Offside Sound Off: Which Retired Player from the Last 10 Years Would You Like to See Make a Comeback?

By: Daryl | July 24th, 2009

Colombian striker Antony de Ávila (aka El Pitufo or The Smurf, as he’s 5′3″ small) is coming out of retirement. Nothing so unusual about that… except that de Ávila retired a full 10 years ago at the already advanced age (for a footballer) of 36.

A decade later, the 46 year old El Pitufo is making his Sinatra/Foreman style comeback with his first club (and current Colombian champions) America de Cali, where he’s already scored 201 goals in two previous spells.

Which brings us to the question: If you could bring any player who’s retired in the last 10 years back to professional football… who would it be?

There’s one very obvious answer. A certain monk-hairstyled someone who retired in 2006 (in dramatic circumstances) and is still only 37. You know who I’m talking about, but I’ll leave that answer for someone else (hi Laurie!).

For myself I’d love to see Mr. Matt Le Tissier back in action. Here’s a reminder for anyone too young to remember him:

The Southampton legend (they called him “Le God”, and he never played for anyone else) almost single handedly kept Southampton in the Premier League in the ’90s with goals like the above. He retired in 2002 and is now 40 years old, and – I think it’s fair to say – carrying a little extra weight.

But Le Tiss was never the most, shall we say, energetic of players. And with Southampton now down in League One (third tier of English football) for the 2009/10 season, it’s not impossible to imagine a 40 year old Le Tiss waddling off the bench, flicking the ball up with his first touch, and finding the top corner from 30 yards out.

So there’s mine. Who would you like to see come out of retirement?

	Soccer Forums	Team/International Results

Category: World Football

Tags: america de cali, Antony de Ávila, comeback, El Pitufo, Frank Sinatra, Matt Le Tissier, retirement, World Football

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• Musab |  July 24th, 2009 at 12:02 pm

  
  
  

  Gheorghe Hagi. One of the greatest left footed players ever.

  Posted from United States

  

• Utku |  July 24th, 2009 at 12:04 pm

  
  
  

  Hakan Sukur

  Posted from United States

  

• alessio |  July 24th, 2009 at 12:15 pm

  
  
  

  Ditto to Francesco

  Posted from United States

  

• LorenzoRosanero |  July 24th, 2009 at 12:37 pm

  
  
  

  Roberto “Il Divin Codino” Baggio

  Posted from United States

  

• lilrashio |  July 24th, 2009 at 12:44 pm

  
  
  

  actually nevermind i wish mahdi Mahdavikia would not retire and lead Iran to another world cup berth in 2014. not happening with his age and that regime in Iran.

  Posted from United States

  

• phantompong |  July 24th, 2009 at 1:03 pm

  
  
  

  Zidane. Absolutely.

  Posted from Singapore

  

• tOmmy wOng |  July 24th, 2009 at 1:14 pm

  
  
  

  95% of the Italian’s are going to say Baggio. (The other 5% will be comprised of Batistuta or Maldini lol)

  BUT RIGHTLY SO

  Posted from United States

  

• John |  July 24th, 2009 at 1:25 pm

  
  
  

  Brian McBride, my all time favorite US player. What’s that you say? Oh, he’s still playing somewhere?

  I would absolutely love Alexi Lalas to grow back the fro and take the field. I think he’d still cause strikers to piss their pants.

  Posted from United States

  

• jz |  July 24th, 2009 at 1:26 pm

  
  
  

  Zidane. No doubt about it. He’s the only player that can mix the star power with a chance to play at anything near a world-class level.

  Posted from United States

  

• Chris |  July 24th, 2009 at 1:32 pm

  
  
  

  Ditto to Zola.

  Posted from United States

  

• star_bury |  July 24th, 2009 at 4:52 pm

  
  
  

  Steve McManaman.

  Or for some MLS flavor, Marco Etcheverry.

  Last 15 years though, would have to be Vinnie Jones, no doubt. I’d give my left nut to see him play again. What’s that? He might take someone else’s?

  Posted from United States

  

• Rob |  July 24th, 2009 at 5:11 pm

  
  
  

  Gazza. And he looks fitter now than he did in the latter stages of his career.

  Posted from United States

  

• elle |  July 24th, 2009 at 6:23 pm

  
  
  

  Roy Keane. so fierce. or maybe Ole Gunnar Solskjaer because he was the ultimate super sub.

  Posted from United States

  

• alessio |  July 25th, 2009 at 8:06 am

  
  
  

  Zola can’t polish Baggio’s boots

  Posted from United States

  

• mike |  July 25th, 2009 at 10:18 am

  
  
  

  Paolo Maldini.

  Posted from United States

  

• eugen |  July 25th, 2009 at 10:54 am

  
  
  

  Zola and Baggio can’t polish Hagi’s boots.

  Posted from United States

  

• vince cmarko |  July 25th, 2009 at 10:58 am

  
  
  

  roy keane one of the most responsible and efficient midfielders of all time. truly a warrior !!

  Posted from United States

  

• Real_4life |  July 25th, 2009 at 5:08 pm

  
  
  

  zinedine zidane

  Posted from United States

  

• dp |  July 25th, 2009 at 9:20 pm

  
  
  

  Zidane was my instinctive first answer, and if I were to sleep on it, he still might be…the goal against Leverkusen, and leaving Brazil falling over themselves (twice) are some of my favorite moments in my years watching soccer.

  But right now, I’d go with Roy Keane…the only United player whom I had total respect for, if even just for his performance against Juventus in ‘99 alone. He went way off the deep end sometimes, but he was a personification on the pitch of abstract concepts in capital letters like Willpower, Vengeance, and the Triumph of Man Over the Human Condition. Alf-Inge Haaland may have some words otherwise, but Keano’s my pick.

  Posted from United States

  

• Baz |  July 26th, 2009 at 1:58 am

  
  
  

  BERGKAMP

  Posted from Australia

  

• Oli Davies |  July 26th, 2009 at 3:17 am

  
  
  

  Zidane, every day of the week!

  Posted from United States

  

• HolyMann |  July 26th, 2009 at 3:48 am

  
  
  

  i would definitaly say Baggio, but (even though he retired more than 10 years ago), i would ask for Platini

  Posted from United Arab Emirates

  

• chelsea fc |  July 26th, 2009 at 4:09 am

  
  
  

  Gabriel Batistuta, best eva argentinian cept 4 messi, he shits all ova maradonna and his cheating ‘hand of god’

  Posted from Australia

  

• burnzinho |  July 31st, 2009 at 9:59 am

  
  
  

  i would have to go with ferenc puskas, cant forget the man who tore england apart whilst at the same time being the first player to use the drag back in a 4 year spell of world domination from the mighty magyars

  Posted from United Kingdom

  

• george |  October 3rd, 2009 at 3:43 pm

  
  
  

  kostas malekkos

  Posted from Egypt

  

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