You had to be there. You had to witness their blink-and-you'll-miss-it greatness.
Since the division's inception in 1992, the Premier League can boast about showcasing some of football's finest to ever grace the game, but there's one category of players so special that they can define a single year in what has been three decades of brilliance and drama : the one-season wonder.
Forget Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Wayne Rooney or Alan Shearer - they'll always have their time in the spotlight. It's only on rare occasions that we can celebrate one of English football's cult heroes who came as quickly as he disappeared. That man? Michu. The Swansea City icon is imprinted on the 2013-14 season like David Moyes ' Manchester United side thanks to his sensational debut captain, and he turns 36 today.
To celebrate the Spaniard's birthday, Mirror Football takes a look at those who join him in Premier League folklore after one sole scintillating term that saw them explode to stardom and become staples of fantasy football teams across the globe. Here's Michu and seven more one-season wonders.
Michu
When Swansea paid Rayo Vallecano £2million in July 2013, a middling striker with 17 goals in 39 games the previous season hardly turned any heads outside of south Wales. But fast forward to a spectacular debut month in which Michu led the goalscoring charts, he looked like the bargain of the summer, introducing himself to English football by bagging a brace and registering an assist on the opening day against Queens Park Rangers.
Michu had 13 league goals by Christmas, earning himself a lucrative new four-year contract as interest hotted up. Three more came in the League Cup, helping the Swans win their first major honour before finishing a very respectable 9th in the top flight under Michael Laurdrup. Sadly, his second campaign at the Liberty Stadium would be hampered by injuries, just as a subsequent loan spell with Italian giants Napoli was.
Returning to Spain after reaching a settlement to terminate his contract in 2015, his retirement came less than two years after and at the age of 31. He now spends his days working as a sporting director for Spanish minnows Burgos. But Michu's legacy still lives on, with Erling Haaland citing him as an idol and his celebration inspiring playgrounds up and down the country.
Amr Zaki
Plucked from obscurity by Wigan Athletic in 2008 - Cairo-based side Zamalek to be precise - Zaki is the one-season wonder for a certain generation. Anyone nicknamed "the Bulldozer" has a reputation to live up to, and by paying a £1.5million loan fee, the Latics unearthed a gem who scored seven goals in his first eight games at the JJB.
One of those was an astounding volley, scored against title-chasing Liverpool at Anfield no less. Unfortunately, it's claimed his attitude was a fair few levels below his ability and Wigan boss Steve Bruce let rip at the Egyptian after months of frustration, including being late back from international duty - on his way to making 66 appearances for Egypt - four times.
"I can honestly say that in all my time in football I have never worked with someone as unprofessional," Bruce lamented in April 2009. "Zaki's behaviour has shown total disrespect to the club who pay him a very good wage and equally as importantly, to the fans who sing his name from the stands. I think it's time for them to know the truth about the man."
"I really am at the end of my tether with him," the ex-Man United defender added - and it seemed the sport was too. A short-lived loan with Hull City came the following term, as he scored just 11 more goals in his club career playing in Turkey and Egypt before retiring in 2015.
Roque Santa Cruz
When managers ring up their old clubs for a favour, they're often hoping to be given a gift thanks to their past connections - and boy, did Bayern Munich hand Mark Hughes a reward in 2009. Santa Cruz was 25 and in eight years playing for the German giants, he'd only managed to score more than five goals in a single term.
That all changed at Ewood Park, though, bagging 19 in his debut season in the Premier League. However, it proved to be an anomaly during his career in Europe, racking up just four the next campaign. Nevertheless, in the summer of 2009, Hughes - then in charge at Manchester City - reunited with the once-prolific Paraguayan for £17.5million.
His struggles in Manchester resulted in a loan back to Lancashire 18 months later, although Santa Cruz failed to score and make it a romantic return. Having meandered around the Spanish top flight and Mexico, the striker now turns out of native side Club Libertad and remains one of his nations' greatest ever players.
Benni McCarthy
Before Roque, there was Benni. Blackburn's previous talisman. Joining from Champions League winners Porto in a £2.5million transfer in 2006, not many would've bet McCarthy to score one more league goal than a Ballon d'Or-chasing Ronaldo in his maiden term. The South African star was electric at Ewood, as only Didier Drogba outscored him and Rovers reached the UEFA Cup knockout stages.
Stretchered off on the opening day of the following season, McCarthy's downfall was not as dramatic as some others' on this list, but it was certainly as shocking considering the talent on display in 06-07. Now managing AmaZulu in his native South Africa, the 44-year-old has one of the more distinguished careers of the one-season wonders.
Marcus Stewart
A throwback now to Ipswich Town's Premier League hay day. Having helped the Tractor Boys reach the top flight in 2000, Stewart rose to national acclaim by finishing the season as the highest English goalscorer with 19 strikes, as Ipswich - guided by George Burley - finished fifth and qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time since 1982.
But amid the calls for an England call-up and their European exploits, including a trip to San Siro to face Inter Milan, reality bit the men from Portman Road. Both Town and their star striker's form nosedived, with the striker managing just six goals the following campaign and his club were relegated to the second tier. Three successful years at Sunderland followed for Stewart and his most recent role in football was assistant manager at Walsall.
Michael Ricketts
With Stewart in the big-time, there was a hole to be filled below by someone who could fire their team to the Premier League in a similar fashion - and Ricketts grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Once his Bolton Wanderers were up via the play-offs under Sam Allardyce, the Birmingham-born marksman had 15 goals to his name and was staking a claim for England.
Unlike Stewart, his form led to an international call-up and it looked like the logical step of what would be a shining career. But 45 minutes in a friendly against the Netherlands in Amsterdam proved a turning point for the wrong reason, failing to score again for the remainder of the season and notching just six the next.
Asamoah Gyan
Back with one of Steve Bruce's tumultuous talents, this time Sunderland enjoyed the rough and the smooth of Gyan, who they forked out a club-record £13million for after a terrific 2010 World Cup with Ghana. 11 goals and five assists was a solid return and at 25, the ex-Rennes man looked like a star in the making - not to mention his iconic number three haircut, literally.
Barely a year after joining, though, Gyan found a pay rise in the UAE that was four times his wage on Wearside and his head was turned. Later going on to feature for Shanghai SIPG in China on a reported £227,000 a week, the 109-capped international at least made the most of his career from a financial standpoint.
Benjani
Most one-season wonders start with a bang, but in the case of Benjani, he needed a year to find his feet with Harry Redknapp's high-flying Portsmouth. Doubling his tally from the season prior by January while netting two hat-tricks understandably attracted Man City's attention - but there was a catch.
Infamously, the Zimbabwe ace was reluctant to leave the south coast. Benjani missed not one but two flights up to Manchester on deadline day of 2008, with Portsmouth splashing out on Jermain Defoe as his replacement, banking on the move finally going through.
It did - just - and Benjani had dream start to life by scoring on his debut in the Manchester Derby, promising big things. But only three more goals in sky blue marked the beginning of his downfall; hanging up his boots in 2014, safe in the knowledge that he's part of Premier League folklore.
