Ex-Player Thread Best Ever Foreign Player

[unification]

Aha, I suddenly remember I posted a similar thread on the old YF. The internet never forgets so I’ve managed to extract it again. This should be up to date now but shout if you see someone missing from it.

A reminder that qualifying criteria to be:

A. Being a citizen of the country listed, or
B. Having represented that country international level.

And by country I mean a sovereign state and a member of the UN in its own right. That said, international football is conducted by FAs and not nations (eg, Faroe Islands are part of Denmark but have their own FA and League system). I've added the full internationals only for the home nations + Republic of Ireland.

Those with full international honours have their number of caps in brackets. If they’ve scored an international goal, the total of these is the second number.

EDIT. Sod the table. It takes ages to format it. One long list it is. Sorry, mods.

BEST FOREIGN PLAYER ​

EUROPE - UEFA

Albania
Agon Mehmeti (13)

Belgium
Brian De Keersmaeker

Bulgaria
Filip Krastev (30/4)
Slavi Spasov

England (full internationals only)
David Bardsley (2)
Steve Foster (3)
Colin McDonald (8)
Steve Perryman (1)
Colin Todd (27)
Ian Walker (4)
Nigel Winterburn (2)
Mark Wright (45/1)

France
Jeremy Balmy
Doudou
Alex Jeannin
Amine Karam
Ateef Konaté
Derick Osei Yaw
Christophe Remy
Djoumin Sangare

Greece
George Baldock (12)

Italy
Andrea Guatelli

Israel
Josh Kennet
Yoav Sade

Latvia
Kristaps Grebis (13/2)

Liechtenstein
Benji Buchel (82)

Malta
Mark E'Beyer
Jodi Jones (17)

Moldova
Stephen Negru (1)

Netherlands
Hidde Ter Avest
Dwight Tiendalli (2)
Arjan Van Heusden

Northern Ireland (full internationals only)
Ciaron Brown (21)
Tony Capaldi (22)
Jamie Donley (6/2)
Ray Gaston (1)
Phil Gray (26/6)
Billy Hamilton (41/5)
Paul Kee (9)
Jim Magilton (52/5)
Darren Patterson (17/1)
Anton Rogan (18)
Billy Simpson (12/5)
Brodie Spencer (19)
Gavin Whyte (30/5)

Poland
Alex Cisak
Michal Helik (7)
Przemysław Płacheta (7)

Portugal
Fabio Lopes
Rúben Rodrigues

Republic of Ireland (full internationals only)
John Aldridge (69/19)
Keith Andrews (35/3)
John Byrne (23/4)
David Connolly (41/9)
Terry Donovan (2)
Dominic Foley (6/2)
Ray Houghton (73/6)
Mick Kearns (19)
Dave Langan (26)
Callum O'Dowda (32/1)
Barry Quinn (4)
Dave Savage (5)
David Sloan (2)
Mark Sykes (7)

Scotland (full internationals only)
Jordan Archer (1)
Peter Buchanan (1/1)
Chris Cadden (2)
Hugh Curran (5/1)
Matt Elliott (18/1)
Stuart Findlay (1/1)
Scot Gemmill (26/1)
Jamie Mackie (9/2)
Chris Maguire (2)
David Mathers (1)
Matt Phillips (16/1)

Slovenia
Nik Prelec

Spain
Pep Clotet (Manager)
Alex Gorrin
Toni Martinez
Xemi

Sweden
Pal Lundin
Ivo Pekalski (2)

Turkey
Yunus Konak

Wales (full internationals only)
Billy Bodin (1)
Tom Bradshaw (8)
Wes Burns (10)
Jeremy Charles (19/1)
Craig Davies (7)
Christian Edwards (1)
Paul Evans (2)
Mark Harris (17)
Andy Melville (65/3)
Lee Nogan (2)
Malcolm Page (28)
Billy Rees (4)
Christian Ribiero (2)
Sam Ricketts (52)
Dave Roberts (17)
Tyler Roberts (20)
Vic Rouse (1)
Dean Saunders (75/22)
Neil Slatter (22/2)
Fin Stevens (2)
Ben Woodburn (11/2)

AFRICA - CA

Algeria
Ahmed Kashi (1)
Mehdi Kerrouche

Cape Verde
Georges Santos (4)

DR Congo
Carlin Itonga
Peter Kioso (1)
T’cham N’Toya

Ghana
Dan Agyei (1)
Daniel Boateng
Tarique Fosu (4/1)

Guinea
Norman Sylla (1)

Ivory Coast
Siriki Dembélé
Armand Gnanduillet
Arthur Gnohere

Morocco
Oussama Zamouri

Nigeria
Yemi Odubade
Manny Omoyinmi
Onome Sodje

Republic of the Congo
Chris Makosso (4)

Senegal
Abdou Sall

South Africa
Andre Arendse (67)
Warren Goodhind

Tanzania
Eddie Anaclet (Odiambo)

Tunisia
Idris El Mizouni (2)

Uganda
Jordan Obita (6)

Zimbabwe
Bruce Grobbelaar (33)

SOUTH AMERICA - CONMEBOL

Argentina
Emiliano Diaz
Michael Diaz
Ramon Diaz (Manager)
Emiliano ‘Damien’ Martinez (59)
Juan Pablo Raponi

Brazil
Ricardinho

Colombia
Cristian Montano

Uruguay
Lucas Cominelli
Mateo Corbo

NORTH AMERICA & CARIBBEAN - CONCACAF

Antigua & Barbuda
Dexter Blackstock (6/2)
AJ George (2/1)
Duran Martin (6)
Josh Parker (36/5)

Bermuda
Jonte Smith (15/2)

Canada
Mark Watson (78/3)

Curaçao
Gino van Kessel (25/8)

Dominica
Joe Cooke
Jefferson Louis (1)

Grenada
Shandon Baptiste (3/1)
Dejon Noel-Williams (8)

Jamaica
Hubert Busby Jr
Jabari Hylton (1)
Greg Leigh (31/1)
Kemar Roofe (5/1)
Ricky Sappleton

Martinique
Eric Sabin (3/4)

Montserrat
Wayne Dyer (6/1)
Anthony Griffith (4)
Dean Morgan (3)

St Kitts & Nevis
Jordan Bowery (2)
Kevin Francis (2)

Suriname
Djavan Anderson (2)
Yanic Wildschut (3/1)
Brian Wilsterman

USA
Ed McIlvenny (3)
Jon-Paul Pittman


ASIA - AFC

Australia
Matt Fletcher
Scott Guyett
Ryan Williams (1)

China PR
Tsun Dai (14)

India
Ryan Williams (1/1)

Indonesia
Marselino Ferdinan (40/5)
Ole Romeny (8/4)

Iraq
Shwan Jalal

Pakistan
Kashif Siddiqi (1)

South Korea
Jin Woo Jeon (2)

Thailand
Ben Davis (13/5)

OCEANIA - OFC
New Zealand
Max Crocombe (21)
Ceri Evans (56/2)

OTHER - NON-FIFA AFFILIATED

Guernsey
Chris Tardif (12)

Matabeleland
Bruce Grobelaar (1)

Top 10 players to have played for OUFC with the most caps for their country.​

1. Benji Buchel (Liechtenstein) - 82 caps
2. Mark Watson (Canada) - 78 caps
3. Dean Saunders (Wales) - 75 caps
4. Ray Houghton (Republic of Ireland) - 73 caps
5. John Aldridge (Republic of Ireland) - 69 caps
6. Andre Arendse (South Africa) - 67 caps
7. Andy Melville (Wales) - 65 caps
8. Emiliano ‘Damien’ Martinez (Argentina) - 59 caps
9. Ceri Evans (New Zealand) - 56 caps
10. Jim Magilton (Northern Ireland) - 52 caps

Top 10 players to have played for OUFC with the most goals for their country.​

1. Dean Saunders (Wales) - 22 goals
2. John Aldridge (Republic of Ireland) - 19 goals
3. David Connolly (Republic of Ireland) - 9 goals
4. Gino van Kessel (Curaçao) - 8 goals
5. Ray Houghton (Republic of Ireland) - 6 goals
6. Josh Parker (Antigua & Barbuda) - 5 goals
7. Marselino Ferdinan (Indonesia) - 5 goals
8. Billy Hamilton (Northern Ireland) - 5 goals
9. Gavin Whyte (Northern Ireland) - 5 goals
10. Ben Davis (Thailand) - 5 goals

 

[holdsteady]

He scored 17 goals in his second and last season for Real Sociedad in 33 games, for a team that finished 13th in the Spanish top flight and only scored 45 goals in doing so, which is a very impressive record, so given that he should have had plenty of suitors I have a feeling he wanted to return home and Tranmere allowed him to do that, he obviously preferred the drop in level to playing higher up but further from his native Liverpool. He was banging them in for Tranmere when he got back as well, so even if him being allowed to go there was an oversight that would have been quickly rectified had it not been by choice.

 

[Followtheox1]

If it is best foreign player to have played for us, regardless of how they actually performed for us i.e they appeared for us but were better elsewhere in their career then you can't look past Martinez, given he has won the world cup. If it is how they performed for us then Aldridge, Houghton, Evans and Watson for me..

 

[holdsteady]

If it is best foreign player to have played for us, regardless of how they actually performed for us i.e they appeared for us but were better elsewhere in their career then you can't look past Martinez, given he has won the world cup. If it is how they performed for us then Aldridge, Houghton, Evans and Watson for me..

I have trouble counting Martinez as he was only here for one game on loan, that a dead rubber away that I never saw, he is more of an anomaly to me than an ex player.

 

[MarkG]

I have trouble counting Martinez as he was only here for one game on loan, that a dead rubber away that I never saw, he is more of an anomaly to me than an ex player.

Just because you didn't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen. I was there and he has the best international achievements measured by trophies of an ex-Oxford player by winning the World Cup and the Copa America.

Though Benji Buchel has made more international appearances with 75 or so, than Martinez on 50.
Any other ex-OUFC players with more?

We need to clear up the entry criteria.
Played abroad in their formative years for the country they represent internationally?
So I don't count John Aldridge or Dan Agyei.

Must have made a significant number of OUFC appearances. Say 20 or more?

 

[QR]

To be fair he was 32 when he signed for Tranmere after returning from Spain, so not like he was still in his 20s. I wonder if he had any League One sides in for him at the time? He certainly proved at Tranmere that he still had it at what is now Championship level.

Take a look at this video, 'where can i see john aldridge 2 goals for real sociedad against the barcelona' https://share.google/mKtk9bEkefBH8ejAS

 

[Boris]

Aha, I suddenly remember I posted a similar thread on the old YF. The internet never forgets so I’ve managed to extract it again. This should be up to date now but shout if you see someone missing from it.

A reminder that qualifying criteria to be:

A. Being a citizen of the country listed, or
B. Having represented that country international level.

And by country I mean a sovereign state and a member of the UN in its own right. That said, international football is conducted by FAs and not nations (eg, Faroe Islands are part of Denmark but have their own FA and League system.) I’ve purposely left out UK nations and Republic of Ireland players since we’ve had plenty but we could draw a list of full internationals at some point in the future.

BEST FOREIGN PLAYER ​

1st Place​	TBD​
2nd Place​	TBD​
3rd Place​	TBD​

EUROPE - UEFA​

Albania Agon Mehmeti​ Belgium Brian De Keersmaeker​ Bulgaria Slavi Spasov Filip Krastev​ France Christophe Remy Amine Karam Djoumin Sangare Alex Jeannin Doudou Jeremy Balmy Derick Osei Yaw Ateef Konaté​ Greece George Baldock​ Italy Andrea Guatelli​ Israel Josh Kennet Yoav Sade​ Latvia Kristaps Grebis​ Liechtenstein Benji Buchel​ Malta Mark E'Beyer Jodi Jones​ Netherlands Arjan Van Heusden Dwight Tiendalli Hidde Ter Avest​ Poland Alex Cisak Przemysław Płacheta Michal Helik​ Portugal Fabio Lopes Rúben Rodrigues​ Slovenia Nik Prelec​ Spain Toni Martinez Xemi Alex Gorrin Pep Clotet (Manager)​ Sweden Pal Lundin Ivo Pekalski​ Turkey Yunus Konak​

​

AFRICA - CAF​

Algeria Mehdi Kerrouche Ahmed Kashi​	Cape Verde Georges Santos​	DR Congo T’cham N’Toya Carlin Itonga Peter Kioso​	Ghana Dan Agyei Daniel Boateng Tarique Fosu​
Guinea Norman Sylla​	Ivory Coast Arthur Gnohere Armand Gnanduillet Siriki Dembélé​	Morocco Oussama Zamouri​	Nigeria Yemi Odubade Manny Omoyinmi Onome Sodje​
Republic of the Congo Chris Makosso​	Senegal Abdou Sall​	South Africa Andre Arendse Warren Goodhind​	Tanzania Eddie Anaclet (Odiambo)​
Tunisia Idris El Mizouni​	Uganda Jordan Obita​	Zimbabwe Bruce Grobbelaar​

​

SOUTH AMERICA - CONMEBOL​

Argentina Juan Pablo Raponi Emiliano Diaz Michael Diaz Emiliano ‘Damien’ Martinez Ramon Diaz (Manager)​

Brazil Ricardinho​

Colombia Cristian Montano​

Uruguay Lucas Cominelli Mateo Corbo​

​

NORTH AMERICA & CARIBBEAN - CONCACAF​

Antigua & Barbuda Josh Parker AJ George Dexter Blackstock​	Bermuda Jonte Smith​	Canada Mark Watson​	Curaçao Gino van Kessel​
Dominica Joe Cooke Jefferson Louis​	Grenada Shandon Baptiste​	Jamaica Ricky Sappleton Hubert Busby Jr Kemar Roofe Greg Leigh​	Martinique Eric Sabin​
Montserrat Wayne Dyer Dean Morgan Anthony Griffith​	St Kitts & Nevis Kevin Francis Jordan Bowery​	Suriname Brian Wilsterman Yanic Wildschut Djavan Anderson​	USA Jon-Paul Pittman​

​

ASIA - AFC​

Australia Ryan Williams Scott Guyett Matt Fletcher​	China PR Tsun Dai​	Indonesia Marselino Ferdinan Ole Romeny​	Iraq Shwan Jalal​
Pakistan Kashif Siddiqi​	South Korea Jin Woo Jeon​	Thailand Ben Davis​

​

OCEANIA - OFC​

New Zealand Max Crocombe Ceri Evans​

​

OTHER - NON-FIFA AFFILIATED​

Guernsey Chris Tardif​

You missed out Moldova's Stephan Negru

 

[Boris]

Just because you didn't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen. I was there and he has the best international achievements measured by trophies of an ex-Oxford player by winning the World Cup and the Copa America.

Though Benji Buchel has made more international appearances with 75 or so, than Martinez on 50.
Any other ex-OUFC players with more?

We need to clear up the entry criteria.
Played abroad in their formative years for the country they represent internationally?
So I don't count John Aldridge or Dan Agyei.

Must have made a significant number of OUFC appearances. Say 20 or more?

No mention of the two most-capped players while with Oxford? Jim Magilton held the record with 18 caps for Northern Ireland while with the U's, recently overtaken by Ciaron Brown, who now has been capped 20 times since joining United

 

[unification]

Just because you didn't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen. I was there and he has the best international achievements measured by trophies of an ex-Oxford player by winning the World Cup and the Copa America.

Though Benji Buchel has made more international appearances with 75 or so, than Martinez on 50.
Any other ex-OUFC players with more?

We need to clear up the entry criteria.
Played abroad in their formative years for the country they represent internationally?
So I don't count John Aldridge or Dan Agyei.

Must have made a significant number of OUFC appearances. Say 20 or more?

Buchel is indeed our most capped international player.

When I have a spare moment, I’ll aim to add the caps in for all the players who qualify in the pinned thread.

I’ll need to build a list of home nations + ROI full internationals too as well at some point. It’ll be interesting to see a top 10 of most capped players overall as I sense some of the Welsh players would make that list.

I believe that RadOx said that Ciaron Brown had overtaken Jim Magilton as the most capped player who had won their caps whilst an Oxford player. That’s a list for another day though.

 

[holdsteady]

Just because you didn't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen. I was there and he has the best international achievements measured by trophies of an ex-Oxford player by winning the World Cup and the Copa America.

Though Benji Buchel has made more international appearances with 75 or so, than Martinez on 50.
Any other ex-OUFC players with more?

We need to clear up the entry criteria.
Played abroad in their formative years for the country they represent internationally?
So I don't count John Aldridge or Dan Agyei.

Must have made a significant number of OUFC appearances. Say 20 or more?

I didn’t say it didn’t happen, it just doesn’t feel like he played for us properly, as he didn’t. It’s a bit cringy though to compare him to a genuine OUFC legend, had Martinez not played for us for that one game it would make zero difference to the history of the club, whereas had Aldridge or Houghton not played for us we probably wouldn’t have achieved what we have.

Let’s be honest you barely noticed him on that day, no one expected him to go on and achieve what he did so any “greatest OUFC” plaudits is a bit over the top, he was a one game loanee.

 

[MarkG]

I didn’t say it didn’t happen, it just doesn’t feel like he played for us properly, as he didn’t. It’s a bit cringy though to compare him to a genuine OUFC legend, had Martinez not played for us for that one game it would make zero difference to the history of the club, whereas had Aldridge or Houghton not played for us we probably wouldn’t have achieved what we have.

Let’s be honest you barely noticed him on that day, no one expected him to go on and achieve what he did so any “greatest OUFC” plaudits is a bit over the top, he was a one game loanee.

That’s why I also said the entry criteria needs to be decided or clarified or voted on.

 

[unification]

Right, I had a spare moment to update the post at the top. Trawling through players on Wikipedia, I came across the following players listed under 'Oxford United players'.

Who the bloody hell are they (especially the first one)?

Fua (footballer) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Jabari Hylton - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Duran Martin - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Berliner]

Right, I had a spare moment to update the post at the top. Trawling through players on Wikipedia, I came across the following players listed under 'Oxford United players'.

Who the bloody hell are they (especially the first one)?

Fua (footballer) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Jabari Hylton - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Duran Martin - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

» In a reversal of Saturday’s result Oxford United reserves, including triallists Stephane Léoni …

rageonline.co.uk

...very vague recollection about Hylton and a joke being made afterwards that he was Danny Hylton's son?

 

[QR]

Duran Martin - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

What? You've never hear of the great 80s Brummie band Martin Martin?