Top 50 Unsung Heroes in World Football

World Football today is dominated by big-name superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who score tremendous amounts of goals and grab all the headlines. Players often want to emulate the Wayne Rooneys, Didier Drogbas and the Samuel Eto'os; they idolize these players who receive so much attention from the media for doing their job.

But often, there are great players in World Football who don't receive the attention they deserve at all. Maybe because they don't play in an attractive position, or maybe they play at a small club; whatever the reason, these players go about their business the right way but often do not receive the credit they deserve for it.

Today, we will attempt to right that wrong by recognizing the top 50 "unsung heroes" of world football.

Since its hard to rank exactly how much a player deserves the title of being an unsung hero, we'll avoid ranking these players, and instead just go through their names. As always, with any top 50 list on such a broad topic, names may be left out so, don't be afraid to suggest a name for inclusion after reading, but try not be upset if a player you like has been excluded.

Also, please understand that, in order to make this very tough task a bit more manageable, I've stuck mostly with players from the top five leagues in the world, minus a few exceptions here and there.

So, before you start complaining about the exclusion of Mohamed Aboutreika or Lucas Rodrigues from this list, understand that such players, no matter how talented and heroic they may be, were not considered.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy!

Richard Dunne has been an unsung hero for practically his entire career. 

Despite winning the FA Youth Cup for Everton in 1998 and making 31 league appearances for the first team in the following season, Dunne moved to Manchester City for only £3 million in 2000.

At Manchester City, Ricard Dunne proved himself to be easily one of the best center backs in the world, but never received the credit he deserved. However, whereas the media and fans around the world may not have recognized his talent, his teammates did. Micah Richards said this about Richard Dunne in 2007:

Ever since I’ve come to this club Richard has just been quality. I play with him week in, week out and I think he’s one of the best players I’ve played with. I’ve played with John Terry and Rio Ferdinand in the England squad but Richard is right up there with them.

Despite showing excellent form well-into the takeover of Manchester City by the Abu Dhabi United Group, it was decided that Dunne just wasn't a big enough name for the new Manchester City, and the Irish international was sold to Aston Villa, where he continues to ply his trade today.

Now approaching 32, Richard Dunne will likely end what has been an impressive career at Aston Villa.

As a word of warning, you can expect to see a good number of Borussia Dortmund players over the course of this slideshow. Considering the fact that Dortmund beat Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich with a bunch of players lacking any real international name-recognition though, this shouldn't really be surprising.

Lucas Barrios is one of the most underrated strikers in world football today. Starting out his career playing second division football in Chile and Argentina, Barrios first made himself known at Cobreloa, a first division club in Chile, where he scored 26 goals in 39 appearances.

His good form earned him a move to Atlas in Mexico and subsequently a move to Colo-Colo, the biggest club in Chile. After scoring 40 goals in 40 appearances for Colo-Colo, clubs all over Europe were alerted, and Barrios found himself on his way to Dortmund.

In Dortmund, Barrios has maintained an exceptional strike rate, scoring a total of 44 goals in 77 appearances over two seasons with the club. Yet, despite demonstrating ridiculous efficiency in front of goal for at least three seasons now, Barrios has received little acclaim in Germany compared to the Mario Gomezes, Rauls, Podolskis and Kloses of the Bundesliga, and often finds it hard to start or even receive call-ups for his country!

Playing for a country like Paraguay, Barrios is unlikely to make a name for himself on the international stage, but he may still be able to make a name for himself by guiding Dortmund to more success domestically and in the Champions League. At the young age of 26, he definitely still has time on his side.

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Ah, the story of the fallen Real Madrid youth product, who is rejected by the first team and forced to go elsewhere and make a name for himself. He shows great goalscoring ability upon leaving Real Madrid for a smaller club, and returns to haunt Real Madrid multiple times in his career.

...Okay, so that is the story of Samuel Eto'o. But it actually isn't too far off of Roberto Soldado's story either. 

Roberto Soldado joined Real Madrid at the age of 15, and would become a very impressive goalscorer for the B team from the age of 17, netting a total of 63 goals in 120 appearances.

His good form for Real Madrid encouraged Real Madrid to incorporate him into the first team, and indeed in 2005-06 he was given a decent number of opportunities to play, before being sent on loan to Osasuna in 2006-07.

Despite a successful loan at Osasuna, Soldado returned to Real Madrid surplus to requirements. He made eight total appearances upon his return in 2007-08, and was sold to Getafe. At Getafe, Soldado refound his goalscoring touch, and a 0.5 goals-to-game ratio (33 goals in 66 games) earned him a move to Valencia.

Despite a remarkable 2010-11 season, in which he scored 25 goals in 44 appearances in all competitions, including six goals in seven European appearances, Roberto Soldado remains firmly outside the national team setup, behind David Villa, Fernando Torres, Fernando Llorente and Alvaro Negrado. Even Getafe winger-forward Manu del Moral recieved a callup this June for a Spain friendly instead of Roberto Soldado.

Like Barrios, Soldado still has time on his side, and probably can expect recognition to start coming his way if he can continue bringing success to Valencia.

Last fall, Borussia Dortmund's Japanese playmaker was one of the hottest prospects on the planet. He was scoring and assisting goals for Borussia Dortmund regularly, and was arguably the best player in a Borussia Dortmund side that looked set to run away with the title. Then, a broken metetarsal in January while on duty at the 2011 Asian Cup with Japan changed all that.

Shinji Kagawa would make only one more league appearance for Dortmund, who still managed to overcome the loss of Kagawa to win the Bundesliga title.

Now back from injury and looking fully fit, it remains to be seen if Kagawa will be able to reach the heights he hit in the first half of his first season in Germany.

He remains an "unsung hero" for Borussia Dortmund till then; however, if he can replicate his form from last season and bring Dortmund success once again, he will likely see his popularity and reputation shoot through the roof around the world.

Another Real Madrid reject-turned-unsung-hero.

Alvaro Negredo was never actually a Real Madrid youth product, but he joined Real Madrid B at the age of 20 and held high hopes of making it into the first team after two successful years with the B team.

Despite gaining Fabio Capello's favor however, Negredo was sold to Almeria on what I look to call a "Barcelona loan"—he was sold to the team with Real Madrid having an option to buy him back in two years.

After 32 goals in 73 appearances for Almeria, Negredo was bought back by Real, but once again he went on a "Barcelona loan" to Sevilla. This time however, despite an amazing 2010-11 season that got him into the ultra-competitive Spanish setup, Negredo was not bought back by Real Madrid.

Negredo is on this list because he simply does not get the recognition that he deserves. As a player in an underachieving Sevilla side, this is partially understandable, but his excellent form for Spain, which has seen him score five goals in seven appearances, cannot be ignored. Negredo is a classy player, and deserves the recognition that should come along with that.

Russia's starting right back and Zenit St. Petersburg's captain Aleksandr Anyukov probably isn't one of the first names that jumps in your head when you think of the world's best right backs. But make no mistake, he is definitely among the top 15, if not the top 10, right backs in the world.

Anyukov has won a UEFA Super Cup, a UEFA Cup, two Russian Premier League titles, one Russia Cup, and two Russian Super Cups, all with Zenit St. Petersburg. And despite the great deal of experience he possesses, he's still 28, meaning he's got a decent number of years left to go in his career.

Meet Aleksandr Anyukov's Croatian twin, Darijo Srna.

Like Anyukov, Srna is also captain of his club, and has been the starting right back for his country for years. His resume is more impressive than Anyukov's though, as he five Ukrainian Premier League titles, three Ukrainian Cups, three Ukrainian Super Cups and a UEFA Cup.

Due to Srna's tendency to play as more of a wing back or even a right winger at times, Srna has a much more impressive offensive record than Anyukov, scoring 19 goals in 83 appearances for his country and scoring 24 goals in 302 appearances for Shakhtar.

His reputation has been on the rise since Shaktar's deep Champions League run in the 2010-11 season, but like Anyukov, he still isn't one of the guys most people think of as one of the top 10 right backs in the world, when he is definitely deserving of such acclaim.

I think I did enough praising of Samir Handanovic here, and so I won't spend too much time going over his career achievements and accomplishments. Instead, I'll just focus on why I think he's an unsung hero.

For me, Samir Handanovic has only been kept from being among the best 10 or 15 goalkeepers in the world by the teams he plays for. Because he plays for Udinese, who at best can only ever really hope to emulate their fourth place finish of last year, and plays as goalkeeper for the Slovenian national team, Handanovic has not received the type of exposure that turns great players into worldwide stars.

Whether Handanovic will be able to manufacture a move to larger team that will allow him to further enhance his reputation remains to be seen, but Handanovic has definitely shown the skills at Udinese to be one of the best, and has undoubtedly been one the team's greatest "unsung heroes" for years now.

As with Samir Handanovic, I've already gone through Mikael Landreau's career and achievements here, so there is no need to rehash all that information.

Mickael Landreau gets his spot on this list because he has truly never gotten the recognition he deserves. He was nominated for the 2011 Goalkeeper of the Year in France, but failed to win the award and remains firmly outside the national setup with practically no chance whatsoever of getting back in.

There are a number of French keepers that could have been mentioned here in place of Landreau. Stephane Ruffier, despite playing for perennial underachievers Monaco (now relegated) until last season, has been consistently impressive for multiple seasons now. Similarly, Cedric Carrasso has settled into his starting role with Bordeaux. And of course no one can forget about Sebastian Frey, who has moved to Genoa now after being mistreated by Fiorentina.

All three keepers are, to certain degrees, under-appreciated, but to call them unsung might be a bit of a stretch. Many recognize Ruffier's talent, but understandably state the need for the Frenchman to prove his worth at a big club. Carrasso, on the other hand, is viewed as the French's national team's third choice keeper, no small feat when you're competing with so many other great keepers. And Sebastian Frey, despite his controversy with the French national team earlier in his career and his issues with Fiorentina, has generally received a great deal of acclaim from the media for his abilities.

Underappreciated by the media for his role in Lille's title success, and underrated or overlooked by Laurent Blanc for the national team, Landreau is almost surely the most talented "unsung" French keeper today.

Adam Johnson is without a doubt Manchester City's most unsung hero. Amidst all the superstars at the Manchester club, there is hardly a player that gets less attention for the amount of good work he does for the team than Adam Johnson.

Despite making a fairly decent number of appearances for Manchester City in his one-and-a-half seasons at the club, Adam Johnson has settled into a supersub role at Manchester City, and has become quite comfortable in it. He is often able to change the tempo of Manchester City's game upon entering the game, and can create chances easily with his trickery and pace.

As is the case with nearly all of Manchester City's regular bench-warmers, Adam Johnson would likely make the starting lineup of at least 75 percent of the other clubs in the Premier League, and most other clubs in the world. However, he has declared himself happy with his role at the club provided he gets regular playing time, which Roberto Mancini has been able to provide.

Antoliy Tymoschuk has seen his role with Bayern Munich evolve over time, and is definitely an unsung hero for the current Bayern Munich team.

Coming from a Zenit St. Petersburg team where he was one of the best players, if not the best player, in the squad, Tymoschuk has had to seriously adjust to his role as one of the more lower-profile, dirty work players at Bayern Munich.

Initially, competition from Mark Van Bommel threatened to cut Tymoschuk's time in Bavaria short, but ever since his departure, as well as the breakdown of Bayern Munich's center back pairing, Tymoschuk has been a crucial, if not inexpendable member of the Bayern Munich squad.

He has filled in at center back ably when called up, and of course still plays his natural position of defensive midfielder well. With four healthy center backs now at Bayern Munich, Tymoschuk likely won't be called upon to fill in at center back anymore, but remains an experienced, powerful, hardworking force in midfield, who will continue to be a starter for quite some time.

While guys like Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan and Jozy Altidore receive all the media attention for goals and offensive play for the USMNT, Michael Bradley has been the USMNT's unsung hero in center midfield for years now.

While Michael Bradley certainly does have his goalscoring moments for the USMNT, his role is more that of a holding midfielder, one who breaks up passes from the opposition and looks to start the attack.

Part of what has arguably also worked against Michael Bradley's favor is that he has been coached on the international level by his father for so long, and so often USMNT fans tend to focus on that fact and neglect to notice just how good his game is.

Nevertheless, there's no denying how many big moments Michael Bradley has been involved in for the US National Team, and how badly the USMNT has missed him when he has not been available. (The USMNT crumbled against Brazil without Bradley.) With his move to Chievo this summer, Michael Bradley will only continue to develop, and at the age of 24, still has plenty of time to get better.

A personal favorite of mine, Niko Kranjcar has been an unsung hero at Tottenham Hotspur for years now. He's often been Tottenham's hero after long periods of neglect from Harry Redknapp, and his ability to run the offense and create chances often goes unnoticed due to the presence of his compatriot Luka Modric and Rafael Van der Vaart.

I've written extensively about Niko Kranjcar's time at Tottenham here, so I'll avoid regurgitating my words here and instead strong suggest you check it out. 

Really, there are a good number of unsung heroes in Milan's midfield. It may be aging, and may not be among the best midfields in the world, but players like Clarence Seedorf, Mark Van Bommel and even Kevin-Prince Boateng often do not receive the credit they deserve for making the Italian champions the successful team they are.

For me however, the most unsung hero of Milan's success over the last season has to be Gennaro Gattuso.

Gattuso definitely isn't a favorite of mine by any stretch of the imagination; his sometimes-reckless attitude on the pitch isn't very admirable. But when he's on his game, the ferocity he brings to AC Milan can not be emphasized enough.

After many seasons of declining form, Gattuso experienced a remarkable revival in his game, and even added an offensive aspect to his game not seen for almost three of four years.

Whether Gattuso will be able to keep up his form from last season as he gets older remains to be seen, but the danger, unpredictability and energy he brings to AC Milan will always make him a powerful weapon for AC Milan for as long as he is on form.

Captain and all-time leading goalscorer of Chievo Verona, Sergio Pellissier is probably the least known player on this list, and thus is included as one of the most unsung heroes of modern Italian football.

Pellissier has never really been what you would call world-class. His technique and skill don't really make him stand out among the hoards of other forwards in Italian football. He is a forward who relies on his determination and hard work to make things happen for his team.

What makes Pellissier stand out is that, in an age where players are generally looking for the first opportunity to make the jump to the bigger football clubs in Europe, Pellissier has shunned interest from numerous bigger clubs and showed great loyality to Chievo, making 302 appearances for Chievo and scoring 96 goals in the process. For most of his time with Chievo, Pellissier has easily been the club's best player, but that has not led him to seek a move away from the club.

Smart or not, Pellissier has been an immense blessing to Chievo, and continues to work tirelessly to ensure his club exist comfortably in Serie A.

You'll notice as we go through this list that there will be a great number of holding or defensive midfielders included. This is because defensive and holding midfielders more often than not simply do not receive the credit they deserve. Case-in-point: Rio Mavuba.

Captain and anchorman for Lille, Mavuba has been one of the best in his trade since beginning his career at Bordeaux. Between the two clubs, Lille and Bordeaux, Mavuba has made 236 league appearances, and at only 27 still has many appearances to be made.

Yet, despite his excellent presence in midfield and consistency over the years, Mavuba has only received six call-ups to the French national team in his entire career, and even when Lille completed the domestic double last season, most of the plaudits went to the teams attackers, Gervinho and Eden Hazard, rather than Rio Mavuba.

Recently, Mavuba has received more call-ups to the French national team, but nevertheless Mavuba deserves recognition for being one of the best and most consistent French defensive midfielders since his league debut in 2004.

Already the third Borussia Dortmund player on this list, Schmelzer keeps climbing up the rankings of the best left back in the world. In last season's Bundesliga, Schmelzer played every single minute of Borussia Dortmund's campaign, and was part of one of the best defenses in the world at the time.

His excellent performances for Borussia Dortmund over the last season have already earned him five caps for the German national team, and with little quality competition standing in his way (Phillip Lahm can play either fullback position, so he doesn't count), Schmelzer will only get better and more quickly establish a reputation for himself as one of the most promising left backs in the world.

For now though, he remains an unsung hero of a Borussia Dortmund team stocked full of them.

And right after Marcel Schmelzer, we have teammate on the opposite flank—Lukasz Piszczek.

Of the two players, Piszczek is definitely the much more "unsung" player. In fact, compared to Piszczek, Schmelzer is a superstar, in reference to the comparative amount of media attention each player receives.

Because of his older age (compared to his teammates), and the fact that he plays for the much less exciting Polish national team, as opposed to the German national team, Piszczek doesn't usually generate much hype even when he does well.

But, like Schmelzer, Piszczek is a very consistent player. He makes few mistakes, and made 35 out of 38 appearances in his first season with Borussia Dortmund. Piszczek will likely never become a world-renowned player due to his nationality, but he will likely be a solid contributor to Borussia Dortmund's success for years to come. 

An underrated captain of an underrated team, Chris Brunt of West Bromwich Albion may just be the very definition of an "unsung hero."

West Bromwich Albion just aren't a Premier League team that you find in the news very often. West Brom quite enjoy their quiet existence as a mid-level Premier League team, and generally the only time you really found the team in the news last season it was had something to do with Peter Odemwingie scoring goals or picking up awards.

But within West Brom, Chris Brunt, despite being the captain of the team, is easily the guy who receives the lowest ratio of credit for the amount of work and good he does for his team. Heck, even I, a Premier League and World Football junkie, hardly knew a thing about Brunt before the last couple of weeks.

Chris Brunt is an impressive player. He's very versatile, currently starring in an attacking midfielder role at West Brom but also capable of playing left wing. His assist and goal totals are very impressive for a midfielder, and at only 26 Chris Brunt is just entering his prime.

I wouldn't expect Chris Brunt to take the world by storm anytime soon and be the EPL's next great midfielder, but Chris Brunt will definitely be a huge asset to West Bromwich Albion for as long as he is with the team.

Despite being one of Serie A's most lethal frontmen over the last three seasons, Marco Di Vaio hardly receives the fanfare and media attention that his competitors do. For that, Marco Di Vaio deserves to be recognized as an unsung hero.

Marco Di Vaio, at the age of 35, has had a long, goal-filled career, and remarkably has been defying the logic that strikers age quicker than other soccer players for years now.

With most people doubting that Marco Di Vaio had anything left to give Serie A football after three sub-par seasons split between Valencia, Monaco and Genoa, Marco Di Vaio arrived at Bologna with the odds stacked against him, but over the course of the last three years has blown people away with his continued good form in front of goal.

Now, 110 appearances and 56 goals later, Marco Di Vaio has become Bologna's best player, its captain, and its continued hope for survival and success in Serie A. 

Like a few others on this list, I'd struggle to label Simone Pepe a hero. He is, however, a workhorse who receives way more criticism than he deserves...and since we've already recognized a number of such players, we'll continue to do so with Simone Pepe.

Simone Pepe has never really been a star player wherever he's played. Before arriving at Udinese, he bounced from club to club, and though he was solid at Udinese, his call-ups to the Italian national team drew great criticism to both him and Marcelo Lippi.

At Juventus though, the Simone Pepe has really taken his game up a notch. In his first season, Pepe, though mediocre at times, did put in a number of good performances, and though left wing was a position earmarked by Antonio Conte as one of the weak spots of Juventus when he joined the club, Pepe put in an excellent performance there against Parma in Juve's first game of the season.

It remains to be seen if Pepe can lift his game higher at the age of 28, but he will always be a workhorse and give the game his all, wherever he is playing.

I'll admit, I struggle to label Ramires a "hero." But he does do a lot of good things for Chelsea that don't often get noticed, so that's why Ramires makes this list.

Ramires is one of those holding midfielders that often go unappreciated in big teams with plenty of star attackers. Though he is capable of scoring on occasion, Ramires is better known for his passing and vision, and a stamina and fitness that usually outlasts all other players on the pitch.

Ramires is often scapegoated when Chelsea don't do well, but there is no doubt that he excels in his position, and even with the acquisition of Raul Meireles, Ramires should continue to pickup plenty of gametime for Chelsea over the course of the season.

We move from one underrated Chelsea midfielder to another.

Unlike Ramires, I don't really struggle to label Meireles a hero. He's always been a game-changer, whether at Porto, Liverpool or Chelsea, but just never receives the appreciation he deserves for it.

His time at Liverpool demonstrates this perfectly. Last season, Meireles was Liverpool's most consistent midfielder. While Gerrard struggled with injuries and Lucas Leiva struggled with form, Raul Meireles was banging game-winning or game-changing goals in regularly for Liverpool, winning them crucial games in the process.

Though his efforts would not receive the recognition they deserved at Liverpool, he would win the 2011 PFA Fan's Player of the Year Award.

Despite winning this award, Meireles was dropped from the starting lineup at Liverpool, and promptly requested a transfer. Upon arriving at Chelsea, he game-changing abilities were immediately evident as he made an excellent long pass assist to Daniel Sturridge to score the winning goal against Sunderland.

It seems that, unlike La Liga and the English Premier League, Serie A is full of players who truly value loyalty and stability above money.

From Sergio Pellissier to Marco Di Vaio to Antonio Di Natale, so many of these Italian strikers forgo the opportunity for fame and fortune for a stable life as the leaders of their clubs. Whether its right or wrong is a debate for another time, but at the very least it is commendable.

Remember how I said Marco Di Vaio was one of the most lethal frontmen in Serie A with 56 goals in the last three seasons? Well Antonio Di Natale puts the record to shame. In just the last two seasons, Di Natale has scored 59 goals and he has never scored fewer than double digit goals in a season.

In total Di Natale has scored 133 goals in 264 appearances for Udinese, and is still going strong at 33 years old, having scored already in his first Serie A game of the 2011-12 season. Though Udinese has a much weaker squad from the squad it had last season, and has continued to fluctuate in strength in the eight years that Di Natale has been with the club, Di Natale has remains dedicated and loyal to the Zebrette cause.

Originally, Darren Bent had this spot, but when Xabi Prieto was suggested for inclusion on this list, I knew a change had to be made. Comparing the two players, Xabi Prieto is definitely the greater unsung hero of the two.

Xabi Prieto is quite possibly the best Spanish player in the world currently without a cap for the Spanish national team. He has shown remarkable loyalty to Real Sociedad, playing with the team since the age of 14, and has made almost 250 appearances for the first team since then, scoring 36 goals and numerous assists in the process.

Despite the team's relegation to the Segunda Division in 2007, Xabi Prieto stuck with the team until their promotion in 2010, three seasons later. The presence of Mikel Aranburu, a central midfielder with over 500 appearances for Real Sociedad, has prevented Xabi Prieto from receiving the captain's armband, but his is undoubtedly one of the greatest leaders and best players of Real Sociedad.

"Rooney's hattrick is better than Aguero's because he's English. And both Rooney and Aguero's hattricks are better than Mario Gomez's 4 goals because they play in England. It's simple logic really..."

This is a comment I received on one of my other articles on Bleacher Report. As you can hopefully tell, its satirical, but it does raise an important point, which I will delve into further here.

Mario Gomez, at only 26 years old, is easily one of the most fearsome strikers on the planet. He may not be as good as Sergio Aguero or Wayne Rooney, but in terms of big, prolific goalscorers, he's among the best.

Last season Mario Gomez scored a remarkable 39 goals in 45 appearances, yet received practically no plaudits compared to the plaudits awarded to Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, or any of the high scorers in La Liga or the EPL, like Carlos Tevez and Karim Benzema. While it would be fair to say that Mario Gomez isn't better than any of these players, he definitely deserves to be held up with or near to them.

Already, Mario Gomez has recorded two hat-tricks (one of which was actually a four-goal performance) and has 10 goals in eight total games this season. It would be foolish to bet against him being the Bundesliga's top scorer once again, and it be fair to expect him to help a rejuvenated Bayern Munich reconquer the Bundesliga once again.

The only question is, will he received the attention he deserves from the media this time around? 

Okay, I promise that Roman Weidenfeller will be the last player you have to see from Borussia Dortmund. 

Roman Weidenfeller is a prime example of the abundant wealth of excellent goalkeepers that Germany has at its disposal. Despite recording 14 clean sheets and allowing only 21 goals in 33 Bundesliga appearances, Weidenfeller finds himself firmly outside the German national team setup, behind Manuel Neuer, Rene Adler, Tim Wiese, Ron-Robert Zieler and other goalkeepers.

Weidenfeller isn't one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but he is solid and dependable, and knows how to do his job well. Most pundits like to fawn over the incredible ability of 19 year old prodigy Mario Gotze as well as Mats Hummels, but Roman Weidenfeller deserves a great deal of credit for his work in goal for Borussia Dortmund last season.

You can read more on Weidenfeller here. 

We go from one underrated German goalkeeper to another.

I've already written about Tim Wiese in length here, so I'll keep things brief here.

Wiese is a lot like Weidenfeller. He's a bit more fortunate than Weidenfeller as he actually had the opportunity on five different occasions to play for Germany, but he's in the same boat as Weidenfeller now.

Despite Werder Bremen's good start to the season, its unlikely that Wiese will ever be reconsidered for the national team, but like Weidenfeller, Wiese is very dependable in goal, and probably would start for a number of other national teams.

Maybe the ultimate proof that a player is an unsung hero is that he is forgotten when drafting up a list of candidates to make a list of players who should be considered unsung heroes.

Regardless, Fabrizio Miccoli joins the ever-growing list of underrated Serie A strikers playing in small teams and doing so excellently.

After bouncing around teams throughout his career, Miccoli has been settled at Palermo for three seasons now, and has started the new season at Palermo in excellent form with two goals in a win over Inter Milan. His has also become Palermo's captain over the course of his three years with the club.

Like most of the guys on this list, Miccoli hasn't really received the recognition he deserves from the national team during his time with Palermo, but will continue to give Palermo a huge boost of experience and leadership while he remains with the team.

For years now, Jesus Navas has been one of the best right wingers in the world. Yet homesickness has arguably prevented him from receiving the plaudits he deserves.

Jesus Navas has been with Sevilla since the age of 15. Shortly after turning 18, Jesus Navas made his La Liga debut for Sevilla, and by the 2004-05 season he was a regular in the Sevilla rotation. Eventually, Chelsea would come calling but Navas would pull out of the deal in fear of getting home sick.

As such, Navas has now scored 28 goals in 306 appearances for Sevilla. He has received occasional call-ups to the Spanish national team, and was in the squad that went to the 2010 World Cup and played.

Still, Jesus Navas remains incredibly underrated and gem to Sevilla.

The details of Rogerio Ceni's career can be found here.

Rogerio Ceni makes this list because I honestly don't believe he ever has received or will receive enough recognition for what a fantastic contribution he has been to the game of soccer. Simply put, there will never be another Rogerio Ceni.

There's so many things to admire him for. Admire him for his loyalty, being practically the only goalkeeper of his kind but staying with Sao Paolo through his entire career. Admire him for his longevity; he recently made his 1000th appearance for Sao Paolo on September 7th, 2011. Or admire him for his incredible goalscoring record; he broke the 100 goal barrier back on March 27th, 2011, winning the game for Sao Paolo in the process off a free kick.

Of all the guys on this list, I would struggle to label anyone more of an "unsung hero" than Rogerio Ceni.

Whether its because of his small size, or the dominant, tall center backs he has played alongside throughout his career, Ricardo Carvalho just doesn't receive the recognition he deserves, despite having had one of the most successful careers there is to have in world football.

At Chelsea, his partnership with John Terry was a big part of all of the team's title successes, despite his consistent injury problems. At Real Madrid, his impact has been even more noticeable, as his purchase gave Real Madrid a huge improvement over Raul Albiol and the other sub-par center backs playing at Real Madrid at the time. He also played the second most amount of games he's ever played in a season, despite being 32 years old (now 33).

Though his form has not looked great at the start of the season for Real Madrid, he is still an important part of Real Madrid's defense, and history will eventually remember him as one of the best center backs of the last decade.

We move from one underrated center back to another.

Diego Lugano has led a rather quiet career. He has spent the majority of his career playing for Sao Paolo and Fenerbahce, winning a great deal of silverware with both teams and establishing himself as one of the greatest South American center backs in world football.

Internationally is where Diego Lugano has drawn the attention of most scouts. He solid performances in defense, particularly at the 2010 World Cup and 2011 Copa America, have finally earned him a big move on the European stage to big-spenders Paris Saint-Germain, where he will provide experience to a very young squad full of new recruits.

It'll be interesting to see how far Lugano can help PSG progress domestically and internationally, but his legacy as a Uruguayan legend is already secure.

Joao Moutinho is so much like Raul Meireles that I sometimes get the two confused. Both have played for Porto, both are seasoned Portuguese internationals, both play the same position and have practically the same playing style, and last but not least, both are greatly underrated.

Joao Moutinho had one of the busiest seasons of any European professional in the 2010-11 season. Between his international commitments and all the competitions Porto were involved in, the experienced Portuguese midfielder made 62 appearances. Yet, despite all that game time, Moutinho practically always delivered the same energetic, dynamic performances, game after game.

Though Moutinho was not to score his usual five-to-10 goals per season, he was still a force in midfield, and recorded eight assists despite being more of a Luka Modric-type player, i.e. a dribbler who opens up play but usual does not make the final pass for a goal.

Reportedly a target for Chelsea for a good while this summer, Moutinho was eventually snubbed in favor of Raul Meireles (irony at its best?), and Porto will be delighted with the fact that they can count on the very talented midfielder's services for at least another season.

Although he now plays for Sunderland and is approaching the end of his career, John O'Shea's contributions to Manchester United since the 2001-02 season make him one of Red Devil's greatest unsung heroes of all time.

Though he was called on rather infrequently and usually as a substitute in his last two seasons with Manchester United, in his heyday John O'Shea regularly around 50 appearances a season for Manchester United. He was never dominant per say, but he was versatile and reliable well called upon.

John O'Shea has the distinction of having played every single position for Manchester United. He played in goal in a 2006-07 league game against Tottenham after van der Sar was sent off, and played as an emergency striker when injury problems piled up at Manchester United.

Joris Mathijsen has led a fairly quiet career, but don't let that fool you; he is a quality center back who simply does not receive the credit he deserves.

If you need evidence for this, just look at the ridiculous transfer fee Malaga had to pay Hamburg to acquire him: €1 million! Yes, he's 31 years old and probably will enter into decline soon, but €1 million for a center backs with 74 caps for the runners up at the 2010 World Cup? That's practically giving him away!

And that's after four seasons in which Mathijsen has made 30-plus appearances in the league for Hamburg. I simply cannot get over how bad a deal that is for them. It's stupid deals like that that have Hamburg sitting at the bottom of the Bundesliga after five games, and dead-set for relegation.

Getting back to Mathijsen though, the guy continues to get call-ups for the Dutch national team and already looks comfortable in Malaga's defense. Quite possibly the bargain of the summer for Malaga.

Kevin Davies isn't as prolific a striker as Marco Di Vaio or Antonio Di Natale, nor as skillful a player as Fabrizio Miccoli, but his consistency and loyalty to Bolton Wanderers over the years have made him an unsung hero to his team.

Remarkably, Kevin Davies has committed more fouls than any other player in Premier League history, and has earned a reputation for being one of the most physical players in the Premier League today. His tackle on Tom Cleverley last weekend definitely did nothing to improve that reputation.

At 34 years old, it is quite impressive that Kevin Davies is still able to play at the highest level, but Bolton will have no complaints as he continues to be an excellent leader and captain for his team.

Alvaro Arbeloa has had a very unusual career.

Starting his career out at Real Madrid, Alvaro Arbeloa found himself unable to crack into the first team, and left for Deportivo La Coruna. In just half a season, he managed to impress Rafa Benitez enough for the Spanish manager to make a bid to bring him to Liverpool. Two-and-a-half seasons later, Arbeloa was back at Real Madrid.

Though he has been frequently used in his two seasons back with the first team of Los Blancos, the addition of Fabio Coentrao and the good form of Marcelo have put the role of Alvaro Arbeloa with the team in serious doubt, and the Spanish international has yet to make an appearance for Real this season.

Nevertheless, the Spanish right back is an excellent backup for Real Madrid, and continues to perform well for Spain at left back, since club teammate Sergio Ramos also occupies the right back spot for Spain.

Arbeloa is underrated because his transfer fees have always been low, and at Real Madrid and Spain he is overshadowed at right back by Sergio Ramos. Still, his versatility is a huge asset for both club and country, and both would've struggled in previous years without Arbeloa.

Gael Clichy is arguably one of the top five left backs in the world, and definitely in the top 10. You wouldn't know, though, by the amount of undue criticism he received while at Arsenal last year.

As this excellent left back statistical breakdown shows, Gael Clichy is the best left back in the Premier League when it comes to 50-50 ground tackles, tackle success, interceptions per game and holding onto possession, and is impressive in many other categories as well.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Gael Clichy's sale for only £7 million in the prime of his career was absolutely ridiculous by Arsenal, and an amazing purchase by Manchester City. At only 26, Gael Clichy will be a solid part of Manchester City's defense for seasons to come, just as Ashley Cole has been a crucial member of Chelsea's defense for many seasons now.

We move from one former Arsenal full-back to a current Arsenal full-back. 

Although Sagna generally has not received as much criticism for his defense as Gael Clichy, he has hardly received the credit he deserves for being one of the best, if not the best right back in the EPL. 

Sagna is not an amazing offensive right back, rarely scoring and chipping in with a few handful of assists each season, but he more than makes up for it with his defense.

I am a bit surprised that Bacary Sagna was passed over for the captaincy in favor of Robin Van Persie. He's a much more calm presence than Robin Van Persie, and his consistency with the team can not be overlooked. Plus, he's far less injury-prone, and has always expressed his love for his club. 

The Internazionale central midfielder is quite possibly the most underrated midfielder in world football today.

Yes, that is a big statement, but I stand behind it. Though he is getting on in the years and will likely see his form take a hit as Gian Piero Gasperini carries Inter Milan through what looks like a mess of a season, the Cambiasso of the last seven seasons has been one of the best five central-defensive midfielders in the world for me, and yet is barely treated as a top 50 central-defensive midfielder.

Cambiasso is a very versatile player. At Inter, he's generally played in a holding midfielder role alongside a similar but more attacking midfielder, like Dejan Stankovic, but for Argentina he has generally played in front of a more defensive-minded midfielder, like Javier Mascherano, and been given the freedom to be more creative. He has the talent to fulfill both roles more than adequately.

Though he has received comparatively few plaudits compared to the Xabi Alonsos, Michael Essiens and Javier Mascheranos out there, when he has been recognized, reviews of his game have been very admirable of the Argentine's game:

All in all, this player is one of the greatest players to have ever pulled an Inter shirt on and to grace the pitch in the Serie A. He is an intelligent midfielder, who has the capacity to change the shape of a game off his own boot. He is one of the most influential midfielders in Italian football, and for that reason and many more, he will certainly be remembered as one of the most talented players of all time.

And that was from 2008, before Cambiasso hit the heights he hit in 2009 or 2010.

We move from one underrated central defensive midfielder to another.

Lucas Leiva is not nearly as good as Esteban Cambiasso in my book, but he is still relatively young and constantly improving. In Liverpool's midfield, he may not be quite the destroyer that Javier Mascherano once was, but he is still an excellent defensive force who can break up play and start off counterattacks for Liverpool.

Although Leiva started out his career at Liverpool regularly receiving boos from Liverpool fans for unimpressive performances, he has dramatically improved over the last two years, and now is generally an undisputed starter despite the large amount of quality in Liverpool's midfield. 

He is still underrated among the world's best defensive midfielders, but if he keeps on improving, his profile and reputation will undoubtedly continue to grow.

Who'd have thought that three Manchester City players would make this list?

Of the three Man City guys on this list though, Vincent Kompany has had the most meteoric of rises in importance. Unlike Clichy and Johnson, who both had built respectable reputations prior to moving to Manchester City, Kompany was a rather unknown player before moving to Manchester City.

Kompany had spent two seasons at Hamburg, during only one of which he was a starter, prior to moving to Manchester City for £6 million. At the time, many EPL followers expected Kompany to be another expensive flop. Instead, he has become arguably Manchester City's best defensive player, and one of the best center backs in the world today. He is also his team's captain.

At first, Kompany played a utility role for Manchester City; he was used as a defensive midfielder on occasion. He was decent, but not amazing. Last season though, under Roberto Mancini, that all changed, and Kompany was transformed into one of the world's most reliable center backs.

Many people still remember Kompany's error that cost his team the Community Shield against Manchester United, but since then he has returned to his composed, reliable self. Manchester City may be an offensive machine, but a huge part of their success is their defense, of which Kompany is the most important member.

34 years old, and still going strong, Phil Neville continues to start for Everton and put in solid performances.

Entering his seventh season with Everton, Phil Neville has now made 264 appearances for the team, and adding in the number of appearances he has made for Manchester United, Neville has made a total of 650 appearances in 16 full seasons (excluding the current season and his rookie season).

At his advanced age, Phil Neville is nowhere near the player he was in his prime, and occasionally can be pinpointed as the weak point of Everton's defense. Nevertheless, he proudly captains his team game after the game, and puts 100-percent of his energy and effort into each game, and thus has kept Tony Hibbert out of the starting lineup for many seasons now.

Whenever he decides to retire, Phil Neville will go down as one of the best professionals to ever play the game. He has never attracted much attention to himself, never gets in the media for controversial quotes or scandals, and simply goes about his business day after day.

This spot originally belonged to Sergio Busquets, but some readers rightly commented that if Busquets is recognized as an unsung hero, then Xabi Alonso deserves recognition as well. To circumvent this problem, I've removed both players from the list, and decided to recognize a player who is more of an unsung hero than either of the two players: Alexander Song.

Over the span of the last three seasons, Alex Song has proven to be crucial to Arsenal's successes domestically and internationally. His first season saw Arsene Wenger experiment with him at center back, before deciding that Song was a much better fit at the defensive midfielder position.

As they say the rest is history. Song has been an impeccable anchor to Arsenal's midfield for two seasons now, and at only 24 has many years still left in him. 

Yes, he's an MLS Player now, but he's my favorite player; there was no way I wasn't going to include him on this list.

Honestly, I could go through Robbie Keane's career and show you why he is one of the greatest unsung heroes of world football, but I doubt I would do anywhere near as good of a job as Willie Gannon does here. It's a bit of a long read, but trust me, its worth it, and very well written.

Approaching 250 appearances for Everton is Tim Cahill, one of the greatest Australians to ever play the game of football.

Tim Cahill is a very interesting player. Despite lacking height and having a small, slender build, Tim Cahill has managed to become the record holder for most goals scored from headers in the Premier League, with 33. With Everton having sold their starting striker, Jermaine Beckford, to Leicester City, there is a high chance of Tim Cahill being called upon to start up front again, and thus a high chance of him adding to his goalscoring tally.

Even at his advanced age of 31, Tim Cahill is currently Everton's greatest offensive threat, and will be relied on heavily if Everton are to finish in the top half of the league. 

One of the most underrated keepers in the world and an often overlooked key player in Barcelona's play, there was no way Victor Valdes was not going to make this list.

As with all the other goalkeepers on this list, I've already written extensively on Valdes' career here.

After years of solid performances, Valdes has finally been recognized by the Spanish national team and regularly earns callups as a backup to Iker Casillas, but it took Valdes quite a long time to even get up to this point, underlying just how unsung of a hero he has been for Barcelona over the years.

Where would Liverpool be without Dirk Kuyt?

The Dutchman isn't really known for being a prolific striker or for being particularly skillful, but when the chips are down, Kuyt has a nack of rising to the occasion in big games (who can forget his performance against Manchester United last season), and will almost always be the hardest worker on the pitch.

Best of all, Kuyt is an incredibly loyal player. Even now, when he regularly finds himself out of the starting lineup at Liverpool, Kuyt has made it clear all summer long that he intends to stay with Liverpool, and has snubbed interest from Inter Milan despite the lure of Champions League football.

If this list were ranked, I'd probably still have Park Ji-Sung as my No. 1 most unsung hero in world football.

Park Ji-Sung is the perfect role-player; any team in the world would die to have a player like Park Ji-Sung in their ranks. Manchester City are currently attempting to mold Adam Johnson into their Park Ji-Sung, but it remains to be see if Johnson will consistently be able to show the consistency, sharpness and good attitude that Park Ji-Sung has shown over the years.

Park Ji-Sung does not make a great number of appearances for Manchester United, at least not in the league. Last season, he made only 15 appearances, his third-lowest total in his six years at Manchester United. Yet, despite his limited playing time, Ji-Sung has never complained about it or agitated for a great role in the team, and has delivered time and time again on the big stage.

At long last, we've reached the end of our list.

Remember a couple of things: First, this list is not ranked; the numbers are just there to help you figure out exactly where you are on the list. Secondly, the list does not include players from all the leagues in the world; with the exception of about five players, all other players come from the world's top five leagues (EPL, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1).

Just to provoke some thought, I went ahead and tallied which positions had the greatest number of unsung heroes. Here are the results:

CFs or STs: 11

DMs or HMs: 8

GK: 6

RB: 6

AM: 6

CB: 6

LW or RW: 5

LB: 2

So what do you think of the numbers? Is it surprising to see that defensive or holding midfielders were less in number than strikers, or did you expect that strikers would be the group with the greatest number of unsung heroes? 

How about the selections for the list? Did you agree with them, or did you believe that some more-deserving unsung heroes were excluded. If so, who?

Make your opinion known in the comment section below, and I will try to get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks for reading!