Best Foreign Blackburn Rovers Players

[@roverseas]

So I spent sometime this past weekend going down memory lane and I decided to make a video of the best foreign players that have pulled on the famous blue and white shirt.

What are your thoughts on the best foreign imports Rovers have had?

 

[Mike E]

Tugay. End of discussion 😉

[oldjamfan1]

Henning Berg gave us two good spells. But its difficult to look beyond Tugay really.

[JacknOry]

Fode Koite, Joe Peshci, Dino Baggio,  and Mateo Rigters

[Bigdoggsteel]

Would ye count Damien Duff as foreign? 

We have had some good ones; Tugay, Salgado, Santa Cruz ,MGP, Benni McCarthy. Ya actually, I would go with Benni. 

Edited March 30, 2021 by Bigdoggsteel

[simongarnerisgod]

javier de pedro🤣

[tomphil]

I'll go Freidel first just for his consistency if nothing else closely followed by Tugay, we'll never come remotely close to those 2 again. Elite operators. 

Benni Mac, Nelson, Samba, Bert, Pedersen lead the follow up pack.

[SuperBrfc]

There have been a few, mostly from around 2001-07, but Tugay tops the list for me. We won't see that kind of quality in our midfield for a long time. Friedel is a close second. Simply an outstanding goalkeeper. We were fortunate to have witnessed such heroics in goal.

Bit controversial, but I'd have Lucas Neill in my top 5. I thought he was an excellent defender for us during his time here. I loved his robust style, he was a decent passer and looked to get forward too. He handled tricky wingers like Ronaldo etc quite well, I thought. It's a shame he left on a bit of a sour note, as he was a solid and reliable player for us.

[TugaysMarlboro]

Yordi

[G Somerset Rover]

2 hours ago, Bigdoggsteel said:

Would ye count Damien Duff as foreign? 

We have had some good ones; Tugay, Salgado, Santa Cruz ,MGP, Benni McCarthy. Ya actually, I would go with Benni. 

Over Tugay?! Get a bar of soap in your mouth BDS. 

Honourable mention for Dario Marcolin too...

Edited March 30, 2021 by Gavlar Somerset Rover!

[Tormund]

Ostenstad, quality player.

[bazza]

1 hour ago, Traviscon said:

Yordi

Got a cup winners medal too.

Others not yet mentioned, Salgado, Henchoz, Nelsen, Samba, Zurab, Oojier.

[roverandout]

Mark Hughes Kevin Gallagher 

[LeftWinger]

I'd go with Friedel, with Tugay a close second.

I would say Shearer, Friedel and Duff are the three genuinely world class players I've seen while watching Rovers (I'm 37).

Tugay was an absolute joy to watch, but probably not quite at the level of the three above, so I'm going for Friedel as my best foreigner.

Notable mentions for Santa Cruz, McCarthy, Samba, Nelsen, Berg and Edinho Jr.

[JacknOry]

1 hour ago, LeftWinger said:

I'd go with Friedel, with Tugay a close second.

I would say Shearer, Friedel and Duff are the three genuinely world class players I've seen while watching Rovers (I'm 37).

Tugay was an absolute joy to watch, but probably not quite at the level of the three above, so I'm going for Friedel as my best foreigner.

Notable mentions for Santa Cruz, McCarthy, Samba, Nelsen, Berg and Edinho Jr.

Quality player

[riverholmes]

Thanks, an enjoyable video!

I think Eyal Berkovic, as far as I remember, was actually pretty good for Rovers and played more than 2 games, helping us to get promoted into the Prem. I'm not sure why Souness didn't sign him but I seem to remember a lot of disappointment that the loan wasn't made permanent - though, I think, with the success of Tugay, it was soon forgotten. I do stand corrected, however, as this based on hazy memory.

With Northern Ireland, I think Keith Gillespie would be higher for me than Corry Evans, though, perhaps, there are others.

Two foreign players that I really liked, aside from the ones already mentioned, were Hakan Sukur and Hakan Unsal. I think Souness fell out with both - or at least one. Both went back to Turkey to play a lot of games and I think, if they had stayed, they would be remembered as amongst the best imports at Rovers.

Edited March 31, 2021 by riverholmes

[oldjamfan1]

3 minutes ago, riverholmes said:

Thanks, an enjoyable video!

I think Eyal Berkovic, as far as I remember, was actually pretty good for Rovers and played more than 2 games, helping us to get promoted into the Prem. I'm not sure why Souness didn't sign him but I seem to remember a lot of disappointment that the loan wasn't made permanent - though, I think, with the success of Tugay, it was soon forgotten. I do stand corrected, however, as this based on hazy memory.

With Northern Ireland, I think Keith Gillespie would be higher for me than Corry Evans, though, perhaps, there are others.

Berkovic was a class act. Never afraid of showing for the ball, regardless of how much space he had (or didn't have). He could thread a pass through the eye of a needle too. Really clever footballer.

[Ulrich]

Ossie Ardiles.

[Hoochie Bloochie Mama]

@roverseas great vid. cheers. 

Edited March 31, 2021 by Hoochie Bloochie Mama

[TonyM]

Preben "Benny" Arentoft ...... 1971-74

 

( Tugay and Friedel really, obviously)

Edited March 31, 2021 by TonyM

[JacknOry]

The Canadian

[Exiled_Rover]

On 30/03/2021 at 16:40, @roverseas said:

So I spent sometime this past weekend going down memory lane and I decided to make a video of the best foreign players that have pulled on the famous blue and white shirt.

What are your thoughts on the best foreign imports Rovers have had?

 

Two of the players on that thumbnail were doggers. 

[Exiled_Rover]

On 30/03/2021 at 16:52, Mike E said:

Tugay. End of discussion 😉

I'd counter that with Brad Friedel (however much he likes to gloss over the fact he played for us in interviews...).

[oldjamfan1]

3 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

I'd counter that with Brad Friedel (however much he likes to gloss over the fact he played for us in interviews...).

Yeah it’s sometimes easy to overlook the fact that Brad is a ‘foreigner’, I certainly did when I plumped for Tugay. 

[rigger]

Kevin Moran, if only for the goal at Derby. Pederson, if it wasn't for the header against Chelsea

Edited April 2, 2021 by rigger