Daily Mail Top 50 players ever

ASF mentioned in the Sheep Draft thread an idea about listing the best players (and picking a team I think) who were not included in the IFFHS list of Players of the Century, Pele's Fifa 100 or either of the World Soccer top 100's (writers list or readers voted list). I think he was going to include other lists too but anyway excluding very recent players, there are probably just a few candidates with votes so far (and some more with mentions) in this thread that didn't appear on any of those lists. Luis Suarez has the most points. He received some votes in the regional European Player of the Century elections for IFFHS but not enough to be a candidate for World Player of the Century. He also appeared in the World Soccer writers second list of players but not their top 100, and he was only a point short of being inside the readers top 100 (level with Bebeto for 100th place) as you can see from this link http://englandfootballonline.com/TeamHons/HonsWldSocPlyrsCent.html.
I'll highlight the other players in my next update. Luis Figo would've been one of them and been around the same point as Luis Suarez in this thread's current standings, but he appeared in Pele's Fifa 100. Although his peak could be argued to have been just in the last century I guess it's unlikely a player starring just as the Player of the Century votes are cast will be considered very much, especially by IFFHS voters. He did receive 7 points voted by World Soccer readers, compared to Suarez's 29.

 

I'm going to follow Peru's lead and re-do my top 100. There aren't many changes to the order of the original players voted for, just a few slight ones including erring on the side of rating Garrincha and Puskas slightly higher although still low compared to the average vote. I've included some more players in my top 50 this time and also 3 more in my top 100 (Didi and a couple of goalkeepers) coming in for 3 more of the original list. I've ordered my choices for 51 to 100 too this time but I see it as being very close especially towards the bottom of the list:
1) Pele (Brazil) 50 points
2) Johan Cruyff (Holland) 49
3) Diego Maradona (Argentina) 48
4) Michel Platini (France) 47
5) George Best (N. Ireland) 46
6) Marco van Basten (Holland) 45
7) Alfredo Di Stefano (Argentina/Colombia/Spain) 44
8) Zinedine Zidane (France) 43
9) Franz Beckenbauer (Germany) 42
10) Eusebio (Portugal) 41
11) Bobby Charlton (England) 40
12) Michael Laudrup (Denmark) 39
13) Ronaldo (Brazil) 38
14) Ferenc Puskas (Hungary/Spain) 37
15) Ronaldinho (Brazil) 36
16) Zico (Brazil) 35
17) Kenny Dalglish (Scotland) 34
18) Luis Figo (Portugal) 33
19) Bobby Moore (England) 32
20) Dejan Savicevic (Yugoslavia) 31
21) George Weah (Liberia) 30
22) Dennis Bergkamp (Holland) 29
23) Roberto Baggio (Italy) 28
24) Thierry Henry (France) 27
25) Lothar Matthaus (Germany) 26
26) Lev Yashin (Soviet Union) 25
27) Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Germany) 24
28) Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine) 23
29) Stanley Matthews (England) 22
30) Gerd Muller (Germany) 21
31) Franco Baresi (Italy) 20
32) Jurgen Kllinsmann (Germany) 19
33) Tom Finney (England) 18
34) Peter Schmeichel (Denmark) 17
35) Garrincha (Brazil) 16
36) Ruud Gullit (Holland) 15
37) Paolo Maldini (Italy) 14
38) Gheorghe Hagi (Romania) 13
39) Kaka (Brazil) 12
40) Johan Neeskens (Holland) 11
41) Francesco Totti (Italy) 10
42) Eric Cantona (France) 9
43) Cafu (Brazil) 8
44) Matthias Sammer (Germany) 7
45) Raul (Spain) 6
46) Dragan Dzajic (Yugoslavia) 5
47) Robert Pires (France) 4
48) Jairzinho (Brazil) 3
49) Patrick Vieira (France) 2
50) Brian Laudrup (Denmark) 1
51) Fernando Redondo (Argentina)
52) Socrates (Brazil)
53) Gordon Banks (England)
54) Duncan Edwards (England)
55) Frank Rijkaard (Holland)
56) Romario (Brazil)
57) Gary Lineker (England)
58) David Beckham (England)
59) Carlos Alberto (Brazil)
60) Rivaldo (Brazil)
61) Claudio Caniggia (Argentina)
62) Gabriel Batistuta (Argentina)
63) Paul Gascoigne (England)
64) Glenn Hoddle (England)
65) Henrik Larsson (Sweden)
66) Ryan Giggs (Wales)
67) Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic)
68) Gaetano Scirea (Italy)
69) Roberto Rivelino (Brazil)
70) Nandor Hidegkuti (Hungary)
71) Tostao (Brazil)
72) Raymond Kopa (France)
73) Gianni Rivera (Italy)
74) Just Fontaine (France)
75) Lionel Messi (Argentina)
76) Enzo Scifo (Belgium)
77) Giussepe Meazza (Italy)
78) Ladislao Kubala (Czechoslovakia/Hungary/Spain)
79) Jimmy Greaves (England)
80) Denis Law (Scotland)
81) Rob Rensenbrink (Holland)
82) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
83) Mario Kempes (Argentina)
84) Jan Ceulemans (Belgium)
85) Preben Elkjaer (Denmark)
86) John Barnes (England)
87) Roger Milla (Cameroon)
88) Didi (Brazil)
89) Robinho (Brazil)
90) Gianfranco Zola (Italy)
91) Davor Suker (Croatia)
92) John Robertson (Scotland)
93) Peter Shilton (England)
94) Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)
95) Paolo Rossi (Italy)
96) Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria)
97) Pierre Littbarski (Germany)
98) Kazimierz Deyna (Poland)
99) John Charles (Wales)
100) Jean Tigana (France)

 

Yeah I've seen that page before and also this similar one http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/best-x-players-of-y.html
I think it was wrong that Pele had to pick 50 current players, and also there seems to have been political motivation to an extent too. Also he was picking from 2 shortlists too I believe so maybe some players he'd include weren't available - I don't know.

 

I understand your views Peru and they are probably the majority view too. However although taking into account general opinion with my new vote I didn't want to over-rule my own opinions too much. It is very close, certainly between positions 11-100 IMO. I've tended to place players more based on peak form rather than consistency which probably benefits those 3, plus my preference for flair/creativity perhaps. Brian Laudrup's best form was in Scotland where to be honest he was far too good for the league really, but he did star for Denmark too and placed very high in the Balon D'or rankings. I think some AC Milan fans may put Savicevic as high as I did, although I'd expect some others to rate Rivera higher. Robinho is struggling at the moment but has already shown special talent. Compared to Stoichkov for example he isn't as good at scoring goals but is more creative. Masopust is certainly another player who I don't think would be far away from my top 100.

 

The honourable mentions list is now:
Domingos Da Guia
Lilian Thuram
Gianluigi Buffon
Pavel Nedved
Marcel Desailly
Sepp Maier
Denis Law
Josef Masopust
Oliver Kahn
Ryan Giggs
Jimmy Greaves
Kazimierz Deyna
Rob Rensenbrink
John Robertson
Roger Milla
Preben Elkjaer
Jean Tigana
Jan Ceulemans
Glenn Hoddle
Pierre Littbarski
Gary Lineker
John Barnes
Enzo Scifo
Claudio Caniggia
Paul Gascoigne
Gianfranco Zola
Davor Suker
Henrik Larsson
David Beckham
Robinho
Ruud van Nistelrooy
Johnny Rep
Wolfgang Overath
Paul Breitner
Kevin Keegan
Ademir Marques de Menezes
Angel Labruna
Javier Zanetti
Claude Makalele
Luis Monti
Fernando Peyroteo
Alberto Spencer
Cesar Cueto
Ricardo Zamora

And the current overall standings:

Pele 449
Diego Maradona 436
Johan Cruyff 432
Alfredo Di Stéfano 417
Franz Beckenbauer 401
Michel Platini 397
Ferenc Puskás 393
George Best 363
Garrincha 356
Eusebio 351
Zico 349
Zinedine Zidane 340
Bobby Charlton 339
Ronaldo 318
Marco van Basten 311
Gerd Müller 302
Romario 249
Lev Yashin 247
Bobby Moore 239
Paolo Maldini 235
Franco Baresi 232
Didí 210
Lothar Matthäus200
Stanley Matthews 196
Ruud Gullit 182
Rivelino 173
Roberto Baggio 173
Leonidas 126
José Manuel Moreno 117
Giuseppe Meazza 116
Ronaldinho 111
Zizinho 109
Fritz Walter 104
Gianni Rivera 95
Raymond Kopa 95
Thierry Henry 87
Ladislao Kubala 84
Sandor Kocsis 82
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge 81
Lionel Messi 74
Dennis Bergkamp 71
Kenny Dalglish 70
Daniel Passarella 65
Matthias Sindelar 60
Peter Schmeichel 59
Adolfo Pedernera 51
Johan Neeskens 50
Dino Zoff 50
Michael Laudrup 48
George Weah 48
Sandro Mazzola 46
Omar Sivori 43
Jürgen Klinsmann 42
Juan Alberto Schiaffino 41
Elías Figueroa 39
Luis Suarez 39
Hector Scarone 36
John Charles 36
Josef Bican 36
Uwe Seeler 36
Giacinto Facchetti 36
Duncan Edwards 35
Roberto Carlos 34
Frank Rijkaard 34
Luís Figo 33
Arsenio Erico 33
Teófilo Cubillas 33
Rivaldo 32
Gordon Banks 32
Dejan Savicevic 31
Paolo Rossi 29
Francisco Gento 29
Gabriel Batistuta 28
Gheorghe Hagi 28
Nilton Santos 28
Gyorgy Sarosi28
Andriy Shevchenko 27
Hristo Stoichkov 27
Cafú 27
Cristiano Ronaldo 26
Kaká 25
Carlos Alberto 24
Jairzinho 24
Dragan Dzajic 24
Valentino Mazzola 23
Hugo Sanchez 23
José Leandro Andrade 21
Imre Schlosser 18
Tom Finney18
Mario Kempes 17
Jozsef Bozsik 16
Just Fontaine 16
Nándor Hidegkuti 15
Ruud Krol 14
Falcao 14
Emilio Butragueño 12
Gunnar Nordahl 12
Tostao 12
Djalma Santos 11
Francesco Totti10
Gaetano Scirea10
Zbigniew Boniek 9
Eric Cantona9
Enzo Francescoli 8
Matthias Sammer7
Raul6
Robert Pires4
Gerson4
Telmo Zarra 2
Patrick Vieira2
Fernando Redondo 1
Artur Friedenreich 1
Socrates 1
Brian Laudrup1

 

I'm highlighting in green the retired players not in the Fifa 100, either of the World Soccer Player of the Century lists (readers 100 and writers 100) or the IFFHS World Player of the Century top 50. In red are the current players this applies to also.

 

OK Kyle, I'll get ready to adjust the rankings. Will the changes include taking Cruyff off top spot I wonder?

 

I haven't checked all the players I highlighted in green against all of the lists but Suarez and Krol are definately mentioned (in the first one I looked at to check just now).

 

Thanks for the vote Khan096, here is the effect on the current standings:
Pele 499
Diego Maradona 481
Johan Cruyff 479
Alfredo Di Stéfano 465
Franz Beckenbauer 450
Michel Platini 436
Ferenc Puskás 436
Garrincha 402
George Best 396
Eusebio 392
Zico 389
Zinedine Zidane 376
Bobby Charlton 373
Ronaldo 362
Gerd Müller 344
Marco van Basten 341
Romario 287
Bobby Moore 274
Lev Yashin 273
Franco Baresi 259
Paolo Maldini 250
Lothar Matthäus 228
Ruud Gullit 211
Didí 210
Stanley Matthews 196
Roberto Baggio 191
Rivelino 186
Ronaldinho 148
Giuseppe Meazza 137
Zizinho 133
Raymond Kopa 127
Leonidas 126
José Manuel Moreno 117
Fritz Walter 104
Gianni Rivera 95
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge 100
Sandor Kocsis 93
Thierry Henry 87
Ladislao Kubala 84
Dennis Bergkamp 75
Dino Zoff 75
Lionel Messi 74
Kenny Dalglish 70
Daniel Passarella 65
Matthias Sindelar 60
Paolo Rossi 60
Peter Schmeichel 59
George Weah 58
Adolfo Pedernera 51
Michael Laudrup 51
Luís Figo 50
Johan Neeskens 50
Rivaldo 48
Sandro Mazzola 46
Omar Sivori 43
Jürgen Klinsmann 42
Juan Alberto Schiaffino 41
Elías Figueroa 39
Luis Suarez 39
Mario Kempes 39
Gabriel Batistuta 37
Just Fontaine 36
Hector Scarone 36
John Charles 36
Josef Bican 36
Uwe Seeler 36
Giacinto Facchetti 36
Duncan Edwards 35
Roberto Carlos 34
Frank Rijkaard 34
Arsenio Erico 33
Teófilo Cubillas 33
Gordon Banks 32
Dejan Savicevic 31
Kaká 31
Francisco Gento 29
Gheorghe Hagi 28
Nilton Santos 28
Gyorgy Sarosi28
Falcao 28
Andriy Shevchenko 27
Hristo Stoichkov 27
Cafú 27
Cristiano Ronaldo 26
Carlos Alberto 24
Jairzinho 24
Dragan Dzajic 24
Artur Friedenreich 24
Valentino Mazzola 23
Hugo Sanchez 23
José Leandro Andrade 21
Imre Schlosser 18
Tom Finney18
Jozsef Bozsik 16
Nándor Hidegkuti 15
Ruud Krol 14
Emilio Butragueño 12
Gunnar Nordahl 12
Tostao 12
Kevin Keegan 12
Djalma Santos 11
Francesco Totti10
Gaetano Scirea10
Zbigniew Boniek 9
Eric Cantona9
Enzo Francescoli 9
Sepp Maier 8
Matthias Sammer7
Oliver Kahn 7
Raul6
Fabio Cannavaro 5
Robert Pires4
Gerson4
Telmo Zarra 2
Patrick Vieira2
Fernando Redondo 1
Gary Lineker 2
Socrates 1
Brian Laudrup1

 

Some corrections were needed to the standings because of oversights when I was adjusting my own vote. I'd taken a point too many off Neeskens and hadn't taken the points off Romario, Batistuta, Rivelino, Messi, C. Ronaldo, Kempes, Rossi, Stoichkov, Charles, Butragueno, Francescoli or Boniek.
Here is the correct and up-to-date (after Kahn096's vote too) version:
Pele 499
Diego Maradona 481
Johan Cruyff 479
Alfredo Di Stéfano 465
Franz Beckenbauer 450
Michel Platini 436
Ferenc Puskás 436
Garrincha 402
George Best 396
Eusebio 392
Zico 389
Zinedine Zidane 376
Bobby Charlton 373
Ronaldo 362
Gerd Müller 344
Marco van Basten 341
Romario 275
Bobby Moore 274
Lev Yashin 273
Franco Baresi 259
Paolo Maldini 250
Lothar Matthäus 228
Ruud Gullit 211
Didí 210
Stanley Matthews 196
Roberto Baggio 191
Rivelino 176
Ronaldinho 148
Giuseppe Meazza 137
Zizinho 133
Raymond Kopa 127
Leonidas 126
José Manuel Moreno 117
Fritz Walter 104
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge 100
Gianni Rivera 95
Sandor Kocsis 93
Thierry Henry 87
Ladislao Kubala 84
Dennis Bergkamp 75
Dino Zoff 75
Kenny Dalglish 70
Lionel Messi 65
Daniel Passarella 65
Matthias Sindelar 60
Peter Schmeichel 59
George Weah 58
Paolo Rossi 54
Adolfo Pedernera 51
Michael Laudrup 51
Johan Neeskens 51
Luís Figo 50
Rivaldo 48
Sandro Mazzola 46
Omar Sivori 43
Jürgen Klinsmann 42
Juan Alberto Schiaffino 41
Elías Figueroa 39
Luis Suarez 39
Just Fontaine 36
Hector Scarone 36
Josef Bican 36
Uwe Seeler 36
Giacinto Facchetti 36
Duncan Edwards 35
Roberto Carlos 34
Frank Rijkaard 34
Arsenio Erico 33
Teófilo Cubillas 33
John Charles 32
Mario Kempes 32
Gordon Banks 32
Dejan Savicevic 31
Kaká 31
Francisco Gento 29
Gheorghe Hagi 28
Nilton Santos 28
Gyorgy Sarosi28
Falcao 28
Andriy Shevchenko 27
Cafú 27
Gabriel Batistuta 26
Carlos Alberto 24
Jairzinho 24
Dragan Dzajic 24
Artur Friedenreich 24
Valentino Mazzola 23
Hugo Sanchez 23
Hristo Stoichkov 22
José Leandro Andrade 21
Imre Schlosser 18
Tom Finney18
Cristiano Ronaldo 18
Jozsef Bozsik 16
Nándor Hidegkuti 15
Ruud Krol 14
Gunnar Nordahl 12
Tostao 12
Kevin Keegan 12
Djalma Santos 11
Francesco Totti10
Gaetano Scirea10
Emilio Butragueño 9
Eric Cantona9
Zbigniew Boniek 8
Sepp Maier 8
Enzo Francescoli 7
Matthias Sammer7
Oliver Kahn 7
Raul6
Fabio Cannavaro 5
Robert Pires4
Gerson4
Telmo Zarra 2
Patrick Vieira2
Gary Lineker 2
Fernando Redondo 1
Socrates 1
Brian Laudrup1

 

1 Pele 499
2 Diego Maradona 481
3 Johan Cruyff 479
4 Alfredo Di Stéfano 465
5 Franz Beckenbauer 450
6= Michel Platini 436
6= Ferenc Puskás 436
8 Garrincha 402
9 George Best 396
10 Eusebio 392
11 Zico 389
12 Zinedine Zidane 376
13 Bobby Charlton 373
14 Ronaldo 362
15 Gerd Müller 344
16 Marco van Basten 341
17 Romario 275
18 Bobby Moore 274
19 Lev Yashin 273
20 Franco Baresi 259
21 Paolo Maldini 250
22 Lothar Matthäus 228
23 Ruud Gullit 211
24 Didí 210
25 Stanley Matthews 196
26 Roberto Baggio 191
27 Rivelino 176
28 Ronaldinho 148
29 Giuseppe Meazza 137
30 Zizinho 133
31 Raymond Kopa 127
32 Leonidas 126
33 José Manuel Moreno 117
34 Fritz Walter 104
35 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge 100
36 Gianni Rivera 95
37 Sandor Kocsis 93
38 Thierry Henry 87
39 Ladislao Kubala 84
40= Dennis Bergkamp 75
40= Dino Zoff 75
42 Kenny Dalglish 70
43= Lionel Messi 65
43= Daniel Passarella 65
45 Matthias Sindelar 60
46 Peter Schmeichel 59
47 George Weah 58
48 Paolo Rossi 54
49= Adolfo Pedernera 51
49= Michael Laudrup 51
49= Johan Neeskens 51
52 Luís Figo 50
53 Rivaldo 48
54 Sandro Mazzola 46
55 Omar Sivori 43
56 Jürgen Klinsmann 42
57 Juan Alberto Schiaffino 41
58= Elías Figueroa 39
58= Luis Suarez 39
60= Just Fontaine 36
60= Hector Scarone 36
60= Josef Bican 36
60= Uwe Seeler 36
60= Giacinto Facchetti 36
65 Duncan Edwards 35
66= Roberto Carlos 34
66= Frank Rijkaard 34
68= Arsenio Erico 33
68= Teófilo Cubillas 33
70= John Charles 32
70= Mario Kempes 32
70= Gordon Banks 32
73= Dejan Savicevic 31
73= Kaká 31
75 Francisco Gento 29
76= Gheorghe Hagi 28
76= Nilton Santos 28
76= Gyorgy Sarosi 28
76= Falcao 28
80= Andriy Shevchenko 27
80= Cafú 27
82 Gabriel Batistuta 26
83= Carlos Alberto 24
83= Jairzinho 24
83= Dragan Dzajic 24
83= Artur Friedenreich 24
87= Valentino Mazzola 23
87= Hugo Sanchez 23
89 Hristo Stoichkov 22
90 José Leandro Andrade 21
91= Imre Schlosser 18
91= Tom Finney 18
91= Cristiano Ronaldo 18
94 Jozsef Bozsik 16
95 Nándor Hidegkuti 15
96 Ruud Krol 14
97= Gunnar Nordahl 12
97= Tostao 12
97= Kevin Keegan 12
100 Djalma Santos 11
101= Francesco Totti 10
101= Gaetano Scirea 10
103= Emilio Butragueño 9
103= Eric Cantona 9
105= Zbigniew Boniek 8
105= Sepp Maier 8
107= Enzo Francescoli 7
107= Matthias Sammer 7
107= Oliver Kahn 7
110 Raul 6
111 Fabio Cannavaro 5
112= Robert Pires 4
112= Gerson 4
114= Telmo Zarra 2
114= Patrick Vieira 2
114= Gary Lineker 2
117= Fernando Redondo 1
117= Socrates 1
117= Brian Laudrup 1