For some time now, I’ve been working on some lists of the greatest ever players in each position. Some of you might have seen my own thread on the greatest players in English league history www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=620289 or the thread that inspired it by Gregoriak of their German equivalents https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=420539 Basically over the coming months I will reveal the 100 best players (in my opinion) in each position, who have ever graced the game. These will be the finest footballers to kick a ball since the codification of the game in 1863. Let me start by outlining some of the criteria that I have applied: 1. Peak performance. How good were they at their very best. 2. Longevity and consistency. How long did they perform well for. 3. Achievements. Where did they get to in the game, how much did they win and what style did they do it in. Furthermore I have excluded all players aged below 28 today, as I do not feel they have a sufficient "body of work" on which to be judged. All eligible current players have probably been judged slightly more harshy than they might be as it is difficult to fully evaluate a career until it is over. These criteria naturally favour some of the players from the bigger nations and bigger clubs. I’m afraid that is largely unavoidable. But if you disagree with any of my selections then please let me know. That is what these threads are for. This is just a bit of fun and I've tried to include players across all eras. I'm not pretending it is in any way definitive, but it's there for some debate and hopefully a few people (including myself) can learn a bit more about some forgotten greats. I’d like to thank some of the members of the BigSoccer history group for their input on this as well. Please do not post your thoughts in this thread. I will set up a designated discussion thread for these threads. I will delete any posts in this thread. Please though do contribute. I am really going to try to get this forum back on track, but I will need the input of many members of this board. If you have any feedback or questions about this then please put them in the discussion thread. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showt...7#post19314177 To help people understand the positions of the players I have created this thread on the history of tactics as well as providing definitions of each position to make it easier. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1269077 Enjoy!
100. Klaus-Dieter Sieloff Sweeper West Germany 27/2/1942 14 caps (5 goals) Clubs: Stuttgart, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Alemannia Aachen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus-Dieter_Sieloff
99. John Metgod Cultured defender, sweeper Holland 27/2/1958 21 caps (4 goals) Clubs: HFC Haarlem, AZ Alkmaar, Real Madrid, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, Feyenoord http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Metgod
98. Hong Myung-Bo Cultured defender South Korea 12/2/1969 136 caps (10 goals) Clubs: Pohang Steelers, Bellmare Hiratsuka, Kashiwa Reysol, Pohang Steelers, Los Angeles Galaxy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Myung-Bo
97. Stefan Majewski Cultured defender Poland 31/1/1956 40 caps (4 goals) Clubs: Gwiazda Bydgoszcz, Zawisza Bydgoszcz, Legia Warszawa, Kaiserslautern, Arminia Bielefeld, Apollon Limassol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefan_Majewski
96. Saul Malatrasi Cultured defender, sweeper Italy 17/2/1938 3 caps (0 goals) Clubs: SPAL, Fiorentina, AS Roma, Internazionale, Lecco, AC Milan, SPAL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Malatrasi
95. Werner Liebrich Centre-back West Germany 18/1/1927 16 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Kaiserslautern http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Liebrich
94. Philippe Albert Cultured defender Belgium 10/8/1967 41 caps (5 goals) Clubs: Charleroi, KV Mechelen, Anderlecht, Newcastle United, Fulham (loan) , Charleroi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippe_Albert
93. Miroslav Djukic Cultured defender, right-back Yugoslavia 19/2/1966 48 caps (2 goals) Clubs: Macva Sabac, Rad Beograd ,Deportivo La Coruña, Valencia , Tenerife http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miroslav_Djukic
92. Gerd Kische Cultured defender East Germany 23/10/1951 63 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Hansa Rostock http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerd_Kische
91. Christian Chivu Cultured defender, left-back, anchor Romania 26/10/1980 69 caps (3 goals) Clubs: FCM Reşiţa, Universitatea Craiova, Ajax, Roma, Internazionale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Chivu
90. Leo Clijsters Centre-back Belgium 9/11/1956 40 caps (3 goals) Clubs: Club Brugge, Patro Eisden, KSK Tongeren , Thor Waterschei, KV Mechelen, RFC Liège http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_Clijsters
89. Stephane Henchoz Centre-back Switzerland 7/9/1974 72 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Neuchâtel Xamax, Hamburger SV, Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool, Celtic, Wigan Athletic, Blackburn Rovers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephane_Henchoz
88. Sergei Baltacha Sweeper USSR 17/2/1958 45 caps (2 goals) Clubs: Dyamo Kiev, Ipswich, St. Johnstone http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Pavlovich_Baltacha
87. Roman Wojcicki Centre-back, cultured defender Poland 8/1/1958 62 caps (2 goals) Clubs: Odra Opole, Śląsk Wrocław, Widzew Łódź, FC Homburg, Hannover 96 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Wojcicki
86. Matthias Herget Sweeper West Germany 14/11/1955 39 caps (4 goals) Clubs: VfL Bochum, Rot-Weiss Essen, Bayer 05 Uerdingen, FC Schalke 04 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthias_Herget
85. Vladislav Bogicevic Sweeper, playmaker Yugoslavia 7/11/1950 23 caps (2 goals) Clubs: NK Maribor, Red Star Belgrade, New York Cosmos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladislav_Bogićević
84. Rui Campos Cultured defender, centre-half Brazil 2/8/1922 30 caps (2 goals) Clubs: Bonsucesso, Fluminense, Bangu, São Paulo, Palmeiras http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rui_Campos
83. Roland Grip Cultured defender, Sweden 1/1/1941 55 caps (1 goal) Clubs: AIK, IK Sirius, SK Iron http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Grip
82. Frank Leboeuf Cultured defender France 22/1/1968 50 caps (5 goals) Clubs: Laval, Strasbourg ,Chelsea, Olympique Marseille, Al-Sadd, Al Wakrah http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Leboeuf
81. Victor Onopko Cultured defender, right-back CIS and Russia 14/10/1969 4 caps (0 goals) for CIS and 109 caps (7 goals) for Russia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Onopko
80. Thomas Helmer Sweeper, cultured defender Germany 21/4/1965 68 caps (5 goals) Clubs: Arminia Bielefeld, Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich, Sunderland, Hertha Berlin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Helmer
79. Stanisław Oślizło Cultured defender Poland 13/11/1937 57 caps (1 goal) Clubs: Odra Wodzisław, Kolejarz 24 Katowice, Górnik Radlin, Górnik Zabrze http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanisław_Oślizło
78. Roberto Dias Cultured defender Brazil 7/1/1943 27 caps Clubs: São Paulo, CEUB-DF ,Dom Bosco, Jalisco, Nacional-SP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Dias
77. Klaus Fichtel Sweeper West Germany 19/11/1944 23 caps (1 goal) Clubs: Schalke 04, Werder Bremen, Schalke 04 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Fichtel