ootballers Who Went From Worthless To World Class XI _ Arteta, Scholes, Ibrahimovic.

Hello and welcome to Football Daily, where today we're looking at players who became great late in their careers. Goalkeeper, Dino Zoff Like many of the players on this list, Dino Zoff played his football in Serie A, a division which seems to have a magical effect on ageing footballers. The keeper, best known for his 9 years with Juventus, didn't join the Bianconeri until he was 30, having featured previously for Napoli, Mantova and hometown club Udinese. As a result, Zoff didn't lift his first club trophy until he was 31, a Scudetto, and he added another 5 in Turin. He also played in two European Cup finals, and for the whole of his time with Juve, the team conceded under a goal a game, with Zoff playing 332 consecutive games, setting a Serie A record which still stands today. At 40, Zoff captained Italy at World Cup 1982, as the Azzurri won the trophy for the third time, their first victory in the competition since 1938. He was voted into the team of the tournament, and remains the oldest player ever to feature in a World Cup final. He retired the following year. Defender, Laurent Koscielny After 7 years at Arsenal, Frenchman Laurent Koscielny has become a highly respected defender, often holding together the Gunners back line by himself. The 31-year-old recovers possession nearly five times a game, and yet commits about one foul every two games. Remarkable figures in Arsene Wenger's haphazard defence. But it wasn't always this way. Signed for £8.5m back in 2010, Koscielny was sent off on his first competitive debut for Arsenal, and later featured in the devastating 8-2 loss to Man Utd. Though quick and strong, the centre-half was reckless, leading Wenger to prefer the steady Per Mertesacker as a starter. And worst of all, Koscielny pretty much single-handedly extended Arsenal's trophy drought from six years to nine, when a brainless mix-up with Chesney handed Obi Femi Martins an open goal in the 2011 League Cup final. It took him until 2014 to make amends, as he netted an Arsenal's 3-2 FA Cup final victory over Hull. Defender, Pepe The defender has calmed down a lot since his early days, or at least he's got a bit better at hiding his dirty side. In 2009, Pepe received a 10-game ban for putting his studs into Getafe's Xavi Casquero, while in 2012 he enraged Catalonians everywhere by stamping on their beloved Leo Messi's precious hand. But believe it or not, Pepe hasn't been sent off once in the Liga over the last five years, and still has only around a third as many career reds as team-mate Sergio Ramos. As hard as he is to like, Pepe is a spectacular player. Defender, Andrea Barzagli So perhaps it seems strange that a man who won the World Cup at 25 makes our team, but Andrea Barzagli had won just two pieces of silverware before that, the Italian third and fourth division titles. He was a surprise inclusion in the 2006 squad, only getting on the pitch thanks to an injury to Nesta, but the Azzurri's success was to be a sign of things to come. After a move to Florentina fell through in 2008, Barzagli left Italy entirely, joining Wolfsburg unexpectedly. He made his Champions League debut at 28, and played every minute for the Wolves as they won the Bundesliga in that first season. It remains their only domestic title. In 2011, Juventus finally came calling, paying only €300,000 for the now 29-year-old. Club chairman Andrea Agnelli called it the best signing we ever made, as Barzagli rewarded the Bianconeri with the finest performances of his career, winning six successive Scudetti, including three doubles in a row. He's now 36 and still a part of Europe's best defence. Midfielder, Mikel Arteta Mikel Arteta joined Arsenal in 2011 as a well-regarded but unspectacular attacking midfielder. A 29-year-old journeyman who came through Everton, Rangers and Paris Saint-Germain, whereas captain was Maurizio Pochettino, the Basque was a graduate of Barcelona's academy, but had never won a single cap for Spain. Under Wenger's guidance and after the departure of Alex Song, Arteta gradually moved into a deeper role, where his brilliant anticipation and distribution kept the Gunners ticking. Arteta completed more passes than any player in the league, while winning more than five tackles and interceptions a game. That's better than N'Golo Kante. Best friend to Xabi Alonso as a child, Arteta came to resemble the Real Madrid legend in his playing style. Now retired, he worked as a coach under Pep Guardiola and has also been offered a role in Pochettino's Tottenham set-up. With that pedigree, perhaps he'll one day manage Arsenal to the title he couldn't win as a player. Midfielder, Paul Scholes Paul Scholes was never bad, let's just say that at the start or Joe Tomlinson will blow his carrot top, but the Englishman wasn't always a world-beater either. In his youth, Scholes was a very good attacking midfielder, twice hitting double figures in the league for Man Utd, even outscoring striker Diego Forlan in 2003. But it was only when Scholes moved into a deeper role that he established himself as an icon of the game. His pinpoint passing and flawless match intelligence provided the platform for success in the league and in Europe, with the great Xavi Hernandez saying He's the best central midfielder I've seen in the last 20 years. He's spectacular. He has it all. His questionable tackling may have sometimes got him in trouble, with Scholes picking up 32 yellow cards in the Champions League, more than anyone else in the competition's history. But he was a top-class contributor for United until the mad age of 38. Midfielder, Fernandinho Before he arrived at Man City back in 2013, Fernandinho had played an attacking midfield role in a Shakhtar Donetsk team which had won six titles in an eight-year spell. However, he was already leading the Ukrainian side in tackles and interceptions, and when City forked out £34m for a player who was already 28, they paired him with Yaya Torre in a fearsome midfield duo. Fernandinho actually paid £4m on his own transfer fee, and his desire to play in the Prem showed in every performance. Where he once hit 11 goals in a single-league campaign, he never exceeded five at the Etihad, instead covering in defence while Torre bombed forward. Having won just five Brazil caps at the time of his move, he went on to earn 22 in the next two years, as well as an English title with the Citizens. He has since filled in at right-back and centre-back, and Pep Guardiola is clearly an admirer of the player, telling the press, if a team has three Fernandinhos, they would be champions. Midfielder, Dries Mertens Dries Mertens became a superstar this year, with a staggering 28 league goals for Napoli as the Partenope lost Gonzalo Higuain. The little Belgium's pace and trickery baffled Serie A centre-backs, as Mertens completed two dribbles a game and created two chances, all while getting off shot after shot from inside the box. It was a performance predicted by Mertens' career in the Netherlands, where he scored 45 goals in two seasons for PSV. Unsurprisingly, those numbers enticed Napoli to move for the wide man, bringing him in for under €10m, but his goals didn't come with him. In fact, over his first three years in Italy, Mertens scored 34 goals in all competitions, the same tally as he managed in his last season alone. His insane campaign led to interest from Man Utd and Chelsea, but Mertens signed a new contract and the 30-year-old will remain in Naples until 2020. Forward, Dario Hübner He may not sound that Italian, but Dario Hübner was a classic Azzurri centre-forward, a powerful finisher who earned the nickname the Bison. He turned professional at the age of 20 and spent the first 10 years of his career playing in Serie B, C and D. Though he averaged around 0.4 goals a game, he couldn't break into the top flight and had to supplement his income with a job cleaning windows. At the age of 30, Hübner was picked up by Brazil and finally got his shot in Serie A. He scored on his debut against Inter with the man providing the assist, an 18-year-old Andrea Pirlo. Hübner hit 16 goals that season and after switching to Piazenza, he finished as joint top scorer in the league, bagging 24 goals at the age of 35 to share the award with David Trezeguet. Bizarrely, Hübner averaged 0.6 goals a game after he turned 30. That's better than Antonio Di Natale managed after hitting that age. Forward, Zlatan Ibrahimović If you're under 18, you probably think Zlatan Ibrahimović has been world-class his whole career. But you'd be wrong, as the lanky Swede didn't manage more than 17 goals in a league campaign until he was nearly 28. By comparison, Darren Bent had done it in the Premier League by the age of 22. But in the nine seasons since then, Zlatan has passed 25 league goals on five occasions, hitting 291 in 404 in all competitions and won seven league titles. While his pace has diminished, Ibrahimović remains one of the most physically dominant athletes in the sport, scoring or assisting 22 of United's 54 Prem goals in his one season at Old Trafford. That's nearly 41%. Now at 36, Zlatan finally looks set to leave the highest level, exiting Europe's top five leagues for the first time since he joined Juventus 13 years ago. If he lands in the MLS, he could break every scoring record they have. Forward, Diego Melito Another Inter old boy, Diego Melito had scored big numbers in Spain and Italy by the time he was 30, but had never convinced a giant club to take the chance on him. The Argentinian had a handful of international caps, but had recorded seasons of 20-plus goals at Genoa and Zaragoza, and Jose Mourinho secured his signature for €28m in 2009, along with the bargain 10m signing of Thiago Motta. In his first year at Inter, Melito scored 30 goals in 52 games, including a double in the Champions League final as the Italian club won the treble. He had never even played in the competition before. In the space of a single season in Milan, he went from having one trophy in his cabinet, a title with Racing Club in his homeland, to six, and was named Serie A Anuafer Player of the Year. Five years later, now 35, Melito returned to Racing Club, and once again became champions in Argentina. The first time the side had topped the division since the strike had left as a youngster. So I hope you guys enjoyed that. As usual, let us know what you thought in the comments below, and if you liked that, why not check out the video that's on screen right now. Click it, it's a good one. And as always, don't forget to like and subscribe.