Football sees greatness on different degrees (Video)

As with all sporting disciplines, some will reach the ultimate pinnacle with an incredible talent and an unerring dedication to the training and practice that it takes to be the very best in the field, while others will disappear in their wake to be introduced to the cusp of failure. A sub-plot to the London Olympics has been Michael Phelps re-affirm his dominance as the king of the swimming pool with 22 Olympic medals to his name. He is at the very top of his sport, just like Mo Farah earned his crown as the king of long-distance running. In individual sports, few will remember the people who came lower than third, but football, as a team sport, is a very different animal.

The same pyramid-like hierarchy exists however; for Phelps read Barcelona’s Lionel Messi or Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo as they both continue to smash records with a wondrous consistency, they are the ones, in a group with the likes of Spain’s domineering generation of pass-masters and an assortment of big names, who are placed on a pedestal by the spectators of all generations who view them in such high regard.

Yet, in a setting where the team mostly takes precedence over the individual, few players slip into the barren area of forgotten lands, regardless of whatever happens to their careers they will always have a memory that will appeal to at least the smallest sample of supporters. Take Jimmy Glass, a goalkeeper who spent the majority of his career in the non-leagues, who immortalised himself into Football League folklore with a stoppage time goal to keep Carlisle United up in 1999. Take Ian Ashbee, server of nine years at Hull City who captained them on a marvellous odyssey to the Premier League, he will never be forgotten by the Tiger’s faithful despite now being on the scrapheap following an unsuccessful spell at Preston.

Take Matt Le Tissier or Steve Bull who shunned any opportunity for medals to stay loyal to their beloved clubs, Southampton and Wolves respectively, they now hold true legendary status with each club without the same legacy of someone like Ryan Giggs, a legend of Manchester United, has forged from hoovering up every trophy available to him in a glittering career. Le Tissier, Bull, Ashbee and Glass are hardly the most revered of names, yet they are installed fully into their own unique greatness to a particular bunch of fans.

In football, in an adverse effect from the one that Phelps has experienced from his unbelievable medal haul, gongs don’t always necessitate greatness. In football, greatness can come from a single turn of fate as Diomansy Kamara found after his last-twenty minute brace kept Fulham in the Premier League in 2008, or even Federico Macheda’s twist and shot that imprinted him into Manchester United history when he provided the catalyst for their 2009 Premier League title win against Aston Villa.

Neither career of Kamara or Macheda has been littered with excellence since their golden moments, but they will remain immersed in the history of Fulham and Manchester United for the simple flick of a boot that changed the course of fate in seconds. As fans look back, some names will be picked out as being “great” on a personal level of affection, in totally different circumstances to the permanent level of excellence the likes of Ronaldo and Messi subscribe themselves to. They have achieved greatness and continue to push back its boundaries, but as football continuously shows, greatness is available to anybody.