Seems an easy discussion but thinking about this day and age and who has been a one-team man, etc it can be difficult. One I would like to put out there and mainly because I am watching him play is Gigi Buffon. How many players ( top level players) just ditched Juve after the bribery case? Gigi stuck through it all ( stayed with them even in the second division) and now he has won back to back league titles and Juve is back on top. A player who really does care about the club and wants to see it thrive. In this case you could also throw players like Del Piero, Nedved, Trezeguet who all stayed when the team got relegated. Do you have any players who have been loyal to the cause, especially when **** hit the fan? Doesn't have to be cream of the crop teams, if you know of local teams who have players who have stayed the course no matter what.
Good examples would be leeds and Newcastle when they got relegated. Ameobi and Steven Taylor come to mind.
JC, Callaghan, Stevie, Sami - there are loads to be honest, just not so much in the present. Other clubs - Taylor, Giggs, Scholes, Neville, Adams, Keown, Berkamp, Wise, Lampard, Terry, Cech, Osman, Ferguson, Naismith, Keane. Key point is they are mostly British and have affiliations with the clubs. The influx of players outside of the UK and Ireland has resulted in reduced loyalty as they tend not to be connected with their respected clubs.
After reading comments from Rodgers, I would say Agger. He's a player who's seen the good and bad days at Anfield but he has no intention of leaving even when big clubs come. Plus tattooing YNWA on your knuckles his special. Referring to Master Yoda's comments - it's easier for players to be loyal to when the team is successful but also when it's their home club. That's why I would exclude players like Scholes, Gerrard, Maldini.
Anybody who stayed when we were heading for administration with no buyer in sight and Roy Hodgson as manager.
Stevie. Honestly as a LFC fan there has been an element of guilt when speaking about him for a long time. Such a legend, such a player, so committed - and we never gave him the ultimate honor. I'd honestly employ him as a player until he was 50, if it meant getting 1 minute 10 times a season until we won it. He has 2 or 3 years left so we can still dream... Kuyt was pretty loyal too. He put his head down, did what was asked, bounced around on the pitch in whatever position Rafa, Roy, and Kenny wanted him to, didn't throw his toys out of the pram, etc. He knew he wasn't Torres or Suarez, but he just shut up and delivered.
Since I'm relatively young, Nedved was one of the first players that drew me in as a child. Probably my first footballing idol. Imagine a midfield of Zidane, Gerrard and Nedved...
Ya man, big big reason why I still try to follow Juve around. Davids as well, ZIzou, DEL PIERO, THuram, etc. He also had a lovely golden flow.
