Hello mates, I've been working on this for a long time but i decided to ask YOU for additions and improvements as i consider the bigsoccer community as very qualified and experienced. So my goal is to create an ultimate list, including the 100 greatest football players that ever played the game. So the main criteria are longevity, peak performance and influence on the game, aswell as the effort and success with the individual national teams and clubs. As there are so many players to consider, i decided to make a list consisting of 200 players that could be included in the 100-player list. I've been using several sources in the internet (special thanks to dearman, who developed by far the most complete list i've seen) to find those players and evaluate them. So what i would ask you to do is to give me some suggestions and instructions how i could improve the list and some hints where i got wrong players. Thank you very much guys!
Goalkeepers: Banks, Gordon (England) Buffon, Gianluigi (Italy) Carrizo, Amadeo (Argentina) Casillas, Iker (Spain) Fillol, Ubaldo (Argentina) Gilmar (Brazil) Grosics, Gyula (Hungary) Kahn, Oliver (Germany) Maier, Sepp (Germany) Plánicka, Frantisek (Czechoslovakia) Schmeichel, Peter (Denmark) Shilton, Peter (England) Yashin, Lev (Soviet Union) Zamora, Ricardo (Spain) Zoff, Dino (Italy)
Defenders: Baresi, Franco (Italy) Beckenbauer, Franz (Germany) Breitner, Paul (Germany) Cafú (Brazil) Carlos Alberto (Brazil) Desailly, Marcel (France) Djalma Santos (Brazil) Facchetti, Giacinto (Italy) Figueroa, Elías (Chile) Koeman, Ronald (Netherlands) Kohler, Jürgen (Germany) Krol, Ruud (Netherlands) Lahm, Philipp (Germany) Maldini, Paolo (Italy) Moore, Bobby (England) Nasazzi, José (Uruguay) Nesta, Alessandro (Italy) Nílton Santos (Brazil) Passarella, Daniel (Argentina) Roberto Carlos (Brazil) Sammer, Matthias (Germany) Santamaría, José (Uruguay/Spain) Schnellinger, Karl-Heinz (Germany) Scirea, Gaetano (Italy) Thuram, Lilian (France) Vogts, Berti (Germany) Wright, Billy (England)
Central/Defensive Midfielders: Andrade, José Leandro (Uruguay) Blanchflower, Danny (Northern Ireland) Bozsik, József (Hungary) Coluna, Mário (Portugal) Didi (Brazil) Falcao (Brazil) Gerrard, Steven (England) Gérson (Brazil) Hanappi, Gerhard (Austria) Masopust, Josef (Czechoslovakia) Matthäus, Lothar (Germany) Monti, Luis (Argentina/Italy) Neeskens, Johan (Netherlands) Netto, Igor (Soviet Union) Ocwirk, Ernst (Austria) Redondo, Fernando (Argentina) Rijkaard, Frank (Netherlands) Sastre, Antonio (Argentina) Szepan, Fritz (Germany) Tardelli, Marco (Italy) Tigana, Jean (France) van Hanegem, Wim (Netherlands) Varela, Obdulio Jacinto (Uruguay) Vieira, Patrick (France) Xavi (Spain)
Offensive Midfielders: Charlton, Bobby (England) Cruyff, Johan (Netherlands) Cubillas, Téofilo (Peru) Deyna, Kazimierz (Poland) Francescoli, Enzo (Uruguay) Gullit, Ruud (Netherlands) Hagi, Gheorghe (Romania) Iniesta, Andrés (Spain) Jair da Rosa (Brazil) Kaká (Brazil) Kopa, Raymond (France) Laudrup, Michael (Denmark) Liedholm, Nils (Sweden) Maradona, Diego (Argentina) Mazzola, Sandro (Italy) Netzer, Günter (Germany) Orth, György (Hungary) Overath, Wolfgang (Germany) Pirlo, Andrea (Italy) Platini, Michel (France) Riquelme, Juan Román (Argentina) Rivera, Gianni (Italy) Roberto Rivelino (Brazil) Schiaffino, Juan Alberto (Uruguay) Schuster, Bernd (Germany) Sócrates (Brazil) Suárez Miramontes, Luis (Spain) Tostao (Brazil) Zico (Brazil) Zidane, Zinédine (France) Zizinho (Brazil)
Offensive Laterals: Amancio Amaro (Spain) Best, George (Northern Ireland) Boniek, Zbigniew (Poland) Czibor, Zoltán (Hungary) Dzajic, Dragan (Yugoslavia) Figo, Luís (Portugal) Finney, Tom (England) Garrincha (Brazil) Gento, Francisco (Spain) Giggs, Ryan (Wales) Hamrin, Kurt (Sweden) Jairzinho (Brazil) Julinho Botelho (Brazil) Konrád, Kálmán (Hungary) Lato, Grzegorz (Poland) Matthews, Stanley (England) Nedved, Pavel (Czech Republic) Orsi, Raimundo (Argentina/Italy) Peucelle, Carlos (Argentina) Puc, Antonín (Czechoslovakia) Ribéry, Franck (France) Robben, Arjen (Netherlands) Ronaldinho (Brazil) Vukas, Bernard (Yugoslavia)
Forwards/Strikers (part 1): Ademir de Menezes (Brazil) Albert, Flórián (Hungary) Artime, Luis (Argentina) Baggio, Roberto (Italy) Batistuta, Gabriel (Argentina) Bene, Ferenc (Hungary) Bergkamp, Dennis (Netherlands) Bican, Josef (Austria, Czechoslovakia) Binder, Franz (Austria) Blokhin, Oleh (Soviet Union) Bobek, Stjepan (Yugoslavia) Braine, Raymond (Belgium) Charles, John (Wales) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) Dalglish, Kenny (Scotland) Dean, William (England) Di Stéfano, Alfredo (Argentina/Spain) Erico, Arsenio (Paraguay) Eto'o, Samuel (Cameroon) Eusébio (Portugal) Fontaine, Just (France) Friedenreich, Arthur (Brazil) Greaves, Jimmy (England) Henry, Thierry (France) Hidegkuti, Nándor (Hungary) Ibrahimovic, Zlatan (Sweden) Keegan, Kevin (England) Kempes, Mario (Argentina) Klinsmann, Jürgen (Germany) Kocsis, Sándor (Hungary) Kubala, László (Hungary/Spain) Labruna, Ángel (Argentina) Law, Denis (Scotland) Leonidas (Brazil) Lineker, Gary (England) Mazzola, Valentino (Italy) Meazza, Giuseppe (Italy) Messi, Lionel (Argentina) Moreno, José Manuel (Argentina) Müller, Gerd (Germany)
Forwards/Strikers (part 2): Nordahl, Gunnar (Sweden) Papin, Jean-Pierre (France) Pedernera, Adolfo (Argentina) Pelé (Brazil) Petrone, Pedro (Uruguay) Piola, Silvio (Italy) Puskás, Ferenc (Hungary/Spain) Raúl (Spain) Rensenbrink, Rob (Netherlands) Riva, Luigi (Italy) Rivaldo (Brazil) Romário (Brazil) Ronaldo (Brazil) Rossi, Paolo (Italy) Rummenigge, Karl-Heinz (Germany) Rush, Ian (Wales) Sánchez, Hugo (Mexico) Sárosi, György (Hungary) Scarone, Héctor (Uruguay) Schall, Anton (Austria) Schlosser, Imre (Hungary) Seeler, Uwe (Germany) Seoane, Manuel (Argentina) Shevchenko, Andriy (Ukraine) Sindelar, Matthias (Austria) Sívori, Enrique Omar (Argentina/Italy) Spencer, Alberto (Ecuador/Uruguay) Stoichkov, Hristo (Bulgaria) Suárez, Luis (Uruguay) Takács, József (Hungary) Totti, Francesco (Italy) van Basten, Marco (Netherlands) van Nistelrooy, Ruud (Netherlands) Walter, Fritz (Germany) Weah, George (Liberia) Woodward, Vivian (England) Zarra, Telmo (Spain) Zsengellér, Gyula (Hungary)
Interesting to see - you've clearly taken a lot in with all your research and reading! I think I counted 140 names I also have in my latest idea of a top 200, but that is just my idea of 'best' players and made without much thought about longevity for example. I can bold the ones I also had in if that would be of any use or interesting. Blue for top 100, and red for second 100. One of them (the only one that comes to mind at first glance I think) - Bernard Vukas - I would have thought was best fitted into a different category (forwards/strikers, or even offensive midfielders rather than offensive laterals - I'm not exactly an expert on him though, but know he played often at inside forward including for the Europe XI vs England in 1953 as shown on the videos below wearing number 10):
Bolded as indicated. Others to follow (some of these other goalkeepers would definitely be in mind among top goalkeepers for me too btw).
Again, a lot of the other names would be close. And if I'm wanting to get a gauge on best form of course some of the older ones could be at a disadvantage but I know Nasazzi is a legend for example just like some of the attacking players from his era.
I certainly wouldn't rule out the idea that I might prefer to include Sastre rather than Tardelli for example if I had more to go on (although I have seen some clips in his case). At various points the likes of Van Hanegem and Gerrard for example were probably sitting in my potential top 200.
Actually I'd say Tostao would probably be among the forwards too (moreso than some, for example Hidegkuti I think who could perhaps be considered an offensive midfielder when playing his deep-lying centre forward role). But yeah, I thought Vukas was harder to know about and find good info about.
A very comprehensive list. There were quite a few all-time lists around the turn of the century, but not many have appeared since so this is welcome. When tackling this kind of exercise, it soon becomes apparent that 100 footballers are not actually very many. Especially as one has to consider a distribution across countries, eras, and positions on the field. My Top 100 is offered below, by country in historical order: Brazil (12) Friedenreich Leônidas Zizinho Didi Nilton Santos Garrincha Pelé Carlos Alberto Zico Falcão Romário Ronaldo Argentina (9) Monti Sastre Moreno Pedernera Di Stéfano Sivori Passarella Maradona Messi Germany (9) Fritz Walter Beckenbauer Müller Breitner Rummenigge Matthäus Kahn Lahm Neuer Italy (9) Meazza Valentino Mazzola Facchetti Rivera Zoff Scirea Baresi Maldini Buffon England (8) GO Smith Needham Matthews Lawton Edwards Charlton Moore Banks Hungary (6) Orth Sárosi Puskás Kubala Bozsic Kocsis Netherlands (6) Cruyff Krol Neeskens Gullit Rijkaard Van Basten Uruguay (6) Scarone Nasazzi JL Andrade Obdúlio Varela Walter Gómez Schiaffino France (5) Kopa Platini Zidane Thuram Henry Scotland (4) Kinnaird Nick Ross Morton Gallacher Spain (4) Zamora Suárez Xavi Iniesta Portugal (3) Eusébio Figo Cristiano Ronaldo Austria (2) Sindelar Ocwirk Denmark (2) Michael Laudrup Schmeichel Paraguay (2) Erico Chilavert Sweden (2) Nordahl Liedholm Bulgaria (1) - Stoichkov Czechoslovakia (1) - Masopust Ireland (1) - Keane Northern Ireland (1) - Best USSR (1) - Yashin Wales (1) - Meredith Yugoslavia (1) – Djajic Chile (1) – Figüeroa Ecuador (1) – Spencer Mexico (1) - Hugo Sánchez Peru (1) - Chúmpitaz Total: 100 27 countries are represented. 67 players are from Europe (including colonies) and 33 from Latin America. Distribution by era - taken when players were at their peak: 1870-99: 4 1900-19: 2 1920s: 7 1930s: 7 1940s: 8 1950s: 15 1960s: 14 1970s: 11 1980s: 12 1990s: 10 2000-15: 10 Total: 100 Distribution by position (with Di Pecruydona’s % distribution in brackets) Goalkeepers: 9 (7.5) Defenders: 17 (13.5) Defensive/Central Midfielders: 16 (12.5) Attacking Midfielders: 25 (15.5) Wingers: 7 (12) Forwards/Strikers: 26 (39) Total: 100 (100) You have included proportionally more forwards/strikers and wingers than I have, and fewer players in other positions. Fourteen players made my Top 100 but not your Top 200. Five of these are pre-1914: Kinnaird, Nick Ross, G.O. Smith, Needham and Meredith. Given that international football and domestic cup competition date from 1872, and leagues from 1888, the players of this time seem to have received relatively little attention from historians. Two Scots from the 1920s, Morton and Gallacher, are also in my list but not in your larger one. The others in historical order are Lawton, Walter Gómez, Edwards, Chúmpitaz, Chilavert, Roy Keane and Neuer. The main difference is older players from the British Isles. Largely reflecting the early history, I have fifteen players from the five nations of the British Isles, which does not quite compare with the 34 out of a hundred that Brian Glanville included when commissioned by The Times newspaper in 1997! (Glanville’s Top 100 can be posted later if anyone is interested.) As several posters have noted before, players of the past need to be judged by the impact they had on their own time, rather than how they might hypothetically have adapted today.
Very good list and overall it's fair to the importance and success of various footballing nations. However, I feel that Hungary should have at most five players in the list, they had of course a great period from the early 30s to the mid-70s but have been largely irrelevant for the past forty years, so I would likely remove Orth. But my major disagreement is with Scotland having six players on the list, this is a national team that has never seen the light past the group stage of a World Cup, which Morocco, Ghana, USA, Costa Rica, Turkey, Ecuador, Australia, Algeria and North Korea have accomplished to put it in perspective. At best one Scottish player should be on the list and Keane for Ireland is not quite top 100. Of those extra five spots, I would give France one more in Tigana, Spain one more in Gento, Peru one more in Cubillas, Argentina one more in Redondo, and Weah for Africa. For some of the countries, I would swap as follows: Francescoli for Gomez (Uruguay), Charles for Meredith (Wales), Bochini for Monti (Argentina), Casillas for Zamora (Spain), Finney for Edwards (England), and Netzer for Lahm (Germany) and Baggio for Mazzola (Italy).
Really interesting to see this mate - it is I guess we could say a 'historians' top 100 and helpfully in chronological order. I suppose talking of the end of the century polls/lists etc, putting your approach with mine would give an equivalent to the World Soccer readers list plus World Soccer writers list (more footage-based, prime form biased on one hand and more research-based, legend oriented with a full spread over eras on the other hand). After a quick count that'd still result in about half of the same players in our top 100's though, and many more of yours in my next 100 (possibly vice versa too). We are possibly closest with the Netherlands which makes sense given when their golden period was (I just have Bergkamp, and also Rensenbrink squeezing in, as extras) while I suppose the modern full-backs Thuram and Lahm are the most obvious ones that you have that aren't really in the mix for consideration for my 100 (but although my list would be relatively modern despite me seeming nostalgic on the boards in general, it might be a bit lacking in defenders in general arguably). I think comme previously posted Glanville's 100 on a thread called 'Is Platini Top Ten Ever?' or something to that effect. I certainly noticed the trend you mention (IIRC not going back quite so far as you have in some cases, but with a batch of 1920's to 1930's players from Britain) as well as Zico not being there for example (also some other fairly modern legends including from Britain - to be fair you also don't go beyond the WC winning era for England ofc) and I think Piola and Neeskens being top 25 for example was it?
Continuing as before. Zizinho for example is such a revered legend that if I choose 200 he has to be there, but I don't really have a proper gauge as to whether I'd genuinely put him inside a top 100 with my approach. Again, I'm sure the other names would mostly be pretty close.
Which leaves these that I have in my latest idea for estimated 'best' 100 and second 100 (again in blue and red respectively - and in grouping and then alphabetical order): Jan Ceulemans Paul Gascoigne Glenn Hoddle Rui Costa John Barnes David Beckham Brian Laudrup Robert Pires John Robertson Eric Cantona Preben Elkjaer Neymar (sort of pending confirmation!) Dejan Savicevic Davor Suker Rinat Dasaev Neville Southall Aldair Manuel Amoros Laurent Blanc Fabio Cannavaro Alan Hansen Fernando Hierro Jorginho Bixente Lizarazu Pietro Vierchowod Branko Zebec Osvaldo Ardiles Zito Giancarlo Antognoni Ricardo Bochini Alain Giresse Thomas Hassler Enzo Scifo Wesley Sneijder Dragan Stojkovic Safet Susic Jimmy Johnstone Pierre Littbarski Allan Simonsen Jose Altafini Georgi Asparuhov Bebeto Emilio Butragueno Claudio Caniggia Careca Alessandro Del Piero Henrik Larsson Tommy Lawton Jari Litmanen Wlodzmierz Lubanski Roger Milla Michael Owen Roger Piantoni Johnny Rep Dominique Rocheteau Alan Shearer Faas Wilkes Gianfranco Zola
If Neymar's form and promise regressed I guess it would be Falcao I'd stick in my top 100. I said on another thread I'd see him as comparable to Xavi, and Iniesta to Rui Costa and while (influenced and/or just through my own thoughts) I do now place the little modern playmaking Spaniards in the top 100, with Xavi possibly top of those 4 if I try to order my list, I think of them all as borderline top 100 player material probably - I could easily drop out John Barnes or his namesake Robertson from my 100 but the I Believe in Miracles movie and some things I saw in written text from Forest trainers or players like Johnny Giles have if anything reinforced my feeling about Robertson and I don't see Barnes as a definite lower category player to him still. Hungarians Albert and Bozsik could perhaps easily switch too, and maybe my preference for creative attacking players (although I do think a lot of the great players play this role and have special capabilities to open games up) tips the balance there wheras if anything historians are more likely to pick out Bozsik.
Oh sorry, one mistake - Gyorgy Sarosi wasn't in the original list was he (but in peter's) - I have him in my second 100 and I realise I highlighted Ian Rush but I don't have him listed in it now (at one time did and so highlighted him by mistake). Also on the positional groupings, quite a few would be debateable or variable I know (including for new mentions by me) but I wonder whether if anything the Mazzolas could be swapped - Valentino as offensive midfielder and Sandro as forward.