all time. He won six league title and three European Cups, and just so no one would ever take his place in Milan's history, the club retired his number 6 jersey in his honor. That's why nowadays Milan defenders have ridiculous number on their back. Another thing is that the picture above is taken when he was 12. He still looks the same now. Okay, that was retarded and i take it back.

Right Winger: Piet Keizer

Now famous for unwilling to kick a ball.

The man who wasn't Cruyff 364 matches for Ajax from 1961 to 1974, making him is the fourth most capped player for Ajax (in terms of league appearances). With him playing, Ajax won the European Cup three consecutive time. His only flaw might be the way he always conduct himself, keeping silent over Cruyff endless suggestions and demands and always accepting being the second fiddle to; pretty much everyone. Oh, and that cigarette habit

Left Winger:Lars Ricken

Tell me that doesn't look like Mario Goetze.

 A fairy tale in his own right. As a  boy, he  from rises academy football to help Dortmund win the Chamipions League (yes, it's possible back then dear young readers) with goals as supersubs. The skilled midfielder represented Borussia Dortmund during his entire professional career, which spanned 15 years.He was also the youngest debutant for the club before Nuri Sahin broke that record. Now, he' one of Dortmund football academy youth coordinator,with his spirits and legacy apparent in the young team that won the league in 2011.

Attacking Midfield: Matt Le Tissier

Celebrating yet another penalty.

Le Tissier is the second-highest ever scorer for Southampton behind Mick Channon and was voted PFA Young Player of the Year in 1990. He was also the first midfielder to score effing 100 goals in the Premier League and is also competent at taking penalty kicks, converting from the spot 47 times from 48 attempts.
Take note of that, present England players! Despite being mega talented and with offers pouring in his direction, the 'God' stay true to his club. In a nation where power player who runs all the time are the rage, Le Tissier is always underappreciated. Perhaps, the best compliment come from an outsider at the other end of the footballing spectrum, Xavi. "His talent was simply out of the norm. He could simply dribble past seven or eight players but without speed - he just walked past them. For me he was sensational". Class.

Striker: Santiago Bernabeu Yeste

Somewhere, Mourinho is planning a scheme to get it renamed after him.

 Finally, the lone striker. Okay kids, that's an actual person there, whose name the stadium is named after. Take some time to swallow that before you accept that your feat for your school team wouldn't ever moved your headmaster to name the whole freakin' after you. Santiago Bernabeu serves Real Madrid from 1912 to 1927, and it is really him who build the foundation for that five successive European victory. He continued to be associated with the club until 1935, first as a director, before becoming assistant manager and finally manager of the first team. Look at the picture above. That is the stadium. Why is it such a small thumb pic? Because no matter how big is it, it will always be small in comparison to the great man in the pic below.

Pictured : awesomeness.