The history of football is filled with iconic names, from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to Diego Maradona and Pele. There are players that have dominated generation, stuffing the stat sheet and etching their names in the history books. Many of these great players have graced the pitch in La Liga, the top Spanish league. While the Premier League has the best collection of talent, La Liga is home to some of the best current footballers and many of the best previous football legends.
People love to follow and bet on La Liga because of its incredible history, top-end skill, and ferocious rivalries. There are countless sportsbooks that provide odds and information on La Liga, including Boylesports. La Liga betting is one of the top forms of football betting on the planet, you can check out a Boylesports review if you want to learn more about this great form of wagering.
La Liga is one of the most watched leagues in the world, but even with the constant attention it gets, there are some great players whose reputations don’t get discussed enough. While Ronaldo and Messi dominated the headlines for years, there are so many other great players that have been fixtures of La Liga. Let’s look at three of the most underrated players in the history of La Liga.
Ronald Koeman
Younger football fans may only know Ronald Koeman as a manager. He has been a highly successful manager, managing teams like Ajax, Benfica, Valencia, Netherlands, and Everton, and even having a short stint in charge of Barcelona. But the truth is that Koeman was a far better player than he ever was a manager. He was a defender and midfielder that managed to pile up goals despite playing on the back end.
The Dutch defender started his career in 1980, playing for the Dutch club Groningen. He showed incredible talent in the Dutch league and made his way to both Ajax and PSV. He scored over 100 goals in the Dutch league, but in 1989, arrived at Barcelona, where he’d have the longest stint of his career.
In his time at Barcelona, Koeman scored 67 goals in 1992 games from 1989-95. He was a part of the legendary dream team, winning four La Liga titles in a row, as well as the 1992-92 European Cup, where he scored the winning goal in the final. He was known for his incredible shooting accuracy and earned ten trophies in his time at Barcelona.
Hristo Stoichkov
Hristo Stoichkov is a legendary forward that put Bulgarian soccer on the map. He is another player that dominated the early 1990s with Barcelona. Stoichkov was notable for his prolific goal-scoring and on-pitch antics, which included some truly wild temper tantrums. While he may not have the same acclaim as other famed players, he is undoubtedly a legend.
Stoichkov first gained acclaim at CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria, where he was an incredible goal-scoring talent. This put him on the radar of Barcelona, who came and swooped him up to join the Dream Team. There, Stoichkov won four consecutive league titles and the 1992 European Cup. From 1990-to 95, Stoichkov had 151 caps for Barcelona and found the back of the net 76 times.
Stoichkov then left for a year to play in Italy before returning to Barcelona for two more years, from 1996-to 98. By this point, he was an older player but still managed seven goals in 24 appearances. Stoichkov was an incredible player with unique pace and great creativity. He has been talked up as one of the best players of all time.
Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema is one of the most accomplished footballers of all time. For many years, he was buried in the shadow of his teammate, the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo. This led to Benzema’s legendary career flying slightly under the radar. However, with recent events, as Real Madrid has become his team, it is clear that Benzema is and always has been one of the top players on the planet.
Benzema began his career at Real Madrid in 2009, transferring from Lyon. Since that time, he has appeared in 415 league games for the club and earned every trophy there is to earn. Benzema has won a whopping 22 trophies with Real Madrid, and his finest performances have come after Ronaldo left and he took over as the sole striker.
Benzema has scored 219 league goals with Real Madrid and, in 2021-22, had his greatest season yet. He captained the club to a Champions League victory, captured the La Liga title, and was the top scorer in the league by a wide margin. He is the second-highest goal-scorer in the club’s history and is finally receiving the recognition he deserves as an all-time player
