Goal.com 50

Goal.com 50: Juan Sebastian Veron (40)

We now count down our 50 best players of 2008-09, and at No. 40 is Estudiantes' renaissance man, Juan Sebastian Veron...

Jul 13, 2009 11:00:37 PM

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Juan Sebastian Veron - Argentina

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Juan Sebastián Verón

41. Aly Cissokho (Vitoria de Setubal & FC Porto)

40. JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON (Estudiantes & Argentina)

39. Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy & USA)

"On you go. I’m no f****** talking to you. He’s a f****** great player. Yous are f******* idiots."

So spoke Sir Alex Ferguson when the British press refused to applaud his multi-million pound signing of Juan Sebastian Veron.

Well, Veron flopped in England - and later he slammed his manager for having the audacity to sell him.

But if we accept that the best revenge is living well, then both Fergie and Veron have well and truly had the last laugh, because the evergreen midfielder is enjoying some of his finest days back at his first club, Estudiantes.

Veron returned to the club in 2007 in a permanent move from Chelsea, and although his time back in La Plata has been riven by injury - not least this season - he remains the foremost leader of the Pincharattas.

This season, having scooped the South American Footballer of the Year award last summer, Veron set about lifting Estudiantes back to their former glory with gusto. His league campaign, when not interrupted by knocks, saw the La Plata side finish a credible seventh in the Apertura and improve to sixth in the Clausura.

But far more important than that was the Copa Libertadores, wherein Veron's side eased past Libertad - the man himself helping to setup two of the three goals in the first leg rout at the Ciudad de La Plata.

The next round saw Veron show off his dead-ball skills, as well as his general invention, taking a wonderful free kick in the first leg in Uruguay to set up Leandro Desabato for the goal that took the Argentines to the semi-finals.

Raise The Roof | Veron was integral in taking
Estudiantes to the Libertadores final

Indeed, by this time Veron's status as a legend in La Plata was well and truly cemented, the 15-game unbeaten run being largely orchestrated by him.

And although he missed much of the semi-finals, he returned to the line-up in time for the first leg draw at home to Cruzeiro in the final. As for the second leg... that's still to come. Can Estudiantes manage to lift the trophy for the first time in 39 years?

Internationally, Veron is also enjoying a comeback. Being a mainstay of the side under Diego Maradona, Veron is set to remain a part of the Argentina setup for the rest of World Cup qualification. If the Albiceleste make it to South Africa 2010 - and, absurdly enough, this is far from a given - surely the then-35-year-old will be there with them.

Veron, placed at 40, is one of the few players based outside Europe to make the Goal.com 50 this year. He's also one of the oldest. And, if we look back to 2001, he's one of the unlikeliest as well.

Those who wrote him off during his spell in England need to take a second look. Those who remember him at Parma and Lazio need also to seek him out again so as to be reminded of his greatness. And those fans in Argentina who get to see him week in week out? They're some of the luckiest ones in the world.

2008-09 HONOURS

South American Player of the Year 2008

Ewan Macdonald, Goal.com

41. Aly Cissokho (Vitoria de Setubal & FC Porto)

40. JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON (Estudiantes & Argentina)

39. Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy & USA)

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