I would add Mihajlovic, Pires, Kluivert and Crespo. Trezeguet, Inzaghi and Toldo are possibilities. I guess Bierhoff loses on longevity grounds? Agree Emerson and Hyypiä can go. Vieri definitely needs to be there, though. Would also drop Campbell and Cocu. Mendieta is like the poster boy for high peak without longevity. Zanetti could be moved to late 00s to go with Inter's dominant era.
Giovane Elber and Jocelyn Angloma are two more with really strong club careers but not much with the national team. Elber is stuck behind Ronaldo and Angloma behind Thurman so no shame their. Both were excellent in European competitions so it is worth some thought.
I will go through the players mentioned. I think moving Zanetti to the next era is a good idea in some ways, but all of his ESM votes come between 98-03, and he has his most high profile decisive national team performances during this time so I will keep him here. Decisions on players mentioned Larsson In: I think the seven seasons can come from 95, 99, 01, 02, 03, 04, and 06. There are more seasons that probably work as well. Thinking about him as a player who played in a small league for so long was interesting. But he had a long consistent career with high quality performances for his clubs in Europe and with Sweden. I think he is another example of the Viktor situation, to a lesser extent obvious with Viktor being borderline pantheon vs Larsson being borderline ATG, in that Larsson did everything he could with the opportunities afforded to him. He got Sweden to lots of big tournaments and scored in them, he played well in Europe, especially so against opponents from bigger clubs. Petit In: Initially I discounted him as a player who had this one late career peak in this era but probably did not have enough longevity (similar to Effenberg and Mihajlovic). I really underestimated his Monaco career. I did not realize he was first choice for the national team in the early mid 90s and would have started in the 94 WC if France qualified. With Monaco he made it to three European semifinals. Then you add that to his 98-00 run with Arsenal and France and I think you have an ATG player. For me his seven seasons at minimum are 92, 93, 94, 97, 98, 99, 00. You could also make a case for a number of other seasons. Mihajlovic In: As with Petit I initially thought that he was just a player who had this late peak with Lazio. Now that was definitely his peak but I think he has a lot more seasons that I thought that qualify for my seven season criteria. First upon review he was better and more important that I first thought for Red Star and Yugoslavia in 91 and 92. After a few disappointing years with Roma and no real national team opportunities I think he has a decent run with Sampdoria and being the centerpiece of the reassembled Yugoslavia team which had some really good results from 95-98. Then obviously the two great Lazio seasons in 99 and 00. I think you can make a case for at minimum 91, 92, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 00. There are even some later seasons you might be able to make a case for. Effenberg In: Again a player I initially discounted as only having the late peak. I think he has enough early seasons that qualify, but on the other hand he needed that late peak to make ATG, because before the 99-01 run with Bayern he was a player with a good individual level that had never really equated to any team success. He was good for Germany initially until the falling out in 94 (Euro 92 TOTT). He has good ratings with Fiorentina despite getting relegated. He has a good individual season in his early Bayern run but is also a part of their worst modern finish in 10th place. Minimum seasons 91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 99, 00, 01. Could also make a case for 97 and 98. Canizares Out: Just not enough strong seasons outside of the 00-04 run with Valencia. Makaay Out: I can only make a case for six seasons and I think that is pushing the limits as is with 00, 01, 03, 04, 05, 06 and with 01 and 06 of those seasons not being sure things. Him missing out on the national team is not a huge issue based on who was in front of him, just not enough maintained greatness at the levels he hit in 00, 03, and 05. When you miss out on the national team, the club career has to be extra good especially in Europe to overcome that, something that Effenberg achieved being that star outfield player of a two time CL finalist that Makaay fell a little short of. Jarni Out: He is not particularly close. Had a good run I was not aware of in 91, but does not succeed at a big club after multiple chances. He only has 91 and 96-98 in my eyes. Inzaghi Out: He has five strong seasons with 97, 98, 99, 00, and 03 but outside of that struggles to get games at AC Milan and with Italy. Crespo Out: Never really breaks through with the national team when he was actually at his peak (99-01) because of Batistuta. His club career just fall a little short in longevity. Bounces around a lot between the big clubs and struggles to get games at some of these clubs. I don't think there is a good case for him beyond five seasons with 99, 00, 01, 05, and 06. Hyppia Out: His initial run at Liverpool from 00-02 is strong. After that I am not sure how good he is in his next four years as starter. A lot of thing you read implicate that he struggled at times and he was only really a decisive player for those first three seasons. Vieri Out: He has a few really good years in 98, 02, and 03. In that middle run he loses his place in the national team. He also never has any big continental runs. I would say his limit for qualified seasons in at five with 98, 99, 02, 03, and 04. Valeron Out: There is not enough there outside the 02-05 run. Mendieta Out: Similar to Valeron only a four year run from 98-01. Kluivert Out: This one was very close he has a good case for six seasons in 96, 99, 00, 01, 02, and 03. The case for a seventh season is 98 based on what he did in the national team, but the club year was a big failure. He was good in 98 but I am nut sure if he was good/decisive enough in the WC to outweigh and entire disappointing club season. In 98 six dutch players get Ballon d'Or votes and he was not one of them. Elber Out: I addition to having a suspect peak level I have him at six strong seasons in 97, 99, 00, 01, 02, and 03. Maybe if he had not gotten hurt at Lyon and had a few more good seasons their that might change my mind. Angloma In: I know this may fall into the trap I was in before about finding a hidden gem, but I have always been intrigued by Angloma and impressed by his resume. Off the bat he is often discounted because he does not appear in the national team after 1996, but this is because he is stuck behind pantheon player in Thurman. He was first choice with he national team during the undefeated 92 Euro Qualifying run, Euro 92, would have been first choice if they qualified for WC 94, and did not lose his place in the team to Thurman until the second game of Euro 96. On a club side I find his career very impressive. His move to right back for PSG in 90/91 was a revelation leading to him being named the top right back in Europe/France by a number of publications (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jocelyn_Angloma). In 92 and 93 he wins two titles with Marseille and wins the European cup and is first choice for the national team. Then he moves to Torino for two year in 94/95 and 95/96. I can't find much information about his time there but he retains his first team status with France. Then he moves to Inter for one season where he makes another European final and is ESM team of the year. Then he moves to Valencia for a strong four season run where he makes two more CL finals and wins two more ESM TOTY awards. I think he has a solid minimum seven seasons of 91, 92, 93, 95, 97, 00, and 01. That is leaving out 96, 98 and 99 which are all full seasons and his performance seems to be good, and there could be a case made for them as part of the seven seasons of significant positive contribution. Obviously he has proven himself on a broader level having a decent run with the national team and being a very important part of four European finalists. Think about the idea of his peak and was he a driver of success vs a cog. I think looking at his ESM record compared to the other great fullbacks of his time is informative. I will list ESM TOTM(Month)/ESM TOTY for all the famous fullbacks of this time. Roberto Carlos 34/7 Paulo Maldini 23/3 Lillian Thurman 15/2 Jocelyn Angloma 10/3 Bixente Lizarazu 8/1 Christian Panucci 6/1 Ciro Ferrara 5/1 Cafu 5/0 Gary Neville 4/1 Javier Zanetti 4/0 Sergi 3/0 Vincent Candela 3/0 When you look at this list take into consideration ESM only rated season from 95/96 and later. So Maldini would likely surpass Roberto Carlos. Then you look at Thurman and Angloma, there is a really chance that if 91-93 were part of the ratings for Angloma he would pass Thurman in not only Team of the Year wins but also Team of the Month. Then you compare Angloma to players like Cafu, Lizarazu, and Zanetti he is far ahead of them despite the fact that he was the only one who has strong seasons that may have earned more ESM votes that were before the deadline. Angloma won all his votes from 96/97 to 00/01. This is not a case where he was the only good right back during this time and they had to give the votes to someone, where you see strange things like the huge number of PFA Team of the Year awards for Sansom. Angloma was going head to head with literally the best seasons of Cafu and Thurman from 97-01 (both are almost always in the top 5 right backs ever on any list you look at) and getting more votes than either of them (Thurman received 5 TOTM and 1 TOTY award from 02-05). Although this may be a little more of a unheralded pick, I think he is appropriate and meets all the criteria as a very underrated player who is an ATG.
That leaves two players I am still unsure of in Pires and Emerson. Any more thoughts on either would be appreciated. I feel like Pires was one his way to ATG and maybe even beyond before the injury in 02. He was running the games for Arsenal in 01/02 more than Bergkamp, Vieira, or Henry, coming centrally pulling all the string, and moving with such power and fluidity. He had also just fully broken through as the starter for France in 01 and he was so good in 01/02 I think France could have won another WC in 02 if he was present. But after the injury he is much for of a great supporting role with Arsenal rather than a leading one and is again more of a super sub than starter fro France. I think when you count his seasons there is enough good ones. That is not his issue. With Emerson I think he is underrated by Some here. He has more WC ratings by Kicker than Effenberg despite playing only three seasons there. He was set to captain Brazil to the WC title in 02 before he was injured right before the tournament, which would have greatly changed his profile. My main issue is I am not sure how good/important he was in a lot of the club seasons he played outside of Germany with Roma, Juventus, and Real. Any available ratings of information would be appreciated.
I'm not against Angloma in theory. Obviously I didn't see a huge amount of him, but I noticed him as a quality right back in the earlier 90s I remember. I'm not really sure if the ESM inclusions might give an over-the-top impression of just how highly he was rated at Valencia but obviously I wouldn't dismiss them. Maybe when a team becomes high profile all of a sudden then their players will inevitably get that kind of attention in monthly votes, but not without playing well or very well! It's maybe strange I felt ATG for Grun was too much, but not Angloma, but probably I would see Angloma as closer to one of history's stand-out right backs than Grun as one of history's defenders and I suppose I'd doubting that Grun was ever a true key player for a club, although surely a good and versatile player at Parma as they were establishing themselves for example. Not to try to make Adams the second one I 'pick on' multiple times for negative comparisons/conclusions, but I guess from what I know and saw I'd not really rule out picking Grun as a 'better' player than him prime form to prime form. But at the same time Adams does have that legend status (having a statue at Arsenal for example) and somehow seems more suitable for ATG to me still. Was Stojkovic not the centerpiece (if designating one) to mid-late 90s Yugoslavia on their return, rather than Mijhailovic? I could be wrong but thought it was worth querying. And to re-mention another I'd previously argued for potentially, I do tend to think if Larsson gets in then so can Brian Laudrup. I guess the difference might be perceived to be European competition displays and effect, but I think Brian had some moments against quality teams in the CL that I've seen on video eg setting up chances that team-mates missed. If looking for a run with his team then there would be 90/91 I suppose too, to the semi-final. At Intl level I'd think Brian even has a bit of a better case than Larsson, who I don't suggest shouldn't qualify anyway just to clarify. Brian Laudrup was actually playing pretty well and being rated very well too for half a season in Serie A (again Vegan's thread confirms) although I know that it was half a season and his own form did tail off with his ratings too, and the team even went down (ultimately not because of lack of goals still though over the season, but conceding a lot). I'd not feel it would be right to include Petit but not Brian Laudrup, but I suppose it does come down to criteria and Tom you are obviously entitled to stick to your choices (of course Petit did do very well in general in the 1998 WC too). I'd also say Pires>Petit though, and generally would approve of Pires being in if as you say you're convinced he has enough years. The goals/assists totals were still very good in 03/04 and around then and he still played a key role in a way I think.
Sorry for taking a while. I'd say the former for Grun and Katanec. Good, effective players, both versatile, but not great players in an all-time sense. Socrates I think of as a player whose stature seems to have grown in recent years thanks to his image/profile, rather than purely his ability. I don't particularly remember him standing out in 1986 though he was always a great player to watch in terms of his languid and elegant style.
Absolutely ridiculous to drop Vieri and Crespo, two of the best strikers in their era. Especially when someone like Henrik Larsson sneaks in. Double-standards at play here again. Crespo's entire career gets carefully picked apart and it's decreed his Parma years weren't top class, but Larsson with his 10-goal season at friggin' Feyenoord is easily adequate? I'd also say Larsson is the absolute opposite of someone who did everything he could with the opportunities afforded. He could have moved to a bigger a club earlier (to sit on the bench and watch the Crespos and Vieris play), but he wanted to stay in his safe space and net easy ones against pub blokes from Motherwell and Inverness. I wouldn't use ESM TotM awards without closer scrutiny. You can get into those with two votes in a given month, and it was pretty common for defenders. Looking at total votes in 95-00, Angloma is right there behind Gary Neville and... Moreno Torricelli. For the record, total votes for strikers between 95-05: Vieri: 69 Crespo: 42 Larsson: 14
This is not true, I rated his 99 and 00 seasons for Parma. Do you think 97 and 98 are worthy? He only scored 12 goals a piece for those seasons. Goalscoring is not everything, but for a player like Crespo, it is a lot, as he is not known as a player who contributes to the rest of the team game in a huge way. I rated one season of Larsson's with Feyenoord 94/95. This season he made the quarterfinals of the CWC and scored 4 goals including an away hat trick against Werder Bremen, the second place team from Germany. He also scored less with them as he was not a central striker, but more of a winger/wide forward who was a supporting player. Where do you find the more individual granular voting for the ESM? This is relevant, but also you need to take into account that voters are not nearly as exposed to seeing Larsson than they are Vieri and Crespo. The only time they see Larsson is in Europe. I personally think Larsson would have excelled at any top club. His movement, and team play would have done many top teams wonders. Make an argument for Crespo and Vieri in the context on my criteria. What are the seven strong seasons for either player? I feel like you enjoy coming out guns blazing "this is ridiculous!" but do not really address arguments in the context of what I am trying to do. For Crespo I identified 99, 00, 01, 05, and 06 For Vieri I identified 98, 99, 02, 03, and 04
You are probably correct Stojkovic was the key player in the most obvious sense of being the #10 and the teams most famous player. They were both given basically every available cap from 94/95 to 99/00, Stojkovic 41 caps, Mihajlovic 44 caps. As you said the key difference is playing in Japan vs Italy. I was a bit hesitant to give Mihajlovic credit for his Sampdoria seasons, as the team is upper half of the table but never really beyond that, and only one run in Europe. But it is the best league int he world in the mid 90s and he has the extensive record with Yugoslavia, which is good results, but falling a little short in big tournaments. Now Stojkovic had the same record effectively with Yugoslavia, but is playing club football in Japan. The record for Yugoslavia is not overwhelmingly great. There are not team of the tournament type of performances for either player, but a solid track record on above average international play. Combine that with solid play int he best league int he world and in my mind that is a case of seasons of significant positive contribution. Combine a club career in Japan with that international record and I think it falls a little below the line I have in my head for a season of significant positive contribution. I agree that Laudrup has a better national team career than Larsson. Looking at Laudrup's possible seasons I would say 90/91, 91/92 (mostly on the strength of the Euro performance), 94/95, 96/97 and 97/98 (mostly on the strength of the WC performance). To me that is a sure five solid seasons. The other options are: 88/89 for his performances with the national team. 89/90: His wiki says bundesliga team of the season from kicker, but the kicker ratings show him once international class and once "considered" so not a sure thing in my eyes with a mid table team. 92/93: An interesting idea as I gave this season to Effenberg his teammate with a similar, record. Both played for Fiorentina who were relegated and played a full season of internationals. I will say this, Effenberg got this season by the skin of his teeth, and I am still not sure how I feel about it. What pushed me over the top was two things, one Effenberg I think was one of the top three rated players (maybe foreign players?) for the entire season, and was part of a very successful WC qualifying campaign. Laudrup was also well rated, but I do not believe as highly, and his WC qualifying campaign was less successful. 95/96: This is another possibility, he missed some games in Scotland but seems to have been decisive when he played. He scores three goals in Euro 96 but the team goes out in the group stage. This season also contains the crucial 3-1 away win vs Belgium that qualifies them for the tournament. He needs two of these seasons to make seven. I think there are reasonable arguments for 90 and 96. Outside of that I think his career passes the other tests. Any more information about these possible seasons would help. There is no obvious black and white issue that excludes him. His club career was successful enough. I think Pires should probably be in, but I am not sure about the Pires vs Petit comparison. As I have said before in an absolute way Pires was better than Petit. But only looking at things from that angle for all of my players 80% and maybe more players would be attackers. Petit dominated his position with the national for more the Pires ever could, and had a great performance in a WC winning campaign. His career in France I think is also better before moving to England than Pires. Pires had a better run in England clearly.
I didn't come out all guns blazing. Just one tiny pistol at most. I painstakingly collected all the ESM votes personally, so no one would ever have to rely on the more unreliable TotM awards again. It was quite an adventure. I don't know what else to say about Vieri and Crespo. They were the best strikers in the world, and at least a class above Larsson. We don't need to speculate how Larsson would have done at a bigger club, because we saw it. A decent suber sub/rotation guy. We don't need to speculate how he would have done at a bigger club, because if Juve/Inter/Milan would have really wanted him, they would have gotten him. Instead they broke world transfer records on Vieri and Crespo. Look at ESM votes. BdO votes. NT-numbers, UCL-numbers. They're so clearly ahead in every conceivable metric it's not even funny. If anything, Larsson benefited rather than suffered from playing in the little leagues. His entire reputation is based on those 30 goal Celtic seasons, before the world discovered Kris Boyd and Scott McDonald could hit similar numbers. CWC QFs, please...
Tom, this is another great thread from you. As you explained well, there are some legendary players that don't meet the criterias established for ATG and Pantheon players. I just think that is "best to err on the side of caution". I mean, some posters could have discrepancies for no including some "legendary players" due to a very high criterias to meet. This is a better scenario, than relaxing the criterias to include some "world class" players that no necessarily are ATG material. Just like, why these are in, and those better are out? Just, my humble opinion.
Maybe, 1 more criteria could be added? Something like "Universal Impact/contribution". I mean, at the beggining and at Wartimes, "worldwide" meant a bit/more restrictive scenario to being a worldwide star. Unless, some player was "head and shoulders" above his peers, to pass this extra criteria. Anyways, I think, more strict rules will be better, even the number of ATG/Pantheon players falls.
Yeah, I suppose I just looked at the Stojkovic case a bit different, as I know that in Japan he was seen as an absolute star, the absolute star of that period I guess (with some other foreign imports in the league at the time), so although difficult to compare to players in mainstream top leagues I felt it would also be difficult not to credit him (in a general sense rather than proclaiming any of his seasons as among the best of all-time or something, but there is a lower threshold for your required 7 seasons compared to what's needed to get into the pantheon in that respect I suppose). For Yugoslavia I get the impression he was central (position wise but also in terms of the influence on the flow of the team and the creation of chances) to the team. I suppose as well as he was already doing in Japan and his history at Red Star etc, going into the period of Yugoslavia's return Savicevic would probably be viewed as the top star of the team, but maybe his impact/influence wasn't over Stojkovic's in the end. Stojkovic was captain too, for what that's worth - I suppose it adds to the impression he was leading the team, by example and setting the tempo etc as much as anything maybe. This video provides a good example perhaps, in a significant game against Euros finalists Czech Republic in WCQ: In this one against Spain the commentator does say that things go through him in effect I remember - as the video plays in the background I'm reminded the comment is "heartbeat of the team". I do remember being aware that he was considered a very good player in this period (although not impressing hugely in the 1998 WC ultimately, past his best by then probably), but yeah the Japan issue does make it difficult to gauge I suppose. I think his level of play was good enough (and maybe his role with Yugoslavia helps a bit in confirming) but I can understand your reservations, although I'd probably go with being the star in Japan above just another player at Sampdoria (maybe that's not a true representation but it seemed the best summarising comment and not really out of line with your own). It's difficult with all the lesser leagues when outstanding players are there I suppose, including the Scottish league in the cases of both Brian Laudrup and Larsson (who I view more favourably than Arriaga, but it took me a while to think that way I think, and I remember Michael Owen for whatever reason cast doubt on Larsson's credentials at one point by saying "It's only Scotland" in effect!). I think 95/96 seems in some ways like a 'down season' between 94/95 and 96/97 for Laudrup in Scotland but maybe it's just that Gascoigne in that particular season stood out more, Laudrup didn't score a lot and had some injury niggles etc. I don't think of it the same as the Stoichkov case for 95/96 because I remember Stoichkov's Parma form really not being good, and I don't think Laudrup's season was like that. He did end the season with a MOTM display in the Scottish Cup Final too, before playing very well and scoring a few nice goals in the Euros indeed: I think his role there was more advanced than in general for 95/96, although not as much as for Denmark in the Euros I'd say. I think it may have been like that at times during 96/97 too, but for example in this game he's in his normal free roaming right winger role moreso than supporting striker I think (you don't need examples for 96/97 anyway obviously but one thing I would say is for me it's difficult to imagine him in this kind of form not being exceptional in any league potentially, even if I'm sure it was easier for him in Scotland in such games than it would be in certain other games in certain other leagues).
I'd say maybe 1989/90 would possibly be my next idea for Laudrup, with his debut season in Germany (considered impressive in essence, even without great stats due to playing for a lower down club I suppose) combined with impressive games for Denmark, especially the two against Romania for example with goals and assists in that head to head, even though Romania went to the World Cup and Denmark didn't. I wouldn't have necessarily felt Petit over Pires in French football myself, but I could just not be informed enough about it and could be under-appreciating Petit's standing. I know Pires didn't quite reach the esteem he was held in at Arsenal, although did impress in some seasons and caught the eye despite things not going great overall in his Marseille time (he had his moments there though, like when scoring vs Chelsea I remember).
Kicker seems to have removed the Teams of the Season (based on weekly inclusions in teams of the week IIRC) from it's website, but Laudrup was in the 1989/90 one apparently, so that goes in favour of that season for him too. The player profiles with average ratings in Bundesliga games, goals, and for since 1988/89 assists too, are still available of course, showing he did get 11 assists in 90/91 (though you did include that season anyway Tom). I'd think another couple could be borderline ok for him anyway: the Fiorentina one being debateable on the grounds you had in mind Tom, but also the one at Ajax, where he is credited with 8 assists (and as top assister of the team) here, to go along with his good goals total. It seems like a final revival of his career before he called it a day, and what footage I've seen of him there does seem pretty good: https://www.afc-ajax.info/en/season/1999-00 I know we're not doing it using calendar years, but probably his case would be even better if so - 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997 would seem very passable to me I'd think, so not even needing to look into his Ajax time (which would give less of an option with calendar years anyway). So maybe that can lend weight to the benefit of the doubt. Anyway, it's your call Tom and I don't mind, but I thought I might as well complete things with this post as far as he's concerned. Obviously there are too many holes in his career path to even contemplate pantheon even if getting up to 10 years/seasons, so it's just a matter of making ATG or not (based on displays for Denmark getting him past the International games requirement if necessary since he didn't individually make the difference in terms of getting so far in 90/91 in the EC arguably to be fair - Thon rather than himself with an assist vs Porto in the QF for example).
Het blijft imponerend dat de echte sportkranten van Europa vandaag paginagroot Wim Suurbier herdenken. 'De pionier van de opkomende vleugelverdediger,' aldus @lequipe. 'Hoofdrolspeler in het originele totaalvoetbal,' volgens @Gazzetta.— Jurriaan van Wessem (@JurrVanWessem) July 13, 2020 Extensive attention on monday for Wim Suurbier in L'Equipe and Gazzetta (aged 75). Not bad for a non-rated player... https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/best-striker-at-their-prime.2092145/page-16#post-38688666 https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/is-england-a-world-power-in-soccer.1984541/page-26#post-32532509 (and no, this is certainly not because of easy draws or whatever, on the contrary) I'm gone here.
I am going to stop my current run through by era at this point and make a run through the list with the idea of removing some of the more borderline players. Part of the issue many people have with players I am leaving out is comparing them to players I have slipped in under the line. I am going to go back and rethink my ATG criteria, or maybe just clarify it.
I wanted to go back and revisit my criteria. One issue I have tried to resolve is creating a more concrete definition for a "season of significant positive contribution". Both criteria for All Time Great and the Pantheon rely on this term, All Time Great needing seven of these seasons while the Pantheon needs ten. As part of this effort I have made tried to make the idea of a significant or strong season more clearly defined and restrictive. From this point a season will qualify as "significant positive contribution" if it has positive contribution by the player in question at an international level (national team, or important club international/continental matches or tournament for a club like the European Cup). Generally if a player is a national team starter or important contributor over a season this will qualify a season unless the player/team perform particularly poorly. If the player is not a starter/important contributor for the national team, a significant run in the European Cup, Copa Libertadores, or a successful tour or other friendly matches could qualify the season. If a player is only recording achievement on a domestic level for a season, without national team or international/continental club contribution, to qualify the level of achievement must be high. The player needs to be one of the decisive players of the domestic campaign, and the league in which the domestic campaign takes place needs to be a league with a large talent pool. Some allowance will be made for player who are excluded from opportunities with the national team because they player abroad. All Time Great Criteria 1) Longevity: Seven seasons of significant positive contribution. This can be reduced to six seasons for a player with an exceptionally high peak (players who have a peak that qualifies for the pantheon criteria). 2) Peak: The player needs to be a significant driver of success. He needs to be the major reason his team was winning. Not just a good player on a great team. 3) Career Achievement: The player needs to have significant achievements at both a domestic club level and an international level (country or club). Pantheon Criteria 1) Longevity: Ten seasons of significant positive contribution. 2) Peak: At their best they need to be considered the best player in the world by a significant portion of contemporary observes. As a general rule that there may be some exceptions to, an attacking player in contemporary times needs strong podium finishes in the Ballon d'Or and preferably a win. This criteria is slightly lowered for non-attacking players. 3) Career Achievement: The player needs to be dominant and have high achievement at all levels available. For example, a contemporary player would need to have a great domestic career, a great career in the champions league, and a great career in the national team. 4) Dominant Run: In addition to the previous longevity criteria, the players needs a run of four to five consecutive or near consecutive seasons where the player is a dominant force in world football, and clearly considered world class. This is a higher level of dominance/achievement then "significant positive contribution". 5) Lack of Career Flaws: A catch all for other significant flaws in a players career that may cause me to think they are not a pantheon player. For example Sandor Kocsis inexplicably not being able to get playing time at Barcelona or Alain Giresse failing to earn any caps in the first two thirds of his career. Both players on a whole still passed the career achievement criteria for the pantheon. Despite the lack of caps early in his career Giresse still had a great career with the national team, and despite Kocsis struggles at Barcleona on a whole he still had a great club career. But in my eyes a pantheon player can't be a player that spends half of their career as a non-factor in the national team as pedestrian as France in the 1970s, or not be able to get playing time at a big club despite being relatively close to their prime in terms of age. Pantheon players should be relatively undeniable at all levels. I will repost my lists by era, country, and position after some reworking from previously posted additions with the new criteria that has caused both All Time Great and Pantheon qualifications to decrease.
All players listed qualified as All Time Great, with a note for players who also qualified as Pantheon By Era 1) Early Football ~ 1869-1883 Bailey, Norman England Defensive Link Campbell, Charles Scotland Defensive Link Kinnaird, Arthur Scotland Attacking Link MacKinnon, Billy Scotland Forward Goalscorer McNeil, Henry Scotland Forward Playmaker 2) Amateur/Professional Conflict ~ 1883-1890 Arnott, Walter Scotland Back Supporting (Pantheon) Hunter, Archie Scotland Forward Goalscorer Ross, Jimmy Scotland Forward Goalscorer Ross, Nick Scotland Defensive Link Walters, Percy England Back Supporting 3) Anglo-Scots ~ 1890-1897 Bassett, Billy England Wide Forward Bell, Jack Scotland Wide Forward Cowan, James Scotland Defensive Link Doig, Ned Scotland Goalkeeper Doyle, Dan Scotland Back Marking Goodall, John England Forward Playmaker (Pantheon) Trainer, James Wales Goalkeeper Wilson, Hughie Scotland Midfield Supporting 4) Golden Age of British Football ~ 1897-1904 Bloomer, Steve England Forward Goalscorer Gibson, Neilly Scotland Midfield Supporting Needham, Ernest England Midfield Supporting Raisbeck, Alex Scotland Defensive Link Robertson, John Scotland Midfield Supporting Smith, Alex Scotland Wide Attacking Link Smith, Gilbert England Forward Playmaker Walker, Bobby Scotland Attacking Link (Pantheon) 5) Professional Era ~ 1904-1915 Aitken, Andy Scotland Midfield Supporting Crompton, Bob England Back Marking (Pantheon) Hardy, Sam England Goalkeeper McMenemy, Jimmy Scotland Attacking Link Meredith, Billy Wales Wide Forward (Pantheon) Middelboe, Nils Denmark Defensive Link Pennington, Jesse England Back Marking Piendibene, Jose Uruguay Forward Playmaker Roberts, Charlie England Defensive Link Roose, Leigh Wales Goalkeeper Schlosser, Imre Hungary Forward Goalscorer Thomson, Charlie Scotland Defensive Link 6) World Football ~ 1915-1928 Abegglen, Max Switzerland Forward Playmaker Andrade, Jose Leandro Uruguay Wide Defensive Link Baloncieri, Adolfo Italy Forward Playmaker Bidoglio, Ludovico Argentina Back Marking Blum, Josef Austria Back Supporting Denis, Harry Netherlands Back Marking Fogl, Karoly Hungary Back Marking Foglino, Alfredo Uruguay Back Marking Gallacher, Hughie Scotland Forward Goalscorer Horvath, Hans Austria Forward Playmaker Jackson, Alex Scotland Wide Forward Keenor, Fred Wales Midfield Supporting Kolenaty, Frantisek Czechoslovakia Midfield Supporting McMullan, Jimmy Scotland Midfield Supporting Morton, Alan Scotland Wide Attacking Link (Pantheon) Nasazzi, Jose Uruguay Back Marking (Pantheon) Orth, Gyorgy Hungary Attacking Link Pesek, Karel Czechoslovakia Defensive Link (Pantheon) Petrone, Pedro Uruguay Forward Goalscorer Plattko, Ferenc Hungary Goalkeeper Romano, Angel Uruguay Forward Playmaker Rydell, Sven Sweden Forward Goalscorer Samitier, Josep Spain Attacking Link Scarone, Hectore Uruguay Forward Playmaker (Pantheon) Scott, Elisha Ireland Goalkeeper Swartenbroeks, Armand Belgium Back Supporting Takacs, Jozsef Hungary Forward Goalscorer Tarp, Fritz Denmark Back Supporting Tesoriere, Americo Argentina Goalkeeper Walker, Billy England Forward Playmaker Wesely, Ferdinand Austria Wide Attacking Link Zamora, Ricardo Spain Goalkeeper (Pantheon)
By Era Continued 7) Interwar Golden Age ~ 1928-1938 Abegglen, Andre Switzerland Forward Goalscorer Bastin, Cliff England Wide Forward Braine, Raymond Belgium Forward Playmaker Brook, Eric England Wide Forward Caligaris, Umberto Italy Back Marking Castro, Hector Uruguay Forward Goalscorer Combi, Giampiero Italy Goalkeeper Crooks, Sammy England Wide Attacking Link Fernandez, Lorenzo Uruguay Midfield Supporting Ferrari, Giovanni Italy Forward Playmaker Goodall, Roy England Back Marking Gschweidl, Fritz Austria Forward Playmaker Hapgood, Eddie England Wide Back (Pantheon) James, Alex Scotland Attacking Link Janes, Paul Germany Back Supporting Jorgensen, Pauli Denmark Forward Goalscorer Juve, Jorgen Norway Attacking Link Kostalek, Josef Czechoslovakia Midfield Supporting Lazar, Gyula Hungary Midfield Supporting Lehner, Ernst Germany Wide Attacking Link Marjanovic, Blagoje Yugoslavia Forward Playmaker Mattler, Etienne France Back Marking McPhail, Bob Scotland Forward Playmaker Meazza, Giuseppe Italy Forward Playmaker (Pantheon) Minella, Jose Maria Argentina Midfield Supporting Minelli, Severino Switzerland Back Supporting Monti, Luis Argentina Defensive Link Monzeglio, Eraldo Italy Back Marking Nausch, Walter Austria Midfield Playmaker Nejedly, Oldrich Czechoslovakia Forward Playmaker Orsi, Raimundo Argentina Wide Forward (Pantheon) Peucelle, Carlos Argentina Wide Attacking Link Planicka, Frantisek Czechoslovakia Goalkeeper (Pantheon) Puc, Antonin Czechoslovakia Wide Forward Quincoces, Jacinto Spain Back Marking Regueiro, Luis Spain Forward Playmaker Rosetta, Virginio Italy Back Supporting Sarosi, Gyorgi Hungary Attacking Link (Pantheon) Sesta, Karl Austria Back Marking Silny, Josef Czechoslovakia Forward Goalscorer Sindelar, Matthias Austria Forward Playmaker (Pantheon) Smistik, Josef Austria Defensive Link Smit, Kick Netherlands Forward Goalscorer Svoboda, Frantisek Czechoslovakia Forward Playmaker Szepan, Fritz Germany Attacking Link Toldi, Geza Hungary Forward Goalscorer Turay, Jozsef Hungary Attacking Link van Heel, Puck Netherlands Midfield Supporting Varallo, Francisco Argentina Forward Goalscorer Zischek, Karl Austria Wide Forward Andreolo, Michele Uruguay Defensive Link Biro, Sandor Hungary Back Marking Piola, Silvio Italy Forward Goalscorer 8) WWII and South American Golden Age ~ 1938-1948 Benbarek, Larbi France Attacking Link Biavati, Amedeo Italy Wide Attacking Link Bican, Josef Czechoslovakia Forward Goalscorer Bickel, Alfred Switzerland Wide Forward Carey, Johnny Ireland Wide Back (Pantheon) Carlsson, Henry Sweden Forward Playmaker Carter, Raich England Forward Playmaker Darui, Julien France Goalkeeper Decker, Karl Austria Forward Goalscorer Domingos da Guia Brazil Back Supporting Erico, Arsenio Paraguay Forward Goalscorer Fernandez, Teodoro Peru Forward Goalscorer Gambetta, Schubert Uruguay Wide Defensive Link Garcia, Enrique Argentina Wide Forward Gren, Gunnar Sweden Forward Playmaker (Pantheon) Kupfer, Andreas Germany Midfield Supporting Labruna, Angel Argentina Forward Goalscorer Langara, Isidro Spain Forward Goalscorer Lawton, Tommy England Forward Goalscorer Lenstra, Abe Netherlands Forward Playmaker Leonidas da Silva Brazil Forward Goalscorer Livingstone, Sergio Chile Goalkeeper Loik, Ezio Italy Attacking Link Loustau, Felix Argentina Wide Attacking Link Martino, Rinaldo Argentina Forward Playmaker Matthews, Stanley England Wide Attacking Link (Pantheon) Mazzola, Valentino Italy Attacking Link Mendez, Norberto Argentina Forward Playmaker Mermans, Jef Belgium Forward Goalscorer Moreno, Jose Manuel Argentina Attacking Link (Pantheon) Nilsson, Erik Sweden Wide Back Pedernera, Adolfo Argentina Attacking Link Pontoni, Rene Argentina Forward Playmaker Porta, Roberto Uruguay Attacking Link Rava, Pietro Italy Back Marking Rudas, Ferenc Hungary Wide Defensive Link Salomon, Jose Argentina Back Marking Sastre, Antonio Argentina Attacking Link (Pantheon) Varela, Severino Uruguay Forward Goalscorer Walker, Tommy Scotland Forward Playmaker Walter, Fritz Germany Attacking Link (Pantheon) Zsengeller, Gyula Hungary Forward Goalscorer 9) Post War ~ 1948-1956 Ademir de Menezes Brazil Forward Goalscorer Andrade, Víctor Rodríguez Uruguay Wide Defensive Link Bauer Brazil Midfield Supporting Beara, Vladimir Yugoslavia Goalkeeper Bobek, Stjepan Yugoslavia Forward Playmaker Boniperti, Giampiero Italy Forward Goalscorer Bozsik, Jozsef Hungary Midfield Playmaker (Pantheon) Cajkovski, Zlatko Yugoslavia Midfield Supporting Coppens, Rik Belgium Forward Goalscorer Czibor, Zoltan Hungary Wide Forward Fatton, Jacques Switzerland Wide Forward Finney, Tom England Wide Forward Grosics, Gyula Hungary Goalkeeper Hanappi, Gerhard Austria Attacking Link Happel, Ernst Austria Back Supporting Hidegkuti, Nandor Hungary Attacking Link (Pantheon) Jair Da Rosa Brazil Forward Playmaker Julinho Botelho Brazil Wide Attacking Link Kocsis, Sandor Hungary Forward Goalscorer Kubala, Laszlo Hungary Forward Playmaker Liddell, Billy Scotland Wide Forward Liedholm, Nils Sweden Attacking Link Lofthouse, Nat England Forward Goalscorer Maspoli, Roque Uruguay Goalkeeper Míguez, Oscar Uruguay Forward Goalscorer Mortensen, Stan England Forward Goalscorer Nordahl, Gunnar Sweden Forward Goalscorer (Pantheon) Nyers, Istvan Hungary Wide Forward Ocwirk, Ernst Austria Midfield Playmaker (Pantheon) Praest, Karl Aage Denmark Wide Attacking Link Puskas, Ferenc Hungary Forward Goalscorer (Pantheon) Rahn, Helmut Germany Wide Forward Ramallets, Antoni Spain Goalkeeper Rijvers, Kees Netherlands Attacking Link Rossi, Nestor Argentina Midfield Supporting Schafer, Hans Germany Wide Forward Schiaffino, Juan Alberto Uruguay Forward Playmaker (Pantheon) Skoglund, Lennart Sweden Wide Attacking Link Stankovic, Branko Yugoslavia Wide Defensive Link Varela, Obdulio Uruguay Midfield Supporting (Pantheon) Vukas, Bernard Yugoslavia Forward Playmaker Wilkes, Faas Netherlands Forward Playmaker Wright, Billy England Defensive Link Young, George Scotland Wide Back Zarra, Telmo Spain Forward Goalscorer Zeman, Walter Austria Goalkeeper Zizinho Brazil Attacking Link
By Era Continued 10) Rise of Continental Competitions ~ 1956-1963 Aguas, Jose Portugal Forward Goalscorer Blanchflower, Danny Ireland Midfield Playmaker Cervato, Sergio Italy Wide Defensive Link Charles, John Wales Forward Goalscorer Di Stefano, Alfredo Argentina Attacking Link (Pantheon) Didi Brazil Attacking Link (Pantheon) Djalma Santos Brazil Wide Back (Pantheon) Evaristo Brazil Forward Goalscorer Garrincha Brazil Wide Attacking Link Gento, Francisco Spain Wide Attacking Link Gilmar Brazil Goalkeeper Goncalves, Nestor Uruguay Midfield Supporting Greaves, Jimmy England Forward Goalscorer Hamrin, Kurt Sweden Wide Forward Ivanov, Valentin Soviet Union Forward Goalscorer Johansson, Ake Sweden Back Supporting Jones, Cliff Wales Wide Forward Jonquet, Robert France Back Supporting Jose Altafini Brazil Forward Goalscorer Joya, Juan Peru Wide Forward Jurion, Jef Belgium Attacking Link Jusufi, Fahrudin Yugoslavia Wide Defensive Link Kolev, Ivan Bulgaria Wide Forward Kopa, Raymond France Attacking Link (Pantheon) Mackay, Dave Scotland Midfield Supporting Masopust, Josef Czechoslovakia Midfield Playmaker (Pantheon) McIlroy, Jimmy Ireland Attacking Link Moulijn, Coen Netherlands Wide Attacking Link Netto, Igor Soviet Union Midfield Playmaker NIlton Santos Brazil Wide Defensive Link (Pantheon) Novak, Ladislav Czechoslovakia Wide Back Pepe Brazil Wide Forward Piantoni, Roger France Forward Playmaker Pluskal, Svatopluk Czechoslovakia Defensive Link Popluhar, Jan Czechoslovakia Back Supporting Sanchez, Leonel Chile Wide Forward Sandor, Karoly Hungary Wide Forward Santamaria, Jose Uruguay Back Marking Seeler, Uwe Germany Forward Goalscorer Sekularac, Dragoslav Yugoslavia Attacking Link Sivori, Omar Argentina Forward Playmaker Spencer, Alberto Ecuador Forward Goalscorer Szymaniak, Horst Germany Midfield Supporting Tichy, Lajos Hungary Forward Goalscorer van der Hart, Cor Netherlands Back Supporting Vincent, Jean France Wide Forward Yashin, Lev Soviet Union Goalkeeper (Pantheon) Zebec, Branko Yugoslavia Attacking Link Zito Brazil Midfield Supporting 11) British and Italian Dominance in the 60s ~ 1963-1970 Albert, Florian Hungary Forward Playmaker (Pantheon) Amancio Spain Wide Forward Artime, Luis Argentina Forward Goalscorer Asparuhov, Georgi Bulgaria Forward Goalscorer Augusto, Jose Portugal Wide Forward Ball, Alan England Midfield Supporting Banks, Gordon England Goalkeeper Bene, Ferenc Hungary Forward Goalscorer Burgnich, Tarcisio Italy Wide Back Carlos Alberto Brazil Wide Defensive Link Charlton, Bobby England Attacking Link (Pantheon) Charlton, Jack England Back Marking Chislenko, Igor Soviet Union Wide Forward Coluna, Mario Portugal Midfield Supporting Cubilla, Luis Uruguay Wide Attacking Link Dzajic, Dragan Yugoslavia Wide Attacking Link Eusebio Portugal Forward Goalscorer (Pantheon) Facchetti, Giacinto Italy Wide Defensive Link (Pantheon) Best, George Ireland Wide Attacking Link Gerson Brazil Midfield Playmaker Greig, John Scotland Defensive Link Haller, Helmut Germany Attacking Link Iribar, José Angel Spain Goalkeeper Israel, Rinus Netherlands Back Supporting Jairzinho Brazil Wide Forward (Pantheon) Johnstone, Jimmy Scotland Wide Attacking Link Khurtsilava, Murtaz Soviet Union Back Supporting Kindvall, Ove Sweden Forward Goalscorer Mazurkiewicz, Ladislao Uruguay Goalkeeper Law, Denis Scotland Forward Playmaker Lubanski, Wlodzimierz Poland Forward Goalscorer Marzolini, Silvio Argentina Wide Back Mazzola, Sandro Italy Forward Playmaker (Pantheon) McNeill, Billy Scotland Back Marking Meszoly, Kalman Hungary Defensive Link Moore, Bobby England Defensive Link Overath, Wolfgang Germany Midfield Playmaker Pele Brazil Forward Playmaker (Pantheon) Perfumo, Roberto Argentina Back Marking Peters, Martin England Wide Attacking Link Rattin, Antonio Argentina Midfield Supporting Riva, Luigi Italy Wide Forward Rivera, Gianni Italy Attacking Link Rocha, Pedro Uruguay Attacking Link Schnellinger, Karl-Heinz Germany Wide Back (Pantheon) Schulz, Willi Germany Back Marking Shesternyov, Albert Soviet Union Back Marking Simoes, Antonio Portugal Wide Attacking Link Suarez, Luis Spain Midfield Playmaker (Pantheon) Tostao Brazil Forward Playmaker Van Himst, Paul Belgium Forward Playmaker Van Moer, WIlfried Belgium Midfield Supporting Vasovic, Velibor Yugoslavia Defensive Link Voronin, Valery Soviet Union Midfield Supporting Weber, Wolfgang Germany Back Marking Wilson Piazza Brazil Defensive Link 12) Dutch and German Dominance in the 70s ~ 1970-1976 Beckenbauer, Franz Germany Defensive Link (Pantheon) Benetti, Romeo Italy Midfield Supporting Blokhin, Oleg Soviet Union Wide Forward Bonev, Hristo Bulgaria Attacking Link Bremner, Billy Scotland Midfield Supporting Chumpitaz, Hector Peru Back Marking Croy, Jurgen Germany Goalkeeper Cruyff, Johan Netherlands Attacking Link (Pantheon) Cubillas, Teofilo Peru Attacking Link Deyna, Kazimierz Poland Midfield Playmaker Dobias, Karol Czechoslovakia Wide Back Figueroa, Elias Chile Back Supporting (Pantheon) Hellstrom, Ronnie Sweden Goalkeeper Heynckes, Jupp Germany Forward Goalscorer Hughes, Emlyn England Defensive Link Jansen, Wim Netherlands Midfield Supporting Jennings, Pat Ireland Goalkeeper Jensen, Henning Denmark Forward Playmaker Keizer, Piet Netherlands Wide Attacking Link Kolotov, Viktor Soviet Union Midfield Supporting Lambert, Raoul Belgium Forward Goalscorer Lato, Grzegorz Poland Wide Forward Luis Pereira Brazil Back Supporting Maier, Sepp Germany Goalkeeper (Pantheon) Muller, Gerd Germany Forward Goalscorer (Pantheon) Neeskens, Johan Netherlands Midfield Supporting Netzer, Gunter Germany Attacking Link Piazza, Osvaldo Argentina Back Supporting Pirri Spain Defensive Link Rensenbrink, Rob Netherlands Forward Playmaker Rivellino Brazil Midfield Playmaker Rudakov, Yevgeniy Soviet Union Goalkeeper Skoblar, Josip Yugoslavia Forward Goalscorer Suurbier, Wim Netherlands Wide Back Tresor, Marius France Back Supporting Van Hanegem, Willem Netherlands Midfield Playmaker Viktor, Ivo Czechoslovakia Goalkeeper (Pantheon) Vogts, Berti Germany Wide Back (Pantheon)
By Era Continued 13) Zico, Platini, and English Club Dominance ~ 1976-1986 Amoros, Manuel France Wide Defensive Link Ardiles, Osvaldo Argentina Midfield Playmaker Bettega, Roberto Italy Forward Goalscorer Bonhof, Rainer Germany Midfield Supporting Boniek, Zbigniew Poland Forward Playmaker Bossis, Maxime France Wide Defensive Link Brady, Liam Ireland Midfield Playmaker Breitner, Paul Germany Midfield Playmaker Briegel, Hans-Peter Germany Wide Defensive Link Cabrini, Antonio Italy Wide Defensive Link Camacho, Jose Antonio Spain Wide Back Causio, Franco Italy Wide Attacking Link Ceulemans, Jan Belgium Attacking Link Chivadze, Aleksandre Soviet Union Defensive Link Clemence, Ray England Goalkeeper Conti, Bruno Italy Wide Attacking Link Dalglish, Kenny Scotland Forward Playmaker Dasaev, Rinat Soviet Union Goalkeeper (Pantheon) Demyanenko, Anatoliy Soviet Union Wide Defensive Link Elkjaer Larsen, Preben Denmark Forward Goalscorer Falcao Brazil Midfield Supporting (Pantheon) Fillol, Ubaldo Argentina Goalkeeper (Pantheon) Forster, Karlheinz Germany Back Marking Gentile, Claudio Italy Wide Back Gerets, Eric Belgium Wide Back Giresse, Alain France Attacking Link Gordillo, Rafael Spain Wide Defensive Link Haan, Arie Netherlands Midfield Playmaker Hansen, Alan Scotland Defensive Link Hoddle, Glenn England Midfield Playmaker Junior Brazil Wide Defensive Link Kaltz, Manfred Germany Wide Defensive Link Keegan, Kevin England Forward Goalscorer Kempes, Mario Argentina Forward Goalscorer Krankl, Hans Austria Forward Goalscorer Krol, Ruud Netherlands Defensive Link (Pantheon) Lerby, Soren Denmark Midfield Supporting Magath, Felix Germany Midfield Playmaker Nyilasi, Tibor Hungary Attacking Link Olsen, Morten Denmark Defensive Link Passarella, Daniel Argentina Back Supporting Pezzey, Bruno Austria Defensive Link Pfaff, Jean Marie Belgium Goalkeeper Platini, Michel France Attacking Link (Pantheon) Prohaska, Herbert Austria Midfield Playmaker Rep, Johnny Netherlands Wide Forward Robson, Bryan England Midfield Supporting Rummenigge, Karl-Heinz Germany Forward Playmaker (Pantheon) Rush, Ian Wales Forward Goalscorer Schumacher, Harald Germany Goalkeeper Schuster, Bernd Germany Midfield Playmaker Scirea, Gaetano Italy Defensive Link Shilton, Peter England Goalkeeper (Pantheon) Simonsen, Allan Denmark Forward Playmaker Souness, Graeme Scotland Midfield Supporting Stielike, Uli Germany Defensive Link Tardelli, Marco Italy Midfield Supporting Tigana, Jean France Midfield Supporting Toninho Cerezo Brazil Midfield Supporting van de Kerkhof, Willy Netherlands Midfield Supporting Vercauteren, Franky Belgium Wide Attacking Link Zico Brazil Forward Playmaker (Pantheon) Zoff, Dino Italy Goalkeeper (Pantheon) 14) Maradona and second Dutch/German Clash ~ 1986-1992 Baresi, Franco Italy Back Supporting (Pantheon) Bergomi, Giuseppe Italy Wide Back Bratseth, Rune Norway Back Marking Brehme, Andreas Germany Wide Defensive Link Butragueno, Emilio Spain Forward Goalscorer Careca Brazil Forward Goalscorer Donadoni, Roberto Italy Wide Attacking Link Francescoli, Enzo Uruguay Forward Playmaker Gullit, Ruud Netherlands Attacking Link (Pantheon) Hassler, Thomas Germany Attacking Link Hysen, Glenn Sweden Back Marking Koeman, Ronald Netherlands Back Supporting (Pantheon) Kohler, Jurgen Germany Back Marking Lineker, Gary England Forward Goalscorer Maradona, Diego Argentina Attacking Link (Pantheon) Matthaus, Lothar Germany Midfield Supporting (Pantheon) Michel Spain Wide Attacking Link Papin, Jean-Pierre France Forward Goalscorer Preud'homme, Michel Belgium Goalkeeper Ricardo Gomes Brazil Back Supporting Rijkaard, Frank Netherlands Defensive Link (Pantheon) Ruggeri, Oscar Argentina Back Marking Sanchez, Hugo Mexico Forward Goalscorer Southall, Neville Wales Goalkeeper van Basten, Marco Netherlands Forward Goalscorer van Breukelen, Hans Netherlands Goalkeeper Vialli, Gianluca Italy Forward Goalscorer Vierchowod, Pietro Italy Back Marking Voller, Rudi Germany Forward Goalscorer Waddle, Chris England Wide Attacking Link Zenga, Walter Italy Goalkeeper Zubizarreta, Andoni Spain Goalkeeper 15) Mid 90s Transition ~ 1992-1998 Albertini, Demetrio Italy Midfield Playmaker Baggio, Roberto Italy Forward Playmaker Baía, Vítor Portugal Goalkeeper Batistuta, Gabriel Argentina Forward Goalscorer Bebeto Brazil Forward Playmaker Bergkamp, Dennis Netherlands Forward Playmaker Blanc, Laurent France Back Supporting Blind, Danny Netherlands Back Marking Chilavert, Jose Luis Paraguay Goalkeeper Costa, Rui Portugal Attacking Link de Boer, Frank Netherlands Back Supporting Desailly, Marcel France Defensive Link (Pantheon) Deschamps, Didier France Midfield Supporting Dunga Brazil Midfield Supporting Ferrara, Ciro Italy Wide Back Giggs, Ryan Wales Wide Attacking Link Hagi, Gheorghe Romania Attacking Link Hierro, Fernando Spain Defensive Link Klinsmann, Jurgen Germany Forward Goalscorer Laudrup, Michael Denmark Attacking Link Maldini, Paolo Italy Wide Back (Pantheon) Moller, Andreas Germany Attacking Link Pagliuca, Gianluca Italy Goalkeeper Romario Brazil Forward Goalscorer Sammer, Matthias Germany Defensive Link Savicevic, Dejan Yugoslavia Attacking Link Schmeichel, Peter Denmark Goalkeeper (Pantheon) Shearer, Alan England Forward Goalscorer Simeone, Diego Argentina Midfield Supporting Stoichkov, Hristo Bulgaria Wide Forward Weah, George Liberia Forward Playmaker