8 Footballers Who Proved Everybody Wrong

When alleged serial diver Jurgen Klinsmann signed for Spurs in the summer of 1994, England's Italia 90 heartbreak at the hands of West Germany was still raw. The nation's antagonist would have to radically refine his routine if he was to win over his judges in the press.

With a wry smile, the transplant from Monaco asked the assembled naysayers at his first White Hart Lane press conference whether north London was home to any prestigious diving schools. After all, he'd have to get his practice in if he was to succeed in the Premier League.

Klinsmann was well aware of his ill-begotten reputation - more a response to the agricultural hacking which passed for tackles in the day than attempts at artifice - but his ploy to lampshade it didn't sway the opinion of the media, with even the country's most open-minded sports paper, The Guardian, running a piece headlined, "Why I Hate Jurgen Klinsmann" before the 94/95 campaign kicked off.

For better or worse, all sins - perceived or otherwise - can be absolved on the pitch in English football, and it took Klinsmann just one game to turn the tide in his favour. A thrilling 4-3 win away to Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day was capped off by a debut goal and a famously cheeky 'diving' celebration (actually the design of teammate Teddy Sheringham).

Aptly, it was the platform from which the Spurs striker springboarded into new-found popularity. Shortly afterwards, as the goals kept coming, the same Guardian scribe penned a fresh piece: "Why I love Jurgen Klinsmann."