The 50 Best Footballers

50 BEST FOOTBALLERS (+41 HM) 1991

GOLD: Lothar MATTHÄUS (Inter)
SILVER: Marco VAN BASTEN (AC Milan)
BRONZE: Jean-Pierre PAPIN (Marseille)

4 Robert PROSINECKI (Red Star)
5 Paul GASCOIGNE (Tottenham)
6 Dejan SAVICEVIC (Red Star)
7 Darko PANCEV (Red Star)
8 Franco BARESI (AC Milan)
9 Chris WADDLE (Marseille)
10 Diego MARADONA (Napoli)

11 Gianluca VIALLI (Sampdoria)
12 Hristo STOICHKOV (Barcelona)
13 Thomas HÄSSLER (Juventus)
14 Michael LAUDRUP (Barcelona)
15 Frank RIJKAARD (AC Milan)
16 Enzo SCIFO (Auxerre)
17 ROMARIO (PSV)
18 Jürgen KLINSMANN (Inter)
19 Roberto BAGGIO (Juventus)
20 Ruud GULLIT (AC Milan)

21 Ronald KOEMAN (Barcelona)
22 CARECA (Napoli)
23 Gary LINEKER (Tottenham)
24 BEBETO (Vasco da Gama)
25 Mark HUGHES (Manchester U)
26 Roberto MANCINI (Sampdoria)
27 Gheorghe HAGI (Real Madrid)
28 Hugo SANCHEZ (Real Madrid)
29 Brian LAUDRUP (Bayern)
30 Rudi VÖLLER (Roma)

31 David PLATT (Aston Villa)
32 Andreas BREHME (Inter)
33 Thomas DOLL (HSV)
34 Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
35 Jürgen KOHLER (Bayern)
36 Des WALKER (Nottingham F)
37 Craque NETO (Sao Paolo)
38 Ricardo GOMES (Benfica)
39 Laurent BLANC (Montpellier)
40 Basile BOLI (Marseille)

41 VALDO (Benfica)
42 John BARNES (Liverpool)
43 Martin VASQUEZ (Torino)
44 Abedi PELE (Marseille)
45 Gabriel BATISTUTA (River Plate)
46 Miodrag BELODEDICI (Red Star)
47 Zvonimir BOBAN (Dinamo Zagreb)
48 Claudio CANIGGIA (Atalanta)
49 Ruben SOSA (Lazio)
50 Stefan REUTER (Bayern)

51 Andreas MÖLLER (Frankfurt)
52 Walter ZENGA (Inter)
53 Vladimir JUGOVIC (Red Star)
54 Olaf THON (Bayern)
55 Nicola BERTI (Inter)
56 JORGINHO (Leverkusen)
57 Giuseppe BERGOMI (Inter)
58 Dragan STOJKOVIC (Marseille)
59 Jean TIGANA (Marseille)
60 Karl-Heinz RIEDLE (Lazio)

61 Carlos DUNGA (Fiorentina)
62 Stefan EFFENBERG (Bayern)
63 Emilio BUTRAGUENO (Real Madrid)
64 George WEAH (Monaco)
65 ALEMAO (Napoli)
66 RAI (Sao Paolo)
67 Oscar RUGGERI (Velez Sarsfield)
68 Franck SAUZEE (Marseille)
69 Pietro VIERCHOWOD (Sampdoria)
70 Toninho CEREZO (Sampdoria)

71 Richard WITSCHGE (Ajax)
72 MAZINHO (Leece)
73 Carlos MOZER (Marseille)
74 BRANCO (Genoa)
75 ALDAIR (Roma)
76 Guido BUCHWALD (Stuttgart)
77 Trevor STEVEN (Rangers)
78 Gianlugi LENTINI (Torino)
79 Dennis BERGKAMP (Ajax)
80 Claudio TAFFAREL (Parma)

81 Tomas BROLIN (Parma)
82 Bodo ILLGNER (FC Cologne)
83 Matthias SAMMER (Stuttgart)
84 BRANCO (Genoa)
85 Gianfranco ZOLA (Napoli)
86 Dean SAUNDERS (Aston Villa)
87 Miroslav KADLEC (Kaiserslautern)
88 Diego SIMEONE (Pisa)
89 Stuart PEARCE (Nottingham F)
90 Fernando HIERRO (Real Madrid)
91 Andoni ZUBIZARETTA (Barcelona)
92 Didier DESCHAMPS (Marseille)


Player of The Season 1 Papin 2 Matthäus 3 Savicevic 4 Pancev 5 Prosinecki 6 Vialli 7 Hughes 8 Batistuta 9 Waddle 10 Laudrup

Matthäus actually had a better domestic season than his legendary 1989/90 season. However, he was just beaten to Player of The Season by Papin.
Red Star won the Champions League playing some fantastic football up until the final where they played some boring pragmatic football. Savicevic might have come out on top in most polls, but it was surely Prosinecki who was the top name around Europe in the summer of 1991 from this fabulous Yugoslav group.

Inter won the UEFA Cup led by their three Germans. Man United won the Cup-Winners Cup led by a reborn Mark Hughes. Argentina won the Copa America led by a new sensation Gabriel Batistuta.

Maradona was banned for drug use in March 1991, however, as no one yet knew what would happen to him after his 15-month ban, he was still regarded one of the best.

Chris Waddle was loved in France. In fact, he was loved by everyone except the England manager Graham Taylor who just couldn´t see what the hype was about so he couldn´t get into the England team.

Johan Cruyff was starting to build something special in Barcelona led by Stoichkov and Laudrup.

Real Madrid wanted Sacchi and Gullit now that AC Milan was banned for next season Champions League, however, Sacchi couldn´t accept the offer due to being loyal to Berlusconi and Gullit would only go if Sacchi would follow.


BEST XI: ZENGA – JORGINHO – BREHME – BARESI – KOEMAN – MATTHÄUS – GASCOIGNE - PROSINECKI – SAVICEVIC – VAN BASTEN – PAPIN
ARRIGO SACCHI (Manager)

GOLDEN BOY:

1 Dino BAGGIO (Torino)
2 Lee SHARPE (Manchester U)
3 Emilio PEIXE (Sporting)

 

THE 50 BEST FOOTBALLERS (+42 HM) IN 1992:

GOLD: Marco VAN BASTEN (AC Milan)
SILVER: Michael LAUDRUP (Barcelona)
BRONZE: Hristo STOICHKOV (Barcelona)

4 Jean-Pierre PAPIN (Marseille)
5 Dejan SAVICEVIC (Red Star)
6 Roberto BAGGIO (Juventus)
7 Gianluca VIALLI (Sampdoria)
8 Darko PANCEV (Red Star)
9 ROMARIO (PSV)
10 Franco BARESI (AC Milan)

11 Frank RIJKAARD (AC Milan)
12 Ruud GULLIT (AC Milan)
13 Lothar MATTHÄUS (Inter)
14 Dennis BERGKAMP (Ajax)
15 Thomas HÄSSLER (Roma)
16 Paul GASCOIGNE (Tottenham)
17 Ronald KOEMAN (Barcelona)
18 Robert PROSINECKI (Real Madrid)
19 Peter SCHMEICHEL (Manchester U)
20 Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)

21 Gianluigi LENTINI (Torino)
22 Brian LAUDRUP (Bayern)
23 BEBETO (Vasco da Gama)
24 Gary LINEKER (Tottenham)
25 Jürgen KOHLER (Juventus)
26 Des WALKER (Nottingham F)
27 David PLATT (Bari)
28 Karl-Heinz RIEDLE (Lazio)
29 Rudi VÖLLER (Roma)
30 Igor SHALIMOV (Foggia)


31 Abedi PELE (Marseille)
32 Stefan EFFENBERG (Bayern)
33 Enzo SCIFO (Torino)
34 RAI (Sao Paolo)
35 Guido BUCHWALD (Stuttgart)
36 Matthias SAMMER (Stuttgart)
37 Stephane CHAPUISAT (Dortmund)
38 Gheorghe HAGI (Real Madrid)
39 Jürgen KLINSMANN (Inter)
40 Claudio CANIGGIA (Atalanta)

41 Carlos DUNGA (Fiorentina)
42 CARECA (Napoli)
43 Ruben SOSA (Lazio)
44 Gabriel BATISTUTA (Fiorentina)
45 Andreas BREHME (Inter)
46 Dragan STOJKOVIC (Verona)
47 Andreas MÖLLER (Frankfurt)
48 Thomas DOLL (Lazio)
49 Paolo FUTRE (Atletico Madrid)
50 Tomas BROLIN (Parma)

51 Walter ZENGA (Inter)4
52 Ricardo GOMES (PSG)
53 Roberto MANCINI (Sampdoria)
54 Demetrio ALBERTINI (AC Milan)
55 Vladimir JUGOVIC (Red Star)
56 George WEAH (Monaco)
57 Andoni ZUBIZARETTA (Barcelona)
58 ALDAIR (Roma)
59 Didier DESCHAMPS (Marseille)
60 Ivan ZAMARANO (Sevilla)

61 JORGINHO (Leverkusen)
62 Laurent BLANC (Napoli)
63 Fernando HIERRO (Real Madrid)
64 Chris WADDLE (Marseille)
65 Sinisa MIHAILJOVIC (Red Star)
66 Josep GUARDIOLA (Barcelona)
67 Martin VASQUEZ (Torino)
68 Flemming POVLSEN (Dortmund)
69 Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
70 Ian WRIGHT (Arsenal)

71 Roberto DONADONI (AC Milan)
72 Zvonimir BOBAN (Bari)
73 Faustino ASPRILLA (Nacional)
74 Paolo SERGIO (Corinthians)
75 Mauro TASSOTTI (AC Milan)
76 Alan SHEARER (Southampton)
77 Aron WINTER (Ajax)
78 Jonas THERN (Benfica)
79 Walter CASAGRANDE (Torino)
80 Marcel DESAILLY (Nantes)

81 Ricardo ROCHA (Real Madrid)
82 Rune BRATSETH (Werder Bremen)
83 Klas INGESSON (Mechelen)
84 Dino BAGGIO (Inter)
85 Wim JONK (Ajax)
86 Jose Maria BAKERO (Barcelona)
87 Gianfranco ZOLA (Napoli)
88 Mark HUGHES (Manchester U)
89 John Van´t SCHIP (Ajax)
90 Igor DROBOVOLSKI (Servette)
91 Diego LATORRE (Boca Juniors)
92 Igor KOLYVANOV (Foggia)
93 PALHINHA (Sao Paolo)
94 CAFU (Sao Paolo)

Player of The Season: 1 Laudrup M 2 Van Basten 3 Stoichkov 4 Bergkamp 5 Schmeichel 6 Koeman 7 Baresi 8 RAI 9 Hässler 10 Laudrup B 11 Rijkaard 12 Papin 13 Maldini

Overall, it was certainly one of the seasons where opinions easily can differ. Van Basten was back to his best; however, he flopped at the Euro´s where he didn´t score and missed the penalty which sent the Dutch out of the tournament. Gullit was regarded almost back to his best, however, he didn´t perform either at the Euro´s. The Dutch had a new superstar emerging in Bergkamp. Real Madrid wanted him to succeed Hugo Sanchez. Bergkamp wanted another season in Holland though. Lineker was still the best player in the English league and was voted most exciting player with Ryan Giggs coming second and McManaman third. Lineker was, however, even worse than Van Basten at the Euro´s and would call time on both the NT and European soccer altogether. He bowed out on top though. Before the Euro´s Lineker and Van Basten were joint favourites to become topscorer. None of them even scored!

Matthäus missed the Euro´s through injury and was sorely missed. He was still regarded as a top-class player.

All Danes had known for 3 or 4 years how good Brian Laudrup and Peter Schmeichel were. Now the rest of the world knew it too.

Prosinecki scored on his debut vs Barcelona. He would, however, only play three games all season due to injury. He could have become the overall no. 1 if he had had a stellar season in Madrid. Now Savicevic was instead becoming the new Balkan superstar.

Gascoigne was injured all season, delaying his transfer to Lazio by a year. Everybody was still expecting him to become a world beater in the Serie A.

Brazil was beginning to look forward to the WC 1994. Rai was emerging as their new superstar. Romario was injured a lot but still highly regarded.

BEST XI: SCHMEICHEL – JORGINHO – MALDINI – BARESI – KOEMAN – RIJKAARD – MATTHÄUS – SAVICEVIC – LAUDRUP – VAN BASTEN – STOICHKOV
CRUYFF (Manager)

Golden BOY:

1 Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
2 Nii LAMPTEY (Anderlecht)
3 Steve MCMANAMAN (Liverpool)
4 Luis FIGO (Sporting)
5 Emilio PEIXE (Sporting)
6 Zinedine ZIDANE (Cannes)
7 Darren ANDERTON (Portsmouth)
8 Manuel RUI COSTA

 

50 BEST FOOTBALLERS (+40 HM) 1993:

GOLD: Robert BAGGIO (Juventus)
SILVER: Dennis BERGKAMP (Ajax)
BRONZE: Michael LAUDRUP (Barcelona)

4 ROMARIO (PSV)
5 Hristo STOICHKOV (Barcelona)
6 Marco VAN BASTEN (AC Milan)
7 Alen BOKSIC (Marseille)
8 Franco BARESI (AC Milan)
9 BEBETO (Deportivo)
10 RAI (Sao Paolo)

11 Frank RIJKAARD (AC Milan)
12 Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
13 Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
14 Eric CANTONA (Manchester U)
15 Ronald KOEMAN (Barcelona)
16 Ruben SOSA (Inter)
17 Peter SCHMEICHEL (Manchester U)
18 Jean-Pierre PAPIN (AC Milan)
19 Lothar MATTHÄUS (Bayern)
20 Paul GASCOIGNE (Lazio)

21 Gianluca VIALLI (Juventus)
22 Brian LAUDRUP (Fiorentina)
23 Abel BALBO (Udinese)
24 Andreas MÖLLER (Juventus)
25 Ivan ZAMARANO (Real Madrid)
26 Enzo SCIFO (Torino)
27 Thomas HÄSSLER (Roma)
28 Faustino ASPRILLA (Parma)
29 Stefan EFFENBERG (Fiorentina)
30 Dejan SAVICEVIC (AC Milan)

31 Giuseppe SIGNORI (Lazio)
32 Gabriel BATISTUTA (Fiorentina)
33 Franck SAUZEE (Marseille)
34 Alan SHEARER (Blackburn)
35 Paul INCE (Manchester U)
36 Ruud GULLIT (AC Milan)
37 Didier DESCHAMPS (Marseille)
38 Jürgen KOHLER (Juventus)
39 Igor SHALIMOV (Inter)
40 Tony YEBOAH (Frankfurt)


41 Stephane CHAPUISAT (Dortmund)
42 Carlos VALDERRAMA (Junior)
43 Abedi PELE (Marseille)
44 Andreas KÖPKE (Nüremberg)
45 Mauro SILVA (Deportivo)
46 Fernando HIERRO (Real Madrid)
47 George WEAH (Paris SG)
48 Andreas HERZOG (Werder Bremen)
49 Marcel DESAILLY (Marseille)
50 VALDO (Paris SG)

51 Ally MCCOIST (Rangers)
52 Carlos DUNGA (Pescara)
53 Robert PROSINECKI (Real Madrid)
54 Darko PANCEV (Inter)
55 Rune BRATSETH (Werder Bremen)
56 Matthias SAMMER (Inter /Dortmund)
57 Gheorghe HAGI (Brescia)
58 Alessandro COSTACURTA (AC Milan)
59 Fernando REDONDO (Tenerife)
60 Josep GUARDIOLA (Barcelona)

61 Andoni ZUBIZARETTA (Barcelona)
62 JORGINHO (Bayern)
63 ALDAIR (Roma)
64 Basile BOLI (Marseille)
65 Zvonimir BOBAN (AC Milan)
66 Robert PROSINECKI (Real Madrid)
67 Enzo FRANCESCOLI (Cagliari)
68 Wim JONK (Ajax)
69 Laurent BLANC (Nimes)
70 Daniel FONSECA (Napoli)

71 Bryan ROY (Foggia)
72 Ian WRIGHT (Arsenal)
73 Demetrio ALBERTINI (AC Milan)
74 David GINOLA (Paris SG)
75 CARECA (Napoli)
76 Sinasa MIHAILJOVIC (Roma)
77 Jonas THERN (Napoli)
78 Dino BAGGIO (Juventus)
79 Rudi VÖLLER (Marseille)
80 Steve MCMANAMAN (Liverpool)

81 Vladimir JUGOVIC (Sampdoria)
82 Pierluigi CASIRAGHI (Juventus)
83 Miroslav DJUKIC (Deportivo)
84 ZINHO (Palmeiras)
85 George GRÜN (Parma)
86 Peter DUBOVSKY (Slovan)
87 Ulf KIRSTEN (Leverkusen)
88 Peter VAN VOSSEN (Anderlecht)
89 Ramon BELLO (River Plate)
90 Tomas BROLIN (Parma)


Player of The Season: 1 Baggio 2 Bergkamp 3 Romario 4 Cantona 5 Boksic 6 Laudrup 7 Valderrama 8 Giggs 9 Bebeto 10 Schmeichel 11 Rai 12 Maldini


Overall, it was still very close. Baggio started the season badly but ascended to superstardom in the latter half of the season almost like Platini in 1982/83. Michael Laudrup was the key cog in Cruyff´s Dream Team. Dennis Bergkamp finally left Ajax, and I would even say that he was an even bigger star than Baggio at this point. However, he hadn´t proven himself outside of Holland yet.

Gullit was done in Milan, but he had promised Berlusconi not to sign for another Champions League side! Rijkaard was also done and went back to Ajax. Van Basten had also played his last match for AC Milan in the Champions League final. However, the world wouldn´t know that yet. He had scored 13 goals in just 14 appearances in the Serie A, so everybody still believed he was one of the best players around. Papin would almost only play when Van Basten was injured so his star had fallen a bit. Savicevic was injured almost all season as well.

At Internazionale foreign stars such as Pancev and Sammer were flops – however, Ruben Sosa was a big star. Lazio wanted to purchase Alen Boksic from Marseille for 4M but Tapie suddenly wanted to add 2M, so Lazio had to wait a year and instead bought Pierluigi Casiraghi.

Real Madrid wanted Matthäus but Uli Hoeness – the Bavarian GM – said no. However, Madrid beat a host of big clubs to Slovak Peter Dubovsky (who tragically died aged only 28 when on vacation in Thailand).

In England Eric Cantona fired Manchester U to their first title in 26 years. Their biggest star – at this point – was however, a teenage sensation called Ryan Giggs – or the new George Best if you like. Other than that Alan Shearer was surely the biggest name in the pond, however, he was injured for the last eight months of the season.

Brazil was still gearing up for the World Cup in 1994 and Bebeto, Rai, Mauro Silva and Romario were now world stars and was supplemented by the likes of Jorginho, Marcio Santos, Dunga, Leonardo and the emerging Cafu and Robert Carlos.


BEST XI: SCHMEICHEL – JORGINHO – MALDINI – BARESI – KOEMAN – RIJKAARD – RAI – BAGGIO – LAUDRUP – BERGKAMP – ROMARIO
CAPELLO


GOLDEN BOY:

1. Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
2. Marc OVERMARS (Ajax)
3. Julen GUERRERO (Bilbao)
4. Edgar DAVIDS (Ajax)
5. Ariel ORTEGA (River Plate)

 

Great notes - thanks. Let me comment.

Full-Backs: so this goes for all of Amoros, Angloma and Di Meco. This is probably the hardest position to get recognized in. Not many full-backs will get enough recognition to enter the top 50-100 best footballers in the world. They´ll have to be truly world class to be included. Just as Mendes, Hakimi and T-A-A are right now. Were Amoros, Angloma and Di Meco considered that good in 1993? I don´t think so. If you have followed all my rankings you´ll know I have acknowleged Amoros a lot - just not in 1993 where he was past his peak.

Angloma has a case for inclusion. He was very good as he later showed especially in that legendary Valencia team. He sometimes gets overlooked due to Thuram´s emergence. Maybe he should be in the lower part of my rankings. He might be when I revise the list.

Di Meco had a very fine career for Marseille. However, often a player will need to get recognition at international level to be considered - especially if you´re a full-back. Di Meco was often overlooked by Michel, Platini and Houllier and when Jacquet came around Di Meco was surely overtaken by Lizarazu. Di Meco will not be considered in my top 90.

Basile Boli was of course one of the most talked about central defenders around 1993 due to his goal in the Champions League final. I had him higher up initially (around 25 spots in fact) and maybe I lowered him too much. But it was mainly due to my belief that he was actually close to being past his peak and he was also very quickly dispatched by Desailly when Jacquet came around. Maybe I will move him back up a bit again in 1993.

Abedi Pele had a very short peak. He was fine in 1991 - world class in 1992 and still very good albeit not world class in 1993 - 94 - 95 and that was it. Maybe he could get up 5-8 spots for 92 and 93 but other than that I think my rankings reflect his career pretty good.

Carlos Mozer: Well, maybe I underrated him a bit but he was in fierce competition with Ricardo Rocha, Aldair, Ricardo Gomes, Julio Cesar and Marcio Santos for the Brazil team and I just feel that various Brazil managers very often picked others before him. Maybe I will consider him for more years.

But when I move players UP other players will have to go DOWN. I can´t move 10-15 players up without moving anybody down at the same time and maybe these players have not derserved to be moved down either. I need to think about that too.

 

THE 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS 1994:

GOLD: ROMARIO (Barcelona)
SILVER: Roberto BAGGIO (Juventus)
BRONZE: Hristo STOICHKOV (Barcelona)

4 Dennis BERGKAMP (Inter)
5 Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
6 Gheorghe HAGI (Brescia)
7 Michael LAUDRUP (Barcelona)
8 Franco BARESI (AC Milan)
9 Eric CANTONA (Manchester U)
10 Dejan SAVICEVIC (AC Milan)

11 Lothar MATTHÄUS (Bayern)
12 BEBETO (Deportivo)
13 Ruud GULLIT (Sampdoria)
14 Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
15 Demetrio ALBERTINI (AC Milan)
16 Marcel DESAILLY (AC Milan)
17 Zvonimir BOBAN (AC Milan)
18 Karlheinz RIEDLE (Dortmund)
19 Gabriel BATISTUTA (Fiorentina)
20 Faustino ASPRILLA (Parma)

21 Alan SHEARER (Blackburn)
22 Jürgen KLINSMANN (Monaco)
23 Tomas BROLIN (Parma)
24 Giuseppe SIGNORI (Lazio)
25 George WEAH (Paris SG)
26 Andreas MÖLLER (Juventus)
27 Enzo SCIFO (Monaco)
28 Didier DESCHAMPS (Marseille)
29 Carlos DUNGA (Stuttgart)
30 Dino BAGGIO (Juventus)

31 Paul INCE (Manchester U)
32 Alessandro COSTACURTA (AC Milan)
33 Ruben SOSA (Inter)
34 Fernando HIERRO (Real Madrid)
35 Jürgen KOHLER (Juventus)
36 Ronald KOEMAN (Bracelona)
37 Matthias SAMMER (Dortmund)
38 Fernando REDONDO (Tenerife)
39 Ivan ZAMORANO (Real Madrid)
40 Thomas HÄSSLER (Roma)

41 Peter SCHMEICHEL (Manchester U)
42 Florin RADUCIOIU (AC Milan)
43 Carlos VALDERRAMA (A Junior)
44 Stephane CHAPUISAT (Dortmund)
45 David GINOLA (Paris SG)
46 VALDO (Paris SG)
47 Mauro SILVA (Deportivo)
48 Gianluca PAGLIUCA (Sampdoria)
49 RAI (Paris SG)
50 JORGINHO (Bayern)

51 Martin DAHLIN (Mönchengladbach)
52 Brian LAUDRUP (AC Milan)
53 Tony YEBOAH (Frankfurt)
54 Rashidi YEKINI (Setubal)
55 LEONARDO (Sao Paolo)
56 Josep GUARDIOLA (Barcelona)
57 Marc OVERMARS (Ajax)
58 Jonas THERN (Napoli)
59 Stefan SCHWARZ (Benfica)
60 Marcio SANTOS (Bordeaux)

61 Gianfranco ZOLA (Parma)
62 Abel BALBO (Roma)
63 Krassimir BALAKOV (Sporting)
64 Yordan LETCHKOV (HSV)
65 Emil KOSTADINOV (FC Porto)
66 Roy KEANE (Manchester U)
67 Ciriaco SFORZA (Kaiserslautern)
68 Finidi GEORGE (Ajax)
69 Jari LITMANEN (Ajax)
70 Davor SUKER (Sevilla)

71 Paul GASCOIGNE (Lazio)
72 Youri DJORKAEFF (Monaco)
73 Bryan ROY (Foggia)
74 Andrei KANCHELSKIS (Manchester U)
75 Diego SIMEONE (Sevilla)
76 Sunday OLISEH (Liege)
77 Jose Marie BAKERO (Barcelona)
78 Bodo ILLGNER (FC Cologne)
79 Michel PREUD´HOMME (Mechelen)
80 Oleg SALENKO (Logrones)


81 Robert PROSINECKI (Real Madrid)
82 Luc NILIS (Anderlecht)
83 Jocely ANGLOMA (Torino)
84 Phillippe ALBERT (Anderlecht)
85 SERGI Barjuan (Barcelona)
86 Miguel Angel NADAL (Barcelona)
87 Frank RIJKAARD (Ajax)
88 Ilie DUMITRESCU (Steaua)
89 Luis GARCIA (Atletico Madrid)
90 Roberto DONADONI (AC Milan)

91 Jose Luis CAMINERO (Atletico Madrid)
92 Gheorghe POPESCU (PSV)
93 Luis ENRIQUE (Real Madrid)
94 Alain SUTTER (Nuremberg)
95 Christian KAREMBEU (Nantes)
96 Laurent BLANC (St. Etienne)
97 Bryan ROY (Foggia)
98 Frank DE BOER (Ajax)
99 Adolfo VALENCIA (Bayern)
100 Zinedine ZIDANE (Bordeaux)

Player of The Season: 1 Romario 2 Stoichkov 3 Baggio 4 Maldini 5 Hagi 6 Cantona 7 Brolin 8 Klinsmann 9 Savicevic 10 Baresi

Overall, it´s a toss up between Baggio & Romario. Baggio clearly no. 1 before the WC. A matter of opinion if he stays top after the WC.

Bergkamp flopped in his first season in Italy, however, he was still regarded as one of the best. Hagi and Stoichkov were sensational at the world cup and Hagi were the closets the world had seen to something truly magical since Maradona´s prime.

Laudrup wasn´t getting along with Cruyff anymore and was dropped for the Champions League final which Barca then lost 0-4. Something magical had been broken in Barca.

Cantona was sensational in the English league for a Manchester United team which now drew comparisons which some of the all-time greatest teams. Gullit was back to his best in Sampdoria and AC Milan even wanted him back. Ac Milan also wanted Ryan Giggs but Fergie put a 15M price tag on his head. That was too steep for Mr. Berlusconi and even if he wanted to, he hadn´t this kind of money to spend.

Brazil became world champions led by an out of this world Romario. Rai started as captain but ended up on the bench. Maybe that had something to do with Romario openly stating “The Manager brought the wrong player when he selected Rai and not Valdo”.

This was the first time I could find magazines and newspapers embarking on Fantasy Football. Of course, you shouldn´t get too caught up in stuff like that but anyway. For the World Cup they saw four outstanding strikers who would cost double the amount than anyone else. These four were Romario, Baggio, Bergkamp and Riedle. So, that would give you some kind of hint that these four were considered among the best. In the second tier these four players also commanded a hefty fee; Asprilla, Brolin, Klinsmann and Signori and again these four players should also be considered as some of the best players around. In the third tier we had Bebeto, Raducioiu and Dahlin.

For the midfielders Hagi, Möller, Albertini and Scifo were in the top tier. The second tier Valderrama, Roy, D. Baggio and the third tier Keane, Schwarz, Hässler and Redondo.

For the defenders the first-tier players were Mätthaus, Jorginho, Maldini, Baresi. The second tier Kohler, Koeman and Branco, Albert and Frank de Boer.

For the goalkeepers Pagliuca and Illgner were in the first tier.

If you look at the Premier League the standout players according to Fantasy were in order: Giggs, Cantona, Shearer, Ince, Keane, Kanchelskis, Sutton, Cole, Wright, Townsend and McAllister.

BEST XI: SCHMEICHEL – JORGINHO – MALDINI – BARESI – COSTACURTA – DESAILLY – ALBERTINI – HAGI – STOICHKOV – BAGGIO R – ROMARIO
CAPELLO

GOLDEN BOY:
1 Ariel ORTEGA (River Plate)
2 Julen GUERRERO (Bilbao)
3 Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
4 RONALDO (Cruzeiro)
5 Clarence SEEDORF (Ajax)

 

Well I need you to STOP - please STOP. You obviously only have some negative input so please stop destroying my thread with your nonsense. If you don´t like - don´t follow.

 

Taking a short break from the Nostalgia years to make room for the 2025 version. Approaching 1st August here is the initially 2025 edition: To have every season in Chronological Order this edition will be posted again when I have worked my way through all the Nostalgia Years.

Top 100 Footballers 2025:


GOLD: Kylian MBAPPE (Real Madrid)
He has not yet become the player the world expected a few years ago, however, in a transitional phase in world football there isn´t anyone bigger and better at the global scene right now. His debut season in Madrid was good, albeit not spectacular. It was a goal every 107 minutes where Cristiano in comparison scored a goal every 88 minutes in his debut season.

SILVER: Mo SALAH (Liverpool)
Had Liverpool beaten PSG in the Champions League, Salah would probably be the favorite for the Ballon d´Or. As it is, he doesn´t stand a chance. However, this is not the Ballon d´Or. Salah has become a Premier League legend. One of the best Premier League players ever. He is the current FWA and PFA player of the season. He is the crown jewel of the Premier League.

BRONZE: LAMINE YAMAL (Barcelona)
What a talent – what a player. Only just turned 18 and already the world´s third best player. Not even Messi was nowhere near third spot when he was 18 in 2005 (He was no. 40). However, Yamal must still prove that he can take it to another level and that he won´t burn out like many other big talents have done in the past.

4: Erling HAALAND (Manchester C)
34 goals in 48 games are considered a below par season. That speaks volumes of how good he is. When Pep rights the ship and gets Manchester City back on track, Haaland will be his main man. There is no better pure no. 9 than Haaland anywhere right now.

5: Jude BELLINGHAM (Real Madrid)
The best box-to-box midfielder the world has seen in a while. One moment he is back defending the next he comes up clutch in the other end. When his teams need him to come up clutch, he delivers – look no further than England vs Slovakia in Euro 24 for that. He needs to control his temper and arrogance though.

6: Ousmane DEMBELE (Paris SG)
The overwhelming favorite for the Ballon d´Or and rightfully so. This is the Dembele we all expected to see when he joined Barcelona a few years ago. Since then, he has frustrated fans more than he has delighted them. Maybe Luis Enrique is the man to fulfill his potential.

7: Vini JUNIOR (Real Madrid)
Some believed he was robbed of the Ballon d´Or 2024 not least his own club. He immediately proclaimed revenge in 2025. Fair to say it hasn´t gone completely to plan. However, Vini still possesses extraordinary skills and is still considered one of the best players around.

8: Virgil VAN DIJK (Liverpool)
The best center back in the world. Maybe the best center back the Premier League has ever seen. Maybe he is even the best center back in the English top flight since Bobby Moore. Of course, Terry, Vidic and Rio would have something to say about that, but he is that good. Some believed he wouldn´t get back to his best after his knee injury in October 2020. Admittedly there have been times when he hasn´t looked the same. Yet, here he is standing tall above anybody else trying to take his crown.

9: VITINHA (Paris SG)
Who would have thought that the player who was on loan to Wolves during the 2020-21 season would become one of the best midfielders around just a couple of years later. Such a joy to watch. Instrumental to PSG´s dominance.

10: Cole PALMER (Chelsea)
If a young player doesn´t have the patience to wait for his first team chance, Pep will send them packing. We saw it with Sancho and Brahim Diaz and then again with Palmer. Palmer just might have been the one that got away. Nuno Mendes was seen as a flawless left back. That was until he came up against “Ice Cole” Palmer.

11: PEDRI (Barcelona)
Hansi Flick and Yamal might have gotten most of the credit for Barcelona´s return to the European top. But it is no coincidence that the Blaugrana ascend to the top came when Pedri was finally fully fit. The closest thing we have seen to Iniesta in a decade.

12: Harry KANE (Bayern)
He has got his trophy – at last. Now come home Harry and beat Shearer´s Premier League record in most goals. Still world class and if he were to switch clubs he would certainly only still consider the very best teams around.

13: Bakayo SAKA (Arsenal)
Arteta might have come in for some criticism due to not winning any major trophies. The truth is that The Gunners have not been better since around 2006. The truth is that Saka is their star player.

14: Florian WIRTZ (Leverkusen)
Just bought by Liverpool for a new British transfer record. When you watch him in action you can surely understand why. But will he be up for it in the more physically Premier League? That will be interesting to see.

15: RAPHINHA (Barcelona)
Strange to think he was having trouble cementing a regular starting berth under Xavi. Strange to think that he was almost out the door until Hansi Flick stepped in last summer. Now the former Leeds United player is regarded one of the best wingers in the world.

16: RODRI (Manchester C)
The reigning Ballon d´Or winner for a little while yet. Out of action for almost a year. Everybody would still expect him to come back and show the world that his Ballon d´Or was no fluke. Fair to say there is a Manchester City with Rodri and a Manchester City without Rodri.


17: Federico VALVERDE (Real Madrid)
Right back, Central midfield, Right winger, False 9 – you name it. No matter where he is asked to play, he excels. His versality is huge. His world class tag is huge.


18: Jamal MUSIALA (Bayern)
He was going to represent England. A Chelsea graduate playing his youth football for England up until 2020 until Joachim Low stepped in and offered him a place in the German NT. Devasting news about his latest injury. Fingers crossed he will come back even stronger.

19: Declan RICE (Arsenal)
Initially seen as a pure defensive midfielder, he has developed into one of the best box-to-box midfielders around. His Man-of-the-match display vs Real Madrid in the Champions League was no fluke. He is awesome.

20: Alexis MAC ALLISTER (Liverpool)
He was very good at Brighton but some believed his transfer to Anfield would be a step up he might not be able to handle. When Xabi, the new Real Madrid coach, sees you as a dream signing you just know you have handled it to perfection.

21: Desire DOUE (Paris SG)
What a phenomenal talent. Just turned 20 and already looks like a world star. One of the most interesting players to follow in the coming seasons.

22: Alexander ISAK (Newcastle)
We have known about his immense talent ever since Dortmund brought him to Germany in 2017. It looked as though his development was halted until a year ago. Now one of the best strikers around and one of the most sought after too.

23: Enzo FERNANDEZ (Chelsea)
One of the most sought-after players after the 2022 world cup. Chelsea won the race, but Enzo flopped at Cobham. That was until Maresca came around and finally realized what most people already knew that Enzo is a no. 10 and NOT a no. 6. Now he excels to his full potential.

24: Lautaro MARTINEZ (Inter)
A world class player for years now. It seems he will stay loyal to Inter forever. A big money transfer has been a possibility for some time but apparently, he will stay put. The captain and talisman for an Inter side playing two Champions League finals in three years.

25: Bruno FERNANDES (Manchester U)
Is it really possible that there is anything good coming out of Carrington these days? Their captain is a true world class performer. He carries his team on his shoulders.

26: Moises CAICEDO (Chelsea)
When Chelsea splashed 100M + 15M in add-ons two summers ago people might have thought Boehly was mad and just spending money like it was Monopoly. Look who is laughing now. Caicedo is a monster and that is a compliment.

27: William SALIBA (Arsenal)
As soon as Van Dijk steps down from his throne, Saliba is the next in line. Real Madrid thinks so too, and you won´t be blamed if you have the feeling that he will end up at The Bernabeu eventually. His error in the Champions League may have somewhat harmed his chances though.

28: Frenkie DE JONG (Barcelona)
How many times has he been linked with a move away? The truth is he loves Barca and so does his family. Luckily for both De Jong and Barca it seems all the wage dispute is behind them. If he can stay injury free, he is world class.


29: HAKIMI (Paris SG)
The best wing-back in the world. It is simply beyond comprehension that Real Madrid didn´t want him. He has excelled almost every season since he left the Spanish capital.


30: Luis DIAZ (Liverpool)
He has been a revelation ever since Liverpool bought him in Porto. He wants out of Liverpool and it´s no surprise that Liverpool will try everything to hold on to him. Dazzling winger and one of the best wingers in the world.

31: Khvicha KVARATSKHELIA (Paris SG)
Burst onto the scene with Napoli during the 2022-23 season. Maybe some believed the Georgian was a one hit wonder. He was NOT. Now dazzles for the best club team in the world.

32: Julian ALVAREZ (Atletico Madrid)
Picked up by Pep for River Plate, everybody knew he was an immense talent. Displacing Haaland was another matter. He switched to Spain in order to be the focal point of the Los Rojiblancos attack. One of the world´s best strikers.

33: Rafael LEAO (AC Milan)
On his day one of the best wingers in the world. He struggles a bit with consistency. If he can become more consistent, he will climb these rankings.

34: RODRYGO (Real Madrid)
The odd man out in the star-studded Madrid attack. Initially regarded as an even bigger talent than Vini. However, he MUST leave Madrid if he wants to become one of the very best. It doesn´t seem as if he will be in Xabi´s first choice XI.

35: Martin ODEGAARD (Arsenal)
He was so good in the two seasons before this. But somehow, he became the scapegoat when The Gunners once again failed to deliver silverware. I will be surprised if he doesn´t get back to his best soon.


36: Nuno MENDES (Paris SG)
The best left-sided wing-back in the world. We have known his potential for a while. This season he showed he is the best in his position.

37: Phil FODEN (Manchester C)
What a player but what a dreadful season. Will he come good again? Among the best in the world if he does. If he continues to slide, he will soon be on the outside looking in in these rankings.

38: Robert LEWANDOWSKI (Barcelona)
May be past his very peak but at almost 37 he is still one of the best strikers in the world. Barcelona thinks so too, and it will be at least another year before Barca starts to look for his replacement.

39: Bruno GUIMARAES (Newcastle)
World class midfielder and one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. You would expect him to transfer to a bigger club eventually.

40: Trent ALEXANDER-ARNOLD (Liverpool)
It seems as if Madrid will let players know when they want them one year before their contracts expires so they will run down their current deals. Mbappe, Alaba and Rüdiger come to mind. They did again with T-A-A and will probably do the same with Konate. The boy surely lost his chance to become an Anfield legend. That, however, will not take anything away from his football capabilities. Outshone by Hakimi this time but he is a multiple winner in his position from previous years.

41: GABRIEL Magalhaes (ARSENAL)
Strange to think that he was actually considered the Gunners´ weak link a couple of years ago. Not anymore. One of the best center backs in the world.

42: Joao NEVES (Paris SG)
One of the most sought-after players when he left Benfica a year ago. He showed why in his first season in the French capital. He has not even turned 21 yet. He will be immense in the coming years.

43: Victor OSIMHEN (Galatasaray)
How strange that no top club has come in for him. It seems he will stay in Turkey. Still considered one of the best strikers around.

44: Josko GVARDIOL (Manchester C)
Whether it’s left back in a 4-4-2 formation or as a left-sided central defender in a 3-5-1-1 formation doesn´t matter. He is among the best in the world in his position.

45: Joshua KIMMICH (Bayern)
A little dip in form. He is, however, still one of the best no. 6 around.

46: Aurelien TCHOUAMENI (Real Madrid)
Often deployed as a center back due to injuries to Alaba and Militao. His best position is probably as a no. 6 where he excels and where he was meant to be Casemiro´s heir. Linked away on numerous occasions it will be interesting to see if he stays in Madrid.

47: Bernardo SILVA (Manchester C)
One of the best players in that formidable Manchester City team. A former top 10 player. He has, however, fallen a little bit off the radar due to the Cityzens weak season.

48: Nicolo BARELLA (Inter)
One of the best players in the Serie A. One of the biggest reasons Inter has been in two Champions League finals in three years.

49: Bradley BARCOLA (Paris SG)
We have known about his talent for at least two years. This was his breakthrough. But when you are up against players like Khvicha and Doue for a starting berth, it is tough, but his talent will shine through.

50: ALISSON Becker (Liverpool)
The best goalkeepers in the world. He showed that once again during the 2024-25 season when he on a number of occasions saved Liverpool. Anybody remember his performance in Paris?

51: GAVI (Barcelona)
An immense talent, however, it doesn´t seem as if he is in the starting eleven when Flick has everyone at his disposal and wants to bring his A-Team. A true Barca boy, it is difficult to think he will leave but as it stands, he really should if he cannot play regularly.

52: Eduardo CAMAVINGA (Real Madrid)
Has not become the player we all thought he would be. Injuries have a lot to do with that and if he can stay free of injury he will climb again.

53: Dani OLMO (Barcelona)
A fine season back in Spain with Barca. He will only get even better.

54: Ryan GRAVENBERH (Liverpool)
Regarded one of the biggest Dutch talents for years when he joined Bayern. It didn´t go as hoped for him in Germany but he has blossomed at Anfield.

55: Sandro TONALI (Newcastle)
A class act. Let us all hope he is free of his suspensions because he is truly a magnificent player. Some AC Milan fans said it was the mistake of the century when AC Milan sold him to Newcastle.

56: Michael OLISE (Bayern)
There was no shortage of offers when Olise left Crystal Palace. Bayern won the race, and he performed brilliantly in the Bundesliga.

57: Arda GÜLER (Real Madrid)
Huge prospect. It seems Xabi will trust him. He has the potential to be a top 10 player.

58: Nico WILLIAMS (Bilbao)
His ongoing transfer saga with Barcelona for the second straight summer has become a farce. He clearly does not want to leave Bilbao where he is safe with his brother. Fair enough. Has the potential to be a true star.

59: Xavi SIMONS (RB Leipzig)
Coming through the youth system at Barcelona where he was hailed as the next big thing. His progress stagnated when he joined PSG. But he excelled at the 2024 Euro´s and have been a star ever since.


60: Victor GYÖKERES (Sporting)
What a goal machine. I´m not sure many had seen that coming when he played in the English second tier. It seems Arsenal will win the race for his signature and so comes the true test for him. Can he cut it in the Premier League?

61: Hugo EKITIKE (Frankfurt)
Another big money transfer on the horizon. Will it be Liverpool or will it be Newcastle. Regarded as one of the finest talents in France when he joined PSG in 2022. His breakthrough would have to wait until he came to the Bundesliga though.

62: Benjamin SESKO (RB Leipzig)
Another player from the Bundesliga with a huge price tag. A big talent for a couple of years, it now seems that his next move will be a big one.

63: Kai HAVERTZ (Arsenal)
Regarded one of the biggest talents in the world when he broke through at Leverkusen during the 2016-17 season. Almost identical to Wirtz now. Havertz is good – very good. He hasn´t become the player we thought though.

64: Jeremy DOKU (Manchester C)
One of the most fun players to watch. When he is on song he can do everything. Such a joy to watch.

65: MARQUINHOS (Paris SG)
Veteran player but no less influential. Key to PSG´s defense.

66: Fabian RUIZ (Paris SG)
Maybe a little bit underrated. The unsung hero of that Paris midfield.

67: Dominik SZOBOSZLAI (Liverpool)
A little bit inconsistent but when he turns it on a true world class player.

68: Gianluigi DONNARUMMA (Paris SG)
This is the new Buffon – or so everybody said when he broke through at AC Milan as a teenager. He might not have lived fully up to his early promise, but he is still one of the best goalkeepers the world has to offer at present.

69: Ryan CHERKI (Lyon)
We can´t believe that he is still only 21 years old. It feels like he has been around for years. Lauded as the new Zidane as a teenager. Now is his chance to show what he is made of after his transfer to Manchester C.

70: Tijjani REIJNDERS (AC Milan)
True star in that AC Milan midfield. It didn´t go unnoticed as Pep has now brought him to Manchester.

71: Alessandro BASTONI (Inter)
Key defensive performer for both Inter and Italy. One of the stars when Inter knocked Bayern out of the Champions League.

72: Alphonso DAVIES (Bayern)
So hampered by injuries. Every time he gets back into top form he gets injured again. Free of injury he might even be the best left wing-back in the world. He could excel as a pure winger too.


73: Jules KOUNDE (Barcelona)
Excellent player whether at RB or in central defense.

74: Kevin DE BRUYNE (Manchester C)
Winding down his career but what a career. This is a player who has left a legacy which will be talked about in 50 years. He will be in all Team of the Decade in every history book.

75: Martin ZUBIMENDI (Sociedad)
Linked away for a couple of years now. Liverpool, Real Madrid and Arsenal have all been mentioned on numerous occasions. Arsenal has just won the race. It will be very interesting to follow his progression in the Premier League.

76: Kenan YILDIZ (Juventus)
The talents coming out of Turkey is awesome. Yet another huge prospect.

77: Kingsley COMAN (Bayern)
Had it not been for injuries he would have had an even better career. Still a class act in spite of all the injuries.

78: Christian PULISIC (AC Milan)
Performing well in Italy. However, he has not become the player we thought he would be when he first emerged as a teenager in Dortmund.

79: Omar MARMOUSH (Manchester C)
The next Mo Salah? – not quite – not yet anyway. He is elite though.

80: Tony RÜDIGER (Real Madrid)
Controversial but you can´t take away his immense presence in the Madrid defense.

81: Joao PEDRO (Brighton)
Fabulous player at Brighton and coming straight from the beach to be the determine player in CWC is some feat.

82: Cristiano RONALDO (Al-Nassr)
He might be 40. He might have left the most competitive leagues in the world. But he is still the biggest star in the Saudi league where he certainly isn´t the only star anymore.

83: Lionel MESSI (Inter Miami)
Do not get too carried away when you see Messi dribble past 6 opponents in the MLS. No disrespect but you just shouldn´t. He might just be good enough to still have an impact on the European game if he wanted to.

84: Alexander PAVLOVIC (Bayern)
When you can keep a player like Leon Goretzka out of the team you know you are doing something right.

85: Denzel DUMFRIES (Inter)
Excellent going forward. A joy to watch when he comes bursting down that right flank.

86: Pedro NETO (Wolves)
Great winger for Portugal just transferred to Chelsea.

87: Amad DIALLO (Manchester U)
One of the most positive stories from Man Utd in recent memory.

88: FERMIN Lopez (Barcelona)
Can´t quite warrant a starting berth under Flick but is certainly one of the biggest young players around.

89: Marcus THURAM (Inter)
Has taken his game to another level after leaving the Bundesliga for Serie A.

90: Scott MCTOMINAY (Napoli)
Serie A MVP in his first season in Italy. Led Napoli to the Scudetto.

91: Jeremie FRIMPONG (Leverkusen)
Just joined Liverpool as Trent´s successor.

92: Mike MAIGNAN (AC Milan)
Excellent shotstopper linked to numerous clubs around Europe.

93: Nicolas JACKSON (Chelsea)
He just might have lost his place to Joao Pedro. Will be interesting to see if he moves on.

94: Karim ADEYEMI (Dortmund)
Tricky winger. When on song a true gem.


95: Ademola LOOKMAN (Atalanta)
Lauded as a great talent as a teenager playing for Charlton. He needed a coach like Gasperini to get the best out of him and now he looks like the player we expected back then.

96: SAVINHO (Manchester C)
A phenomenal 2023-24 season for Girona saw Pep bring him to Etihad.

97: Jurien TIMBER (Arsenal)
A horrible injury just after he arrived at the Emirates. However, he is now starting to show why Arteta splashed the cash for him.

98: Jonathan DAVID (Lille)
Has been one of the best players in Ligue 1 for a while. After running down his contract the Canadian is now set for Juventus.

99: Dusan VLAHOVIC (Juventus)
Is on the outer at Juventus. He could be a good signing for any club looking for at new no. 9.

100: Thibaut COURTOIS (Real Madrid)
A lot of injuries lately. Fully fit he might still be the best goalkeeper in the world.


BEST XI:

ALISSON – HAKIMI – MENDES – VAN DIJK – SALIBA – VITINHA – BELLINGHAM – YAMAL – SALAH – MBAPPE – HAALAND

LUIS-ENRIQUE (Manager)


GOLDEN BOY:

1: Lamine YAMAL (Barcelona)
2: Desire DOUE (Paris SG)
3: Arda GÜLER (Real Madrid)
4: Kenan YILDIZ (Juventus)
5: Pau CUBARSI (Barcelona)
6: Miles LEWIS-SKELLY (Arsenal)
7: Warren ZAÏRE-EMERY (Paris SG)
8: Ethan NWANERI (Arsenal)
9: Leny YORO (Manchester U)
10: ENDRICK (Real Madrid)
11: Kobbie MAINOO (Manchester U)
12: Dean HUIJSEN (Real Madrid)
13: Claudio ETCHEVERRY (Manchester C)
14: ESTEVAO Willian (Chelsea)
15: Geovany QUENDA (Chelsea)
16: Jorrel HATO (Ajax)
17: Eliesse Ben SEGHIR (Monaco)
18: Mamadou SARR (Strasbourg)
19: Lucas BERGVALL (Tottenham)
20: Antonio NUSA (RB Leipzig)

BEST CLUB TEAM IN EUROPE:

This ranking is a subjective ranking based on: What to expect in the coming season (45%) – How they performed in the previous season (50%) - Overall reputation (5%)


1: Paris SG
2: Liverpool
3: Barcelona
4: Arsenal
5: Real Madrid
6: Manchester C
7: Bayern
8: Inter
9: Chelsea
10: Atletico Madrid
11: Napoli
12: Newcastle
13: Leverkusen
14: Juventus
15: Dortmund
16: PSV
17: Sporting
18: Benfica
19: Galatasaray
20: Marseille
21: Athletic Bilbao
22: Monaco
23: Aston Villa
24: Villarreal
25: Atalanta

 

Well, for starters I will agree that Raphinha should be higher up IF this was the Ballon d´Or or a Player of The Season ranking. Dembele for one should also. However, as you might have read my rankings are NOT The Ballon d´Or or POTY. This is how I believe the world of soccer fans, pundits and journalist regard the players OVERALL - not only based on 2024/25 season.

Would you still say that Raphinha should be higher up knowing the above? I can say for sure that Raphinha is NOT considered better than any of the 14 players I have ranked above him where I come from. However, my rankings should not only reflect the opinion of people where I come from. So, if you tell me that Raphinha is regarded higher where you come from I will certainly consider moving him up when I revise the list.

Thanks for your input - very much appreciated.

 

THE WORLD´S BEST FOOTBALLER 1st AUGUST 1995:

GOLD: George WEAH (Paris SG)
SILVER: Roberto BAGGIO (Juventus)
BRONZE: ROMARIO (Barcelona/Flamengo)

4: Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
5: Hristo STOICHKOV (Barcelona)
6: Michael LAUDRUP (Real Madrid)
7: Eric CANTONA (Manchester U)
8: Dejan SAVICEVIC (AC Milan)
9: Franco BARESI (AC Milan)
10: Alan SHEARER (Blackburn)

11: Peter SCHMEICHEL (Manchester U)
12: Jürgen KLINSMANN (Tottenham)
13: Jari Litmanen (Ajax)
14: Gabriel BATISTUTA (Fiorentina)
15: Marcel DESAILLY (AC Milan)
16: Brian LAUDRUP (Rangers)
17: RONALDO (PSV)
18: Gianfranco ZOLA (Parma)
19: Dennis BERGKAMP (Inter)
20: Gianluca VIALLI (Juventus)

21: Alen BOKSIC (Lazio)
22: Ivan ZAMARANO (Real Madrid)
23: Zvonimir BOBAN (AC Milan)
24: Andreas MÖLLER (Dortmund)
25: Matthias SAMMER (Dortmund)
26: Didier DESCHAMPS (Juventus)
27: Fernando HIERRO (Real Madrid)
28: Paul INCE (Manchester U)
29: Gheorghe HAGI (Barcelona)
30: BEBETO (Deportivo)

31: Roy KEANE (Manchester U)
32: Tony YEBOAH (Frankfurt)
33: Marc OVERMARS (Ajax)
34: Fernando REDONDO (Real Madrid)
35: RAI (Paris SG)
36: Alessandro COSTACURTA (AC Milan)
37: Demetrio ALBERTINI (AC Milan)
38: Carlos DUNGA (Stuttgart)
39: Abel BALBO (Roma)
40: Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)

41: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
42: Faustino ASPRILLA (Parma)
43: Paolo SOUSA (Juventus)
44: Dino BAGGIO (Parma)
45: Vladimir JUGOVIC (Sampdoria)
46: Ruud GULLIT (AC Milan/Sampdoria)
47: Davor SUKER (Sevilla)
48: Youri DJÖRKAEFF (Monaco)
49: Zinedine ZIDANE (Bordeaux)
50: Clarence SEEDORF (Ajax)

51: David PLATT (Sampdoria)
52: Andrei KANCHELSKIS (Manchester U)
53: Jose AMAVISCA (Real Madrid)
54: Josep GUARDIOLA (Barcelona)
55: Fabrizio RAVANELLI (Juventus)
56: Giuseppe SIGNORI (Lazio)
57: Sinisa MIHAILJOVIC (Sampdoria)
58: Jürgen KOHLER (Juventus)
59: Andreas KÖPKE (Frankfurt)
60: Aron WINTER (Lazio)

61: CAFU (Sao Paolo)
62: Manuel RUI COSTA (Fiorentina)
63: ALDAIR (Roma)
64: Roberto CARLOS
65: Fernando COUTO (Parma)
66: Angelo DI LIVIO (Juventus)
67: Andreas HERZOG (Werder Bremen)
68: Luis ENRIQUE (Real Madrid)
69: Miguel Angel NADAL (Barcelona)
70: Roberto DI MATTEO (Lazio)

71: Mario BASLER (Werder Bremen)
72: Steffen FREUND (Dortmund)
73: RIVALDO (Palmeiras)
74: Stan COLLYMORE (Nottingham F)
75: Stefan REUTER (Dortmund)
76: Heiko HERRLICH (Mönchengladbach)
77: CAIO Ribeiro (Sao Paolo)
78: Ciro FERRERA (Juventus)
79: Frank RIJKAARD (Ajax)
80: Luis FIGO (Sporting)

81: Frank DE BOER (Ajax)
82: David GINOLA (Paris SG)
83: Steve MCMANAMAN (Liverpool)
84: Christian KAREMBEU (Nantes)
85: Christian PANUCCI (AC Milan)
86: Darren ANDERTON (Tottenham)
87: JUNINHO (Sao Paolo)
88: DONATO (Deportivo)
89: Chris SUTTON (Blackburn)
90: Laurent BLANC (St. Etienne)

Player of the Season: 1 Weah 2 Litmanen 3 Klinsmann 4 Savicevic 5 Maldini 6 M Laudrup 7 Shearer 8 Vialli 9 Sammer 10 Zola

Overall, Weah would have been a clearer no. 1 if it had been by December 1995. However, he just leaped through in first place already in August. Romario & Baggio both had terrible seasons; however, it was not yet enough to pull them down from the podium.

Michael Laudrup had just won La Liga four times in a row with Barcelona. In the summer of 1994, he transferred to Real Madrid and now he would win La Liga with them. Furthermore, in January 1994 he won 5-0 with Barcelona vs Real but in January 1995 he won 5-0 in El Classico again this time with Real vs Barca. Fair to say he was still a deciding factor in top football.

Baresi was past his peak by now and surpassed by Maldini as the world´s best defender. However, he was still good enough for a top 10 ranking and a place in the best XI.

Cantona was banned in January for his kung-fu kick and consequently Man United lost out to Blackburn in the final day of the Premier League. Cantona was, however, regarded one of the best players around anyway.

Savicevic was maybe the best player in the world at this point. He was, however, way too much injured and his overall reputation suffered due to it.

Klinsmann was likewise past his absolute peak. Anyway he had a phenomenal season in The Premier League.

The next generation was starting to emerge. Ronaldo, Del Piero, Rivaldo, Giggs, Suker, Overmars, Figo, Raul, Zidane, Deschamps, Kluivert and Djörkaeff were just some of the names starting to shine.

BEST TEAM:

SCHMEICHEL – CAFU – MALDINI – BARESI – DESAILLY – SAMMER – DESCHAMPS – STOICHKOV, BAGGIO R, WEAH, ROMARIO
LIPPI (Manager)

GOLDEN BOY:

1: RONALDO (PSV)
2: Robbie FOWLER (Liverpool)
3: RAUL (Real Madrid)

 

What I mean by overall is:

Imagine you get the question "WHO DO YOU CONSIDER THE BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD " and you were to write down the 100 best footballers in order.

I specifically tell you NOT only to consider the newest season (because we have the Ballon d´Or for that). Consider who you would want in your team if you were a manager and could pick whoever you wanted.

Let me give you an example. In 2006 Fabio Cannavaro won the Ballon d´Or as the best player of the season. Was Cannavaro regarded the best player in the world in 2006!? NO he was not. Ronaldinho, Eto´o or Henry were. In 1956 Stanley Matthews won the Ballon d´Or. Was he considered the best player in the world!? No he was not. Di Stefano was. In 2001 Michael Owen won the Ballon d´Or. Was he considered the best player in the world!? No he was not. Zidane was. In 2018 Modric won the Ballon d´Or. But Ronaldo was considered the best player in the world. That´s what I mean by overall. Who was regarded the best player in the world.

 

THE 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS AUGUST 1996:

GOLD: George WEAH (AC Milan)
SILVER: Matthias SAMMER (Dortmund)
BRONZE: Alan SHEARER (Blackburn)

4: RONALDO (PSV)
5: Gabriel BATISTUTA (Fiorentina)
6: Eric CANTONA (Manchester U)
7: ROMARIO (Flamengo)
8: Jürgen KLINSMANN (Bayern)
9: Hristo STOICHKOV (Parma)
10: Michael LAUDRUP (Real Madrid)

11: Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
12: Jari LITMANEN (Ajax)
13: Franco BARESI (AC Milan)
14: Peter SCHMEICHEL (Manchester U)
15: Marcel DESAILLY (AC Milan)
16: Fernando REDONDO (Real Madrid)
17: Youri DJÖRKAEFF (Paris SG)
18: Andreas MÖLLER (Dortmund)
19: Dennis BERGKAMP (Inter)
20: Zinedine ZIDANE (Bordeaux)

21: Roberto BAGGIO (AC Milan)
22: Brian LAUDRUP (Rangers
23: David GINOLA (Newcastle)
24: Fernando HIERRO (Real Madrid)
25: Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
26: Dejan SAVICEVIC (AC Milan)
27: Laurent BLANC (Auxerre)
28: Gianfranco ZOLA (Parma)
29: Gianluca VIALLI (Juventus)
30: Predrag MIJATOVIC (Valencia)

31: Fabrizio RAVANELLI (Juventus)
32: Manuel RUI COSTA (Fiorentina)
33: Davor SUKER (Sevilla)
34: Didier DESCHAMPS (Juventus)
35: Roy KEANE (Manchester U)
36: Paul INCE (Inter)
37: Andreas KÖPKE (Frankfurt)
38: Luis FIGO (Barcelona)
39: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
40: Ivan ZAMORANO (Real Madrid)

41: Marc OVERMARS (Ajax)
42: JUNINHO Paulista (Middlesbrough)
43: Paul GASCOIGNE (Rangers)
44: BEBETO (Deportivo)
45: RIVALDO (Palmeiras)
46: Patrick KLUIVERT (Ajax)
47: Demetrio ALBERTINI (AC Milan)
48: RAUL (Real Madrid)
49: Lilian THURAM (Monaco)
50: Diego SIMEONE (Atletico Madrid)

51: Stefan EFFENBERG (Mönchengladbach)
52: Steve MCMANAMAN (Liverpool)
53: Alessandro COSTACURTA (AC Milan)
54: Ciro FERRERA (Juventus)
55: Tony YEBOAH (Leeds)
56: Alen BOKSIC (Lazio)
57: ALDAIR (Roma)
58: Jürgen KOHLER (Dortmund)
59: LEONARDO (Paris SG)
60: CAFU (Palmeiras)

61: Roberto CARLOS (Inter)
62: Clarence SEEDORF (Sampdoria)
63: Edgar DAVIDS (Ajax)
64: Frank DE BOER (Ajax)
65: Ariel ORTEGA (River Plate)
66: Vladimir JUGOVIC (Juventus)
67: Enrico CHIESA (Sampdoria)
68: Nwankwo KANU (Ajax)
69: Jose Luis CAMINERO (Atletico Madrid)
70: Christian KAREMBEU (Sampdoria)

71: Fernando COUTO (Parma)
72: Robert PROSINECKI (Barcelona)
73: Julen GUERRERO (Bilbao)
74: Sonny ANDERSON (Monaco)
75: Pavel NEDVED (Sparta Prague)
76: Ronald DE BOER (Ajax)
77: Aron WINTER (Lazio)
78: Milinko PANTIC (Atletico Madrid)
79: Luc NILIS (PSV)
80: Angelo PERUZZI (Juventus)

81: Zvonimir BOBAN (AC Milan)
82: Finidi GEORGE (Ajax)
83: Michael REIZIGER (Ajax)
84: Mehmet SCHOLL (Bayern)
85: Giovane ELBER (Bayern)
86: Thomas HÄSSLER (Karlsruhe)
87: Edwin VAN DER SAR (Ajax)
88: Paolo SOUSA (Juventus)
89: Christian PANUCCI (AC Milan)
90: Christian ZIEGE (Bayern)

91: Dietmar HAMANN (Bayern)
92: Jose Luis CHILAVERT (Velez Sarsfield)
93: Roberto DI MATTEO (Lazio)
94: Bixente LIZARAZU (Bordeaux)
95: Robert JARNI (Betis)
96: Juan Antonio PIZZI (Tenerife)
97: Steffen FREUND (Dortmund)
98: Robbie FOWLER (Liverpool)
99: Philippe ALBERT (Newcastle)
100: KIKO (Atletico Madrid)

In Serie A Fabio Capello led AC Milan to another title. The star on show was now George Weah. However, this AC Milan side was world class from top to bottom with the likes of Panucci, Maldini, Baresi, Desailly, Costacurta, Albertini, Savicevic and Baggio. They also had young talents like Vieira, Coco and Ambrosini coming through. Juventus came second and they had a formidable team as well as they won the Champions League with the likes of Peruzzi, Ferrera, Deschamps, Vierchowod, Paolo Sousa, Vialli, Jugovic, Del Piero and Ravanelli. This was Del Piero´s breakthrough. Protti and Signori led the scoring chart, but it was more Batistuta and Chiesa people talked about as being the best strikers around. The was – or at least very close to Batistuta´s peak.

In England Eric Cantona returned from his ban and almost singlehandedly (with a little help from some world class stops from Peter Schmeichel) led Man United past a furious Keegan in Newcastle. Cantona was better than ever and even neutrals in England (and France) thought he was one of the best players in the world by now.

In Germany Dortmund was the best side by now led by Matthias Sammer and Andreas Möller. In France Auxerre won the Championship led by Laurent Blanc. However, the best player in France was Youri Djorkaeff. In every Euro 1996 preview he was being labelled as the player to watch from France.

In La Liga Atletico Madrid finally broke the Real- Barca duopoly and ran away with the title. Their star player was Milinko Pantic, however his peak was very short. In fact, it was limited to this season only. Molina, Simeone, Caminero, Penev and Kiko also played their part.


BEST XI:

1: SCHMEICHEL: Köpke, Seaman, Chilavert, Peruzzi and Van der Sar all had a shout but overall, there was no touching Schmeichel.

2: THURAM: Thuram was not yet at his peak, however he was the best RB – just. Cafu was close. Ciro Ferrera would have troubled him, but he had been shifted to central defense by now.

3: MALDINI: No one was close. Roberto Carlos, Frank de Boer and Lizarazu were emerging.

4: SAMMER: Baresi had retired from the NT. He was, however, still regarded one of the best. But there was no one beating Sammer. Laurent Blanc was next in line.

5: DESAILLY: Desailly was still primarily used as a defensive midfielder. I have, however, shifted him to central defense in this team - if not Costacurta, Ferrera, Aldair and Fernando Couto were next.

6: REDONDO: A wonderful deep lying playmaker nearing his peak. Fernando Hierro was next in line or if the team needed a work horse, it would be Deschamps.

8: LITMANEN: Top scorer in the Champions League and the talisman of this formidable Ajax team.

7: CANTONA: He was highly regarded throughout all his seasons in Manchester. This was, however, his peak. Never before and never again was he this highly regarded. One of the best players ever in the Premier League.

10: WEAH: The best player in the world at this stage so he takes centre stage.

9: SHEARER: The best pure striker in the world at this stage. However, Bastistuta was very close.

11: STOICHKOV: Past he very peak but he was still one of the best players in the world.

Manager: LIPPI: Lippi gets the nod. He was considered the best manager in the world in August 1996. Capello, Van Gaal and Hitzfeld were his main rivals.


GOLDEN BOY:

1: RONALDO (PSV)
2: Patrick KLUIVERT (Ajax)
3: RAUL (Real Madrid)
4: Clarence SEEDORF (Sampdoria)
5: Nwankwo KANU (Ajax)