10 Man Utd Players Who Did Nothing For Club (But Excelled For Their Country)

5. Karel Poborsky

Is it any surprise that Karel Poborsky€™s international career is heralded as more successful than his time at Old Trafford, considering Sir Alex Ferguson probably signed him based on his famous lobbed goal for the Czech Republic during Euro 96? Poborsky was a stalwart for his country, a permanent fixture in the team for 12 years as he racked up an incredible 118 caps. As it stands, the former Manchester United winger has played seven times more for his country than Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, making him the current most-capped Czech player of all time. Having broke onto the world stage as a silky-skilled 24 year old at Euro 96 - with the country finishing as runners-up - the winger went on to play in three tournaments for his country. On the back of his impressive displays during his first European Championships, hosted in England, the winger was included in the UEFA Team of the Tournament and voted tenth in the Ballon d€™Or rankings - the highest ranking for any Czech player until Pavel Nedved won the award seven years later. For Manchester United, however, Poborsky was unable to transform his newfound superstardom into consistent club performances, finding it difficult to compete with the meteoric rise of the media€™s new poster boy that was David Beckham. He didn€™t exactly do nothing at the club during the 96/97 season, appearing in 22 games as the club stormed to the Premier League summit and reached the Champions League semi-final, but considering his promise, Sir Alex Ferguson would have hoped to have weaned more than just 18 months and five goals from him.