For some time now, I’ve been working on some lists of the greatest ever players in each position. Some of you might have seen my own thread on the greatest players in English league history www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=620289 or the thread that inspired it by Gregoriak of their German equivalents https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=420539 Basically over the coming months I will reveal the 100 best players (in my opinion) in each position, who have ever graced the game. These will be the finest footballers to kick a ball since the codification of the game in 1863. Let me start by outlining some of the criteria that I have applied: 1. Peak performance. How good were they at their very best. 2. Longevity and consistency. How long did they perform well for. 3. Achievements. Where did they get to in the game, how much did they win and what style did they do it in. Furthermore I have excluded all players aged below 28 today, as I do not feel they have a sufficient "body of work" on which to be judged. All eligible current players have probably been judged slightly more harshy than they might be as it is difficult to fully evaluate a career until it is over. These criteria naturally favour some of the players from the bigger nations and bigger clubs. I’m afraid that is largely unavoidable. But if you disagree with any of my selections then please let me know. That is what these threads are for. This is just a bit of fun and I've tried to include players across all eras. I'm not pretending it is in any way definitive, but it's there for some debate and hopefully a few people (including myself) can learn a bit more about some forgotten greats. I’d like to thank some of the members of the BigSoccer history group for their input on this as well. Please do not post your thoughts in this thread. I will set up a designated discussion thread for these threads. I will delete any posts in this thread. Please though do contribute. I am really going to try to get this forum back on track, but I will need the input of many members of this board. If you have any feedback or questions about this then please put them in the discussion thread. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showt...7#post19314177 To help people understand the positions of the players I have created this thread on the history of tactics as well as providing definitions of each position to make it easier. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1269077 Enjoy!
100. Michel Renquin Centre-back, left-back Belgium 3/11/1955 55 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Standard Liege, Anderlecht, Servette, Standard Liege, Sion http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Renquin
99. Abelardo Fernandez Centre-back, right-back Spain 19/3/1970 54 caps (3 goals) Clubs: Sporting Gijon, Barcelona, Alaves http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abelardo_Fernández
98. Kevin Ratcliffe Centre-back Wales 12/11/1960 59 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Everton, Cardiff, Dundee, Notts Forest, Derby http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Ratcliffe
97. Terry Butcher Stopper England 28/12/1958 77 caps (3 goals) Clubs: Ipswich, Rangers, Coventry, Sunderland, Clydebank http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Butcher
96. Bernard Bosquier Centre-back France 19/6/1942 42 caps (3 goals) Clubs: Olympique Ales, Sochaux-Montbeliard, Saint-Etienne, Olympique Marseille, FC Martigues http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Bosquier
95. Ricardo Rocha Centre-back Brazil 11/9/1962 39 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Santa Cruz, Guarani, Sporting Lisbon, Real Madrid , Santos, Vasco da Gama, Olaria , Fluminense, Newell's Old Boys, Flamengo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_Roberto_Barreto_da_Rocha
94. Hany Ramzy Centre-back Egypt 10/3/1969 124 caps (6 goals) Clubs: Al-Ahly, Xamax, Werder Bremen, Kaiserslautern, Saarbrucken http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hany_Ramzy
93. Des Walker Centre-back England 26/11/1965 59 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Nottingham Forest, Sampdoria, Sheffield Wednesday http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Des_Walker
92. William Gallas Centre-back, left-back France 17/8/1977 78 caps (4 goals) so far Clubs: Caen, Marseille, Chelsea, Arsenal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Gallas
91. Alberto Quintano Centre-back Chile 26/4/1946 49 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Universidad de Chile, Cruz Azul, Universidad de Chile, Universidad Catolica, Magallanes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Quintano
90. Aristide Guarneri Centre-back Italy 7/3/1938 21 caps (1 goal) Clubs: Como, Internazionale, Bologna, Napoli, Internazionale, Cremonese http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristide_Guarneri
89. Wilf Copping Centre-half, centre-back, left-half England 17/8/1909 20 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Leeds, Arsenal, Leeds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilf_Copping
88. Walter Samuel Stopper Argentina 23/3/1978 53 caps (4 goals) Clubs: Newell’s Old Boys, Boca Juniors, Roma, Real Madrid, Internazionale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Samuel
87. Costica Stefanescu Centre-back Romania 26/3/1951 66 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Steaua Bucharest, Universitatea Craiova, FCM Brasov http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costică_Ştefănescu
86. Basile Boli Centre-back France 2/1/1967 45 caps (1 goal) Clubs: Auxerre, Marseille, Rangers, Monaco, Urawa Red Diamonds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basile_Boli
85. Wilson da Silva Piazza Centre-back Brazil 25/2/1953 51 caps Clubs: Cruzeiro http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_da_Silva_Piazza
84. Luigi De Agostini Centre-back, left-back Italy 7/4/1961 36 caps (4 goals) Clubs: Udinese, Trento, Catanzaro, Udinese, Hellas Verona, Juventus, Internazionale, Reggiana http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_De_Agostini
83. Dave Watson Centre-back England 5/10/1946 65 caps (4 goals) Clubs: Notts County, Rotherham, Sunderland, Manchester City, Werder Bremen, Southampton, Stoke, Derby County, Notts County, Vancouver Whitecaps, Fort Lauderdale Sun http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Vernon_Watson
82. Bernd Bransch Centre-back East Germany 24/9/1944 64 caps (3 goals) Clubs: Chemie Halle, Carl Zeiss Jena, Chemie Halle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernd_Bransch
81. Andre Lerond Centre-back France 6/12/1930 31 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Cannes, Olympique Lyonnais, Stade Francais http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andre_Lerond
80. Georgi Dimitrov Centre-back Bulgaria 14/1/1959 77 caps (6 goals) Clubs: Beroe Stara Zagora, CSKA Sofia, Saint-Etienne, CSKA Sofia, Slavia Sofia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Dimitrov_(footballer)
79. Ernie Brandts Centre-back Holland 3/2/1956 28 caps (5 goals) Clubs: De Graafschap, PSV Eindhoven, Roda JC, MVV Maastricht, K.F.C. Germinal Beerschot De Graafschap http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Brandts
78. Victor Benitez Centre-back, defensive midfielder Peru 30/10/1936 11 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Alianza Lima, Boca Juniors, AC Milan, Messina, AC Milan, Roma, Venezia, Internazionale, Roma, Sporting Cristal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Benitez
77. John Terry Centre-back England 7/12/1980 58 caps (6 goals) so far Clubs: Chelsea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Terry