A mere date of birth has next-to-no
significance for the Basque-based
South American spearhead. The
34-year-old has goals in his blood
and, if anything, seems to be gaining
in effectiveness as time ticks on.
Among La Liga’s top scorers this
season, he is far from an overnight
sensation. A native of the Brazilian
city of Belem, he was a winger in his
early days, and for much of his 15
years in Spain the second tier was
his habitat. In fact, he had to wait
until he was 29 to crack the top
flight, the door being opened by a
switch from Almeria to Celta Vigo.
Oddly, he is not an automatic first
choice for Eibar this term, making
as many substitute cameos as starts.
And given that he only has a few
months left on his current contract
he may well be tempted to look
elsewhere for greater appreciation.
But with a goal every 95 minutes,
only Lionel Messi has better stats
this term.CHARLES
EIBAR
A veteran of more than 570
competitive games with sides
such as Juventus, Torino,
Sampdoria, Napoli and Udinese,
the 36-year-old front man has
no intention of walking away
from the spotlight any time soon.
As sharp as he ever was, he
scored in 11 consecutive Serie
A games earlier this season to
equal a record set by Fiorentina’sGabriel Batistuta in 1994.
He is a centre-forward who
can hit the target every which
way and even scored with a
back-heel volley against Napoli
in September.
Capped 26 times, a growing
number of pundits believe
he should be recalled to the
Italian national team he last
represented back in 2010.Fabio QUAGLIARELLA
SAMPDORIA
Frode
KIPPE
LILLESTROM
Over two spells and 19 seasons, the
giant centre-back has given sterling
service to Lillestrom since making
his debut at the age of 19 and
leading the side to Norwegian
Cup triumphs in 2007 and 2017.
Now 41, he is the sort of gladiator
coaches dream of: robust, totally
committed, a fine captain and a
good source of headed goals from
set-pieces. With more
than 460 appearances
for the club he needs two
more years to become
the oldest-ever footballer
in Noway’s top flight.
An international on
eight occasions, he was
on Liverpool’s books as
a youngster but only had
of a couple of first-team
games. He also had a loan
spell at Stoke City, who
were then in the third
English tier, prior to
heading home in 2002.Olivier
DESCHACHT
LOKEREN
After 21 years and 603 first-team
games with Anderlecht – where he
won eight national titles – the former
Belgium international defender opted
to go back to the future last summer,
signing on a free for Lokeren, the club
whose youth team he used to play for.
Many saw it as a retrograde step,
and with Lokeren struggling to stay
afloat in the Belgian elite this season
the 38-year-old must have had more
than the odd tinge of regret.
However, he certainly had a ball
when Lokeren visited Anderlecht in
November. Handed a gift before kick-
off, he received a standing ovation from
the locals and then headed in his side’s
equaliser – which led to the home fans
immediately chanting his name.
“I’ll never forget this day and that’s
down to the supporters,” declared a
tearful Deschacht on the final whistle.
“My departure from Anderlecht did
hurt. I wanted to stay for another year
and then maybe work for the club.
“The owner decided otherwise.”6 OF THE BEST
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