5. Massimo Taibi
The briefest display of promise, followed by an even swifter fall from grace. One of many potential Schmeichel replacements, Taibi signed for Utd for £4.5m (No small fee in 1999), and had an inspired man of the match debut in a 3-2 over Liverpool, followed up by horrorshows at home to Southampton and finally a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of a then-average Chelsea. Taibi return to Italy after just 4 games, and was never the same player again - a former AC Milan keeper rounded off his career at Reggina, Atalanta, Torino and minnows Ascoli.
4. Any England manager of the last 20 years
The lot of them. Taylor, Hoddle, Keegan, Eriksson, McClaren (Give Capello a chance, but the narrative at this point is pretty similar). It always starts so well, doesn't it? McClaren the exception, all England managers assure qualification first time round without uprooting any trees (9 wins for Capello - 6 of those against the might of Belarus, Andorra and Kazakhstan), only to inevitably falter at said tournament having got up the hopes of 98% (pretty much the percentage of delusional idiots in England) of the population. At least McClaren had the decency not to follow this path. Will Capello buck the trend? Good a chance as any, but there are still 8 or 9 teams better than England. Out on pens in the quarters anyone?
3. The Raveonettes
Chain Gang of Love and Whip It On (2002 and 2003 respectively) were great records. Perfectly timed for a resurgence in uptempo indie rock/pop, these albums yielded potential floor-filling singles (see: That Great Love Sound; Attack of the Ghost Riders; Beat City), their fuzzy, distorted Scandinavian poppiness was fantastic. But what happened? Subsequent released just nowhere near matched the quality, and their massive potential for success was simply never realised. A shame.
2. Diego Maradona
"Maradona?" you may say, but in 1978, a young, slightly chubby 17 year old called Diego Armando Maradona almost signed for second division side Sheffield United. For £200,000! However, Blades boss Harry Haslam opted out at the last minute, chosing to sign another Argentine, Alejandro Sabella, for a slightly smaller fee. Good business, you'd think? The rest however, is history. Maradona bagged 34 in 91 for Argentina at several World Cups, and bagged 22 in 36 for Barcelona and 115 in 188 in Serie A for Italy. Now he's really fat and a pretty hopeless manager. Sabella on the other hand, only scored 8 in 76 for Sheffield United as they were relegated, and was sold on to Leeds at a loss, where he lingered for a year before heading back to the lower echelons of Argentinian football, picking up a measly 4 caps for his country on the way. Just imagine...
1. Freddy Adu
American football's (by that, I mean soccer) biggest hope. Young Freddy had the world at his feet - a debut in the MLS at fifteen, playing for the USA U-20s at 13, extended trials at Manchester United and a six-figure bid for his services at the age of 10 from European giants. Now? Adu is still only 20, but all that promise sees him loaned out (for the second season running, from Portuguese giants Benfica) to the unspectacular Belenenses. Plus, he has 15 USA caps and 2 goals. Whilst Adu's career hasn't taken the predicted arc, he shouldn't be written off - he is just 20, and is a classic case of overhype. An early developer at 13, of course Adu stood out, he was stronger, quicker and fitter than his contemporaries. At 20, he's pretty much the same size and weight - pretty average for a fully grown man. All is not lost with Adu just yet, but the weight of expectation is pretty damn heavy on this young mans shoulders.
Near misses: The Noisettes. Early singles and shows were great. What happened?
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