- Some Of The Most Iconic Football One Season Wonders
Football fans who have witnessed one-season wonders understand that awful feeling when they realize that a player will never reach the heights of that “one good season.”
So, which players gave fans an iconic show in one season and then ended everything there? Or which players gave fans a world-class season 1 but didn’t show up for season 2? Let’s start with two Premier League cult heroes.
Michael Bridges
In the 1999/2000 season, Michael Bridges scored 19 goals for Leeds United. Only four heavyweight Premier League names—Kevin Phillips, Alan Shearer, Dwight Yorke, and Andy Cole outscored him.
![5 Iconic Football "One Season Wonders"](https://tossyardkings.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image-58.png)
Sadly, injuries prevented Bridges from reaching those levels again, and Leeds released him in 2004.
Roque Santa Cruz
Roque Santa Cruz scored 23 league goals for Blackburn Rovers, with 19 coming in the 2007/08 season.
![5 Iconic Football "One Season Wonders"](https://tossyardkings.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image-57.png)
Only three legendary EPL forwards—Fernando Torres, Emmanuel Adebayor, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who bagged 31 league goals outscored Santa Cruz that year
He never repeated that feat at the highest level, not even when he joined Manchester City.
Vincent Janssen
Harry Kane’s continued brilliance quickly erased the stench of Vincent Janssen’s failed spell at Spurs. The Dutch striker was “the next big thing” after he notched 32 goals and 7 assists for AZ Alkmaar in 2015/16.
![](https://tossyardkings.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image-56.png)
However, he only managed 2 goals in 31 appearances for Spurs and was shipped to Fenerbahce on loan a year later.
Michu
A proper “Streets won’t forget” player, Michu and Swansea were a breath of fresh air in the Premier League back in 2012/13.
![5 Iconic Football "One Season Wonders"](https://tossyardkings.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image-54.png)
After their first season in the Premier League, the Welsh club signed a supposed “attacking midfielder” from Spain, who lit up the English top flight. Swansea finished 9th that season and also won the Carling Cup.
Unfortunately, Michu never found that level of fitness and effectiveness again and he retired in 2017 due to recurring injuries.
Grafite Batista
The ultimate “one season wonder.”
![5 Iconic Football "One Season Wonders"](https://tossyardkings.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/image-53.png)
If you’re going to be a one-season wonder, score 35 goals and provide 10 assists in all competitions, win the golden boot, lead your club to their first-ever Bundesliga title, and grab a Puskas award nomination along the way. That’s exactly what Grafite did for Wolfsburg back in 2008/09—the best year of his career by 100 miles.
Michu was good for at least two years nah ..