The hard player: Dirk Kuyt
Dirk Kuyt was born on 22 July 1980 in Katwijk, in the Netherlands. A winger and forward with an unusual profile, he racked up the miles and the clubs throughout his career: FC Utrecht (184 appearances, 66 goals), Liverpool FC (285 appearances, 71 goals), Fenerbahçe (130 appearances, 37 goals), and not one but two spells at Feyenoord – 122 appearances and 83 goals in the first, 77 appearances and 37 goals in the second. A CV that reeks of commitment and consistency from start to finish.
On the international stage, he wore the Netherlands shirt from the under-19 level, notching 5 appearances and 2 goals. The kind of player you don’t always notice from the first whistle, but whose absence you feel the moment he’s not on the pitch – and one that 95% of Roi des Footix players still managed to identify without hesitation.
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PlayThe medium player: Álvaro Arbeloa
Álvaro Arbeloa was born on 17 January 1983 in Salamanca. A full-back by trade, he came through the Real Madrid youth system, progressing from Real Madrid C (18 appearances) to Real Madrid Castilla (94 appearances) – the Madrileno way, built on discipline and structure. Solid rather than spectacular, his reputation was forged through sheer professionalism.
From Deportivo La Coruña (21 appearances) to Liverpool FC (98 appearances, 2 goals), Arbeloa proved himself across Europe’s top leagues before returning to where it all began: Real Madrid, where he went on to make 238 appearances and score 6 goals. He also wore the Spanish under-17 shirt, the first step in a journey to the very top of Iberian football.
The easy player: Francesco Totti
Rome, that’s him. Francesco Totti was born on 27 September 1976 in the Italian capital, and he never felt the need to look elsewhere. An attacker and offensive midfielder by trade, his entire career boils down to one club – AS Roma: 787 appearances, 307 goals, an absolute loyalty in a sport where transfers are king.
A symbol of a rare one-club devotion in modern football, he wore the AS Roma shirt for his entire career. Before lighting up the giallorossi, he had already caught the eye with the Italian under-15 side, scoring 3 goals in 6 matches – a sign that the talent was there from the very start.