1. Osvaldo Ardiles (ARGENTINA)
Having helped Argentina win the 1978 World Cup, Osvaldo Ardiles arrived to a ticker tape reception at White Hart Lane alongside his compatriot Ricky Villa. The first South American stars to play their football here, this stylish duo set the trend for foreigners in the English game. Ardiles won the FA Cup twice with Tottenham and was immortalised by Chas and Dave in the hit song “Ossie’s Dream” and his heavily-accented one word olo "Tott-en-h-am". Upon returning to manage Spurs in the 1993-94 season, Ossie was famed for his unorthodox tactic of playing five strikers at once.
2. Ricky Villa (ARGENTINA)
Ossie’s companion at Tottenham, Ricky Villa will always be best known for the mazy run he made against Manchester City in the 1981 FA Cup final. That spectacular winning goal earned him the Wembley Goal of the Century award in 2001. Ironically, despite random spurts of brilliance, Villa's lyricical game never really settled in the Mudy-pitces and long-ball slog of the English game and Tottenham were about to let him go on the eve of the FA cup final. But that one goal, and random made him more of a Tottenham legend than Ardiles. Alas, the Argentine midfielder did not appear in the following year’s final, having withdrawn from the squad because of the Falklands War.
3. Sergio Aguero (ARGENTINA)
Widely considered as one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the best players in Premier League history, Argentine Sergio Agüero moved to Manchester City in July 2011 for an undisclosed fee in the region of £35 million. On the last day of his debut season with the club, he scored a 94th-minute winner against Queens Park Rangers that earned City its first league title in 44 years. In the 2014-15 season, he won the Premier League Golden Boot. In November 2017, Agüero became Manchester City's all-time highest goal-scorer, scoring his 178th City goal against Napoli. He was named to the PFA Team of the Year in 2017–18 and 2018–19. He is currently the 4th highest goalscorer in Premier League history, and the highest non-English scorer in the history of the competition, with 180 goals in the division. He also holds the record for most hat-tricks in the Premier League, with twelve.
4. Roberto Firmino (BRAZIL)
On of Liverpool's most important players, due to his energy and defensive work-rate off the ball, Klopp has referred to Firmino as the "engine" that propels the team's relentless counter-attacking system; "If he loses the ball, he fights for it back. If he loses it again, he fights for it. He looks like the engine of the team." Due to Firmino's wide range of skills, Thierry Henry described him as “the most complete striker in the Premier league who played a key role in helping restore Liverpool to its fomrer glory, notleast its claiming the CHampions League last year and Premiership title (TBC) this year.
5. Allison (BRAZIL)
In his first season at Liverpool he received the Premier League Golden Glove for most clean sheets in the league, and kept another clean sheet as Liverpool won the 2019 Champions League Final. The following season he kept another clean sheet as Liverpool won the 2019 Wold Cup Final.
7. Nolberto Solano (PERU)
A Tyneside legend, Nolberto Solano enjoyed two successful spells with Newcastle United after signing from Boca Juniors in 1998. A superstar in his native Peru, Solano has appeared on postage stamps and telephone cards, while his wedding was broadcast live on national television. Nobby was the first Peruvian to play in England, and at the age of 36 this veteran winger is still plying his trade in the Championship with Hull City.
8. Carlos Tevez (ARGENTINA)
In their debut season on these shores, controversial Argentine signings Carlos Tévez and Javier Mascherano proved instrumental in helping West Ham stave off relegation. While the latter fled to sit on Barcelona’s bench after an impressive two year stint at Liverpool, Tévez joined Manchester United, where he soon endowed himself to the Old Trafford faithful. The boy from Boca won both the Premier League and the Champions League before making a contentious transfer across town. The infamous “Welcome to Manchester” billboard enraged those who once idolised Tévez, but his blockbuster performances at Eastlands over two seasons made him Manchester City’s key player by a long shot.
10. Roque Santa Cruz (PARAGUAY)
Although something of a flop at the extravagantly-assembled scrapheap of talent that Manchester City sometimes resembles, Roque Santa Cruz showed undeniable potential in his first stint at Blackburn Rovers. The Paraguayan Forward left Bayern Munich to join Rovers in 2007 and scored after just three touches of the ball on his debut performance against Middlesbrough. He is now hoping to revive his fortunes, having returned to Ewood Park on loan for the remainder of the season.
11. Antonio Valencia (ECUADOR)
Such was his impact at Wigan Athletic, that Sir Alex Ferguson brought in Antonio Valencia to fill the substantial boots of £80 million departee Christiano Ronaldo. The Ecuadorian winger impressed at Wigan with an array of goals and assists, and has made a promising start to his United career. Although his role this season has been curtailed by injury, Valencia should be fit to return within the coming weeks.
12. “Chicharito” Hernández (MEXICO)
Javier “Chicharito” Hernández's minutes-per-goal ratio were among the most prolific in the history of the Premier League and was Already the League’s most successful Mexican import by some distance, his goals having rescued valuable points for United on numerous occasions. In 2010 he scored 20 goals, winning the Premier League in his debut season. After falling out of favour under managers David Moyes and Louis van Gaal, he spent the 2014–15 season on loan at Real Madrid.
Others that are worth a mention...
Gilberto Silva (BRAZIL)
Standing in for the injured Emerson in the holding midfield position, Gilberto Silva caught Arsène Wenger’s attention after completing every minute of Brazil’s triumphant World Cup campaign of 2002. At Arsenal he was a two-time FA Cup winner and an integral member of the “Invincibles”, who claimed the 2004 Premier League title without losing a game. His cool demeanour earned him plaudits on the pitch, while off it he was bestowed the unlikely honour of having a giant anteater named after him at London Zoo.
Juninho (BRAZIL)
A diminutive wing-wizard from São Paulo called Juninho became an unlikely Teesside hero through three separate spells at Middlesbrough FC. One of the first Brazilians to truly settle in the Premier League, he capped his triumphant career with a World Cup winner’s medal in 2002.
Gustuvo Poyet (URUGUAY)
Upon joining Chelsea from Real Zaragoza, Gustavo Poyet won a clutch of medals and confirmed his reputation as a prolific goal scorer. This Uruguayan playmaker enjoyed further success at Tottenham Hotspur, where he later returned as assistant coach under Juande Ramos. Currently doing a sterling job as Brighton manager, Poyet looks set to restore the Seagulls to Championship level.
...And Five That Flopped!
Juan Sebastián Verón. In 2001 this Argentine midfield ace moved from Lazio to Manchester United for a cool £28.1 million, breaking the British transfer record at the time. But Verón failed to adapt well to the English game, and also struggled at Chelsea after making a £15 million move to Stamford Bridge. He made just 14 appearances before revitalising his career with successful loan spells at Inter Milan.
Diego Forlán. Uruguayan forward Diego Forlán struggled to make an impact during a frustrating two year stint at Manchester United from 2002 to 2004. He has since proved his quality in abundance with Athletico Madrid, and at last year’s World Cup in South Africa, where he was named player of the tournament.
Hernán Crespo. Having failed to make the grade at Chelsea after signing from Inter Milan in 2003, this Argentine forward was deemed surplus to requirements when José Mourinho took up the reins in 2004. He prospered better during loan spells at rivals AC Milan and Internazionale, finally making a permanent switch to the latter club in 2008. Ironically, once Mourinho took over at Inter, Crespo found his appearances increasingly limited once again.
Robinho. This Manchester City misfit was bought for £32.5 million from Real Madrid in a dramatic deadline day coup in September 2008. Eighteen months later Robinho returned to his home club of Santos in a bid to secure his place in the Brazilian national team ahead of the World Cup. He has since returned to form playing alongside the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimović at AC Milan, who currently lead Serie A.
Giovani Dos Santos. Despite impressing regularly for the Mexican national team, Giovani has never shown his true potential in the Premier League, reportedly due to his voracious appetite for a fiesta. Tottenham’s half-Brazilian winger also bears the unfortunate distinction of having found himself on loan at Ipswich Town just ten months after netting a hat-trick in La Liga for Barcelona.
