6 HARDEST Footballers in History

Having a ‘hard man’ in your team can be an invaluable tool. It gives you a mental edge – if a player can intimidate his opponents successfully, they’re far less likely to become settled.

Today, we’ll be looking at the 6 hardest footballers in Premier League history, featuring former Everton, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest stars as well as a World Cup winner, who was arguably the greatest footballer of all time. Can you guess who they are?

Stuart Pearce

Stuart Pearce didn’t earn the nickname ‘psycho’ for no reason. His wild eyes were only surpassed by his even wilder challenges – there weren’t many wingers who wanted to face him during his playing years.

Plenty of former professionals ranked him as one of the scariest footballer they have ever come up against – even Roy Keane feared and respected the Nottingham Forest icon.

Perhaps his most gruelling moment was during his stint at West Ham, where he played for ten minutes on a fractured tibia before he was taken off.

Thomas Gravesen

Thomas Gravensen struck fear into the hearts of anyone he came up against. His unpredictable volatilty even scared some of his own coaches, including former Denmark coach Bo Johansson, who believed he was not ‘psychologically stable’.

Technically, Gravesen was no slouch – his talents were enough to secure him a transfer to Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2005, though he would only spend a single season in La Liga.

He was described by former England boss Fabio Capello as ‘a bit peculiar’ – he’ll fit right in as Nicolas Cage’s next-door neighbour (yes, he actually lives next door to Nicolas Cage!).

Vinnie Jones

When you think ‘footballing hard man’, Vinnie Jones is likely to be the first person that springs to mind. Whether on the pitch or on the Hollywood big screen, Jones was always a terrifying figure.

With a face that could turn milk sour and an attitude to match, Jones’ bone-crunching tackles were the stuff of pure infamy during his playing days.

Of course, he would trade in his footballing career for a stint in the acting world later on, starring in films such as Mean Machine, X-Men: The Last Stand and Snatch.

Duncan Ferguson

Duncan Ferguson is the only centre-forward on our list – no player has made defenders fearful quite like ‘drunken’ Duncan.

While he was a decent target man who could hold the ball up effectively, his roughhouse tactics were what defined his legacy. On several occasions, he would smash his elbow or forearm into defenders’ faces at his side – that made them think twice about challenging him.

An Everton icon, Ferguson also played for clubs such as Rangers, Newcastle United and Dundee United during his 16-year professional career.

Roy Keane

In the 1990s and early 2000s, there was nothing more terrifying than having Roy Keane breathing down your neck while you’re on the ball. A dogged midfield general, Keane never gave anything less than 100%.

He was a very underrated techincal operator, being able to skip around the middle of the park and create openings for his teammates – of course, his greatest strengths laid in his ball-winning ability.

Keane’s ferocious attitude on the pitch was peerless. If you tackled him and left a foot in, he would let you know about it later on – just ask Alf-Inge Haaland.

Diego Maradona

Despite his size make no mistake the Argentinian legend could take of himself and as the famous game he played for Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao showed he could give as good as he got.

The highlights above feature the day Diego physically exacted revenge on Athletic Bilbao, whose player Andoni Goikoetxea aka “the Butcher of Bibao” had a few months beforehand almost succeeded in inflicting a premature end to Maradona’s career by intentionally breaking his ankle in a foul that was described as “one of the most brutal fouls ever delivered in the history of Spanish football”.