There is no doubting that in the past two decades we have witnessed some fantastic sides, brilliant matches and individual performances that will live long in the memory and if you support Manchester United, you certainly have witnessed something of a golden period – with no fewer than 12 League titles that sees the Red Devils surpass Liverpool as the most successful side in England. Fergie has certainly had his challenges, notably in Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho, but has always managed to come back time after time to recapture their crown.

One of the great aspects of the Premier League, since its inauguration, has been the array of players plying their trade from all corners of the globe in English football, which has made the League richer for their presence within it. We have been privy to some of the very best players in the world, although it is fair to say we have witnessed some absolute shockers as well. It is fair to say that it is not necessarily down to their lack of ability, but for one reason or other their spell in England was simply a disaster.

This article is a celebration of the latter and the top 20 ‘waste of spaces’ that the Premier League has ever seen:

Click on Tomas Brolin to unveil the top 20

And to the joy of the Stadio Communale Friuli crowd, Udinese managed a draw that will see them in the group stages of European football’s most prestigious club competition if they can negotiate their way through a playoff next season.

They could have ended the season on a high when Antonio Di Natale was presented with a chance to score his 29th league goal of the campaign for Udinese.

But he missed his spot-kick with 16 minutes remaining, leaving the door slightly ajar for Milan, but in the end both sides were happy to share the spoils, giving Udinese fourth spot and ensuring Lazio missed a Champions League spot for next term.

Both Udinese and Lazio finished level on points and on head-to-head, meaning goal difference gave the former fourth place.

Lazio could feel aggrieved though, after they won 4-2 away at Lecce in an exciting encounter at the Stadio Comunale Via del Mare, thanks to a Mauro Zarate double.

Tommaso Rocchi scored the opener after seven minutes for Lazio, and although Manuel Coppola replied 26 minutes later, Zarate was on hand to make the most of Rocchi’s assist shortly after.

Ignacio Platti responded for Lecce who were having a real go at their opponents and levelled proceedings at half-time, but when they lost goalkeeper Massimiliano Benassi to a straight red card seven minutes into the second half, their hopes of gaining an unlikely result faded.

Zarate tucked away the resultant penalty and an own goal from Lecce striker Giuseppe Vives sealed the result with just under half an hour to play.

In other matches, a Giampaolo Pazzini double helped Inter Milan end their season on a high with a 3-1 home win over Catania while Napoli, who finished third, claimed a 2-2 draw at Juventus, with Alessandro Matri netting a late equaliser for the hosts.

Roma came from a goal down to defeat relegated Sampdoria 3-1 thanks to strikes from Francesco Totti, Mirko Vucinic and Marco Borriello and Chievo won by the same scoreline as they beat Palermo away from home.

Brescia avoided a final-day defeat but will be in Serie B next season after a 2-2 draw with Fiorentina at home and the spoils also had to be shared between Cagliari and Parma, who drew 1-1.

A first-half double to Antonio Floro Flores saw Genoa topple a fast-finishing Cesena 3-2 and a Francesco Grandolfo hat-trick gave Bari, who will finish bottom, just their fifth win of the season as they trounced Bologna 4-0.

Udinese would book their spot in the Champions League for the first time since 2005/06 if they can achieve the result and Guidolin said they would need to be clinical in the attacking third.

“AC Milan are not just any team but the Serie A champion,” Guidolin said.

“We need one more point but it will be very difficult. We need to be focused and ready for the task that awaits us.”

“We have to make the most of our chances in order to obtain the result that would take us to paradise.”

Lazio, who are two points adrift in fifth, will need to collect three points at Lecce if they are to have any chance of stealing Udinese’s spot.

Juventus are also relying on other results if they are to sneak a European spot for next season.

They host third-placed Napoli and need to win, as well as hoping Roma lose at home to the relegated Sampdoria, to clinch sixth spot.

Second-placed Inter Milan head into their meeting with Catania with the runners-up position already confirmed.

Coach Leonardo will want to go into the Coppa Italia final against Palermo on May 29 with a full strength squad, meaning he will not be taking any risks, while Catania can finish no higher than 10th.

Palermo manager Delio Rossi may do likewise when his team welcomes Chievo with a European spot out of their grasp.

Struggling Bologna, who have survived the drop, will be looking for their first win since March 13 when the relegated Bari visit.

Cagliari will be out to break a four-game losing run when they host Parma, who are unbeaten in their last five outings.

Elsewhere, Genoa and Cesena will do battle and the relegated Brescia will host Fiorentina.

Juventus trails sixth-placed Roma by three points and will need to defeat third-placed Napoli and hope Roma fails to pick up any points at already relegated Sampdoria.

The odds are heavily stacked against Juventus playing any European football next season, but Delneri remains defiant in the calls for him to resign after the club’s poor run.

“Why should I resign? I won’t even consider such a thing,” Delneri said.

“I do my work as best I can and I don’t think there’s any need to talk about a resignation. I have a contract, then it’s up to the club to decide what they want to do.”

“This season has been filled with many errors and strange situations. At this moment, being out of Europe, it feels tough. We’ll try to do well in the last game against Napoli and see what happens.”

Delneri was making no excuses for his side’s poor showing against Parma.

“Today we had lots of young players on the field and it’s also difficult for them to face up to a game like this,” he said.

“Parma were aggressive and we did very little to avoid defeat, so there are no excuses. Let us not clutch at straws here. There are no excuses.”

Despite currently sitting in seventh and failing to live up to their lofty pre-season ambitions, Delneri believes this campaign has been a successful one.

“We have done some good things this season, as don’t forget we are the team with the least defeats behind Milan and Inter,” he said.

“It’s true we drew many games as well, but three draws or three wins cannot change the judgment on an overall campaign’s work. It would be banal.”

“We have completely rebuilt the squad that we started with in July and big changes do lead to big difficulties. People said I’d find it difficult to lead a group of champions, but that was not the case and I’m happy with the rapport we’ve forged.”

Juventus face 14th-placed Parma on Sunday, but will have to make do without a handful of key players.

Midfielders Milos Krasic and Claudio Marchisio are suspended, Leandro Rinaudo, Momo Sissoko, Fabio Quagliarella, Vincenzo Iaquinta and Zdenek Grygera have already been ruled out and there are major doubts over Alberto Aquilani and Armand Traore.

But Delneri remains confident his side will be able to gain the important three points.

“Having Aquilani would be important as an extra alternative to use during the game, but we’ve done everything we had to in order to face Parma with the right spark,” he said.

But the day’s most important game will see sixth-placed Lazio welcome Genoa to Rome’s Olympic Stadium, keen to keep the pressure on fourth-placed Udinese in the race for a spot in the Champions League qualifiers.

On Sunday, the match of the round sees Inter Milan with a chance to wrap up second place with a win over third-placed Napoli.

Udinese are away to Chievo Verona while Roma – who are in fifth place, level on points with Lazio and just two behind Udinese – travel to Catania.

Juventus, three points behind Lazio in seventh in the quest for a Europa League place, face a tricky trip to Parma and Fiorentina play host to Bologna.

Sampdoria face a crunch fixture against Palermo, who will be riding high after securing a berth in the Coppa Italia final with a 2-1 win over Milan on Tuesday, as they run out of opportunities to escape the bottom three.

With Brescia and Bari already resigned to life in Serie B next season, Sampdoria are the only team in the drop zone who can escape – with Lecce, who they trail by two points, the team they are most likely to overhaul.

Lecce are away to Bari, while Cesena, who are just four points ahead of Sampdoria, play host to Brescia.

Lazio were handed a golden opportunity to get back in the contest when Gabriele Angella brought down Tommaso Rocchi inside the area on 67 minutes.

Defender Angella received his marching orders for the foul, but the visitors were unable to take advantage, with Mauro Zarate’s tame effort saved by Udinese goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.

Lazio did pull a goal back 10 minutes later though, with Czech forward Libor Kozak slotting home from close range.

But Edy Reja’s side were unable to force an equaliser and slip to fifth place as a consequence of their defeat.

Udinese replace them in fourth, two points ahead and in possession of the final Champions League qualification berth with two matches left to play.

Inter Milan regained second place with a 3-1 win at home to Fiorentina.

Striker Giampaolo Pazzini and Argentina midfielder Esteban Cambiasso were on target in the first half for Inter at the San Siro.

Alberto Gilardino pulled a goal back for Fiorentina on 73 minutes, before Coutinho completed the scoring for the hosts with 13 minutes remaining.

Inter are now one point ahead of Napoli, who slipped to third after going down 2-1 away to Lecce.

Javier Chevanton struck the winner for struggling Lecce two minutes from time at the Stadio Via del Mare.

Brescia are now just one match away from relegation after they lost 2-1 at home to Catania.

Goals from Luis Jimenez and Dominique Malonga helped Cesena edge closer to safety with a 2-0 win away to Cagliari.

And Parma guaranteed their survival after drawing 0-0 away to Bologna.

The win sees Massimiliano Allegri’s side restore an eight-point lead over defending champions Inter Milan with three matches of the season remaining.

At the other end of the table, Sampdoria came from behind three times to draw 3-3 at home to Brescia.

Visitors Brescia led first through Citadin Eder’s goal five minutes into the second half, with Nicola Pozzi equalising for the hosts on 55 minutes at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Former Sampdoria man Andrea Caracciolo restored Brescia’s lead three minutes later, before Fernando Tissone levelled for the home side just after the hour mark.

Brescia must have thought they had done enough to win when striker Caracciolo netted his second to make it 3-2 with six minutes remaining.

But midfielder Daniele Mannini struck a minute into injury time to rescue a point for Alberto Cavasin’s team.

The draw keeps Sampdoria one point clear of the relegation zone, while Brescia remain second last, five points from safety.

Lecce stay third bottom, one point behind Sampdoria after going down 1-0 away to Chievo.

Udinese suffered a blow in their bid to secure a Champions League qualification berth, when they lost 5-2 away to Fiorentina.

Gaetano D’Agostino and Alessio Cerci both struck braces for the home side at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

The defeat leaves Udinese fifth, one point behind fourth-placed Lazio, who host Juventus on Monday.

In other matches, Parma defeated Palermo 3-1, while Catania defeated Cagliari 2-0.

Their closest challengers are bitter rivals Inter Milan, in second, and Napoli, a further point behind in third and tussling with Inter for the top two.

Inter and Napoli both play on Saturday, the former at Cesena and the latter at home to Genoa, and should both fail to register a win Milan can wrap up the title against struggling Bologna with three games left in the season.

Although unlikely, current form suggests this scenario is not altogether unforeseeable for Massimiliano Allegri and the Milan squad.

Inter’s form has been questionable lately, especially away from home, where Leonardo’s men have not managed a win in the league since a trip to Sampdoria in late February.

Cesena, meanwhile, have climbed out of the relegation places with an improved run of form through the last two months, losing just one of their past nine games and none at home.

Napoli’s form has also taken an ill-timed dip, conceding second place to Inter with back-to-back losses to Udinese and Palermo.

Mid-table Genoa have reason to feel confident ahead of their trip to the Stadio San Paolo following consecutive wins over Brescia and Lecce, and seem to have picked up a gem in on-loan Udinese striker Antonio Floro Flores.

Assuming Inter and Napoli manage a point or less from their encounters, Milan will have the simple enough task of defeating Bologna – on a four-game losing streak – to wrap up their title.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Udinese can move provisionally into the fourth and final Champions League place on the table – occupied by Lazio – if they find a way past visiting Fiorentina.

Roma will surely maintain their grip on a Europa League spot with a visit to Serie B-bound Bari, while Sampdoria and Brescia fight it out at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in a relegation dogfight.

Lecce take their relegation-threatened campaign into a crucial encounter at Chievo, Catania do the same at Cagliari, while Parma and Palermo will both aim for a third straight win at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Finally, Juventus’ slim hopes of stealing a Europa League berth could be dealt a death blow with a visit to Champions League hopefuls Lazio on Monday.

But Federico Balzaretti equalised on 37 minutes for Palermo, before Cesare Bovo scored the winner for the hosts from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time.

The defeat leaves Napoli third, six points behind league leaders AC Milan with four matches left to play.

Defending champions Inter Milan remain in contention to retain their title following a 2-1 win at home to Lazio.

The visitors went ahead through a Mauro Zarate penalty after 24 minutes at the San Siro, with Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar sent off for his part in conceding the penalty.

But the 10 men of Inter equalised through Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder, before Cameroon international Samuel Eto’o struck the winner seven minutes into the second half.

Lazio also finished a man down after Stefano Mauri was sent off on 65 minutes.

Inter are now five points behind leaders Milan.

Lazio remain fourth, one point ahead of fifth-placed Udinese, who suffered a 2-0 defeat at home to Parma.

A goal in each half from on-loan striker Amauri gave visitors Parma all three points at the Stadio Friuli.

Udinese had to play out the majority of the match with 10 men following the 20th-minute dismissal of Gokhan Inler.

Roma, sixth, closed to within four points of Lazio following a 1-0 win over Chievo, with Simone Perrotta scoring the winner for the hosts in just the fourth minute at the Stadio Olimpico.

In other matches, Genoa twice came from behind to dent Lecce’s survival hopes with a 4-2 home win.

The defeat sees Lecce slip into the bottom three on goal difference after Sampdoria’s 1-0 victory away to Bari lifted them to 17th.

A brace from Alessio Cerci helped Fiorentina beat Cagliari 2-1 away from home, while Bologna went down 2-0 at home to Cesena.