Pick your moments...
Rangers have brought in Osijek left-back Borna Barisic this week, after the Croatian – capped three times by his country – found the net during the two sides' Europa League qualifying clash at Ibrox.
Like the 25-year-old, these players also chose the right days to shine and change their careers forever. Well if you can't beat them, sign 'em…
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
"I put him in the team and now I regret it," Portugal boss Fernando Santos said after winning Euro 2016. Santos was talking about Ronaldo, and the day in 2003 that sealed the teenager’s move to Manchester United.
Santos was in charge of Sporting at the time, and his star-in-the-making had just run John O'Shea ragged in a 3-1 pre-season win over United. "That night, I played unbelievable. I played so good," Ronaldo later said.
An impressed Rio Ferdinand urged Sir Alex Ferguson to sign the winger after the match. Wily old Fergie already knew all about Ronaldo, but this performance prompted the Scot to seal the signing that day – and Santos would go on to reap the benefits 13 years later.
Paul Lambert (Borussia Dortmund)
In 1994, Motherwell met Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Cup, where they gave the Bundesliga giants a run for their money before succumbing to a 3-0 aggregate defeat.
A young Lambert did enough to impress the great Ottmar Hitzfeld over two legs, and he was duly brought to Germany in the summer of 1996. It was there that Hitzfeld deployed him as a defensive midfielder for the first time.
And an inspired change it was: Lambert became a fan favourite in Dortmund and played a key role in their Champions League triumph during his one season in Germany – impressively shackling Juventus playmaker Zinedine Zidane in the final and becoming the first Brit to lift the trophy since its reformation.
Danny Drinkwater (Leicester)
Then-Leicester boss Nigel Pearson insisted he’d tracked Drinkwater for a “long time” before his arrival in January 2012 – but the timing was a little suspect.
The 21-year-old was impressing on loan at Barnsley from Manchester United and had his deal extended until the end of the season on January 6. But less than a week after his standout performance against Leicester on January 14 – where he put the Foxes down with two assists – Drinkwater moved to the King Power Stadium for around £1m.
Unimpressed Tykes boss Keith Hill huffed: "We live in this football food chain that we can't compete with Leicester and they've nicked a player we've been developing. I believe one day he will be a Premier League player.”
Mohamed Salah (Chelsea)
How do you stop someone from repeatedly scoring against your team? Sign him, of course. Chelsea were at it again in January 2014 when they bought Salah from Basel for £11m.
The summer before, Stamford Bridge was buzzing after Jose Mourinho’s return to the dugout. But in the Portuguese’s first Champions League clash back at his old club, Salah helped make it a forgettable occasion for him as Basel ran out 2-1 winners. Just over a month later he repeated the feat, netting a late winner in Switzerland.
Mourinho had seen enough – less than two months later, the Egyptian was a Blue. "First of all, he won't score against Chelsea – which is a good thing," the manager quipped.
Ryan Giggs (Manchester United)
The United great made a record 963 appearances over 24 trophy-strewn seasons at Old Trafford – but it could’ve been so different. The Welsh winger was on Manchester City’s books aged 13, but the Citizens were waiting for the future star to turn 14 before handing him a youth contract.
Step in newsagent Harold Wood – a steward at Old Trafford – who’d also noticed Giggs’s ability, and informed Alex Ferguson. The youngster played for Salford Boys against United's U15s while on trial, scoring a hat-trick. Ferguson was later quoted in the Telegraph saying he felt like a “gold miner staring at a nugget”. On Giggs's 14th birthday, the Scot went to his house with a contract.
Lucio (Internacional)
Before he was lifting titles in Germany and Italy, ex-Bayern Munich and Inter stopper Lucio got his big break in Brazil in strange circumstances.
The 18-year-old defender was on loan at Guara from Planaltina when, in the preliminary round of the 1997 Copa do Brasil, his adopted side were heavily beaten by giants Internacional. "I was observed in a game which we lost to Inter 7-0," Lucio told Brazilian sports magazine Placar. "Still, I appreciated it."
No wonder: Internacional signed the teenager on the back of that performance, and his career – which included 105 caps for Brazil and a World Cup triumph in 2002 – took off.
Chris Waddle (Tottenham)
In 1984, newly-promoted Newcastle were hoping to make an impression in their first top-flight campaign for seven years – nobody more so than former sausage factory worker Waddle. The Magpies suffered defeat away to Spurs at the start of December, but the winger still managed to change his life that day.
As he told FourFourTwo: “The game really changed things for me. It was our first season after promotion and we lost 3-1 but played really well, and I put us 1-0 up… It got highlighted on Match of the Day and within days the newspapers were saying Tottenham wanted to sign me. It turned out the stories were true: they signed me at the end of the season.”
Willian (Chelsea)
The Brazilian signed for another club before arriving at Chelsea for £30m in 2013, but his six-month spell at Anzhi Makhachkala came shortly after two terrific displays against the Blues for Shakhtar in Champions League action.
The Ukrainians recorded a 2-1 win in October 2012 – with Willian providing the assist for Fernandinho’s match-winning strike – before the man himself netted twice at Stamford Bridge a fortnight later.
When abandoned Anzhi held a fire sale for their stars the following summer – Willian had joined them for €35m on January deadline day – the Brazilian was hot property. For a while it looked like Spurs would be his destination, but Chelsea’s late intervention took him to Stamford Bridge.
Liam Brady (Juventus)
In 1980, Italy’s 16-year ban on clubs signing foreign players was lifted. So, after two years without a league title, Juventus boss Giovanni Trapattoni swooped for Arsenal's Irish midfielder Brady.
After coming through the youth ranks at Highbury and winning the FA Cup in 1979, it was Brady's showing against Juve in the 1979/80 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals that impressed Trapattoni.
The Irishman put in a star turn in Turin as the Gunners triumphed 1-0, convincing the Old Lady to take him to Serie A – where he helped the Bianconeri scoop two successive Scudetti. His Italian adventure didn’t end there, as he joined Sampdoria in 1982 to pave the way for another foreigner at Juve – one Michel Platini.
Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid)
In 1952, one match led to Barcelona and Real Madrid going head-to-head – and the course of football history being altered forever. The reason was the performance of Di Stefano, and the match was a shock 4-2 victory for Colombian outfit Millonarios over Madrid in which the Blond Arrow scored twice.
Barça opened talks with Di Stefano's previous club River Plate (who owned his rights). Madrid, meanwhile, struck a deal with Millonarios (who he played for at the time).
The Spanish FA turned to FIFA, who decided that the striker would play alternate campaigns with each club, starting in Madrid. The Catalans walked away and Di Stefano went on to clinch eight league titles and five European Cups for Real.
