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Five Footballers Who Played With Serious Eye-Health Problems

Football players when playing on the field, need a sharp vision to allow them to identify the position of the ball as well as the movement of other players.

However, not all talented football players are equally endowed with perfect vision until some players actually have vision problems despite being called a football player as a career.

Here are five world-famous football players who actually have troubled eyes.

1.Edgar Davids (Juventus & Dutch)

We start with the most well-known players due to eye problems. Edgar Davids is an aggressive midfielder who is well known with the Dutch national team and well-known European clubs such as AC Milan, Juventus, and Ajax Amsterdam.

After suffering an injury in 1995, his eyes began to deteriorate develop glaucoma; where the eyeballs at all times will produce a fluid known as ‘Aqueous Humor’ in the eyes non-stop, for a glaucoma patient.

Formation of the fluid will be caused by stress, which in turn disrupts the eye nerves that connect with the brain. David’s surgery was successful in correcting his vision but his eyes were weak as a result of the surgery. The doctor advised he must wear goggles while playing until his career ends in 2014.

2. David Rocastle (Arsenal & England)

The late David Rocastle,  a legend from the Arsenal team from England was a player in Sabah Team where he ended his career. Actually, he has a vision problem since childhood.

He started his career with Arsenal’s young team in 1982. At first, not many people realized there was something strange about him. Each time he carried the ball, Rocastle’s eyes would continue to stare at the ball to make sure he knew the direction of the ball.

After running during training, the Arsenal coach took Rocastle to the middle of the field asking him if he saw a goal at the end there. Rocastle shook his head.

Apparently all this time he had a severe myopia problem and was only able to see within a few meters nearby. Rocastle was supplied with contact lenses and his career began to soar after that- as he began to see where the goal was.

3. Paul Scholes

An important player in Manchester United,  Paul Scholes is known as a respected midfielder and has the worst tackling technique of all his generation.

However, the injury he suffered in a 2006 match caused his vision to begin to blur, he unable to focus on the object-due to damage to his right eye.

Tested has been performed, his condition reportedly failed to find the cause why his eyes continued to fail function properly, it is feared will remain so throughout his life as a result of bleeding caused by ruptured blood vessels.

To help Scholes to train his eyes as well as extend his career, the Manchester United club has supplied him with modern optical equipment named as a special ‘eye reactor’ for his use.

He continued his career, learning to play with shortcomings until retired in 2013 as a permanent player with only one club, throughout his career.

4. David de Gea (Manchester United & Spain)

Manchester United goalkeeper and Spanish national team David de Gea is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. But lately, his performance has deteriorated somewhat and he often makes stupid mistakes for his great goalkeeper.

Is his vision are the factor? De Gea Suffers from ‘Hypermetropia where his vision is able to see at the distance but fails to see at close range.

However, with contact lenses, his performance since playing in Spain with the club Atletico Madrid has never declined.

In 2012, after his performance dropped, De Gea has been advised to undergo laser surgery, to correct his vision after the problem became more acute, some claim that De Gea chose not to have surgery- instead continue with contact lense.

5. Wes Hoolahan (Norwich City & Ireland)

Hoolahan’s name may not be as well known as all the players on the list, but the Irish have the best performance in the Euro 2016 tournament, including the success of beating Italy.

A talented midfielder and capable of producing accurate passes, Hoolahan actually needs to play using contact lenses to allow him to see.

There was an incident where he needs contact lenses, forcing him to ask a friend for help to drive him to the optical shop.

He has short-sighted that could not see, went into the store that selling meat- to buy contact lenses.

Along with his career, Hoolahan went surgery to correct his vision, becoming one of the pillars of the Norwich City team for 10 years as well as the Irish national team midfielder who is said to have changed the tradition od the Irish game forever.

Sources: Ohmyfootball.com, Theguardian, Independent.co.uk, Sportwitness.com, Independent.ie,

Adib Mohd

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