All football fans have dreamed of becoming a professional football player and having the experience of playing at the top level. Despite the many perks of becoming a professional, it’s not all fun and games for every player.
While all players suffer setbacks in their careers, some experience tremendous bad fortune. Whether it was due to injury or always being on the wrong team at the wrong time, some could simply not catch a break.
Let’s delve into the top 3 footballers who, despite their talent and dedication, encountered remarkable adversity and misfortune throughout their careers.
Iñigo Martínez
Iñigo Martínez has had a mixed career, often finding himself in difficult situations. While he helped Real Sociedad reach the Champions League in 2013 and the Copa del Rey semifinals in 2014, the team didn’t win any silverware during his playing career there.
After his move to Barcelona fell through in 2017 (due to objections from Messi and other leaders who wanted to defend their teammate, Mascherano), it was thought he would stay at Real Sociedad and try to help the club break their trophy drought. However, only a few months later, he shocked everyone by joining their arch-rivals, Athletic Bilbao, in the middle of the 2017/2018 season.
Similarly, Athletic Bilbao also struggled to win major titles since the mid-1980s. Although they reached two consecutive Copa del Rey finals, they lost both, including one to Iñigo Martínez’s former club, Real Sociedad, via a penalty kick caused by Iñigo himself.
Despite winning the 2021 Spanish Supercup, Iñigo never got to celebrate a major title win with Athletic Bilbao as he would leave the club after the 2022/2023 season.
His move to FC Barcelona was aimed at competing for titles, but his first season didn’t go as expected. Not only did FC Barcelona finish the 2023/2024 campaign without a trophy, but they were eliminated in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals by Athletic Bilbao, who subsequently went on to win the King’s Cup that same season. A title that Athletic Bilbao celebrated by parading the club’s famous barge, “La Gabarra,” along the banks of Bilbao’s River Nervion.
While Iñigo Martínez remains at FC Barcelona and can still achieve success, it’s clear that he’s faced significant challenges since leaving Real Sociedad in 2018.
Marco Reus
Marco Reus might be known for his brilliant football skills, but he’s also he faced a stroke of bad luck due to bad timing and injury. Although he originally played with Borussia Dortmund in their youth academy, he left the club in 2006 before rejoining in 2012 (after stints with Rot Weiss Ahlen and Borussia Mönchengladbach).
Despite returning as a much-improved player, he missed out on a winning era for Borussia Dortmund, which would see them win two consecutive Bundesliga titles (2011 and 2012).
Upon his return, Bayern Munich embarked on a long period of dominance, which would see them win 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles and defeat Borussia Dortmund in the 2013 Champions League final.
With the German national team, despite initially being on the team, he wasn’t able to be part of Germany’s 2014 World Cup winning squad due to an injury sustained in one of their warm up games.
An injury that not only prevented him from moving to a bigger club (Bayern Munich, Liverpool, and Manchester United had expressed interest), but also kept him out for a long period of time.
If that wasn’t bad enough, some of Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga titles stemmed from epic meltdowns by Borussia Dortmund.
- 2018/2019: Borussia Dortmund surrendered a 9-point lead at one point to the Bavarian giants.
- 2022/2023: Borussia Dortmund entered the last matchday only needing a win at home against Mainz, who had nothing to play for in the game. However, all hopes were crushed as Dortmund drew 2-2 and handed the Bundesliga trophy back to Bayern Munich in the final moments.
In his last season, Dortmund made a surprise run in the Champions League, which would see them advance from a group that included PSG, Newcastle, and AC Milan. In the knockout stages, they would eliminate PSV, Atlético Madrid, and PSG once again to reach the Champions League final.
However, despite putting up a good effort against Real Madrid, it would be “Los Blancos” who would come out on top. To add insult to injury, Real Madrid’s opening goal came just minutes after Marco Reus came on as a substitute.
Although he was able to win a few Pokal Cups and the DFL-Supercup on several occasions, fate seemed to play a hard hand against him, denying Reus some well-deserved moments.
Harry Kane
When Kane moved to Bayern Munich in 2023, it was seen as a golden opportunity to finally secure the silverware that had eluded him at Tottenham. However, in his first season with the Bavarians, the team finished the campaign without a single trophy for the first time since 2012.
Along with this, the team faced unexpected setbacks, including a shocking exit from the German Cup to a third-tier team and a dramatic loss in the Champions League semifinals.
While he’s enjoyed remarkable individual achievements, he’s also experienced a series of near-misses and unfortunate events that have kept him from winning important titles.
Something which has led many to talk about the so-called “Harry Kane curse,” a term used to describe the bad luck that seems to follow him and his teams. Strangely, Kane’s misfortunes have followed him even before making his Tottenham debut.
During a loan spell in the 2012/2013 season, he was a part of the Leicester City team that lost to Watford in the promotion playoff semifinals. A defeat that would come after Leicester City missed a stoppage-time penalty and would see Watford score from the ensuing counterattack to advance.
At Tottenham, even though Kane achieved world-class status, he consistently faced challenges that seemed to test his luck. In 2016, Tottenham made a surprising challenge for the Premier League but lost to Leicester City (Kane’s former team) of all teams.
A few seasons later Tottenham made another surprise run, but in the Champions League, as they came from behind to beat Manchester City and Ajax to reach the final.
Interestingly, the team reached the final without Harry Kane, who had been injured, but recovered in time for the big occasion. Despite not having played since Tottenham’s first-leg quarterfinal matchup against Manchester City, he started in the final that would see “Spurs” lose 2-0 to Liverpool.
After Pochettino’s sacking, the club hired trophy-winning manager, Jose Mourinho, to help the club finally get over that last hurdle. However, even though Tottenham was able to reach the Carabao Cup final under his guidance, the club still decided to sack Mourinho a week before the big game (which cost “Spurs” the victory).
Under Antonio Conte, the lack of silverware not only continued, but he also watched as his former manager, Mourinho, led AS Roma to their first-ever European title after winning the Conference League in 2022 (further strengthening the negative Tottenham/Kane narrative).
If all this wasn’t bad enough, he had the opportunity to join Manchester City in 2021 after requesting to leave but was obliged to stay after Tottenham’s hierarchy rejected City’s reported £100 million bid.
With the national team, despite being an important player, his fortunes with England haven’t necessarily shone brightly.
- Euro 2016: He was on the squad that was eliminated in the Round of 16 stage by Iceland.
- Euro 2021: Lost the final at home to Italy on penalty kicks.
- World Cup 2022: He missed a crucial penalty in a quarterfinal match against France, which would see England be eliminated.
- Nations League 2023: England were relegated after finishing last in their League A group.
- Euro 2024: England lost the final to Spain in a match that saw Kane be substituted due to fitness issues.
Harry Kane’s career is a testament to the unpredictable nature of football, where even the best players can be hindered by factors beyond their control. While he still remains at Bayern Munich and is bound to win an important title at some point, it’s remarkable to think that one of football’s most prolific strikers is still yet to win a major trophy in his career.
