He's Got No Hair but We Don't Care - 10 Golden Baldies in PL History (Part 2 of 3)
by Chris
Welcome to the nineteenth edition of the Sporting Lowdown advent calendar! This will be continued until the 24th December so any requests for my opinion will most likely be included in the 24 and in the future.
Now people have their reasons for being bald. Some by medical disruption, and some by choice, but this clearly has no effect on their footballing ability. Here are three of the very best we've seen in the PL era. If you want me to do more of these slightly more bizarre pieces then do let me know, and if you have any more suggestions for the best bald players there is always a possibility for a part 4!
His eight years in the Premier League with Liverpool were undoubtedly the best of his career. The Spaniard, son of former Atletico Madrid and Barcelona 'keeper Miguel Reina, made his first team debut in 2000, after becoming yet another product of the famed La Macia academy.
He made his first Barcelona appearance after appearing for the C,B and u19 teams in 2000 after first choice and second choice goalkeepers Richard Dutruel and Francesc Arnau suffered injuries. He notably played against his future club Liverpool, but lost as the Merseyside club were on their way to the UEFA Cup title. He made 16 appearances the following season, playing second fiddle to Roberto Bonano.
After Barca signed German Robert Enke, Reina joined Villarreal and remained there for 3 years, where he established himself as one of the best goalies in Europe. He reached the semi-final of the UEFA Cup in 2004, and the following season helped El Submarino Amarillo to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in their 81 year history.
Rafa Benitez hailed Reina as 'the best Goalkeeper in Spain, after signing him for his new club Liverpool in the summer of 2005. He overtook Istanbul hero Jerzy Dudek as number one 'keeper and won the Premier League Golden Glove, keeping 20 clean sheets. He broke Liverpool's record for the least number of goals conceded in the first 50 games, only 29 passed the solid Spaniard beating legendary goalkeeper Ray Clemence's record of 32. His heroics also helped Liverpool lift the FA Cup that year, as well as reaching the Champions League final the next season.
He won the Golden Glove for three consecutive seasons and tied with Petr Cech in the fourth, with the Czech winning on goals-to-game ratio. He won Liverpool's player of the season in 2009-10, Rafa Benitez's final season at Anfield, after the club finished 7th and reached a Europa League semi-final. He also suffered the ignominy of conceding the dreaded 'beachball' goal to Sunderland's Darren Bent.
Three years later, a Carling Cup victory and an FA Cup runners up medal were the only two honours for Reina, Liverpool were on their third manager in three years since the sacking of Rafa Benitez, and Reina, after playing okay in the first season under Brendan Rodgers, was loaned to reunite with his former manager at Napoli, and was replaced by Simon Mignolet. He made 394 appearances for Liverpool.
In Naples, he became the first man ever to save a penalty from the controversial Mario Balotelli in a competitive match, and helped Napoli to a Coppa Italia victory before joining Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich.
By doing this, he became the first goalkeeper and Spaniard in history to play in Europe's top four leagues, the Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and the Premier League. He returned to Napoli the following year and has remained ever since.
6: Jaap STAM
If there was ever a football player who acted like he belonged in jail, it was Jaap Stam, but his aggression and dominating style was one of the best in the Premier League in the three years he played here.
He began his professional career at PEC Zwolle, in the second division of Dutch Football, before moving up to Eredivisie side Cambuur the next season, but was relegated back in to the Eerste Divisie again, but got hi move again, to Willem II. He then, after a shock 1-0 victory over Ajax, moved to giants PSV Eindhoven. A journeyman it's fair to say in his early career!
Stam became a stalwart in the centre of De Boeren's defence, as they won the Eredivisie and the Johan Cruyff Shield, and he eventually won the VVCS Footballer of the year award in 1997.
He was snapped up by Alex Ferguson, becoming the most expensive ever Dutch player, signing for the Red Devils for £10.6m in 1998. He wouldn't disappoint in his first season as United won the Champions League in incredible style, beating Bayern 3-2 in the dying seconds. He won three Premier League titles, an FA cup, and an Intercontinental Cup. He scored his only United goal in a 6-2 thrashing of Leicester City at Filbert Street.
In 2001, Stam was controversially sold to Italian side Lazio for a reported £16m, a decent deal for an ageing centre back who had recently suffered an Achilles injury it seemed, and was replaced by French World Cup winner Laurent Blanc. Sir Alex later admitted in 2007 that it was a definite mistake to let go of the Dutchman, especially as he went on till that year playing to the top of his game.
After being banned for 5 months for having the banned steroid 'Nandrolone' in his system, Stam returned to a financially stripped Lazio, becoming an integral part of the Coppa Italia winning side of 2004.
He left la Biancocelesti for A.C Milan after Euro 2004. He became an immediate success at La Rossoneri in 2005, only to be beaten by Liverpool in an incredible comeback. He never really established himself as a first teamer at Milan, playing 42 times in two seasons in total, and moved back to his homeland with AFC Ajax in 2006.
It was a homecoming with an eye on retirement for the 34 year old Stam, who had still performed at high levels for Milan at older ages but the experience of a Champions League winner in the Ajax dressing room was enough to see rising stars such as John Heitinga, Thomas Vermaelen, Wesley Sneijder, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld grow to have fantastic careers.
Since retiring with immediate effect in October 2007, he has been assistant manager of Zwolle, Ajax, Jong Ajax and finally got his big break at Reading, where his attractive style got them to the Playoff final. They eventually lost to Huddersfield, but the Dutchman was rewarded with a new contract in the summer of this year.
5: FERNANDINHO
Of course it would be easy to put the Brazilian high on this list because he's doing so well currently for Manchester City, but the solid defensive midfielder in my opinion is the best defensively orientated midfielder in the Premier League, above the likes of N'Golo Kante and Granit Xhaka. A 'bold' statement, excuse the pun, but I truly believe his work for Guardiola and Manuel Pellegrini has made him as good as anybody in the world in his role.
He began his professional career at Brazilian Serie A side Atletico Paraenense, where he made 72 appearances, scoring 14 times where he occupied a more free flowing attacking role. He played alongside future Shakhtar Donetsk teammates Jadson and Carlos in this side. They finished runners up in the League and in the Copa Libertadores in 2004.
He signed for Shakhtar in 2005, for a hefty £7m fee. They took the title in his first season with the club, beating Dynamo Kyiv to prevail above them in the Ukranian title race. The next season Shakhtar finished runners up in all three domestic competitions, the Super Cup, Ukranian Cup and League.
Fernandinho really established himself in the 2007-08 season as Shakhtar regained the title, scoring 11 times in 29 matches, and for the next five years became a more defensive midfielder, never passing 5 in a league season for Shakhtar since then. In total, he played 284 times for Hirnyky, scoring 53 times. He won six titles, four cups and one UEFA Cup.
In 2013, Fernandinho became the first summer signing for Manuel Pellegrini, for a reported fee of £34m, a fee questioned at the time for a midfielder not proven as a top one in Europe. As James Milner occupied his chosen number 7, he asked his son which number he should wear, in which he said number 25. He was a key element in City's title winning side of 13-14, and the two League cup victories of 2014 and 2016. At the age of 32, he has made 207 appearances for Manchester City, scoring 19 times.
The Brazilian is now so important under Pep Guardiola, the legendary Spaniard said, "If a team has three Fernandinho's, they would be champions. We have one, but he is fast, he is intelligent, he is strong in the air, he can play several positions. When he sees the space he will run there immediately. When you need to make a correction, you just need one player to challenge, and he is there."
I hope you enjoyed part two of the Golden Baldies. Any other suggestions are welcome and will be taken into consideration.
Chris
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