The second instalment of my series that’s looking at foreign players in Premier League history, the impact they had and how influential these players were back in their home countries. This instalment will look at players from countries such as Australia, Austria and Belgium along with others to see the influence players from those countries have had in the Premier League.
Australia
Mark Bosnich certainly had a colourful career, Bosnich played for three Premier League clubs in Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea and was proclaimed to be a ‘terrible professional’ by Sir Alex Ferguson, however Sir Alex did sign the Aussie goalkeeper twice and wanted him to replace Peter Schmeichel so must’ve seen something in him. Bosnich was always in the media spotlight, not always for his footballing prowess though as he was fined £1,000 while at Aston Villa for a Nazi salute aimed at Tottenham Hotspur and his career in the Premier League came to an end after he failed a drugs test while at Chelsea. When talking about Australians in the Premier League, Tim Cahill will always be a name that’ll pop up, a club legend at Everton, the midfielder had a glorious 8 years at Goodison Park under David Moyes, in 2006 his form caught the eye of many and he was one of 50 nominated for the Ballon D’or, Cahill is famed for his tenacity on the pitch and for a man who was relatively short for a footballer was always a threat in the air with fantastic heading ablility. Not all Australians have had success in the Premier League, an example is Brett Holman who arrived at Aston Villa after catching the eye at Dutch side AZ, however after only 27 appearances and not living up to any expectations, Holman was shipped off to the UAE. Ahmad Elrich, David Carney, Jacob Burns and Mile Sterjovski would be also included in Aussies that didn’t quite hit the heights in the Premier League. One that did however is Brett Emerton, who joined Blackburn Rovers after winning the UEFA Cup with Feyenoord, Emerton found his feet quickly in the Premier League and was instrumental in the side under Mark Hughes which saw Rovers qualify for the UEFA Cup themselves. Emerton’s latter years at Ewood Park were hampered with injuries but with over 250 appearnces for Blackburn, he is fondly remembered by the club and it’s fans. Mile Jedinak became a bit of a cult hero during his time at Crystal Palace, winning the club’s player of the year award during their promotion campaign in 2012-13 and was key to Palace retaining their place in the Premier League prior to his departure to Aston Villa in 2016. Unfortunately Jedinak did not play for Villa in the Premier League but he’ll be fondly remembered by the Palace faithful for his contribution during his five years at the club. Being a Leeds United fan, Australians were a big part of my childhood, Harry Kewell came through the Leeds United academy under David O’Leary and was fantastic for the Yorkshire club, a season from Kewell that caught the eye was 1999-00 when he won the PFA young player of the season, was named in the PFA team of the year and was subject to a £25M bid from Inter Milan which Leeds rejected, only to sell for £5M three years later. Kewell was a vital cog to the Leeds team that reached the Champions League semi-final but financial difficulties saw him sold to Liverpool in 2003 where he sadly wasn’t anywhere near the player we saw at Leeds United. Even though he was the first Australian to lift the UEFA Champions League, Kewell never replicated his success at Elland Road during his time at Anfield. Aaron Mooy who’s just left Brighton and Hove Albion to go to China certainly made a success of himself during his time at Huddersfield Town where he stood out as the Terriers stayed up in their first season in the league despite being favourites to go down. Mark Viduka was another Aussie who gave Leeds United fans plenty of joy, he’s mostly remembered in Leeds United colours for his exploits during a game against Liverpool in November 2000 after he joined an elite club of players who’ve scored four goals in a Premier League game. After leaving Leeds, Viduka went on to the North East and continued scoring goals for Middlesbrough before going up to Newcastle United. 51 players from Down Under have graced the Premier League, from the brilliant goals of Viduka to the brilliant own goals of Tony Popovic, the Aussies have certainly made their mark on the league.
Austria
17 Austrians have played in the Premier League, two of them have won it, those being Alex Manninger with Arsenal in 1997-98 and Christian Fuchs with Leicester in 2015-16. Fuchs was a part of that amazing Leicester City side that shocked the world to win the Premier League and was a key factor in the side, providing brilliant displays from the left-back position. He also assisted the goal which saw Jamie Vardy break the record for goals in consecutive games as his no look pass put the forward in for his eleventh consecutive game with a goal. Paul Scharner made an impact during his time in England, most notably with Wigan Athletic, a constant threat from set pieces and had a few colourful haircuts during his 7 years in the Premier League with Wigan and West Bromwich Albion, a tough tackling midfielder who had the personality to go with his questionable haircuts. Marko Arnautovic joined Stoke City for only £2M in 2013 after spells with Werder Bremen and FC Twente, the striker made quite the impact during his time at the Britannia Stadium, as Stoke were able to sell him four years later to West Ham United for £25M, Arnautovic played 59 league games for the Hammers and found the net 21 times but in July 2019, his time at the Premier League came to an end after the lure of Chinese football proved to be too much and he joined Shanghai SIPG bringing to an end an entertaining 6 years in England. Andreas Weimann was touted for big things when he first came on to the scene at Aston Villa, however his time in England has seen him make more impact in the Championship with clubs like Derby County and Bristol City. Football in Austria is a growing game, and with clubs like Red Bull Salzburg and Rapid Vienna, it’s only time before more Austrians will grace the Premier League.
Barbados
Not many things would make one want to leave a place like Barbados but I guess the lure of Premier League football would make one take flight from the Caribbean. Gregory Goodrige was the first Bajan to play in the Premier League during the 1995-96 season with QPR, he also found the net in his 7 game spell in the league. Probably the most famous player from Barbados in world football is Emmerson Boyce who played for Crystal Palace and Wigan Athletic. Boyce is a hero in Wigan, after captaining the side to an improbable FA Cup victory in 2013, not may have proudly lifted the FA Cup over their heads at Wembley but you can put Emmerson Boyce in that list. Only four Bajans have played in the Premier League, to the list we add Paul Ifill who played for Sheffield United in 2006-07 and Nick Blackman who represented Blackburn Rovers and Reading between 2011-13, both didn’t make quite make the desired impact but are in a rare list of Bajans who have played in the most watched league in the world.
Belarus
Only two Belarusians have represented their country in the Premier League, one is much more familiar than the other. Alexander Hleb was the first and the most famous Belarusian to play in England’s top flight, Hleb first joined Arsenal in 2005 from German side Stuttgart in a deal costing £15M. The midfielder was impressive during his time at the Emirates and caught the eye of Barcelona who had a thing for Arsenal players in the mid to late 2000’s, sadly he didn’t replicate that form at the Nou Camp and was loaned out constantly, one season saw him join Birmingham City for his second Premier League spell, however he couldn’t repeat his success at Arsenal. The second player from the Easter Europe country played for Blackpool during their only season in the top flight, his name is Sergei Kornilenko…. no me neither, the striker played six games for the Tangerines in 2011. Not much to say about him.
Belgium
It’s been the superb with the not so good when it comes to Belgians in the Premier League, moments of real inspiration followed moments to forget. The first Belgian to play in the Premier League was as graceful as they come, that man was Phillipe Albert, an attack minded centre-back if there ever is such a thing, Albert was the man who started it. He’s most remembered for his audacious chip in Newcastle’s famous 5-0 win over Manchester United in 1996, any striker in the world would’ve been proud to claim that goal, for it to be a centre back was extraordinary. Michy Batshuayi hasn’t quite hit the heights during his time in England’s top flight but he can claim to have scored a title winning goal, doing so in his first season with Chelsea in 2016-17, not the favoured striker under Antonio Conte but whenever he did strike, he did at vital times. To replace Petr Cech as your club’s first choice goalkeeper, you must have something about you and Thibaut Courtois certainly has. Courtois first joined Chelsea in 2011 and didn’t make his debut for them until 2014, spending three season on loan at Atletico Madrid. When he did return from Madrid, Courtois was fantastic for Chelsea, helping them win the Premier League twice while also winning the Golden Glove once. Courtois once again left West London for Madrid in 2018 but this time it was a permanent deal as he achieved his dream of playing for Real Madrid , but one feels Chelsea still haven’t found his replacement. While Michy Batshuayi and Thibaut Courtois were coups for Chelsea, Kevin De Bruyne was certainly one that got away, De Bruyne joined Chelsea in 2012 from Genk but hardly made an impact, and in 2014 he was shipped off to Wolfsburg. When the midfielder re-joined the league in 2015 with Manchester City, he felt he had a point to prove and he has more than proved his point, during his time in Manchester, De Bruyne has asserted himself as one of the best players in world football, he’s an anchor in the current Manchester City side and has helped the club win back to back Premier League titles while also helping the club to a domestic treble in 2018-19. Marouane Fellaini spent 11 years in the Premier League and wherever David Moyes went, the man who’s famed for his afro hairstyle seemed to follow. Fellaini was a vital cog for Everton during his five years there, if someone was too aggressive for the Premier League then it was Fellaini, earning himself 10 bookings in his first 17 games, but soon he mellowed and became an important player for Everton. A few months after Moyes left for Old Trafford, he brought Fellaini along with him, in what seemed to be a panic buy from Moyes. However Fellaini was important during his time at Old Trafford, whenever United needed a goal or wanted a bit of aggression, Fellaini was the man who was brought on to provide it. Fellaini left United in February 2019 after five and half years, after transferring to Shandong Luneng Taishan of China. Eden Hazard joined Chelsea in 2012, with a lot of pressure on his shoulders but he exceeded everyone’s expectations during his time in the Premier League. Hazard won the Premier League twice during his time at Chelsea but in every season he had in the league, he was up for an individual award for best player such was his quality and consistency at the West London club. Hazard has also come up with moments of pure inspiration while at Chelsea, a magical moment from the winger was his solo goal against Arsenal in the 2016/17 season, which effectively ended Arsenal’s push for the title. Hazard left Chelsea in 2019 to sign for Real Madrid. In his last season at Chelsea, Hazard helped the club win the Europa League and also became only the fourth player in history to record at least 15 goals and 15 assists during a Premier League season. Vincent Kompany left Manchester City in 2019 as a club legend, Kompany arrived from Hamburg in 2008 for £8M and during his time in Manchester proved himself as one of the best defenders the league has ever seen. He was the anchor to Manchester City’s success and proved by essentially winning the title for City n 2018-19, a screamer in the penultimate game against Leicester City was vital in the title race, and not many footballers past or present could do what Kompany did that night. Kompany lifted the Premier League title four times and left in 2019 as a league and club legend. Romelu Lukaku arrived to the Premier League to join Chelsea, during his time at Stamford Bridge he hardly played for the blues and before signing for Everton on a permanent deal in 2014 was on loan at West Bromwich Albion. At Albion, Lukaku joined an elite club of players who have scored a hat-trick against Manchester United, doing so in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final game in charge of United. Lukaku made an instant impact at Everton scoring 15 goals in his first season at Goodison Park before going on to 53 goals in 110 appearances after signing on a permanent deal. In 2017 the striker joined Manchester United in a deal which could reach £90M and was placed under more scrutiny from the media, anytime he didn’t score there were questions asked of him. However he scored 28 Premier League goals in 66 appearances and in 2019 left Manchester United for Italian giants Inter Milan. To put his achievements only 18 players have scored more goals than him in Premier League history, and Lukaku had achieved over 100 goals in the Premier League by the time he was 26. Belgium has produced some of the finest players in Premier League history, from players like Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne to ones that didn’t quite reach the heights such as Adnan Januzaj and Christian Benteke. What could’ve been if Luc Nilis’ career hadn’t been cruelly cut short at Aston Villa due to injury? Who knew that Ritchi De Laet had won the Premier League? 58 Belgians have played in the Premier League and in that cluster, there are some of the best players to have ever played in the league, others haven’t been so successful, but the quality some of them have produced have resulted in some of the league’s most memorable moments.
That’s it for part two, in the next part I’ll be looking at players from countries such as Brazil, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cameroon among others where we have seen plenty of characters who have made their mark on the Premier League including some that have won the Premier League and some that have scored unforgettable hat-tricks and some who became legends for the teams and the people they played for.
Story of football in Wales and all over the world 