One of the most unselfish football player and striker I have actually followed and enjoyed watching over the last two decades, and whom I truly admire is the former England International, Emile Heskey.

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This 41 year old former professional footballer, turns a year older today, and reminds me so much of his active playing days, when he was one of the most powerful strikers and target-man in England.

Emile Heskey’s physical strength and pace during his early years was quite formidable to the extent that defenders struggled a lot to cope with him and his presence.

He actively played for several teams in England, including Premier League teams, as well as the Football league sides.

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Heskey played for Premier league sides like Leicester City, Liverpool, Birmingham City, Wigan Athletic and Aston Villa during his 18-year career in England.

After he was released by Aston Villa in 2012, he moved over to the Australian league and played for the Newcastle United Jets, who are a top A-League club.

Heskey played over 500 professional football matches during his career, and represented his English national team 62 times, scoring 7 goals.

Over the course of his career, an attribute of his that fascinated me, and which I believe endears him to some of his loyal fans, is his unselfish attitude in front of goal.

Strikers are naturally selfish in nature, but not Emile Heskey. He was largely known for setting up and assisting his teammates to score goals during his career, even though he was a striker himself.

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His most successful football years were with his first club Leicester City, and with Liverpool; where he partnered fellow England teammate Michael Owen to become a fearsome pair both at club and national team levels.

Heskey was also a versatile player during his active years; as he could play comfortably from the flanks, especially the left plank which made him quite adaptable to a team.

Despite his unselfish attitude on the field of play, Emile Heskey was largely criticized by a chunk of supporters and football lovers during his career for his lack of goals or non-prolific goal stats.