SportsRooter.com

Willian Borges Da Silva was first noticed on the European stage through his exploits with Shakhtar Donetsk, who had signed him from Corinthians. Initially, it was difficult for him to adjust to the cold climate of Ukraine. However, Willian believed that the experience was good for his growth and especially credits his former coach Mircea Lucescu for improving his defensive side of the game.

Willian

Willian came under Chelsea's radar after his impressive display against them in the Champions League in 2013 wherein the defending champions failed to qualify for the knockout stages.In 2013 however, Chelsea had the likes of Mata, Hazard and Oscar.Hence, when Chelsea stole Willian under the nose of Tottenham ,who were so close to signing him,for around  £ 30 million from Anzhi Makhachkala it was considered more of luxury signing.
However, the signing was anything but luxury. Although he endured a slow start, Willian quickly became one of Mourinho's first names on the sheet. Possessing a tremendous outburst of pace and a willingness to track back to help the defense, he perfectly suited Mourinho's counter attacking methods. However, before the 2015-16 season, Willian was never able to display his attacking verve, for which he was known with his former clubs, with Chelsea. He was very much overshadowed by the exploits of Hazard,Costa and Fabregas.

On the International level as well, in spite of his impressive performances for Shakhtar he was never given much recognition. Willian was noticed much more when he moved to Chelsea, although he still never started that often for Brazil.

Willian was never a player with statistics on his side. He never really provided a lot of assists or scored a lot of goals. At club level, the above mentioned trio did those on a more regular basis. However, Mourinho would be the first to admit the enormous work rate Willian provides to his team is vital in letting his team mates thrive.

Hence, it is not a big surprise that he has arguably been Chelsea's best performer in their worst season. Willian has been the only silver lining in this catastrophic season for Chelsea. The tremendous work rate that Willian puts in every game makes him an asset even if the team is not doing well. Surprisingly, Willian has even improved his attacking side this season. He has become one of the best in terms of free kicks with the one he scored against Kiev being the most important one.

Willian is always a great team player to have in your squad. Such has been his form that there is reported interest in him from the likes of Bayern Munich and PSG. The new contract on the table has just proved his importance to his club. Hopefully, his performance against Argentina gives him the required recognition at the International level.

Brazil legend Kaka has heaped praise upon Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and jokingly said that he was the last Ballon d'Or winner to be born on "this planet".

Kaká, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Kaka won the prize in 2007 after inspiring AC Milan to their seventh Champions league victory. That was the last time that a player other that Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi had claimed the prize. Both of them have exchanged the trophy between themselves for the past seven years since then.

The former Real Madrid player now plays for Major League Soccer side Orlando City and already has nine goals with four assists to his name this season.

The Brazilian was talking to Marca, saying "Ronaldinho, Cristiano, Messi and myself are the only Ballon d'Or winners who are still playing. It fills me with pride to stand alongside these great players, and to be the last player to have won the award before Messi and Ronaldo."

"You could say that I was the last Ballon d'Or winner to have been born on this planet", he added.

The playmaker secured a move to Santiago Bernabeu after his impressive displays at Milan and had a tough time there. He did not get much play time under Jose Mourinho as he often preferred youngster Mesut Ozil to the Brazilian.

He was reported to have been alienated from the squad and was rumored to have a poor relationship with Mourinho. But he waved away those reports saying that he had a professional relationship with Mourinho and that he had no such issues with the Portugese coach.

The former Champions league, Seria A and La Liga winner subsequently had a small stint at his old club AC Milan before moving to Orlando City.

Kaka was one of the global stars of the game along with Ronaldinho and Zidane in the early 2000s before the emergence of Ronaldo and Messi. While his career hasn't worked out well since his move to Spain, his remarkable contributions at Milan cannot be forgotten.

Diego Costa- Did he choose the wrong country? [Image by: Carlos Delgado]

What do you think of when you see the name 'Diego Costa' on a teamsheet? Chelsea fans, and formerly Atletico Madrid fans, would rejoice at this occasion. The opposition's fans - not so much. That is because Costa is one hell of a striker, as he is already proving in the Premier League. Before the world cup, there was lots of controversy surrounding the Chelsea talisman, and that was due to the fact that he chose to play for the Spanish national side rather than the Brazilian side. Many expected him to light up the campaign for the former holders Spain, as the only missing piece in their jigsaw masterpiece was a lethal striker. However, that was definitely not the case. Costa chose to play for the wrong team, for reasons unknown.