Every now and again the world of football is blessed by a collection of the finest flair players all playing in same team. This feat is rarely seen which makes it even more special. Here are my top 10 flair units in my living memory (from the mid 90's onwards).
10. Jamaica's "Reggae Boyz"- World Cup 1998
The sunkissed island of Jamaica made their World Cup debut in 1998. The nation more famous for providing the world with Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff and Desmond Dekker was previously more of a cricketing nation. Many of the Jamaica squad were plying their trade in England (or have since moved here) so were more than familiar with football fans over here. Jamaica were unfortunately dumped out at the first round after defeats at the hands of Croatia and Argentina. The highlight came with a 2-1 over the fancied Japanese. Some could've seen their early exit coming, questioning whether the likes of Fitzroy Simpson and Frank Sinclair really belonged at the World Cup. But extravagant play and colourful fans really brightened up every game that the Reggae Boyz played in.
Team that defeated Japan: Aaron Lawrence; Stephen Malcolm, Christopher Dawes, Ian Goodison, Fitzroy Simpson (Robbie Earle); Marcus Gayle (Deon Burton), Theodore Whitmore, Ricardo Gardner, Onandi Lowe; Frank Sinclair, Paul Hall (Walter Boyd)
9. Jose Mourinho's Porto Team- 2002-2004
Few had heard of 'The Special One' before FC Porto's 2002-03 Uefa Cup Win (against Martin O'Neill's Celtic) and 2003-04 Champions League win (against AS Monaco). His side were mainly an efficient unit which few could dismantle (they defeated Manchester United en route to the final)
but it was their unknown flamboyant manager who gripped the attention of the flair world like a python around it's pray. Jose left Porto after his back to back European successes and joined Chelsea where he briefly dominated the English game before joining Internazionale, but the flair connoisseurs amongst us remember the good old days when a silver fox shook the world of football in a way never seen before
Team that beat AS Monaco in the Champions League final: Vitor Baia; Paulo Ferreira, Jorge Costa, Ricardo Carvalho, Nuno Valente; Pedro Mendes, Costinha, Maniche, Deco (Pedro Emanuel); Derlei (Benni McCarthy), Carlos Alberto (Dimitri Alenichev)
8. Sir Bobby Robson's Newcastle Dynasty. 1999-2004
Before 'The Toon' became a world wide comedy act they were actually quite good. Sir Bobby, a local hero, took over from the disastrous spell of Ruud Gullit and transformed United into a respectable outfit. Consistently high league finishes and European adventures kept fans happy. The potent strike force of Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy was supplied by the likes of Laurent Robert, Nolberto Solano, Kieron Dyer, Lee Bowyer and Jermaine Jenas. The impressive Jonathan Woodgate made sure that respectability was added to the defence. They say that too many cooks spoil the flair broth and this proved to be the case as Robson's galactico's self imploded around him. In-fighting and on pitch dissent put pressure on the aging legend. Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer fighting on pitch was the straw that broke the camels back for the Newcastle board and they replaced him with Graham Souness. Newcastle have since spiraled into anarchy and now find themselves in the Championship. They have never seen anything like the delights of Robson's reign since his departure.
A select few of the many flair players to play in this period: Titus Bramble; Craig Bellamy; Lee Bowyer; Laurent Robert; Jonathan Woodgate; Lomana Lua-Lua; Shola Ameobi; Clarence Acuna; Kieron Dyer; Nolberto Solano
7. Senegal- World Cup 2002
Senegal made their World Cup debut in 2002 and stunned the world when they defeated world champion's France. They went on to draw with Denmark and Uruguay which resulted in the African's progressing to the second stage where they defeated Sweden. An extra time defeat to Turkey saw them crashing out in the quarter finals, but their athleticism, industry and skill endeared them to fans throughout the world. Senegal have failed to qualify for a World Cup since and many of the teams stars have failed to capitalise on their undoubted potential.
Team that defeated France: Tony Sylva; Omar Daf, Papa Malick Diop, Aliou Cisse, Khaliou Fadiga; El-Hadji Diouf, Lamine Diatta, Moussa D'Diaye, Salif Diao Ferdinand Coly, Papa Boupa Diop. Selected Subs Not Used: Henri Camara; Amdy Faye, Habib Beye
6. Bolton Wanderers' "Golden Oldies"
The words "Bolton" and "Flair" are very rarely mentioned in the same page let along sentence, but here, i'm going to do it: Bolton, flair. There you go. Shortly after promotion to the Premiership, unlikely flair icon Sam Allardyce went flair mental and created a flair dynasty that will live long in the memory. Surrounded by industrial oafs were several players deemed too flair/old for any other club. As the players got older, the team started to retire and disband and the flair era and the Reebok was quickly over
Selected players to play for Bolton's "Golden Oldies": Jay-Jay Okocha; Fredi Bobic; El-Hadji Diouf; Hidetoshi Nakata; Fernando Hierro; Youri Djourkaeff
5. Chelsea's "Zola and Co."
Remember when Chelsea were cool? Pre-Abramovich Chelsea were a cosmopolitan, underachieving, swashbuckling flair orchestra. They would regularly defeat the top teams in the league, but poor results against teams that they should've easily defeated meant that they often underachieved league wise, but in the cups they were fairly successful with FA Cup and Uefa Cup Winners Cup wins. Financial instability led to a certain Russian taking over and a more efficient unit replacing the flair icons of before.
Team that defeated Stuttgart in the 1998 Uefa Cup Winners Cup Final: Ed De Goey; Dan Petrescu, Danny Granville, Frank LeBoeuf, Michael Duberry, Steve Clarke; Dennis Wise, Roberto Di Matteo, Gustavo Poyet (Eddie Newton); Tore Andre Flo, Gianluca Vialli (Gianfranco Zola)
4. Roy Evans and "Pass and move it's the Liverpool groove"
It's hard to remember a time when Liverpool weren't insanely dull, but in reality you don't have to turn the clock back too far to find an entertaining Liverpool side. Pre-Benitez, Pre-Gerrard, Pre-Carragher, Pre-Houllier and even Pre-Owen, Liverpool were a relentlessly attacking side, showing little regard to defending and playing excellent football. Managed by one of football's forgotten men- Roy Evans- Liverpool combined an ageing defence, and erratic goalkeeper and a midfield that were only interested in flairing the shit out of any opposition. The 4-3 win over fellow flairniacs, Newcastle United, is one of the greatest matches ever seen. Gerard Houllier joined Evans at the helm and had his own ideas. Evans quit and, whilst the clubs fortunes on the pitch improved, the flair period was sadly, over.
Team that defeated Newcastle United 4-3: David James; Rob Jones (Ian Rush), Jason McAteer, Mark Wright (Steve Harkness), Stan Collymore, John Barnes, John Scales, Jamie Redknapp, Steve McManaman, Robbie Fowler, Neil Ruddock
3. West Ham- "Too Good to Go Down" 2002-2003
West Ham United were considered far too good to be relegated when the 2002-03 season started. Glenn Roeder had succeeded Harry Redknapp and was carrying on with the side that Redknapp built, based around many locally sourced young players. Despite playing fantastic football at times, consistant form was never found and the underachieving Hammers were eventually relegated. The club have never quite recovered since, however many of the players have gone on to greater things. David James, Glen Johnson, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole and Jermaine Defoe have all become England internationals, and Freddi Kanoute has had a successful career in Spain
Team that defeated Chelsea 1-0 in May 2003: David James; Glen Johnson, Tomas Repka, Christian Dailly, Rufus Brevett; Steve Lomas, Joe Cole, Trevor Sinclair; Freddi Kanoute, Les Ferdinand (Paolo Di Canio), Jermaine Defoe
2. England- Euro '96
The most exciting England side in years graced the European Championship in 1996. Led by manager Terry Venables the team used home advantage and a talented team to very nearly go all the way- eventually losing on penalties to anti-flair elitists, Germany in the semi-finals. Venables deployed the "Christmas Tree" formation (4-3-2-1) in which star midfield and flair overlord, Paul Gascoigne was given freedom to roam and assist hot shot striker, Alan Shearer. England blitzed through the first round with a draw against Switzerland, a win over Scotland and a demolition of Netherlands, before a hard fought win over Spain saw them face off with Germany in the semi's. It was not meant to be and England have never been as flair since.
England Squad: David Seaman, Gary Neville, Stuart Pearce, Paul Ince, Tony Adams, Gareth Southgate, David Platt, Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham, Darren Anderton, Steve Howey, Ian Walker, Nicky Barmby, Jamie Redknapp, Sol Campbell, Steve McManaman, Les Ferdinand, Phil Neville, Steve Stone, Robbie Fowler, Tim Flowers
1. Keegan's Newcastle Dream Team
This Newcastle side were my inspiration for flair. They were the reason why i got into flair and i owe everything to them. The pinnacle of this flair dynasty was the 1995-96 season in which they dazzled opponents with attacking play before self imploding and eventually surrendering the title which was almost in their grasp. Shaka Hislop and Pavel Srnicek battled it out for the keepers jersey (which featured a backdrop of the Newcastle skyline), David Ginola strolled around the pitch looking like he didn't give a shit before unleashing a volley into the top corner from 30 yards, Phillipe Albert defended without caring about defence and Faustino Asprilla played with incredible inconsistency. This rich cocktail of flair led to a potent hangover as the Toon never quite recaptured these glory years, and failure to do so has seen many managers come and go. Even the arrival of prodigal son, Alan Shearer the following season couldn't improved the flairtunes of the club.
This is the side that defeated Arsenal 2-0 in January 1996: Pavel Srnicek; Warren Barton, Rob Elliot, Darren Peacock, Philippe Albert, Rob Lee (Lee Clark), David Ginola, Peter Beardsley, Paul Kitson (Steve Watson), Les Ferdinand
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