They say every great footballing partnership is formed of one great player and another in the right place at the right time – take Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton for example, or Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown.
So when Andriy Shevchenko and Sergei Rebrov where dominating the Ukrainian league for Dynamo Kyiv in the mid-to-late 1990s, potential suitors had a choice to make. AC Milan eventually went for Shevchenko, a future Champions League winner, whilst Spurs opted for Rebrov – as it turns out, a future racist.
They forked out a whopping £11million for the Ukrainian forward – back when £11million will still a rather ridiculous amount of money.
He was meant to be challenging the likes of Les Ferdinand for a regular first team place, but just ten league goals, one unproductive loan stint at Fenerbahce, and four years later Rebrov left White Hart Lane on a free transfer – joining local rivals West Ham.