his attitude was good at chelsea. he was in a super-professional environment full of dominant characters, and he quietly got his head down and just worked hard. i never thought i would see anelka like this.
If there was a footballer that was as enigmatic as his reputation, it was Nicholas Anelka. For all his troubles, he was quite the footballer. Unfortunately, I only got to witness him at Chelsea and he was still lethal and his partnership with Drogba was intimidating especially in the 2009-10 when Chelsea were ruthless in the PL. People can talk smack about him all they like but he has had quite the career that many a footballer would ever dare to dream of having (in no way was he washed because he never got hooked onto drugs nor alcohol throughout his career). He played the game how he wanted to play it, PLAIN AND SIMPLE! In addition: I salute this mans efforts and resilience to overcome the nonsensical criticism from journalists who knew f**k all about football. HE WAS HIS OWN MAN! By the way, his Netflix documentary is AWESOME! I highly recommend
@@burlhorse61 There are a lot of footballers who lose their pace but you can't replace football intelligence. That's why some of the best players are the ones who get better every year. Today's football is so one-track minded with pace to the point where 80% of these "top players" don't know spacial awareness and timing as they careers continue. Players like Anelka matured with their football abilities. I mean he even played on the wing at points in his career and for someone to do that whilst maintaining their ego takes character. I mean tell we a player who can go from Top-Side like Arsenal, Real Madrid in those days to play for an above average Liverpool of the early 2000s, mid-table sides like Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers then back to the top for Chelsea and win titles and become the fulcrum of the side.
The trio Drogba, Anelka and Malouda were scoring goals for fun back in 2009-2010. More than 70 goals for the season between those three. Altogether he was a good signing for the Blues, worked hard, delivered and won stuff.
8 years after the 2010 World Cup scandal in Knysna and the famous insult published in the newspaper "l'Équipe", former France coach Raymond Domenech said that Nicolas Anelka had never said these insults. 8 years later! Too late the damage was done.
Anelka walked away with lots of money and lots of goals on some of the biggest clubs. He has a beautiful family and seems happy and that’s all that matters.
He was quite the professional which is something that isn't highlighted. I have rarely heard of him getting wasted or hooked on drugs. He wasn't a YES MAN, period.
@@yhg7ygo7g7igoi Fair point however I don't think that he wanted to be run a muck. Many a coach easily take advantage of a footballer due to giving them too much instruction. Sure, it might have cost him in many a team and all but not footballers will be squeaky clean especially if they are talented.
@@theretroroute I most certainly did. _L'Enfant Terrible_ joins a long list of maestros who but for their temperament could have gone on to have gone on to achieve way more than they did. Think: Balotelli, Ben Afra, Totti, Cassano to name a few
@@theretroroute Great stuff Retro, I came back to watch it again. I was surprised to hear that at the end FA concluded that Anelka wasn't anti-semitic and his gesture was misinterpreted. Yet he still paid a hefty price. Reminds me a little bit of the Suarez, Evra spat and allegations of racism over a term that was lost in translation.
if you think Drogba, Anelka and Lampard were dangerous together, just think how lethal Henry Anelka Bergkamp would've been. the invincible season would've been a treble!
Lampard was better than Dennis Bergkamp though.... Drogba was on Henry's level..... So you could argue the trio of Drogba, Anelka and Lampard was better than the one Arsenal could have had if Anelka stayed there....
@@VaddyFC Drogba was great but was definitely not as prolific as Henry - Henry has 5 consecutive seasons scoring 20+ in the league a season (24, 24, 30, 25, 27) and directly before this, had two seasons scoring 17 in each (his first 2 seasons) and he played for 8 seasons altogether. Drogba had 2 seasons with 20+ goals in the leagye (20 in 06/07 and 29 in 09/10) but other than this, did not have a 20+ goal season in 9 seasons.
@@duvaughnkelly6947 Yeah i know what you mean. I'm a football fan, my main teams are Huddersfield town, Burnley and Arsenal, but i love to watch any game and the many interesting stories you find in the beautiful game!
Anelka had one helluva career. Was blasted and shunned by the English media only for him to flip the bird on them and won silverware and the golden boot for Chelsea. Say what you want to say about Anelka and his questionable antics, there's no doubt he became a Premier League legend at Chelsea.
Beautiful words about another human being whom i also watched. Bless you in all your doings,only few people like you think positive comments.drogba,anelka,kaloue,lampard,the rest is history.....
I remember him from Liverpool days & onwards when I started watching football around then. This guy stop Chelsea from doing the invincibles season with his penalty for Man City back in 05 season. And as Chelsea fan, I never really liked him as a player for us. I was always 50/50 with him. Hated him when he missed that penalty for us in 08. But made up for it with the double season later on.
Hey there Retro! Love your videos. Keep em coming. So a little suggestion. Since your content is heavily based on narration, I'd suggest that you try and upgrade your microphone. If feel that it could contribute a lot improving the quality of your overall videos. Cheers!
His goals for Bolton earned him his legend status amongst the fans. Sure, he was lackadaisical in defence, but then again that's not what they were paying him for.
That media driven "he doesn't smile" for foreign players, especially the French, with the English man Wright as the darling, is still alive and well... Re: Martial and Rashford
My fave Anelka moment was Chelsea getting knocked out by Barca by Iniesta's late goal. Drogba had a meltdown, Anelka just walked off completely unconcerned.
As a Gunner, at first i Saw Anelka, i always thought he Will be a born and raised Gunner (kinda like spurs Kane)..then he had other plans..and his best version is not ours..and he won a lot of cups while not gunners..i kinda don't like him for it, but it is what it is.. Cant believe that Hes so phenomenal that his accumulate transfer fees is the record at one time..😁
I was surprised when Anelka left Arsenal, seemed to be happy there despite his sulky reputation, was getting picked regular and scoring goals, thought he did play for top teams after he seemed more miserable and career also went sideways.
It's hard to say if Anelka just had an attitude problem or if it was provoked by the British media poking at him... He was in every sense just as good as the likes of R9, Weah and Henry... Seems like that initial attack from the British media was the catalyst for his downward spiral... After that it was just a struggle to get up and running again without the media stirring it up... Perhaps if Anelka had a better mentality or perhaps if the outside influences had backed off maybe we could have seen something incredible... On paper coming in and being as much of a golden prospect at Arsenal moving to Madrid should have been beyond epic proportions but alas it wasn't meant to be... Shame really he's a real favourite choice of mine in football games.
To me when I analyse Anelka in chelsea he is a tactical player and a good finisher that score a lot of goal for chelsea when he was at his peak and don't let us forget he was under the shadow of didier drogba it is the MEDIA that destroy Anelka
I remember meeting him I was working at the Man City ground at the time when Phillips was there haha, I thought he was of the players kids he was tiny 😂
You give me goosebumps with your documentaries your intro music is legendary hopefully u will make a video of me ..😂😂😂😂 Fyi im absloutley usless at football but if passion and desire and knowledge turned into talent i would of been the goat. And btw not euro 2002 -04
The sort of player that needs an arm around him. Media was vulgar and toxic, and his career choices and managers were hit and miss. Wenger knew how to deal with him the best. Unfortunately he was homesick and didn’t have the mental support he needed that is available in abundance today. On his day, he was unplayable
It's sad, he depended on his brothers, who took care of him from nothing, don't know about parents, he was loyal to family, who were not professionals.
Anelka is honestly just an unfortunate story really. When he was a kid... he was badly advised. He was treated like shit at Arsenal by the media but he had actually got settled into the team and was starting to play properly well. The media never really stops looking for an excuse to rip you down, but when players just play well for long periods then.. well they do back off whilst your being successful. Unfortunately the media was looking to tear anything Arsenal to absolute pieces at the time as it was this horrible foreign stain on our great english game.... so of course the young french superstar was right in thier targets to absolutely crucify. His team should have adviced him to stick it out, as we saw with Henry that ultimately, whilst they will always have a jab or two, when you play that damn well most the bad press goes away. He was a player that needed to be happy to perform well. Its no co-incidence that the two periods where he was at his very best was under Keegan at City, and Ancelotti at Chelsea. Both of them are exceptional man managers who are known for being very caring about their players. Its another reason why its ultimately sad that the media and his management put the boot into his Arsenal career, as Arsene is another manager who is known for being very caring when it comes to man management.
Anelka let his potemtial dwindle. He was always good. Wenget can make players world class. He missed this opportunity to move clubs be an average squad player.
I actually forgot he had played for about half of those clubs. On his day he was a terrific player. But probably single minded and maybe a bit moody( that could be his personality though). A football team is made up with players of many different characteristics but teams that have lasting success have players that put the team first before the individual. It's annoying for football fans when we see a player that looks to have it all and yet leaves the fans a bit disappointed.
his attitude was good at chelsea. he was in a super-professional environment full of dominant characters, and he quietly got his head down and just worked hard. i never thought i would see anelka like this.
Anelka at Chelsea was deadly .. his game was completely refined
He was rubbish there ! Completely ruined the team his goal scoring record was one of the worst strikers ever!
@@dondamon4669 he wasn’t the striker,he was a winger...DROGBA and Shevchenko were
@@dondamon4669 and he won the golden boot at Chelsea
@@patrickhenriques6505 Seasons increased became worse
@@patrickhenriques6505 how could he forgot about drogba
If there was a footballer that was as enigmatic as his reputation, it was Nicholas Anelka.
For all his troubles, he was quite the footballer. Unfortunately, I only got to witness him at Chelsea and he was still lethal and his partnership with Drogba was intimidating especially in the 2009-10 when Chelsea were ruthless in the PL.
People can talk smack about him all they like but he has had quite the career that many a footballer would ever dare to dream of having (in no way was he washed because he never got hooked onto drugs nor alcohol throughout his career).
He played the game how he wanted to play it, PLAIN AND SIMPLE!
In addition: I salute this mans efforts and resilience to overcome the nonsensical criticism from journalists who knew f**k all about football.
HE WAS HIS OWN MAN!
By the way, his Netflix documentary is AWESOME! I highly recommend
I will check it out, since I also saw him play for us at chelsea and was a dribbler who didn't lose the ball that much
@@mthokongubane8123 him and Drogba were on smoke in 2010.
Please do, it's a great watch
I'll Definitely Say So
i saw him as a teenager at arsenal-never saw anyone that good as a forward.i know he came back to chelsea, but he'd lost the pace he had at arsenal
@@burlhorse61 There are a lot of footballers who lose their pace but you can't replace football intelligence. That's why some of the best players are the ones who get better every year. Today's football is so one-track minded with pace to the point where 80% of these "top players" don't know spacial awareness and timing as they careers continue.
Players like Anelka matured with their football abilities. I mean he even played on the wing at points in his career and for someone to do that whilst maintaining their ego takes character. I mean tell we a player who can go from Top-Side like Arsenal, Real Madrid in those days to play for an above average Liverpool of the early 2000s, mid-table sides like Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers then back to the top for Chelsea and win titles and become the fulcrum of the side.
The trio Drogba, Anelka and Malouda were scoring goals for fun back in 2009-2010. More than 70 goals for the season between those three. Altogether he was a good signing for the Blues, worked hard, delivered and won stuff.
8 years after the 2010 World Cup scandal in Knysna and the famous insult published in the newspaper "l'Équipe", former France coach Raymond Domenech said that Nicolas Anelka had never said these insults. 8 years later!
Too late the damage was done.
Anelka walked away with lots of money and lots of goals on some of the biggest clubs. He has a beautiful family and seems happy and that’s all that matters.
Nicolas Anelka had an extraordinary career even after all this "sulking".
He was quite the professional which is something that isn't highlighted. I have rarely heard of him getting wasted or hooked on drugs. He wasn't a YES MAN, period.
@@creative_soul-recolo he seemed to be antiauthoritarian. That's not professionalism.
@@evaristusasobara4348 either way, he held his own. To be honest, he didn't want to be a pushover 😏😁
@@creative_soul-recolo being coachable isn’t being a pushover that should be the minimum of a professional footballer being paid millions
@@yhg7ygo7g7igoi Fair point however I don't think that he wanted to be run a muck. Many a coach easily take advantage of a footballer due to giving them too much instruction. Sure, it might have cost him in many a team and all but not footballers will be squeaky clean especially if they are talented.
Belize central america I'm from and I'm a Real Madrid fan but i have huge respect for Nicholas Anelka!!✌🏽🙏🌎☮️💯🔝
I was hoping Retro would drop another banger.. my prayers were answered! I can't wait to watch this one 😁
Hope you enjoyed it!
@@theretroroute I most certainly did. _L'Enfant Terrible_ joins a long list of maestros who but for their temperament could have gone on to have gone on to achieve way more than they did. Think: Balotelli, Ben Afra, Totti, Cassano to name a few
@@theretroroute Great stuff Retro, I came back to watch it again. I was surprised to hear that at the end FA concluded that Anelka wasn't anti-semitic and his gesture was misinterpreted. Yet he still paid a hefty price. Reminds me a little bit of the Suarez, Evra spat and allegations of racism over a term that was lost in translation.
@@archipiratta I bet a lot of Giallorossi ultras would argue with one of those names in your list!
if you think Drogba, Anelka and Lampard were dangerous together, just think how lethal Henry Anelka Bergkamp would've been. the invincible season would've been a treble!
Also in their prime!
Lmao. Yet the invincibles team lost to Chelsea in the champions league.
@@5thdawg917 re-read my comment again and try to comprehend. Come back for a step by step explanation if youre still having trouble.
Lampard was better than Dennis Bergkamp though.... Drogba was on Henry's level..... So you could argue the trio of Drogba, Anelka and Lampard was better than the one Arsenal could have had if Anelka stayed there....
@@VaddyFC Drogba was great but was definitely not as prolific as Henry - Henry has 5 consecutive seasons scoring 20+ in the league a season (24, 24, 30, 25, 27) and directly before this, had two seasons scoring 17 in each (his first 2 seasons) and he played for 8 seasons altogether. Drogba had 2 seasons with 20+ goals in the leagye (20 in 06/07 and 29 in 09/10) but other than this, did not have a 20+ goal season in 9 seasons.
The City/Bolton/Chelsea period will be the NA39 I’ll always remember fondly.
Criminally undersubbed channel! Nice documentary Retro ❤
@@duvaughnkelly6947
Yeah i know what you mean. I'm a football fan, my main teams are Huddersfield town, Burnley and Arsenal, but i love to watch any game and the many interesting stories you find in the beautiful game!
He is the reason I’ve started loving Arsenal, can’t imagine how good Arsenal would be if he stayed…
Anelka had one helluva career. Was blasted and shunned by the English media only for him to flip the bird on them and won silverware and the golden boot for Chelsea. Say what you want to say about Anelka and his questionable antics, there's no doubt he became a Premier League legend at Chelsea.
Antics he was still right about everything??
Beautiful words about another human being whom i also watched. Bless you in all your doings,only few people like you think positive comments.drogba,anelka,kaloue,lampard,the rest is history.....
@@omegamudondo4748 Thanks for the complement.
I remember him from Liverpool days & onwards when I started watching football around then. This guy stop Chelsea from doing the invincibles season with his penalty for Man City back in 05 season. And as Chelsea fan, I never really liked him as a player for us. I was always 50/50 with him. Hated him when he missed that penalty for us in 08. But made up for it with the double season later on.
I'd like to see you do Esteban Cambiasso. Please? ☺
Wonderful video, that 1999-2000 Real Madrid team always interested me.
Thanks! Many forgotten greats in that team.
Remember that pace at 17 ..electrifying..
The streets will never forget! - Anelka was an absolute baller - misunderstood & needed that special touch man-management
Am a chelsea fan glade to see this masterclass 💙
Imagine him and Kanu as depth to Bergkamp and Henry 🫣
Ahhh lord 😳
Cant wait for the next one 👌❤️
Hey there Retro! Love your videos. Keep em coming. So a little suggestion. Since your content is heavily based on narration, I'd suggest that you try and upgrade your microphone. If feel that it could contribute a lot improving the quality of your overall videos. Cheers!
Second this.
Loved him at Chelsea
He will always be a Legend who had beautiful career.
No, he Will not
Man of many clubs. Sort of Mourinho but as a player. Never stay too long at 1 club
In Chelsea he was a veteran of the game. Not pensioner yet . Still hungry for goals but cold-blooded ,experienced finisher.
These videos are so good! Really really good content!
His goals for Bolton earned him his legend status amongst the fans. Sure, he was lackadaisical in defence, but then again that's not what they were paying him for.
That media driven "he doesn't smile" for foreign players, especially the French, with the English man Wright as the darling, is still alive and well... Re: Martial and Rashford
Wonder what they want with a player's smile.....players are not clowns....Rooney doesn't smile as well but never got criticized for it.
I remembered the dynamic trio of Didier Drogba Nicholas Anelka and lastly Frank Lampard by Steve Irungu Jermaine
Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea, Real Madrid , PSG. U can tell he was special
juve
My fave Anelka moment was Chelsea getting knocked out by Barca by Iniesta's late goal. Drogba had a meltdown, Anelka just walked off completely unconcerned.
I remember that season at Chelsea when Drogba got injured, he got the golden boot , he stepped up...
I remembered the dynamic duo of Didier Drogba and Nicholas Anelka by Steve Irungu Jermaine
As a Gunner, at first i Saw Anelka, i always thought he Will be a born and raised Gunner (kinda like spurs Kane)..then he had other plans..and his best version is not ours..and he won a lot of cups while not gunners..i kinda don't like him for it, but it is what it is..
Cant believe that Hes so phenomenal that his accumulate transfer fees is the record at one time..😁
Watched him in Fenerbahce. What a beast he was. Every team in the world needs an Anelka. Unfortunately there is only one.
Thank you Anelka for your time in Chelsea
A great one
My first favourite player
He was awesome
Really well made video
As a Chelsea diehard,I respect anelka as our legend
I was surprised when Anelka left Arsenal, seemed to be happy there despite his sulky reputation, was getting picked regular and scoring goals, thought he did play for top teams after he seemed more miserable and career also went sideways.
Very talented player glad he got to play for over a decade
A legend still
He should never have left Arsenal. Pattneship with Henry could have been the best striker dou in the Epl. Loved him at Chelsea
I think he suffered from a lot of confidence issues. People see this as sulking etc but you can see it in his face.
No Anelka documentary is complete without some coverage on the infamous Quenelle
It's hard to say if Anelka just had an attitude problem or if it was provoked by the British media poking at him... He was in every sense just as good as the likes of R9, Weah and Henry... Seems like that initial attack from the British media was the catalyst for his downward spiral... After that it was just a struggle to get up and running again without the media stirring it up... Perhaps if Anelka had a better mentality or perhaps if the outside influences had backed off maybe we could have seen something incredible... On paper coming in and being as much of a golden prospect at Arsenal moving to Madrid should have been beyond epic proportions but alas it wasn't meant to be... Shame really he's a real favourite choice of mine in football games.
To me when I analyse Anelka in chelsea he is a tactical player and a good finisher that score a lot of goal for chelsea when he was at his peak and don't let us forget he was under the shadow of didier drogba it is the MEDIA that destroy Anelka
Anelka could have done something in 2002 for france
Anelka the most decorated French footballer 🙌👍👍
Malouda Drogba Anelka , crazy trio, so ruthless
The song choices are a bit odd
Loved Anelka at Man City he was one of few shining lights during that time great goalscorer
Anelka and drogba combination was fire
can someone please enlighten me about the name of the soundtrack at the end of the video?
What a talent
He literally played in every club.
I remember meeting him I was working at the Man City ground at the time when Phillips was there haha, I thought he was of the players kids he was tiny 😂
All of this was just media labels. Anelka had a banging career.
You give me goosebumps with your documentaries your intro music is legendary hopefully u will make a video of me ..😂😂😂😂
Fyi im absloutley usless at football but if passion and desire and knowledge turned into talent i would of been the goat.
And btw not euro 2002 -04
His time at Bolton was special. Then under Ancelotti he became a below the radar weapon. He doesn’t get much credit for his contributions under Carlo.
will this be add to the list of eric cantona,,, frank ribery , benzema?
The sort of player that needs an arm around him. Media was vulgar and toxic, and his career choices and managers were hit and miss. Wenger knew how to deal with him the best. Unfortunately he was homesick and didn’t have the mental support he needed that is available in abundance today. On his day, he was unplayable
It's sad, he depended on his brothers, who took care of him from nothing, don't know about parents, he was loyal to family, who were not professionals.
Anelka at Arsenal was a nightmare for any defender
Chelsea Legend💙👹
Anelka is honestly just an unfortunate story really. When he was a kid... he was badly advised.
He was treated like shit at Arsenal by the media but he had actually got settled into the team and was starting to play properly well. The media never really stops looking for an excuse to rip you down, but when players just play well for long periods then.. well they do back off whilst your being successful. Unfortunately the media was looking to tear anything Arsenal to absolute pieces at the time as it was this horrible foreign stain on our great english game.... so of course the young french superstar was right in thier targets to absolutely crucify. His team should have adviced him to stick it out, as we saw with Henry that ultimately, whilst they will always have a jab or two, when you play that damn well most the bad press goes away.
He was a player that needed to be happy to perform well. Its no co-incidence that the two periods where he was at his very best was under Keegan at City, and Ancelotti at Chelsea. Both of them are exceptional man managers who are known for being very caring about their players. Its another reason why its ultimately sad that the media and his management put the boot into his Arsenal career, as Arsene is another manager who is known for being very caring when it comes to man management.
France produced many greats. Anelka, Cisse, Henry, Trezeguet, Mbappe
should have never left arsenal. Henry x anelka upfront with bergkamp feeding them good lordy lord
Anelka let his potemtial dwindle. He was always good. Wenget can make players world class. He missed this opportunity to move clubs be an average squad player.
Arsenal fan ❤️, But who remember the Chelsea team in fifa 09 ?
I actually forgot he had played for about half of those clubs. On his day he was a terrific player. But probably single minded and maybe a bit moody( that could be his personality though). A football team is made up with players of many different characteristics but teams that have lasting success have players that put the team first before the individual. It's annoying for football fans when we see a player that looks to have it all and yet leaves the fans a bit disappointed.
I like Anelka when he was at Man City 👍
was there any reason why he was left out of the 1998 world cup squad?
He's handsome 😍
The only one person who ever made Del Bosque lose his temper
The similarities between him and how the media is treating Richarlison right now is frightening
Richarlison is annoying
Anelka America
Bad attitude
Attitude determines altitude
He his a mafia a swear real badman footballer Str8888 up
I believe his commission-hungry agent was always in his ear, persuading him to move.
Why did I keep thinking of Ballotelli? They surely belong to the same camp these 2?
forgot to mention he was at Mumbai city fc last of his career
i havetromendousrespectfor you nicholas sebastian anelka by steve irungu jermaine
12:23 Brendan Rodgers
*9:48 World cup 2002
Best days where at at arsenal
Who’s els enjoyed Anelka at his Chelsea time?
Anelka was the star even early on at Clairefontaine he just never liked everything that came with it.
Where is the R9 STORY respectfully
He had decent career but never lived his expectations
Same thing happened Adebayo
Anelka Went Downhill Rapidly When He Left Arsenal..
Could have been a CR7, love Anelka
A legend. We love him. British discrimination
elaborate. what makes you say that?
3 in 12 not bad but would have had more titles at arsenal if he kept his down and just played
Balotelli’s mentor
Blame John Terry for that shoot out lost not Anelka.
Overall he was very much behind Henry and Trezeguet but he was better than Cisse and Saha.