Methodology for Classifying World Class Players

You mean that Szövkap guy? I think he was being obsessively hipsterish/contrarian. No way was the 38 side better than the 54 side. I agree to a degree with the 54 side being inflated, though, and I'd say that extends to most ATG sides (Brazil 58 and 70 come to mind), where there's a tendency for some people to elevate the entire first 11 (and more!) to god tier level. In modern times Hungary 54 gets credit for basically inventing everything in football, when I'd argue the level of innovation was closer to nothing than everything.

In terms of the players, Kocsis, Puskas and Bozsik are pretty clearly the big three in the reports. The likes of Czibor and Hidegkuti didn't come off as any higher than the "average" Hungarian star, if that makes sense. If we take away Hidegkuti's IMO undeserved innovator status, what are we left with? A squad player who had a pretty short world class peak for a couple of seasons at age 30+. A sort of 50s Giresse.

The ATG generations also generally receive a hugely inflated depth bonus, when in truth the quality sank immediately if a Puskas and Kocsis (or Pele and Garrincha) were missing. Contemporary wisdom will say the Aranycsapat lost out on another WC because the 56 revolution broke up the team. But really they only lost three players, one of whom (Czibor) seemed to be already on the way to losing his spot. That said, the late-50s generation does have a number of top players, so clearly there's depth there. If we include all the exports (Nyers, Kubala, Ujlaki), I'd say the 50s Hungarian talent pool can stand up to any in history.

BTW, a great way to research squad depth in this era would be to look at the results of B internationals. I hadn't even realized how important they were pre-60s. It was pretty common to play a B international at the same as an A-international. I didn't look at them closely this time, but there's certainly a goldmine of information available for a devoted researcher. I've never even seen these collected online.

Mate, you're trying to take away all my FBs. I have to leave someone in there. How can Pini and Zuluaga (or Gonzalez and Martinez) both be the CB if the teams are using a back three?

Bocquet was a defensive all-arounder. He generally played (on paper) WH but also FB, with "Mario" Eggimann as the CH (I'm surprised that kind of snafu hasn't happened more often. I've made several last moment saves ). If we assume Switzerland played bolt throughout their careers, I guess that would make Eggimann a DM and Bocquet a FB earlier and CB later. That's a big assumption, though. Like you said, things are particularly confusing in this era, when even the reports can't agree what system certain teams are playing in. It's much easier to go with what's on the team sheets.

It's the same with CFs. I have 16 spots for them, so I prefer to leave them for tank-types/primary goalscorers.

BTW, the reports I read thought very highly of the Uruguayan wingers Abbadie and Borges, so they might be worth a higher spot on your rankings. See here, for example. As a bonus, there's also an interesting tactical note and a Swiss team sheet.

 

Bocquet played in the LH spot until around 1950, then switched over to LB. I didn't detect any particular improvement after that, but truthfully the entire Swiss team came off as quite mediocre. There was one interesting anecdote, though. Bocquet was the worst player on the pitch in the famous 1954 QF against Austria, resulting in his team letting in 7 goals. This was because he had been suffering from a brain tumor for a while. Apparently playing in the scorching heat wasn't doing his condition any favors (he later had a successful operation).

Pyramid-FBs I count as FBs (they have first claim to the term, after all). I don't think the role of the pyramid and WM FB is that different, really (there's a lot more variation in some other positions). Anyway, the important thing is to include everyone, even if it's not in their primary position.

That's the problem with rankings. They're always in need of an update. I realized Ferenc Szojka actually peaked in this era, so I'll probably move him to first tier and throw Bocquet to FB.

 

1955-1960:

After two years (almost to the day) of research, my project is finally completed with the last remaining era. It was funny skimming some of the early World Soccer issues again and seeing what they were talking about, now with much greater experience on what had been going on before.

Early signs indicated this era counted among the more crowded ones, so were expectations fulfilled? Somewhat. Some positions were as crowded as they've ever been, but it wasn't the ones I expected. The most troublesome were the goalkeepers, probably even more stacked than they were in the late 80s. I was once again forced to drop Carbajal for being pretty exiled in his own continent, but luckily he's included in the 60s already. Surprisingly, the halfbacks were another problem area. The attacking spots weren't as bad as expected, though, so in a rarity I was more likely to move a player up the formation than down, as is usually the case. Of the attacking spots, the wingers had strong representation, so I ended up moving a lot of players that traditionally would have gone there back to the middle (often were they actually belong). Especially in the second tier wingers were overrepresented. The second tier in general is almost completely filled now, as it will in later eras. I had to omit some fairly deserving goalies from even the second tier, which is quite rare.

Now, onto the last batch of report cards.


Britain

England are going through their most challenging period so far, ending the decade with probably their worst results yet. With the Munich victims included, they do have enough top tier talent to make an 11, though. The goalkeepers are a bit tricky. They come off pretty well in BdO votes, but not really in the reports. With the goalies section being as crowded as it is, there's just no room for them.

In terms of top tier talent, Scotland is now lagging behind even Wales or Northern Ireland, though they have greater depth, of course. Evans is the one obvious choice, with Caldow, Parker and Hewie other defenders who made it in. Younger was a surprise inclusion, being described as the best in Britain before Gregg and Kelsey surpassed him.

Wales have their best international run in this period, though that's largely thanks to luck more than anything. In terms of individuals they are down from the last era. Kelsey, Charles, Allchurch and Cliff Jones made the cut. Northern Ireland has more candidates, about half of the team. The Republic is down to zero this time. Cantwell and Hurley were the closest to making it in, but they'll have to wait for the early 60s.

Latin Europe

Spain were one of the high profile teams of this era, but the greatness they had was very much dependent on foreigners. Of the locals, Ramallets, Segarra, Garay, Suarez and Gento are the clear picks. Miguel was very impressive early on, but dipped and trailed off later, so he's not an obvious choice.

Portugal were threatening to put together a good generation for a while, but it didn't quite manifest yet. Coluna, for example, impressed early on, then disappeared for his military service, and wasn't really that noticeable afterwards, so I ended up dropping him. The greatness of Aguas is pretty much based on the early 60s Benfica achievements, but his career fits better in this time frame. Matateu comes off as pretty inconsistent, slipping between great and anonymous in typical Portuguese fashion. That leaves Hernani as the top attacker. In defense Angelo is now the leading player, though a relative lack of right-back options allowed Virgilio to retain a spot, too.

If Spain can feel their lack of WC success could be attributed to bad luck, Italy's elimination came off as a logical conclusion for a team that's in the doldrums. While the early 50s generation seemed to have depth, if not top quality talent, this one doesn't really seem to have either. The inconsistent Boniperti is the one real homegrown star, and came off better than he did in the last era. Cervato, Segarra and Chiappella are the others who made the cut. Buffon is a funny case. He was part of a continental selection in the mid-50s, but doesn't cement a place in the NT until the end of the decade. This appears to be the best era for him, though.

While Italy's talent pool came off as a disappointment, France's was a positive surprise. I came in expecting the 58-success to be something of a one-off, but the team does come off as legitimate world-beaters when all players are available. The most-used 11 is included. The North African exiles Zitouni and Mekhloufi remain somewhat mysterious, but the relative lack of appearances at international level made me exclude them. Akesbi was included in the early 60s.

Northern Europe

Germany use this era to recover from their post-WC lull, but by the end of the decade come off pretty strong. They don't have the depth they will in later eras, though. Austria experience a steep decline, and are now with Switzerland at the bottom of the barrel. Both will spend the next decades gathering their stuff off the floor, and will pretty much never reach their former heights (such as it was in Switzerland's case) again.

Austria have a top class half-line in Koller and Hanappi (who I had to throw with the fullbacks to make up the numbers), and an excellent Stotz in CB (ditto). Schmied is an impressive goalie, but Buzek is the only forward who manages to sneak in. Ocwirk is still there based on an excellent Serie A record, but Happel I was not so sure about, so he's cut. Swiss choices are limited to Ballaman, who peaked in the mid-50s, but is included here due to space considerations. Others like Hugi and Antenen impressed at times early on, but seem to dip off pretty quickly, so the previous era seems better for them. The Swiss really come off as a mediocre lot already.

The Netherlands are improving from their disastrous early 50s, thanks to the introduction of professionalism that allows them to retain and bring back their top stars. Most of the big names from the last few eras are still there and impressing at times, but are reaching their late-30s. Since they don't appear that regularly, it was easy to drop the likes of Wilkes, Lenstra and Rijvers. Moulijn appears, but doesn't really start to impress until around 59. De Munck and Van Der Hart didn't stand out as much as I expected them to, but are included. Could be they peaked during the time they were playing abroad. Wiersma and Klaassens complete their selection.

Belgium, meanwhile, are heading to the back of the line, with some weak performances and a distinct lack of top talent. Jurion is their big star, but quite inconsistent early on. He reaches a new level when he's moved to the half-line around 59, so it's a bit debatable if he qualifies for this era.

In Scandinavia, Sweden are the only team to really talk about. They had a decent side even without the pros, including a "best defence in Europe", and the exiles gives them pretty good representation. Norway is limited to Svenssen in defence. Denmark have reached their lowest depths, though some decent players will emerge in the 1960 Olympics.

Eastern Europe

The story in Eastern Europe seems to be one of decline and rebuilding. The USSR regress from what appeared like the best and most impressive side on the continent to being unspectacular if also effective. Still good enough to have the starting 11 included.

The same goes for Yugoslavia and Hungary, both dipping from their early 50s peak, but still having enough players to put a team together of top tier talent, though Hungary is struggling for forwards thanks to the exile of the biggest stars. I hadn't quite realized how long the lull was between Hungary's golden generation and their 60s upstart generation. Kocsis and Czibor deserve special mention. They still enjoyed a top tier reputation at Barca, but the lack of matches disqualifies them from inclusion.

One team on the mend is Czechoslovakia, though it doesn't seem like they've quite reached the heights they will in the early 60s. Top tier cases are limited to the three most obvious cases, Novak, Masopust and Pluskal.

Bulgaria I've already touched on in detail. The names of Rakarov, Manolov, Bozhkov, Diev, Kolev and Panayotov don't mean much to modern fans, but in the 50s it looked very different.

One team heading in the same direction of being a team with good individuals but bad results is Poland. That's only in the 60s, though. For now their only representative is goalie Szymkowiak. Romania or East Germany don't seem to have anything going for them.

South America

Brazil of course are heading into their golden generation, though judging their depth based on NT match reports alone is pretty tricky. Their early 60s success (or lack of it) with their tinkering would indicate the depth wasn't quite as deep as the fanboys would like to believe. As it is, I mostly included players who were part of the WC-success.

Argentina, I'd say, actually edge out over Brazil in terms of attacking depth, with probably one of the deepest talent pools in history. Unfortunately for them, their NT never benefited from it. Goalkeeper section has two of their ATGs, too, but the defense is more difficult to gauge. Their WC-performances would indicate that particular well was empty, but I included the most capped players, anyway.

Uruguay are in the doldrums, failing to even qualify for the WC. Their only players are the last survivors of the 54-side, Martinez, Borges and Ambrois, the last two of whom fit more in this window. Schiaffino, Santamaria and Villaverde are making waves in Europe. Villaverde is another Barca player with some appearance issues, but his reputation in World Soccer was pretty high, and this is the best era for him. Thoughts, @Titanlux? Borges came off very well around 54, but now I read in World Soccer he never reached those heights again, so maybe a one-tournament wonder who doesn't necessarily need to be in. He's in for now, but might end up getting the drop.

Outside the big three, the cupboard is pretty empty in SA. Paraguay get to strut their stuff in Europe, but hardly impress. Their key players are good enough to make decent journeymen careers in Europe, which I'd say is an accurate picture of their playing level. Chile have a pretty catastrophic European tour, where even the 62 WC stars don't particularly stand out.

Peru is the one exception, putting together a solid side that gets snatched by foreign clubs. The only question is how many of them had enough top seasons to be included for this era. Seminario as the major star made the cut. Terry, too, though I'm wondering why he was never scooped up by foreign clubs.The others have to wait for the 60s.

 

1955-1960: Goalkeepers

Beara, Vladimir (Yugoslavia)
Buffon, Lorenzo (Italy)
Carrizo, Amadeo (Argentina)
De Munck, Frans (Netherlands)
Dominguez, Rogelio (Argentina)
Gilmar (Brazil)
Grosics, Gyula (Hungary)
Gregg, Harry (Northern Ireland)
Herkenrath, Fritz (Germany)
Kelsey, Jack (Wales)
Ramallets, Antonio (Spain)
Schmied, Kurt (Austria)
Szymkowiak, Edward (Poland)
Trautmann, Bert (Germany)
Yashin, Lev (Russia)
Younger, Tommy (Scotland)

 

1955-1960: Defenders

Right-Backs:
Belin, Bruno (Yugoslavia)
Bergmark, Orvar (Sweden)
Caldow, Eric (Scotland)
De Sordi, Newton (Brazil)
Hanappi, Gerhard (Austria)
Howe, Don (England)
Kaelbel, Raymond (France)
Lombardo, Francisco (Argentina)
Matrai, Sandor (Hungary)
Mendes, Virgilio (Portugal)
Parker, Alex (Scotland)
Rakarov, Kiril (Bulgaria)
Santos, Djalma (Brazil)
Stollenwerk, Georg (Germany)
Stotz, Karl (Austria)
Wiersma, Roel (Netherlands)

Left-Backs:
Angelo Martins (Portugal)
Axbom, Sven (Sweden)
Byrne, Roger (England)
Cervato, Sergio (Italy)
Crnkovic, Tomislav (Yugoslavia)
Hewie, John (South Africa/Scotland)
Juskowiak, Erich (Germany)
Kuznetsov, Boris (USSR)
Marche, Roger (France)
Martinez, William (Uruguay)
Novak, Ladislav (Czechoslovakia)
Ogonkov, Mikhail (USSR)
Santos, Nilton (Brazil)
Sarosi, Laszlo (Hungary)
Segarra, Joan (Spain)
Vairo, Federico (Argentina)

Centre-Backs:
Bellini, Hilderaldo (Brazil)
Dellacha, Pedro (Argentina)
Erhardt, Herbert (Germany)
Evans, Bobby (Scotland)
Garay, Jesus (Spain)
Gustavsson, Bengt (Sweden)
Johansson, Åke (Sweden)
Jonquet, Robert (France)
Manolov, Manol (Bulgaria)
Maslyonkin, Anatoli (USSR)
Santamaria, Jose (Uruguay/Spain)
Sipos, Ferenc (Hungary)
Svenssen, Torbjorn (Norway)
Van Der Hart, Cor (Netherlands)
Wright, Billy (England)
Zebec, Branko (Yugoslavia)

 

1955-1960: Halfbacks

Belangero, Roberto (Brazil)
Blanchflower, Danny (Northern Ireland)
Boskov, Vujadin (Yugoslavia)
Bozhkov, Stefan (Bulgaria)
Bozsik, Jozsef (Hungary)
Chiappella, Giuseppe (Italy)
Clayton, Ronnie (England)
Guidi, Hector (Argentina)
Eckel, Horst (Germany)
Edwards, Duncan (England)
Klaassens, Jan (Netherlands)
Koller, Karl (Austria)
Kotasz, Antal (Hungary)
Krstic, Dobrosav (Yugoslavia)
Liedholm, Nils (Sweden)
Marcel, Jean-Jacques (France)
Masopust, Josef (Czechoslovakia)
Mourino, Eliseo (Argentina)
Netto, Igor (USSR)
Ocwirk, Ernst (Austria)
Orlando Pecanha (Brazil)
Parling, Sigge (Sweden)
Peacock, Bertie (Northern Ireland)
Penverne, Armand (France)
Pluskal, Svatopluk (Czechoslovakia)
Rossi, Nestor (Argentina)
Sani, Dino (Brazil)
Segato, Armando (Italy)
Szymaniak, Horst (Germany)
Varacka, Jose (Argentina)
Voinov, Yuri (USSR)
Zito (Brazil)

 

1955-1960: Wingers

Right-Wingers:
Ballaman, Robert (Switzerland)
Bingham, Billy (Northern Ireland)
Corbatta, Oreste Omar (Argentina)
Diev, Todor (Bulgaria)
Douglas, Bryan (England)
Finney, Tom (England)
Garrincha (Brazil)
Hamrin, Kurt (Sweden)
Hernani (Portugal)
Julinho (Brazil)
Jurion, Jef (Belgium)
Kopa, Raymond (France)
Miguel Gonzalez (Spain)
Rahn, Helmut (Germany)
Sandor, Karoly (Hungary)
Wisniewski, Maryan (France)

Left-Wingers:
Borges. Carlos (Uruguay)
Canhoteiro (Brazil)
Fenyvesi, Mate (Hungary)
Gento, Francisco (Spain)
Ilyin, Anatoli (USSR)
Jones, Cliff (Wales)
Kolev, Ivan (Bulgaria)
McParland, Peter (Northern Ireland)
Pepe (Brazil)
Schäfer, Hans (Germany)
Selmosson, Arne (Sweden)
Seminario, Juan (Peru)
Skoglund, Lennart (Sweden)
Villaverde, Ramon (Uruguay)
Vincent, Jean (France)
Zagallo, Mario (Brazil)

 

1955-1960: Forwards

Inside-Forwards:
Allchurch, Ivor (Wales)
Altafini, Jose (Brazil)
Ambrois, Javier (Uruguay)
Boniperti, Giampiero (Italy)
Bundzsak, Dezso (Hungary)
Charlton, Bobby (England)
Collins, Bobby (Scotland)
Didi (Brazil)
Evaristo (Brazil)
Gren, Gunnar (Sweden)
Grillo, Ernesto (Argentina)
Haynes, Johnny (England)
Ivanov, Valentin (USSR)
Kostic, Bora (Yugoslavia)
Kubala, Laszlo (Hungary/Spain)
Maschio, Humberto (Argentina)
McIlroy, Jimmy (Northern Ireland)
Milutinovic, Milos (Yugoslavia)
Montuori, Miguel (Argentina/Italy)
Panayotov, Panayot (Bulgaria)
Pele (Brazil)
Piantoni, Roger (France)
Puskas, Ferenc (Hungary)
Rial, Hector (Argentina/Spain)
Sanfilippo, Jose (Argentina)
Schiaffino, Juan (Uruguay)
Schmidt, Alfred (Germany)
Sekularac, Dragoslav (Yugoslavia)
Sivori, Omar (Argentina)
Suarez, Luis (Spain)
Terry, Alberto (Peru)
Walter, Fritz (Germany)

Centre-Forwards:
Aguas, Jose (Portugal)
Angelillo, Antonio (Argentina)
Buzek, Hans (Austria)
Charles, John (Wales)
Di Stefano, Alfredo (Argentina)
Fontaine, Just (France)
Martinez, Eulogio (Paraguay/Spain)
Matateu, Lucas (Mozambique/Portugal)
Seeler, Uwe (Germany)
Simonsson, Agne (Sweden)
Simonyan, Nikita (USSR)
Streltsov, Eduard (USSR)
Taylor, Tommy (England)
Tichy, Lajos (Hungary)
Vava (Brazil)
Veselinovic, Todor (Yugoslavia)

 

1955-1960: Second Tier

Goalkeepers:
Asca, Rafael (Peru)
Bugatti, Ottavio (Italy)
Carbajal, Antonio (Mexico)
Castilho, Carlos (Brazil)
Carmelo Cedrun (Spain)
Dolejsi, Bretislav (Czechoslovakia)
Hansen, Asbjorn (Norway)
Hopkinson, Eddie (England)
Matthews, Reg (England)
McDonald, Colin (England)
Sawitzki, Gunter (Germany)
Seren, Turgay (Turkey)
Stacho, Imrich (Czechoslovakia)
Svensson, Kalle (Sweden)
Tilkowski, Hans (Germany)
Vidinic, Blagoje (Yugoslavia)

Right-Backs:
Armfield, Jimmy (England)
Corradi, Giuseppe (Italy)
Dirickx, Henri (Belgium)
Fontana, Alfio (Italy)
Hall, Jeff (England)
Halla, Paul (Austria)
Kernen, Willy (Switzerland)
Kesarev, Vladimir (USSR)
Magnini, Ardico (Italy)
Marquitos (Spain)
Paulinho (Brazil)
Quincoces, Juan Carlos (Spain)
Schmidt, Karl (Germany)
Spajic, Ljubisa (Yugoslavia)

Left-Backs:
Banks, Tommy (England)
Barschandt, Leopold (Austria)
Cantwell, Noel (Ireland)
Dalnoki, Jeno (Hungary)
Gracia, Sigfrid (Spain)
Happel, Ernst (Austria)
Kuijs, Kees (Netherlands)
Langley, Jimmy (England)
Lerond, Andre (France)
McMichael, Alf (Northern Ireland)
Mesias, Juan Carlos (Uruguay)
Olivella, Ferran (Spain)
Oreco (Brazil)
Shaw, Graham (England)
Swoboda, Franz (Austria)

Centre-Backs:
Arcanjo, Miguel (Portugal)
Bernasconi, Gaudenzio (Italy)
Blanchflower, Jackie (Northern Ireland)
Charles, Mel (Wales)
Fernandez, Jose (Peru)
Gensana, Enric (Spain)
Hledik, Jiri (Czechoslovakia)
Horvat, Ivica (Yugoslavia)
Karpati, Bela (Hungary)
Korynt, Roman (Poland)
Krizhevski, Konstantin (USSR)
Orzan, Alberto (Italy)
Popluhar, Jan (Czechoslovakia)
Sijakovic, Vasilije (Yugoslavia)
Wewers, Heinz (Germany)
Zitouni, Mustapha (Algeria/France)

Halfbacks:
Achucarro, Ignacio (Paraguay)
Benitez, Victor (Peru)
Benthaus, Helmut (Germany)
Berendy, Pal (Hungary)
Bergamaschi, Mario (Italy)
Bubernik, Titus (Czechoslovakia)
Clamp, Eddie (England)
Cush, Wilbur (Northern Ireland)
Docherty, Tommy (Scotland)
Ferrier, Rene (France)
Flowers, Ron (England)
Formiga (Brazil)
Goncalves, Nestor (Uruguay)
Jonsson, Torbjörn (Sweden)
Kovachev, Nikola (Bulgaria)
Lippens, Martin (Belgium)
Mackay, Dave (Scotland)
Maguregui, Jose Maria (Spain)
Mai, Karl (Germany)
Mauri (Spain)
McColl, Ian (Scotland)
Mees, Vic (Belgium)
Miramontes, Luis (Spain)
Pilmark, Axel (Denmark)
Santisteban, Juan (Spain)
Slater, Bill (England)
Tasic, Lazar (Yugoslavia)
Tsarev, Viktor (USSR)
Verges, Marti (Spain)
Zanetic, Ante (Yugoslavia)
Zarraga, Jose Maria (Spain)
Zozimo (Brazil)

Right-Wingers:
Berndtsson, Bengt (Sweden)
Brabrook, Peter (England)
Budai, Laszlo (Hungary)
Ghiggia, Alcides (Uruguay)
Gomez Sanchez, Oscar (Peru)
Grillet, Pierre (France)
Joel (Brazil)
Klodt, Berni (Germany)
Leggat, Graham (Scotland)
Medwin, Terry (Wales)
Metreveli, Slava (USSR)
Pedersen, Poul (Denmark)
Pentrelli, Luis (Argentina)
Petakovic, Aleksandar (Yugoslavia)
Piters, Andre (Belgium)
Rajkov, Zdravko (Yugoslavia)
Van Der Kuil, Piet (Netherlands)

Left-Wingers:
Belen, Raul (Argentina)
Blunstone, Frank (England)
Collar, Enrique (Spain)
Cruz, Osvaldo (Argentina)
Cucchiaroni, Ernesto (Argentina)
Escalada, Guillermo (Uruguay)
Grainger, Colin (England)
Holden, Doug (England)
Houf, Denis (Belgium)
Kraus, Tadeas (Czechoslovakia)
Körner, Alfred (Austria)
Kucukandonyadis, Lefter (Turkey)
Liposinovic, Luka (Yugoslavia)
Quarentinha (Brazil)
Sanchez, Leonel (Chile)
Vollmar, Heinz (Germany)

Inside Forwards:
Antenen, Charles (Switzerland)
Bartu, Can (Turkey)
Broadbent, Peter (England)
Brodd, Yngve (Sweden)
Bubukin, Valentin (USSR)
Chinesinho (Brazil)
Cisowski, Thadee (France)
Coluna, Mario (Portugal)
Dida (Brazil)
Douis, Yvon (France)
Geiger, Rolf (Germany)
Gratton, Guido (Italy)
Göröcs, Janos (Hungary)
Hof, Erich (Austria)
Isayev, Anatoli (USSR)
Lindskog, Bengt (Sweden)
Lojacono, Francisco (Argentina/Italy)
Luizinho Trochillo (Brazil)
Machos, Ferenc (Hungary)
Meier, Eugen (Switzerland)
Mekhloufi, Rachid (Algeria/France)
Moravcik, Anton (Czechoslovakia)
Peiro, Joaquin (Spain)
Pivatelli, Gino (Italy)
Pizzuti, Juan Jose (Argentina)
Reyes, Salvador (Mexico)
Rijvers, Kees (Netherlands)
Robson, Bobby (England)
Romero, Juan Angel (Paraguay)
Schröder, Willi (Germany)
Tejada, Justo (Spain)
Ujlaki, Joseph (Hungary/France)

Centre-Forwards:
Akesbi, Hassan (Morocco)
Brighenti, Sergio (Italy)
Firmani, Eddie (South Africa/Italy)
Gino Orlando (Brazil)
Hugi, Josef (Switzerland)
Indio (Brazil)
Kevan, Derek (England)
Miguez, Oscar (Uruguay)
Molnar, Pavol (Czechoslovakia)
Mudie, Jackie (Scotland)
Mujic, Muhamed (Yugoslavia)
Oktay, Metin (Turkey)
Sasia, Jose (Uruguay)
Van Der Linden, Tonny (Netherlands)

 

So there we go, mission accomplished. Everything is finally finished, right? Wrong. Taking a look at the early 60s, I already noticed several players that I included too haphazardly who should be dropped. There are also some who I suspect might have been unfairly neglected in WS-reporting and deserve another chance. So revisions will be made, and indeed the early ESM-based lists have already been heavily edited by me. I also promised to publish more second tiers, but I think I'll wait on those until all my revisions are done, so that in the end things will be nice and in order. I'll probably take a break, then keep reading international match reports to get second opinions on players, then return to this topic. Possibly I'll even rank the players in order, even at the risk of arousing a lot of salty comments. There isn't a strict schedule, but work will eventually continue.

 

Thanks for the info. It's good to keep in mind I don't subscribe completely faithfully to the era restrictions. Collar was already included in the early 60s, so in that sense I lean more towards Villaverde, for whom this is his primary era. That way I can have both players in at tier 1 at one point. Also, although Villaverde has some appearance issues specifically in the late 50s, The seasons 54-55 and 60+ also count for his total tally here.