Best Foreign Blackburn Rovers Players

[Southside Rover]

Tugay no brainer, class act throughout.

Samba, Pederson,  Duff and Freidel.

Then Santa Cruz, Henchoz and Nelson.

I think Berg deserves a place but perhaps his short stint as manager tarnished his legacy.

I did also rate Givet for his bravery no nonsense style and the Yak although maybe not his best days with us but was a beast of a forward.

If non England and we consider UK Robbie Savage was an entertainer. Horrible to play against but great to have in your team.

Edited April 2, 2021 by Southside Rover

[Aqualung]

I agree with most of who's been mentioned. 

Notable absentees for me are Bret Emerton and Lars Bohinen. 

[brdrvr5150]

Tugay, Friedel, Santa Cruz

[brdrvr5150]

ohh i missed Ryan Nelsen Excellent Player

[Tormund]

22 hours ago, Aqualung said:

I agree with most of who's been mentioned. 

Notable absentees for me are Bret Emerton and Lars Bohinen. 

Agreed loved Emerton.

[CherryRover]

Colin Hendry by a mile.

[Ossydave]

On 30/03/2021 at 19:02, SuperBrfc said:

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.

I was gonna say the same, Neill was great. Quite frankly a dirty bastard but he got the job done. Christ we're crying out for that kinda player right now 

[Ulrich]

On 31/03/2021 at 18:10, JacknOry said:

The Canadian

Junior Hoillet?

Moran and Hendry aren't foreginers haha.  Frediel and Tugay were immense players for us, but I'd favour Brad over Tugay, just because he played for us for much longer, what a keeper he was and an absolute steal, cheers Souness.

[roverandout]

Tugay.  When we passed the opportunity to sign berkovic to bring in Tugay I was livid but boy was I wrong. He should have been playing for real Madrid or Barcelona.  

[windymiller7]

On 31/03/2021 at 19:36, Exiled_Rover said:

Two of the players on that thumbnail were doggers. 

They'd best get up to that car park on Belmont then! 😅.

Back on topic - Tugay for me, then Brad. Honourable mention for someone who was a good fit at the right time & I enjoyed watching: Eyal Berkovic

Edit: Just looked & hadn't realised he only played 11 times for us. Still stand by my comment though, loved the end of that promotion season.

Edited April 4, 2021 by windymiller7

[riverholmes]

On 30/03/2021 at 17:13, JacknOry said:

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

Dino Baggio was, bizarrely, played as a forward by Souness.

And on Souness and signings, he did pick up ex-colleagues from Turkey, Friedel and Tugay, but he made a huge error in Corrado "Ciccio" Grabbi, the 26 year old, Italian £7 million or so signing from Ternana in Serie B, I think it was, in 2001. What I've always wondered is whether Rovers identified and overlooked Grabbi's strike partner at Ternana, at the time - Fabrizio Miccoli - or, whether, the latter wasn't available for whatever reason. I would hope that Souness and his scouts do have an excuse because, the year after Grabbi signed for Rovers, Miccoli was bought by Juve, for a similar fee, and he went on to have a great career and getting into the national team. Meanwhile, after his two goals during his failed Rovers stint, Grabbi's career spiraled downwards.

Edited April 4, 2021 by riverholmes

[Ossydave]

11 hours ago, riverholmes said:

Dino Baggio was, bizarrely, played as a forward by Souness.

And on Souness and signings, he did pick up ex-colleagues from Turkey, Friedel and Tugay, but he made a huge error in Corrado "Ciccio" Grabbi, the 26 year old, Italian £7 million or so signing from Ternana in Serie B, I think it was, in 2001. What I've always wondered is whether Rovers identified and overlooked Grabbi's strike partner at Ternana, at the time - Fabrizio Miccoli - or, whether, the latter wasn't available for whatever reason. I would hope that Souness and his scouts do have an excuse because, the year after Grabbi signed for Rovers, Miccoli was bought by Juve, for a similar fee, and he went on to have a great career and getting into the national team. Meanwhile, after his two goals during his failed Rovers stint, Grabbi's career spiraled downwards.

Milan wanted Grabbi at the time we signed him, possibly a few other Italian teams. There was a lot of corruption around at the time and his career in Italy basically became untenable. I can't recall the exact detail but I don't think he ever really wanted to come to England, more a case of being forced.

[Ulrich]

Niko Kalanic, the man who couldn't hit a barn door here but did everywhere else.

[riverholmes]

5 hours ago, Ossydave said:

Milan wanted Grabbi at the time we signed him, possibly a few other Italian teams. There was a lot of corruption around at the time and his career in Italy basically became untenable. I can't recall the exact detail but I don't think he ever really wanted to come to England, more a case of being forced.

Ah, yes, I read something about that on his Wiki page. Allegedly, whilst a Juve player at the start of his career, Luciano Moggi insisted Grabbi change his agent to be represented by Alessandro Moggi, his son, and when Grabbi refused, Luciano Moggi warned in the form of a hint that his Juventus career was effectively over. (Ravel Morrison alleges similar conduct by Allardyce, at West Ham, being asked to change agents and then being sent on loan, as if be retribution - though Allardyce denies it). Grabbi went on a number of loans, including at Serie C Modena, where he scored a lot of goals, and then, in 1998, got a transfer to Ternana.

What is fascinating to read on Grabbi's Italian Wiki page is the terrible injury record he had. Apparently, at Juve, he suffered from the rare Ledderhose foot disease, from what I read, causes the build up of tissue mass in the foot which affects the ability to bend the foot. Apparently, at times during his career, he had difficulty walking. He had successful surgery, apparently, as a youngster at Juve, but the problem resurfaced, allegedly, near the end of his career - and, by one site I read - during his successful time at Ternana, from where Rovers purchased him.

Looking at some Italian sites, he supposedly had numerous foot surgeries and had a number of knee injuries as well, causing him to consider retiring early. These reports are repeated on a number of Italian language sites, which lends some credibility, though, of course, I can't be sure how accurate they are. It does suggest that there was a lot about Corrado Grabbi that Rovers fans didn't know about.

I think it's worth pointing out too, that, though Grabbi did have a track record of scoring in Serie C and with Ternana, when he scored some 20 goals in a season, he not only was playing in a front three alongside future Italian national team striker, Miccoli, but he also scored a fair number of penalties and some free kicks.

Edited April 5, 2021 by riverholmes

[The Mighty Chaffinch]

We’ve had some belters who were winding down their careers and briefly passed through: Djorkaeff, Sukur, Baggio, Dahlin to name but four, however for lasting impact it’s got to be Tugay, Friedel and Berg in that order. 

[Oldgregg86]

Steven n zonzi was good for us, went on to win the europa league and play for Seville and Roma. Also in the last France squad that won the world cup

[Ianrally]

Tugay, Friedel, and Andy McEvoy. 

[broadsword]

Simone Garnio

Davide Speedio

Roberto Cromptoni

Freddo Piccio

[IrelandsRover]

On 30/03/2021 at 17:39, 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. 

You don't think Ireland is in the UK do you?

Duffer all day

[roverandout]

6 minutes ago, IrelandsRover said:

You don't think Ireland is in the UK do you?

Duffer all day

Doesn't matter. If we're considering Irish as foreign then I'm counting Scots and Welsh as foreign 

[IrelandsRover]

16 hours ago, roverandout said:

Doesn't matter. If we're considering Irish as foreign then I'm counting Scots and Welsh as foreign 

Was just watching Rovers v Trelleborgs FF on YouTube, looks like Scots, Irish etc had to be within the 3 allowed foreign players or couldn't play in Europe

[Bigdoggsteel]

16 hours ago, IrelandsRover said:

You don't think Ireland is in the UK do you?

Duffer all day

No, but it's fairly apparent some wouldn't count him as foreign 

[JPTSwindon]

Friedel - propped us up for years, so whilst Tugay had the excitement, Friedel probably secured us the most points over the years.

Shout to Carlos Villanueva, showed real potential when we overcame Blythe Spartans in the FA Cup.

[Dreyski]

Amo 😆

Though he did score a couple of thumping goals, including an important one at Fulham IIRC.

[Blue blood]

Duff I don't think counts because he came up through the youth ranks (in part). He seems like one of our own. Hard to see any youth player as foreign even when that is the case! In the same way I wouldn't see Lenihen as foreign. 

Then I think it comes down to how you determine best. If it's the most charasmatic with most talent Tugay wins.

If however best means best performing, it has to be Friedel. Played all 3 seasons of success under Souness and part of Hughes's amazing team too. Player of the season, MOTM in the league cup final, scored for us, better all round performer in his position. Has to be Brad for me.