Nice post. Some stars are just at the right place at the right time to capitalise on an opportunity to become an unexpected hero. The one that comes to mind for me is John Aloisi for Australia.
He scored the winning penalty in the shootout over Uruguay and we qualified for the 2006 World Cup for the first time in 32 years. Mark SchwarZer did thr hard work already with two wonder saves.
Against Japan in the first group stage game Cahill scored 2 goals in 5 mimites very late in the game to overturn a 1-0 Japan lead. Aloisi popped up to score the 3rd in injury time and seal the game.
All he did was finish off what others set up. But he's greatly remembered as our hero and he didn't reach any other great heights in his entire career