Football has always been a place where talent emerges, and countless young talents have stood out in major leagues and competed for the highest honors in football. But not all stars can eventually become legends like Ronaldo and Messi, and not all stars have had a smooth journey from the first debut. Many stars were once branded as parallel imports, but eventually grew into top stars through their own efforts, and their inspirational stories have also told countless "grassroots" stars that as long as they don't give up chasing their dreams, then their dreams will eventually come true.
Modric
Real Madrid's midfield core Modric, in 2012, topped the Tottenham Hotspur team of the best player and the Croatian football leader of the year, and joined La Liga giants Real Madrid for 30 million euros. However, his excitement has not yet passed, and the cruel reality has given him a blow to the head, because of his short height, lack of confrontation, slow speed and other reasons, Modric has no chance to show his superb footwork, and because of his poor performance, he was dubbed a parallel trade by the picky Bernabeu fans.
Some people even thought that Modric was the worst signing in La Liga that season, and asked Real Madrid to sell Modric immediately. But Modric did not give up, he gradually reached his position in the team through hard training, and showed the characteristics of attacking and defending, superb technique, and running at any cost of physical strength made him gradually accepted by the Bernabeu fans.
When Alonso and other midfielders left, Modric successfully became the absolute main force of Real Madrid, smoothly changed into the No. 10 shirt that symbolizes the core, and he and Kroos and Casemiro formed a powerful ceremonial three midfielders in Europe, helping Real Madrid become the only team to successfully defend the title since the Champions League was restructured.
In the 2017-2018 season, Real Madrid once again won the Champions League and achieved the great achievement of winning the Champions League three times in a row. Coupled with the excellent performance of the Croatian World Cup, Modric broke Melo's ten-year Golden Ball monopoly and won the Golden Ball Award that year. At this moment, he has completely completed his gorgeous transformation and become the king of the Golden Ball! Now it seems that the signing of Modric for 30 million euros is one of the best signings in the history of Real Madrid.
Vieira
Patrick Vieira was France's biggest contributor to the 1998 World Cup and helped Arsenal win numerous honours, and he can now be called the best defender in Arsenal's history. Legend has it that when Xu Genbao went to Cannes in 1996 to select foreign players, Vieira, who was not yet 20 years old at the time, was recommended to him, but the latter thought Vieira's skills were too rough and gave up.
Despite Vieira's success at Arsenal, he was considered an unplayable commodity during his time at AC Milan, making just two appearances throughout the season, and Capello did not take him seriously as AC Milan manager at the time. But Vieira did not give up, constantly polishing his skills, perfecting various defensive skills, and always waiting for his own opportunity.
Vieira has had a super explosion after arriving at Arsenal in the Premier League, scoring 33 goals in nine seasons with Arsenal, winning three Premier League titles and three FA Cups. His performances also made him Arsenal's captain on the pitch and gradually developed into a world-class midfielder. Vieira went on to play for Juventus in Serie A, Inter Milan and Manchester City in the Premier League. He has won very important championships in every team and can be said to have had quite a successful career.
Salah
Salah, known as the pharaoh of Egypt, didn't start his career too early. It was in 2013 that Salah helped Basel beat Chelsea in the Champions League group stage, and he was spotted by Chelsea for his excellent performances, and soon completed the transfer, becoming the first Egyptian player in the club's history.
It was thought that landing in the Premier League would be an important turning point in Salah's life, but because the manager at the time Mourinho did not trust him, he only made 19 appearances for Chelsea, scored two goals, and was subsequently waived, and was even ridiculed by the team as "half-finished". However, despite the subsequent movement of teams between Salah, he has not given up on taking every opportunity to improve his game. In the end, the hard work paid off, and in June 2017 Salah returned to the Premier League to join Liverpool, and his career ushered in a super turnaround.
Salah was fully supported by manager Jurgen Klopp, and in his first season back in the Premier League, Salah won the Premier League Golden Boot with a record 32 goals, breaking the Premier League's single-season goal record, winning the Premier League Golden Boot while winning the three best players of the season selected by PFA, FWA, and Premier League officials, and helping Liverpool win the Champions League runner-up.
In January 2018, Salah was named African Footballer of the Year 2017. Today, Salah is the undisputed number one star of Liverpool, and despite being 31 years old this season, he can still contribute "24+13" top statistics, and is still the top striker in football today.