Mario Basler

Mario Basler played football as if talent were something slightly inconvenient that kept dragging him into brilliance. A gifted right-sided midfielder with a vicious delivery, he was not a model professional in the sterile modern sense, and thank heavens for football’s messy archives. His right foot was the story: crosses, corners, free kicks, long passes and shots struck with that flat, poisonous trajectory goalkeepers deeply dislike. At Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich, he could decide matches through technique rather than constant movement, creating danger from wide areas or set pieces with almost lazy cruelty. He was not fast enough to be a pure winger and not disciplined enough to be a tactical saint, but his vision, ball striking and personality made him unforgettable. A flawed genius, irritating, creative and technically superb, the kind of player coaches complain about until he wins them the match.