++ [ originally posted by denco ] ++
Number 21 Frank Rijkaard, well this is deserved as he was very underrated and lived int he shadow of his more popular and more charismatic teamates MVB and Gullit
I wonder how great he might have turned out if he remained in what I thought was his best position as a central defender
Not as good as he has been in my opinion.
Franklin was too skilled to play as a defender, and although Van Basten and Gullit did receive most of the credit, they were very well aware that they owed a lot of it to the stability of Ancelotti and Rijkaard covering their backs and maintaining a link between the defence, the midfield and the attack.
Rijkaard has been the best defensive midfielder around during his serie A career (despite competition from Berti, Cerezo or Alemao), and must certainly have been a great source of inspiration for a player like Vieira.