The 50 Best Footballers

Yes certainly. In fact, I had Lama originally but then I came up with some names which I just HAD to include and then Lama was omitted. That was deliberately but probably a mistake. I will put Lama back when I revise the list.

 

Thanks as always @PDG1978. Very nice input.

In fact, I initially had written off Stoichkov as of 1995. Then I read some articles somewhere which called him one of the best players in the world still. I don´t remember him as being one of the best anymore by 1996 but I felt I had to rely on these articles. But I will surely listen to your advice and move him further down the list which can AND will be revised. I have many things during the years which I will revise later on.

Bergkamp was of course an Arsenal player by 1996.

Francescoli - yes initially it was not a mistake that I omitted him. I had written him off by 1996. After some research I must admit that I was wrong. He will surely come in. He will even get in at around no. 25-30.

Stojkovic. He was written off as well. I remember people talking about him in 1996 as he had raised his level again. I´m not sure that will enough for me to reconsider him. Maybe I´m wrong but at this moment he stays outside top 100.

Well about my rankings in general you have always understood what I have being trying to do. Many think it´s my version of the Ballon d´Or or my version of the very fine work done by @comme, @Titanlux, @Tom Stevens and others ranking the best players in every season. But as you for one has understood it´s NOT what my rankings are about. I try my best NOT to let my own opinion showing through but that is of course sometimes a little bit hard. But the rankings should NOT be my opinion. It should be a worldwide (or at least a European opinion). If it seems like my own opinion shows through it´s probably only because there are some players/leagues/national teams that I know a little bit more about than others.

 

TOP 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS AUGUST 1997

GOLD: RONALDO (Barcelona)
SILVER: Zinedine ZIDANE (Juventus)
BRONZE: Alan SHEARER (Newcastle)

4: Gabriel BATISTUTA (Fiorentina)
5: George WEAH (AC Milan)
6: Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
7: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
8: Dennis BERGKAMP (Arsenal)
9: Roberto CARLOS (Real Madrid)
10: Marcel DESAILLY (AC Milan)

11: Youri DJÖRKAEFF (Inter)
12: Davor SUKER (Real Madrid)
13: Luis FIGO (Barcelona)
14: Clarence SEEDORF (Real Madrid)
15: Gianfranco ZOLA (Chelsea)
16: RAUL (Real Madrid)
17: RIVALDO (Deportivo)
18: Didier DESCHAMPS (Juventus)
19: Fernando REDONDO (Real Madrid)
20: Fernando HIERRO (Real Madrid)

21: Predrag MIJATOVIC (Real Madrid)
22: Peter SCHMEICHEL (Manchester U)
23: ROMARIO (Valencia/Flamengo)
24: Edgar DAVIDS (AC Milan)
25: David BECKHAM (Manchester U)
26: Lilian THURAM (Parma)
27: Roy KEANE (Manchester U)
28: Laurent BLANC (Barcelona)
29: Jari LITAMANEN (Ajax)
30: Eric CANTONA (Manchester U)

31: CAFU (Palmeiras)
32: Brian LAUDRUP (Rangers)
33: Andreas MÖLLER (Dortmund)
34: Ariel ORTEGA (River Plate/Valencia)
35: JUNINHO Paulista (Middlesbrough)
36: Steve MCMANAMAN (Liverpool)
37: Matthias SAMMER (Dortmund)
38: Paul INCE (Inter)
39: Christian VIERI (Juventus)
40: Jürgen KLINSMANN (Bayern)

40: Pavel NEDVED (Lazio)
41: Patrick KLUIVERT (Ajax)
42: Oliver BIERHOFF (Udinese)
43: Marc OVERMARS (Ajax)
44: Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
45: Robbie FOWLER (Liverpool)
46: Fabio CANNAVARO (Parma)
47: Alessandro NESTA (Lazio)
48: Roberto DI MATTEO (Chelsea)
49: Angelo PERUZZI (Juventus)
50: Demetrio ALBERTINI (AC Milan)

51: Alessandro COSTACURTA (AC Milan)
52: Pep GUARDIOLA (Barcelona)
53: Dino BAGGIO (Parma)
54: Hernan CRESPO (Parma)
55: Marcelo SALAS (River Plate)
56: Ibrahim BA (Bordeaux)
57: Filippo INZAGHI (Atalanta)
58: Christian KAREMBEU (Sampdoria)
59: GIOVANNI (Barcelona)
60: Luis ENRIQUE (Barcelona)

61: Diego SIMEONE (Atletico Madrid)
62: Giuseppe SIGNORI (Lazio)
63: Emmanuel PETIT (Monaco)
64: Sonny ANDERSON (Monaco)
65: Enrico CHIESA (Parma)
66: Juan Sebastian VERON (Sampdoria)
67: Ciro FERRERA (Juventus)
68: Giovane ELBER (Stuttgart)
69: FINIDI George (Betis)
70: Mario BASLER (Bayern)

71: Sol CAMPBELL (Tottenham)
72: ALFONSO (Betis)
73: Mauro SILVA (Deportivo)
74: Alen BOKSIC (Juventus)
75: Robert JARNI (Betis)
76: Jose Luis CAMINERO (Atletico Madrid)
77: Christian ZIEGE (Bayern)
78: Paolo SERGIO (Leverkusen)
79: Ulf KIRSTEN (Leverkusen)
80: Krassimir BALAKOV (Stuttgart)

81: Angelo DI LIVIO (Juventus)
82: Vladimir JUGOVIC (Juventus)
83: Frank DE BOER (Ajax),
84: Javier ZANETTI (Inter)
85: Ciriaco SFORZA (Inter)
86: Jocelyn ANGLOMA (Inter)
87: Jose Antonio CHAMOT (Lazio)
88: Vincenzo MONTELLA (Sampdoria)
89: Viktor IKPEBA (Monaco)
90: LEONARDO (PSG)

91: Claude MAKELELE (Nantes)
92: Ibrahim BA (Bordeaux)
93: Pierre LAIGLE (Sampdoria)
94: Christophe DUGARRY (AC Milan)
95: Andreas KÖPKE (Marseille)
96: Darius WOSZ (Bochum)
97: Gheorghe HAGI (Galatasaray)
98: Roberto BAGGIO (AC Milan)
99: Michael LAUDRUP (Vissel Kobe)
100: Patrick VIEIRA (Arsenal)

Very nearly: Fernando MORIENTES (Zaragoza), Kily Gonzales (Zaragoza), Gustavo POYET (Zaragoza), JARDEL (FC Porto), Edwin VAN DER SAR (Ajax), Frank DE BOER (Ajax), Philip COCU (PSV) Michael REIZIGER (Barcelona), Luc NILIS (PSV),Fabrizio RAVANELLI (Middlesbrough), Bixente LIZARAZU (Bilbao), SERGI Barjuan (Barcelona), Fabien BARTHEZ (Monaco), Fernando COUTO (Barcelona)



1: PETER SCHMEICHEL:
Still, first choice goalkeeper in the world in most people’s view. Not all, of course, but most. Peruzzi was closest but also Barthez, Kahn, Van der Sar, Köpke and Chilavert had a shout.

2: LILIAN THURAM:
Still primarily a right back and still world-class. Cafu was by far his main rival. Gary Neville, Panucci, Zanetti and Reiziger were others.

3: ROBERTO CARLOS:
The clear no. 1 at LB after a hugely successful season. Even if you count Maldini as a LB Carlos would still be the pick. Lizarazu, Sergi and Ziege next.

4: PAOLO MALDINI:
Maldini stays in the team – now as a CB. Blanc, Hierro, Costacurta, Ferrera and Kohler were the main rivals. But also emerging as future world-class contenders were Cannavaro, Nesta and Sol Campbell

5: MARCEL DESAILLY:
Sure choice. His main rivals are the same as Maldini´s of course.

6: DIDIER DESCHAMPS:
Redondo was still world-class but had a minor dip due to injuries. So, in comes Didier. Davids, Keane, Sousa, Petit, Vieira, Albertini, Simeone and Guardiola were others who aspired to a place on the bench.

7: ZINEDINE ZIDANE:
Not quite his peak yet, but he was seen as the world´s best playmaker by now.

8: CLARENCE SEEDORF:
Glorious season and now considered one of the best midfielders around.

9: ALAN SHEARER:
Still the deadliest striker around and still with Batistuta as his main rival. He had just suffered a horrible injury just weeks before but that wouldn´t keep him out of this teamsheet yet. Now that I have Ronaldo in my team I probably should have picked a winger instead - and if so it would be Figo. But if Shearer could play with Sutton and Ferdinand he could also play with Ronaldo.

10: RONALDO:
Not since 1986 did we see a clearer no. 1 in the world. It couldn´t be discussed at this point. People were already talking about a potential future GOAT.

11: ALESSANDRO DEL PIERO:
Was starting to look like one of the absolute best players in the world. Roberto Baggio was no longer missed.

M: MARCELO LIPPI
Still seen as the best manager in the world. Hitzfeld and Ferguson were next.

GOLDEN BOY:

1: RAUL (Real Madrid)
2: DENILSON (Sao Paolo)
3: ADAILTON (Guarani)
4: Thierry HENRY (Monaco)
5: David TREZEGEUT (Monaco)
6: Gianluigi BUFFON (Parma)
7: Joseba ETXEBERRIA (Bilbao)

 

Well, I actually agree. Stoichkov could act like a wide player. When I saw Barca he very often came in from the right. But I overvalued Stoichkov by 1996 so he will lose his place in the team regardless of he could play wide or not.

I also agree not to put Redondo at no. 6 without a workhorse beside/in front of him. That´s why I suggested to put Deschamps in instead. Your suggestion with Desailly and Blanc is surely valid too. I might do that.

That being said the most important thing for me in my work with this project is the Top 100 (and more specifically the top 50). The work of putting together a team is not something I value too much. It´s just a small side note.

 

THE WORLD´S BEST FOOTBALLERS AUGUST 1998:

GOLD: RONALDO (Inter)
SILVER: Zinedine ZIDANE (Juventus)
BRONZE: RIVALDO (Barcelona)

4: Dennis BERGKAMP (Arsenal)
5: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
6: Gabriel BATISTUTA (Fiorentina)
7: Davor SUKER (Real Madrid)
8: Christian VIERI (Atletico Madrid)
9: Luis FIGO (Barcelona)
10: Edgar DAVIDS (Juventus)

11: Roberto BAGGIO (Bologna)
12: Roberto CARLOS (Real Madrid)
13: Marcel DESAILLY (AC Milan)
14: Lilian THURAM (Parma)
15: Manuel RUI COSTA (Fiorentina)
16: Laurent BLANC (Marseille)
17: Michael OWEN (Liverpool)
18: RAUL (Real Madrid)
19: Didier DESCHAMPS (Juventus)
20: George WEAH (AC Milan)

21: Alan SHEARER (Newcastle)
22: Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
23: Fernando HIERRO (Real Madrid)
24: Fernando REDONDO (Real Madrid)
25: David BECKHAM (Manchester U)
26: Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
27: Juan Sebastian VERON (Sampdoria)
28: Brian LAUDRUP (Rangers)
29: Marc OVERMARS (Arsenal)
30: Oliver BIERHOFF (Udinese)

31: Youri DJORKAEFF (Inter)
32: Carlos DUNGA (Iwata)
33: Fabio CANNAVARO (Parma)
34: Alessandro NESTA (Lazio)
35: David GINOLA (Tottenham)
36: Pavel NEDVED (Lazio)
37: Ariel ORTEGA (Valencia)
38: Emmanuel PETIT (Arsenal)
39: Patrick KLUIVERT (AC Milan)
40: Peter SCHMEICHEL (Manchester U)


41: Tony ADAMS (Arsenal)
42: CAFU (Roma)
43: Frank DE BOER (Ajax)
44: Oliver KAHN (Bayern)
45: Edwin VAN DER SAR (Ajax)
46: Patrick VIEIRA (Arsenal)
47: Roy KEANE (Manchester U)
48: Marcelo SALAS (River Plate)
49: Paul INCE (Liverpool)
50: Predrag MIJATOVIC (Real Madrid)

51: ROMARIO (Valencia/Flamengo)
52: Steve MCMANAMAN (Liverpool)
53: Fabien BARTHEZ (Monaco)
54: Jürgen KLINSMANN (Sampdoria/Tottenham)
55: Michael LAUDRUP (Ajax)
56: Jaap STAM (PSV)
57: BEBETO (Botafogo)
58: Filippo INZAGHI (Juventus)
59: Javier ZANETTI (Inter)
60: Vincenzo MONTELLA (Sampdoria)

61: Diego SIMEONE (Inter)
62: Ciriaco SFORZA (Kaiserslautern)
63: Jay-Jay OKOCHA (Fenerbache)
64: Sol CAMPBELL (Tottenham)
65: Bixente LIZARAZU (Bayern)
66: LEONARDO (AC Milan)
67: SAVIO (Real Madrid)
68: Christian KAREMBEU (Real Madrid)
69: Matias ALMEYDA (Lazio)
70: Claudio LOPEZ (Valencia)

71: Dejan STANKOVIC (Lazio)
72: Thierry HENRY (Monaco)
72: Aron WINTER (Inter)
73: Stephane ZIANI (Lens)
74: Stefan EFFENBERG (Mönchengladbach)
75: Alessandro COSTACURTA (AC Milan)
76: Demetrio ALBERTINI (AC Milan)
77: Dino BAGGIO (Parma)
78: Olaf THON (Schalke)
79: Ulf KIRSTEN (Leverkusen)
80: Hakan SÜKÜR (Galatasaray)

81: ALDAIR (Roma)
82: Gheorghe HAGI (Galatasaray)
83: Jimmy Floyd HASSELBAINK (Leeds United)
84: Cesar SAMPAIO (Yokohama)
85: DENILSON (Sao Paolo)
86: Vladimir JUGOVIC (Lazio)
87: Roberto AYALA (Napoli)
88: Angelo PERUZZI (Juventus)
89: Luis ENRIQUE (Barcelona)
90: Jose Luis CHILAVERT (Velez)

91: Luigi DI BIAGIO (Roma)
92: Boudewijn ZENDEN (PSV)
93: Sergio CONCEICAO (FC Porto)
94: Darko KOVACEVIC (Sociedad)
95: David TREZEGEUT (Monaco)
96: Sergei REBROV (Dinamo Kiev)
97: Andriy SHEVCHENKO (Dynamo Kiev)
98: Ivan DE LA PENA (Barcelona)
99: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
100: Mehmet SCHOLL (Bayern)

Close: Heinrich, Guivarc´h, Cocu, Jardel, Exteberria, Sergi, Mihaijlovic.


BEST XI:


PETER SCHMEICHEL:
He was nearing the end as a top goalkeeper. I still think most people regarded him as the overall best in the world. He should have stopped at least one of Rivaldo´s two goals in the WC quarter-final though. Kahn was very close. So was Van der Sar, Peruzzi, Barthez and Chilavert.

LILIAN THURAM:
He was considered world-class even before the World Cup. His performances in France that summer and especially his brace vs Croatia cemented his status.

ROBERTO CARLOS:
Not only the best LB in the world but also one of the best players in the world overall.

MARCEL DESAILLY:
Now firmly a centre-back and even the world´s best centre-back.

LAURENT BLANC:
For a period, this French partnership between Desailly and Blanc was seen as the world´s best. Hierro, Nesta, Cannavaro, Maldini, Stam and Frank de Boer were not far off though. Mihaijlovic and Aldair could even be mentioned too.

DIDIER DESCHAMPS:
If not before then surely now was Deschamps considered the best no. 6 in world football.

EDGAR DAVIDS:
Like Deschamps this was his absolute peak. He was now one of the best players in the world.

RIVALDO:
Moving onto the overall podium and with a brace vs Denmark in the WC quarter final. He was now a superstar.

ZINEDINE ZIDANE:
He was good by this stage – very good – world-class in fact. But his brace in the World Cup final somewhat flattered his overall perception. He was NOT the best yet. This was NOT yet his peak.

DENNIS BERGKAMP:
He led The Gunners to the Premier League title. He scored a legendary goal in the WC vs Argentina (from a legendary pass from Frank de Boer). He was now the player we thought he would be when he emerged at Ajax and was sold to Inter.

RONALDO:
The finest player the world had to offer at this stage. Don´t give me he was outscored by Bierhoff in Serie A, by Suker at the World Cup, by Guivarc´h in the Uefa Cup. Ronaldo was (by far) the best player on the planet in August 1998.

MARCELLO LIPPI:
Lippi wins it again. He was still considered the best manager in the world. But he sure had competition from Ferguson, Wenger, Hitzfeld, Jacquet and not least Van Gaal.


GOLDEN BOY:

1: Michael OWEN (Liverpool)
2: Gianluigi BUFFON (Parma)
3: Harry KEWELL (Leeds United)
4: Nicola VENTOLA (Bari)
5: Nicolas ANELKA (Arsenal)

 

THE WORLD´S BEST FOOTBALLERS AUGUST 1999:

GOLD: RONALDO (Inter)
SILVER: RIVALDO (Barcelona)
BRONZE: Zinedine ZIDANE (Juventus)

4: Luis FIGO (Barcelona)
5: David BECKHAM (Manchester U)
6: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
7: Gabriel BATISTUTA (Fiorentina)
8: RAUL (Real Madrid)
9: Roberto CARLOS (Real Madrid)
10: Christian VIERI (Lazio)

11: Hernan CRESPO (Parma)
12: Andriy SHEVCHENKO (Dynamo Kiev)
13: Juan Sebastian VERON (Parma)
14: Marcel DESAILLY (Chelsea)
15: Dennis BERGKAMP (Arsenal)
16: Roy KEANE (Manchester U)
17: Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
18: Edgar DAVIDS (Juventus)
19: Lilian THURAM (Parma)
20: Clarence SEEDORF (Real Madrid)

21: Dwight YORKE (Manchester U)
22: Nicola ANELKA (Arsenal)
23: Michael OWEN (Liverpool)
24: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
25: Patrick KLUIVERT (Barcelona)
26: Marcelo SALAS (Lazio)
27: Alan SHEARER (Newcastle)
28: Jaap STAM (Manchester U)
29: Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
30: Alessandro NESTA (Lazio)

31: CAFU (Roma)
32: Fernando REDONDO (Real Madrid)
33: Patrick VIEIRA (Arsenal)
34: Pavel NEDVED (Lazio)
35: Marc OVERMARS (Arsenal)
36: Manuel RUI COSTA (Fiorentina)
37: Oliver KAHN (Bayern)
38: Stefan EFFENBERG (Bayern)
39: Laurent BLANC (Marseille)
40: Didier DESCHAMPS (Juventus)

41: Fabio CANNAVARO (Parma)
42: Sol CAMPBELL (Tottenham)
43: Emmanuel PETIT (Arsenal)
44: Peter SCHMEICHEL (Manchester U)
45: Frank DE BOER (Barcelona)
46: Bixente LIZARAZU (Bayern)
47: Tony ADAMS (Arsenal)
48: Thierry HENRY (Arsenal)
49: Fernando HIERRO (Real Madrid)
50: Fabien BARTHEZ (Monaco)

51: Marcio AMOROSO (Parma)
54: Claudio LOPEZ (Valencia)
55: Gaizka MENDIETA (Valencia)
56: Edwin VAN DER SAR (Ajax)
57: EMERSON (Leverkusen)
58: Luis ENRIQUE (Barcelona)
59: Nwanko KANU (Arsenal)

60: David GINOLA (Tottenham)
61: Robert PIRES (Marseille)
62: Jari LITMANEN (Ajax)
63: Diego SIMEONE (Inter)
64: Kily GONZALEZ (Valencia)
65: Giovane ELBER (Bayern)
66: ALDAIR (Roma)
67: Santiago CANIZARES (Valencia)
68: Fernando MORIENTES (Real Madrid)
69: Andy COLE (Manchester U)

70: Paul SCHOLES (Manchester U)
71: Phillip COCU (Barcelona)
72: ZE ROBERTO (Leverkusen)
73: Ariel ORTEGA (Parma)
74: Javier ZANETTI (Inter)
75: Claude MAKELELE (Celta Vigo)
76: Walter SAMUEL (Boca Juniors)
77: Mario JARDEL (FC Porto)
78: David TREZEGEUT (Monaco)
79: DJALMINHA (Deportivo
80: SAVIO (Real Madrid)

80: RIQUELME (Boca Juniors)
81: Sylvain WILTORD (Bordeaux)
82: FLAVIO Conceicao (Deportivo)
83: Michael REIZIGER (Barcelona)
84: Franck LEBOUEF (Chelsea)
85: Gustavo POYET (Chelsea)
86: Rio FERDINAND (West Ham)
87: Dietmar HAMANN (Newcastle)
88: Robbie FOWLER (Liverpool)
89: Christian ZIEGE (AC Milan)
90: Jay-Jay OKOCHA (Paris SG)

91: Mauro SILVA (Deportivo)
92: Jens JEREMIES (Bayern)
93: Ulf KIRSTEN (Leverkusen)
94: Mario BASLER (Bayern)
95: Markus BABBEL (Bayern)
96: Ciriaco SFORZA (Kaiserslautern)
97: Tore Andre FLO (Chelsea)
98: Harry KEWELL (Leeds United)
99: Martin PALERMO (Boca Juniors)
100: Zlatko ZAHOVIC (FC Porto)


1: OLIVER KAHN – BAYERN
Kahn had overtaken Schmeichel by now. Strange as this was Schmeichel most successful season of them all, but he was ageing. Barthez, Van der Sar and Canizares were next.

2: LILIAN THURAM – PARMA
His status after World Cup 98 was still huge.

3: ROBERTO CARLOS – REAL MADRID
Probably the most secure of them all on the team sheet.

4: MARCEL DESAILLY – CHELSEA
Still just ahead of Stam, Nesta, Maldini, Cannavaro, Hierro and Campbell as the world´s best CB

5: JAAP STAM – MANCHESTER U
Some would say Nesta but coming off his Treble season he was slightly ahead.

6: ROY KEANE – MANCHESTER U
That legendary performance in Turin just gave him the edge. Vieira was starting to push for a place with some epic battles with Keane coming up. If you could see Davids as a no. 6, it could have been him. Redondo was still huge.

7: DAVID BECKHAM – MANCHESTER U
Becks moves inside to make room for Figo at RW. Just as he would do 4-5 years later in Madrid and just as he did in the Cl final win over Münich. He was a global super star by now.

8: ZINEDINE ZIDANE – JUVENTUS
Zidane takes LW. One of the best players in the world but still one year away from his absolute peak.

9: RONALDO – INTER
He had not had one of his serious knee injuries yet. However, he was injured a lot during 1998/99. When fit still arguably the finest player in the world which 14 goals in just 19 Serie A games proves.

10: RIVALDO – BARCELONA
The Ballon d´Or winner later that year. He was Top 3 in the world by now.

11: LUIS FIGO – BARCELONA
Like Zidane one year away from absolute super stardom. He was in the Top 4 already though.


BENCH: SCHMEICHEL – CAFU – LIZARAZU – NESTA – MALDINI – DAVIDS – VERON – RAUL – GIGGS - BATISTUTA – DEL PIERO

MANAGER: ALEX FERGUSON – MANCHESTER U

GOLDEN BOY:

1: Nicola ANELKA (Arsenal)
2: Michael OWEN (Liverpool)
3: RONALDINHO (Gremio)
4: Pablo AIMAR (River Plate)
5: XAVI Hernandez (Barcelona)
6: SIMAO Sabrosa (Sporting)
7: Damien DUFF (Blackburn)
8: Hugo LEAL (Benfica)
9: Aldo DUSCHER (Sporting)
10: Javier SAVIOLA (River Plate)

 

1990´s OVERVIEW:


AUGUST 1990:

BEST PLAYERS: 1. MATTHAUS 2. VAN BASTEN 3 MARADONA
BEST GK: ZENGA
BEST DEFENDER: BARESI
BEST DEFENSIVE/BOX TO BOX MID: MATTHAUS
BEST WINGER/ATTACKING MID: MARADONA
BEST STRIKER: VAN BASTEN
GOLDEN BOY: CAFU
BEST MANAGER: SACCHI
BEST NATIONAL TEAM: GERMANY
BEST CLUB TEAM: AC MILAN

AUGUST 1991:

BEST PLAYERS: 1 MATTHAUS 2 VAN BASTEN 3 PAPIN
BEST GK: ZENGA
BEST DEFENDER: BARESI
BEST DEFENSIVE/BOX TO BOX MID: MATTHAUS
BEST WINGER/ATTACKING MID: PROSINECKI
BEST STRIKER: VAN BASTEN
GOLDEN BOY: DINO BAGGIO
BEST MANAGER: SACCHI
BEST NATIONAL TEAM: GERMANY
BEST CLUB TEAM: AC MILAN

AUGUST 1992:

BEST PLAYERS: 1 VAN BASTEN 2 LAUDRUP M 3 STOICHKOV
BEST GK: SCHMEICHEL
BEST DEFENDER: BARESI
BEST DEFENSIVE/BOX TO BOX MID: RIJKAARD
BEST WINGER/ATTACKING MID: LAUDRUP
BEST STRIKER: VAN BASTEN
GOLDEN BOY: GIGGS
BEST MANAGER: CRUYFF
BEST NATIONAL TEAM: GERMANY
BEST CLUB TEAM: BARCELONA


AUGUST 1993:

BEST PLAYERS: 1 BAGGIO 2 BERGKAMP 3 LAUDRUP M
BEST GK: SCHMEICHEL
BEST DEFENDER: BARESI
BEST DEFENSIVE/BOX TO BOX MID: RIJKAARD
BEST WINGER/ATTACKING MID: LAUDRUP
BEST STRIKER: BAGGIO
GOLDEN BOY: GIGGS
BEST MANAGER: CAPELLO
BEST NATIONAL TEAM: GERMANY
BEST CLUB TEAM: BARCELONA


AUGUST 1994:

BEST PLAYERS: 1 ROMARIO 2 BAGGIO 3 STOICHKOV
BEST GK: SCHMEICHEL
BEST DEFENDER: BARESI
BEST DEFENSIVE/BOX TO BOX MID: DESAILLY
BEST WINGER/ATTACKING MID: HAGI
BEST STRIKER: ROMARIO
GOLDEN BOY: ORTEGA
BEST MANAGER: CAPELLO
BEST NATIONAL TEAM: BRAZIL
BEST CLUB TEAM: AC MILAN

AUGUST 1995:

BEST PLAYERS: 1 WEAH 2 BAGGIO 3 ROMARIO
BEST GK: SCHMEICHEL
BEST DEFENDER: MALDINI
BEST DEFENSIVE/BOX TO BOX MID: DESAILLY
BEST WINGER/ATTACKING MID: SAVICEVIC
BEST STRIKER: WEAH
GOLDEN BOY: RONALDO
BEST MANAGER: LIPPI
BEST NATIONAL TEAM: BRAZIL
BEST CLUB TEAM: AC MILAN

AUGUST 1996:

BEST PLAYERS: 1 WEAH 2 SHEARER 3 RONALDO
BEST GK: SCHMEICHEL
BEST DEFENDER: SAMMER
BEST DEFENSIVE/BOX TO BOX MID: REDONDO
BEST WINGER/ATTACKING MID: LITMANEN
BEST STRIKER: WEAH
GOLDEN BOY: RONALDO
BEST MANAGER: LIPPI
BEST NATIONAL TEAM: GERMANY
BEST CLUB TEAM: JUVENTUS


AUGUST 1997:

BEST PLAYERS: 1 RONALDO 2 ZIDANE 3 SHEARER
BEST GK: SCHMEICHEL
BEST DEFENDER: MALDINI
BEST DEFENSIVE/BOX TO BOX MID: DESCHAMPS
BEST WINGER/ATTACKING MID: ZIDANE
BEST STRIKER: RONALDO
GOLDEN BOY: RAUL
BEST MANAGER: LIPPI
BEST NATIONAL TEAM: BRAZIL
BEST CLUB TEAM: JUVENTUS


AUGUST 1998:

BEST PLAYERS: 1 RONALDO 2 ZIDANE 3 RIVALDO
BEST GK: BARTHEZ
BEST DEFENDER: ROBERTO CARLOS
BEST DEFENSIVE/BOX TO BOX MID: DAVIDS
BEST WINGER/ATTACKING MID: ZIDANE
BEST STRIKER: RONALDO
GOLDEN BOY: OWEN
BEST MANAGER: LIPPI
BEST NATIONAL TEAM: FRANCE
BEST CLUB TEAM: JUVENTUS

AUGUST 1999:

BEST PLAYERS: 1 RONALDO 2 RIVALDO 3 ZIDANE
BEST GK: KAHN
BEST DEFENDER: ROBERTO CARLOS
BEST DEFENSIVE/BOX TO BOX MID: KEANE
BEST WINGER/ATTACKING MID: RIVALDO
BEST STRIKER: RONALDO
GOLDEN BOY: ANELKA
BEST MANAGER: FERGUSON
BEST NATIONAL TEAM: FRANCE
BEST CLUB TEAM: MANCHESTER U

1990s BEST TEAM:

SCHMEICHEL – CAFU – MALDINI – DESAILLY – BARESI – RIJKAARD – REDONDO – BAGGIO – LAUDRUP – RONALDO – BATISTUTA

BENCH – B-TEAM
VAN DER SAR – THURAM – ROBERTO CARLOS – HIERRO – BLANC – DESCHAMPS – MATTHAUS – SEEDORF – ZIDANE – BERGKAMP – SHEARER – WEAH

LIPPI

HIGHEST PEAK

1 RONALDO 1997+1998
2 ROMARIO 1994
3 BAGGIO 1993
4 VAN BASTEN 1992
5 LAUDRUP 1992+1993
6 BAGGIO 1994
7 WEAH 1996
8 MATTHAUS 1991
9 RIVALDO 1999
10 ZIDANE 1998

 

THE WORLD´S BEST FOOTBALLER AUGUST 2000:

GOLD: Zinedine ZIDANE (Juventus)
SILVER: Luis FIGO (Barcelona)
BRONZE: RIVALDO (Barcelona)

4: RONALDO (Inter)
5: David BECKHAM (Manchester U)
6: Andriy SHEVCHENKO (AC Milan)
7: Gabriel BATISTUTA (Fiorentina)
8: RAUL (Real Madrid)
9: Hernan CRESPO (Parma)
10: Christian VIERI (Inter)

11: Juan Sebastian VERON (Lazio)
12: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
13: Roy KEANE (Manchester U)
14: Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
15: Edgar DAVIDS (Juventus)
16: Patrick VIEIRA (Arsenal)
17: Roberto CARLOS (Real Madrid)
18: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
19: Patrick KLUIVERT (Barcelona)
20: Thierry HENRY (Arsenal)

21: Michael OWEN (Liverpool)
22: Marcel DESAILLY (Chelsea)
23: Alessandro NESTA (Lazio)
24: Manuel RUI COSTA (Fiorentina)
25: Gaizka MENDIETA (Valencia)
26: Pavel NEDVED (Lazio)
27: Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
28: Jaap STAM (Manchester U)
29: Lilian THURAM (Juventus)
30: CAFU (Roma)

31: Fernando REDONDO (Real Madrid)
32: Marc OVERMARS (Arsenal)
33: David TREZEGEUT (Juventus)
34: Dwight YORKE (Manchester U)
35: Jimmy Floyd HASSELBAINK (Atletico Madrid)
36: Fabio CANNAVARO (Parma)
37: Paul SCHOLES (Manchester U)
38: Stefan EFFENBERG (Bayern)
39: Emmanuel PETIT (Arsenal)
40: Clarence SEEDORF (Real Madrid/Inter)

41: Youri DJORKAEFF (Kaiserslautern)
42: Dennis BERGKAMP (Arsenal)
43: Nicolas ANELKA (Real Madrid)
44: Hidetoshi NAKATA (Perugia)
45: Filippo INZAGHI (Juventus)
46: Oliver KAHN (Bayern)
47: Fernando HIERRO (Real Madrid)
48: Frank DE BOER (Barcelona)
49: Fabien BARTHEZ (Monaco)
50: RIQUELME (Boca Juniors)

51: Harry KEWELL (Leeds)
52: Sol CAMPBELL (Tottenham)
53: Gianluigi BUFFON (Parma)
54: DJALMINHA (Deportivo)
55: Jay-Jay OKOCHA (Paris SG)
56: EMERSON (Leverkusen)
57: Sinisa MIHAIJLOVIC (Lazio)
58: Claude MAKELELE (Celta Vigo)
59: Pep GUARDIOLA (Barcelona)
60: Laurent BLANC (Inter)

61: Javier ZANETTI (Inter)
62: Fernando MORIENTES (Real Madrid)
63: Marcelo SALAS (Lazio)
64: Edwin VAN DER SAR (Juventus)
65: Mario JARDEL (FC Porto)
66: Philip COCU (Barcelona)
67: Claudio LOPEZ (Valencia)
68: FLAVIO Conceicao (Deportivo)
69: Pablo AIMAR (River Plate)
70: Savo MILOSEVIC (Zaragoza)

71: Kily GONZALEZ (Valencia)
72: GUTI (Real Madrid)
73: Mauro SILVA (Deportivo)
74: Walter SAMUEL (Boca Juniors)
75: Jens JEREMIES (Bayern)
76: Bixente LIZARAZU (Bayern)
77: Steve MCMANAMAN (Real Madrid)
78: Michael REIZIGER (Barcelona)
79: Vincenzo MONTELLA (Roma)
80: Dino BAGGIO (Parma)

81: Nuno GOMES (Benfica)
83: SAVIO (Real Madrid)
84: GERARD Lopez (Valencia)
85: Paolo SERGIO (Bayern)
86: Santiago CANIZARES (Valencia)
87: Francesco TOLDO (Fiorentina)
88: Sylvain WILTORD (Bordeaux)
89: Roy MAKAAY (Deportivo)
90: VAMPETA (Corinthians)


91: Ruud VAN NISTELROOY (PSV)
92: Diego TRISTAN (Mallorca)
93: SALVA Ballesta (Santander)
94: Sonny ANDERSON (Lyon)
95: Brian LAUDRUP (Ajax)
96: Johan MICOUD (Bordeaux)
97: Dietmar HAMANN (Liverpool)
98: Michael BALLACK (Leverkusen)
99: Sergio CONCEICAO (Lazio)
100: Allesio TACCHINARDI (Juventus)


BEST XI:


1: OLIVER KAHN
He was a fearsome giant in Bayern´s goal. There might be shouts for Barthez and in some corners he was regarded as the world´s best but where I come from, he was seen as way too mistake prone and Kahn had the edge. Had Van der Sar not flopped at Juventus he would clearly be no. 1 as he was the one with the biggest potential. And then there was Buffon. Unfortunately, he was injured and missed the Euro´s where Toldo excelled instead.


LILIAN THURAM
Cafu vs Thuram? it´s a toss-up. I´ll go with Thuram as he was the pretty clear consensus pick from where I come from.

ROBERTO CARLOS
I do not believe Maldini (when deployed as a LB) could trouble him at this stage.

MARCEL DESAILLY
Ageing and a little past his peak. However, The Euro´s did secure him his spot in this team for one last time.

ALESSANDRO NESTA
Nesta vs Stam. It´s pretty much the same toss-up as Cafu and Thuram. Where I come from, Stam was the pick in August 2000, however, I think Nesta just might have sneaked in front of Stam globally.

ROY KEANE
Ever wondered when exactly Roy Keane peaked? This was it. He was immense.

JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON
This could have been Davids or Vieira. They were both world-class. However, this was Veron´s peak and so he must warrant a place in the team. At his peak he was unplayable.

RIVALDO
The third best player in the world at this stage. Had he not fallen out with Van Gaal over his position in the line-up (Rivaldo wanted to play centrally whereas Van Gaal saw him as a LW) he might even had taken first spot. He was unplayable at times.

LUIS FIGO
No need to mention the transfers saga which made Figo the world´s most expensive player. Had Zidane not delivered the second-best Tournament performance in my lifetime in the Euro´s, Figo might even had taken first spot.

ZINEDINE ZIDANE
Exclude Diego´s 1986 WC and I haven´t seen anything like what Zidane did at Euro 2000 (not even Platini in 1984). I was in awe. I think the whole world was.

RONALDO
Had not played a match since November 1999, however, he was still seen as the world´s best player when fit and people still expected him to come back to his best.

ALEX FERGUSON
Fergie build three legendary teams during his 27 years at Man United. This was probably the peak of his second team and United was arguably even better in 2000 than they were during The Treble season the year before.

GOLDEN BOY:

1: RONALDINHO (Gremio)
2: Robbie KEANE (Coventry)
3: Tomas ROSICKY (Sparta Prague)
4: Iker CASILLAS (Real Madrid)
5: Sebastian DEISLER (Hertha Berlin)
6: EMRE Belözoglu (Galatasaray)

 

WORLD´S BEST FOOTBALLERS - AUGUST 2001

GOLD: Zinedine ZIDANE (Juventus)
SILVER: Luis FIGO (Real Madrid)
BRONZE: RIVALDO (Barcelona)

4: RAUL (Real Madrid)
5: Andriy SHEVCHENKO (AC Milan)
6: Hernan CRESPO (Lazio)
7: Christian VIERI (Inter)
8: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
9: David BECKHAM (Manchester U)
10: Patrick VIEIRA (Arsenal)

11: Michael OWEN (Liverpool)
12: Thierry HENRY (Arsenal)
13: Gabriel BATISTUTA (Roma)
14: RONALDO (Inter)
15: Roy KEANE (Manchester U)
16: Roberto CARLOS (Real Madrid)
17: Pavel NEDVED (Lazio)
18: Juan Sebastian VERON (Lazio)
19: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
20: Gaizka MENDIETA (Valencia)

21: Alessandro NESTA (Lazio)
22: Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
23: Oliver KAHN (Bayern)
24: David TREZEGEUT (Juventus)
25: Stefan EFFENBERG (Bayern)
26: Ruud VAN NISTELROOY (PSV)
27: Edgar DAVIDS (Juventus)
28: CAFU (Roma)
29: Lilian THURAM (Parma)
30: Patrick KLUIVERT (Barcelona)

31: Jaap STAM (Manchester U)
32: Fabio CANNAVARO (Parma)
33: Manuel RUI COSTA (Fiorentina)
34: Marc OVERMARS (Barcelona)
35: Jimmy Floyd HASSELBAINK (Chelsea)
36: Diego TRISTAN (Deportivo)
37: Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
38: Fernando HIERRO (Real Madrid)
39: Claude MAKELELE (Real Madrid)
40: Filippo INZAGHI (Juventus)

41: Sol CAMPBELL (Tottenham)
42: Mehmet SCHOLL (Bayern)
43: Robert PIRES (Arsenal)
44: Nicolas ANELKA (Paris SG)
45: Fernando MORIENTES (Real Madrid)
46: Michael BALLACK (Leverkusen)
47: Juan Roman RIQUELME (Boca Juniors)
48: Pablo AIMAR (River Plate/Valencia)
49: Walter SAMUEL (Roma)
50: Roberto AYALA (Valencia)

51: Steven GERRARD (Liverpool)
52: Rio FERDINAND (Leeds)
53: Youri DJORKAEFF (Kaiserslautern)
54: Giovane ELBER (Bayern)
55: Mario JARDEL (Galatasaray)
56: Roy MAKAAY (Deportivo)
57: Frank DE BOER (Barcelona)
58: Mark VIDUKA (Leeds)
59: Paul SCHOLES (Manchester U)
60: Harry KEWELL (Leeds)

61: Marcel DESAILLY (Chelsea)
62: Gianluigi BUFFON (Parma)
63: Fabien BARTHEZ (Manchester U)
64: Santiago CANIZAREZ (Valencia)
65: Emmanuel PETIT (Barcelona)
66: Ivan HELGUERA (Real Madrid)
67: Ruben BARAJA (Valencia)
68: Alex TACCHINARDI (Juventus)
69: Freddie LJUNGBERG (Arsenal)
70: Juan Pablo SORIN (Cruzeiro)

71: Luis ENRIQUE (Barcelona)
72: Juan Carlos VALERON (Deportivo)
73. Sami HYYPIÄ (Liverpool)
74: Alvaro RECOBA (Inter)
75: Olivier DACOURT (Leeds)
76: Steve McMANAMAN (Real Madrid)
77: Sonny ANDERSON (Lyon)
78: Laurent ROBERT (PSG)
79: Claudio PIZARRO (Werder Bremen)
80: Stefano FIORE (Udinese)

81: Damiano TOMMASSI (Roma)
82: DJALMINHA (Deportivo)
83: Henrik LARSSON (Celtic)
84: Javier SAVIOLA (River Plate)
85: Vincenzo MONTELLA (Roma)
86: Enrico CHIESA (Fiorentina)
87: Finidi GEORGE
88: GUTI (Real Madrid)
89: Cristiano DONI (Atalanta)
90: Mateja KEZMAN (PSV)

91: Jon DAHL TOMASSON (Feyenoord)
92: SYLVINHO (Arsenal)
93: Paolo MONTERO (Juventus)
94: Lee BOWYER (Leeds)
95: Alan SMITH (Leeds)
96: Mark VAN BOMMEL (PSV)
97: Kevin HOFLAND (PSV)
98: Eric CARRIERE (Nantes)
99: Carles PUYOL (Barcelona)
100: Ian HARTE (Leeds)

BEST XI:


GK: OLIVER KAHN (Bayern)
World´s best goalkeeper – it couldn´t be discussed at this stage.

RB: CAFU (Roma)
In the football communities I touched upon we still said Thuram. However, I think the global consensus said Cafu.

LB: ROBERTO CARLOS (Real Madrid)
He wasn´t just the best LB. In was in the running as the best in the world overall.

CB: ALESSANDRO NESTA (Lazio)
He has now reached a level and a hype where he can´t be touched as the best central defender in the world.

CB: JAAP STAM (Manchester U)
Unfortunately, he was injured for the second part of the season, but he was still regarded as the best of the rest. This was just before Cannavaro took over. Arsenal had turned Sol Campbell´s head so he didn´t have the best of season for Spurs. Anyway, Campbell was in the running for a spot in the team.

DM: PATRICK VIEIRA (Arsenal)
What a player! The best defensive midfielder the Premier League has ever seen, and this was arguably his best season in his entire career. One of the first players in this team sheet. It took a great deal to keep Roy Keane out of the team.

AM: ZINEDINE ZIDANE (Juventus)
Zidane wasn´t player of the season for sure. But he was still regarded as the best player on the planet and so Real Madrid broke the world record transfer fee to get him.

RW: LUIS FIGO (Real Madrid)
His last truly world class season but was still the second-best player in the world and so he won FIFA Player of the Year. He prevents Beckham from entering the team – but only just!

LW: RIVALDO (Barcelona)
He will take the spot as LW even if he was back to his central position with Barca. He could change places with Zidane. Still the third best player in the world. Anyone remembers 17th June 2001 at Camp Nou? I do.

ST: RAUL (Real Madrid)
Only because he was up against three legendary players in their prime didn´t he win the 2001 award. This was his peak, and he would never get closer to first spot than this.

ST: ANDRIY SHEVCHENKO (AC Milan)
In the footsteps of Marco Van Basten, AC Milan had yet again the best pure striker in the world. Shevchenko was pushed to the brink of surrendering his spot to Crespo, Vieri, Henry, Owen, Batistuta and Ronaldo though.

MA: ALEX FERGUSON (Manchester U)
Ottmar Hitzfeld might be the manager of the season. However, Fergie was still reigning supreme as the best overall.


GOLDEN BOY:

1: Javier SAVIOLA (River Plate)
2: Samuel ETO´O (Mallorca)
3: Djibril CISSE (Auxerre)
4: Ike CASILLAS (Real Madrid)
5: Maxi RODRIGUEZ (Newells Olds Boys)
6: Fabricio COLOCCINI (Boca Juniors)
7: Andres D´ALESSANDRO (River Plate)

 

THE WORLD´S BEST FOOTBALLERS SUMMER 2002:

GOLD: RONALDO (Inter)
SILVER: Zinedine ZIDANE (Real Madrid)
BRONZE: RIVALDO (Barcelona)

4: Thierry HENRY (Arsenal)
5: David BECKHAM (Manchester U)
6: RAUL (Real Madrid)
7: Luis FIGO (Real Madrid)
8: Michael BALLACK (Leverkusen)
9: RONALDINHO (Paris SG)
10: Alessandro NESTA (Lazio)

11: Oliver KAHN (Bayern)
12: Roberto CARLOS (Real Madrid)
13: Andriy SHEVCHENKO (AC Milan)
14: Christian VIERI (Inter)
15: Ruud VAN NISTELROOY (Manchester U)
16: David TREZEGEUT (Juventus)
17: Hernan CRESPO (Lazio)
18: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
19: Patrick VIEIRA (Arsenal)
20: Roy KEANE (Manchester U)

21: Robert PIRES (Arsenal)
22: Michael OWEN (Liverpool)
23: Gianluigi BUFFON (Juventus)
24: Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
25: Pavel NEDVED (Juventus)
26: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)
27: Diego TRISTAN (Deportivo)
28: Edgar DAVIDS (Juventus)
29: CAFU (Roma)
30: Filippo INZAGHI (AC Milan)

31: Fabio CANNAVARO (Parma)
32: Sol CAMPBELL (Arsenal)
33: Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
34: LUCIO (Leverkusen)
35: Lilian THURAM (Juventus)
36: Claude MAKELELE (Real Madrid)
37: Patrick KLUIVERT (Barcelona)
38: Juan Sebastian VERON (Manchester U)
39: Fernando MORIENTES (Real Madrid)
40: Miroslav KLOSE (Werder Bremen)

41: Manuel RUI COSTA (AC Milan)
42: Paul SCHOLES (Manchester U)
43: Clarence SEEDORF (Inter)
44: Rio FERDINAND (Leeds)
45: Walter SAMUEL (Roma)
46: Juan Carlos VALERON (Deportivo)
47: Marcio AMOROSO (Dortmund)
48: Roberto AYALA (Valencia)
49: Steven GERRARD (Liverpool)
50: Juan Roman RIQUELME (Boca Juniors)

51: Carles PUYOL (Barcelona)
52: Marcel DESAILLY (Chelsea)
53: Jaap STAM (Lazio)
54: Ashley COLE (Arsenal)
55: Gianluca ZAMBROTTA (Juventus)
56: Fernando HIERRO (Real Madrid)
57: EMERSON (Roma)
58: Freddie LJUNGBERG (Arsenal)
59: Nicola ANELKA (Liverpool)
60: Harry KEWELL (Leeds)

61: Roy MAKAAY (Deportivo)
62: Ruben BARAJA (Valencia)
63: Alan SHEARER (Newcastle)
64: Jimmy Floyd HASSELBAINK (Chelsea)
65: Bernd SCHNEIDER (Leverkusen)
66: Pablo AIMAR (Valencia)
67: Juan Pablo SORIN (Cruzeiro/Lazio)
68: El Hadji DIOUF (Lens)
69: Marc OVERMARS (Barcelona)
70: Ricardo CARVALHO (FC Porto)

71: Gabriel BATISTUTA (Roma)
72: Damien DUFF (Blackburn)
73: Gilberto SILVA (Atletico Mineiro)
74: Jay-Jay OKOCHA (Paris SG)
75: Pedro PAULETA (Bordeaux)
76: Sylvain WILTORD (Arsenal)
77: XAVI (Barcelona)
78: Iker CASILLAS (Real Madrid)
79: Javier ZANETTI (Inter)
80: DECO (FC Porto)

81: Marc VAN BOMMEL (PSV)
82: Gennaro GATTUSO (AC Milan)
83: Jon Dahl TOMASSON (Feyenoord)
84: Samuel ETO´O (Mallorca)
85: Ivan HELGUERA (Real Madrid)
86: Stefan EFFENBERG (Bayern)
87: Sami HYYPIÄ (Liverpool)
88: Frank DE BOER (Barcelona)
89: Gaizka MENDIETA (Lazio)
90: Mark VIDUKA (Leeds)

91: Mario JARDEL (Sporting)
92: Henrik LARSSON (Celtic)
93: Owen HARGREAVES (Bayern)
94: Yildiray BASTÜRK (Leverkusen)
95: Hakan SÜKÜR (Parma)
96: Roque SANTA CRUZ (Bayern)
97: Sonny ANDERSON (Lyon)
98: Djibril CISSE (Auxerre)
99: Javier SAVIOLA (Barcelona)
100: Christian CHIVU (Ajax)

BEST XI:

OLIVER KAHN – BAYERN
His World Cup 2002 performance was one of the best tournament performances for a goalkeeper ever. Even without his World Cup exploits, he was already considered the best. Buffon was pushing though.

CAFU – ROMA
I actually wrote down this team on the day 1st August 2002. Cafu is the only change I have made to the team I wrote down back then. In the team I wrote down back then I had Puyol at RB. Not to say Puyol is wrong. It couldn´t have been since I wrote it down. It just seems from my research that the consensus opinion would say Cafu.

ROBERTO CARLOS – REAL MADRID
Still by far the best LB in the world in August 2002 coming off a stellar WC.

ALESSANDRO NESTA – LAZIO
The best defender in the world at this point. It was pretty clear, I think.

FABIO CANNAVARO – PARMA
How about for a wealth of names to choose from for at spot at CB next to Nesta. It could have been Maldini, Campbell, Samuel, Ayala, Ferdinand, Lucio, Thuram, Desailly or Stam. I chose Cannavaro because all these CB were so equally regarded and so I trust the one I wrote down as it happened back in 2002.

PATRICK VIEIRA – ARSENAL
Flopped at the World Cup and maybe his reputation took a slight hit from it, but he was still the best in his position.


MICHAEL BALLACK – LEVERKUSEN
Three runners-up medals as Leverkusen came second in the Bundesliga and lost the CL final to THAT Zidane goal and lost the WC final to Brazil. But a new star was born.

DAVID BECKHAM – MANCHESTER U
People love to say nowadays that he is one of the most overrated players ever. But it´s a fact he was indeed regarded one of the world’s finest players in 2002. England´s talisman when they needed magic vs Greece in October 2001.

ZINEDINE ZIDANE – REAL MADRID
It might be a bit harsh to remove him as the world’s best player. He could have kept first place. I think it was a matter of opinion between him and Ronaldo after the WC. Going into the World Cup (where he was injured in the first two games before France crashed out in the group stages) he was surely still no. one but the WC somewhat changed that.

THIERRY HENRY – ARSENAL
Considered the best striker in the world going into the WC. Unfortunately, he flopped at the WC and consequently his reputation took a little hit. But it was not enough to remove him from this team. His absolute peak had started.

RONALDO - INTER
In the summer of 2000 people still expected Ronaldo to come back from his injuries to rule the world. Some still expected it in the summer of 2001. But by March 2002 not many believed it anymore and if these rankings were made in March, he probably wouldn´t even be in the top 100. But the WC immediately transcended him back into superstardom. For many he was the best in the world again and then he of course needed to become a Galactico.

BENCH: BUFFON – PUYOL – COLE – MALDINI – CAMPBELL – KEANE – NEDVED – FIGO – RIVALDO – SHEVCHENKO – RAUL

MANAGER – MARCELO LIPPI – JUVENTUS
Fergie was still in the running even if his United team had a slight dip. Wenger was probably the one who came closest to beating Lippi. Del Bosque and Scolari were also in conversation about being best in the world.


GOLDEN BOY:

1: Antonio CASSANO (Roma)
2: Rafael VAN DER VAART (Ajax)
3: ADRIANO (Inter/Fiorentina)
4: Fernando TORRES (Atletico Madrid)
5: Jose Antonio REYES (Seville)
6: Alberto GILARDINO (Verona)
7: MIDO (Ajax)
8: Philippe MEXES (Auxerre)
9: Hugo VIANA (Sporting)
10: Ricardo QUARESMA (Sporting)
11: KAKA (Sao Paolo)
12: Helder POSTIGA (FC Porto)

 

THE 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS AUGUST 2003

GOLD: Zinedine ZIDANE (Real Madrid)
SILVER: Thierry HENRY (Arsenal)
BRONZE: RONALDO (Real Madrid)

4: Ruud VAN NISTELROOY (Manchester U)
5: Pavel NEDVED (Juventus)
6: RONALDINHO (PSG)
7: David BECKHAM (Manchester U)
8: RAUL (Real Madrid)
9: Roberto CARLOS (Real Madrid)
10: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)

11: Michael BALLACK (Bayern)
12: Christian VIEIRI (Inter)
13: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
14: Luis FIGO (Real Madrid)
15: Patrick VIEIRA (Arsenal)
16: Andriy SHEVCHENKO (AC Milan)
17: Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
18: Edgar DAVIDS (Juventus)
19: Roy KEANE (Manchester U)
20: Alessandro NESTA (AC Milan)

21: Michael OWEN (Liverpool)
22: Robert PIRES (Arsenal)
23: Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
24: David TREZEGEUT (Juventus)
25: Filippo INZAGHI (AC Milan)
26: Roy MAKAAY (Deportivo)
26: Gianluigi BUFFON (Juventus)
27: Paul SCHOLES (Manchester U)
28: Sol CAMPBELL (Arsenal)
29: ADRIANO (Parma)
30: Adrian MUTU (Parma)

31: Lilian THURAM (Juventus)
32: Claude MAKELELE (Real Madrid)
33: DECO (FC Porto)
34: Clarence SEEDORF (AC Milan)
35: Rio FERDINAND (Manchester U)
36: Roberto AYALA (Valencia)
37: Andrea PIRLO (AC Milan)
38: Steven GERRARD (Liverpool)
39: LUCIO (Leverkusen)
40: Walter SAMUEL (Roma)

41: CAFU (Roma)
42: Carles PUYOL (Barcelona)
43: EMERSON (Roma)
44: Gennaro GATTUSO (AC Milan)
45: Manuel RUI COSTA (AC Milan)
46: Mark VIDUKA (Leeds)
47: Alan SHEARER (Blackburn)
48: Hernan CRESPO (Inter)
49: Ashley COLE (Arsenal)
50: Patrick KLUIVERT (Barcelona)

51: Pablo AIMAR (Valencia)
52: Xabi ALONSO (Sociedad)
53: Jaap STAM (Lazio)
54: Mateja KEZMAN (PSV)
55: Giovane ELBER (Bayern)
56: Harry KEWELL (Leeds)
57: Damien DUFF (Blackburn)
58: Fabio CANNAVARO (Inter)
59: Javier ZANETTI (Inter)
60: Juan Sebastian VERON (Manchester U)

61: JUNINHO Pernambucano (Lyon)
62: Juan Carlos VALERON (Deportivo)
63: Ivan HELGUERA (Real Madrid)
64: Dejan STANKOVIC (Lazio)
65: NIHAT Kahveci (Sociedad)
66: Darko KOVACEVIC (Sociedad)
67: Rafael VAN DER VAART (Ajax)
68: Philippe MEXES (Auxerre)
69: Sonny ANDERSON (Lyon)
70: Ludovic GUILY (Monaco)

71: RIQUELME (Barcelona)
72: JOAQUIN (Betis)
73: Alessio TACCHINARDI (Juventus)
74: Ruben BARAJA (Valencia)
75: Miroslav KLOSE (Kaiserslautern)
76: Valeri KARPIN (Sociedad)
77: Andy VAN DER MEYDE (Ajax)
78: Jose Antonio REYES (Sevilla)
79: TIAGO Mendes (Benfica)
80: Christian CHIVU (Ajax)

81: Frank LAMPARD (Chelsea)
82: VICENTE (Valencia)
83: Ricardo CARVALHO (FC Porto)
84: Pedro PAULETA (Bordeaux)
85: Sylvain WILTORD (Arsenal)
86: MARCELINHO (Hertha Berlin)
87: Tomas ROSICKY (Dortmund)
88: Francesco TOLDO (Inter)
89: Olivier DACOURT (Leeds)
90: MANICHE (FC Porto)

91: Bixente LIZARAZU (Bayern)
92: Oliver KAHN (Bayern)
93: Henrik LARSSON (Celtic)
94: Iker CASILLAS (Real Madrid)
95: Didier DROGBA (Marseille)
96: Javier DE PEDRO (Sociedad)
97: Daniel VAN BUYTEN (Marseille)
98: EMRE B (Inter)
99: Jerome ROTHEN (Monaco)
100: Roberto BAGGIO (Brescia)



GOLDEN BOY:


1: Rafael VAN DER VAART (Ajax)
2: Wayne ROONEY (Everton)
3: Arjen ROBBEN (PSV)
4: Fernando TORRES (Atletico Madrid)
5: Cristiano RONALDO (Sporting)
6: Carlos TEVEZ (Boca Juniors)
7: Ricardo QUARESMA (Sporting)
8: ROBINHO (Santos)
9: Robin VAN PERSIE (Feyenoord)
10: DIEGO (Santos)



BEST XI:

GIANLUIGI BUFFON – JUVENTUS
Buffon had now dethroned Kahn as the best in the world between the sticks.

LILIAN THURAM – JUVENTUS
He primarily played as a CB for Juve at this stage. However, most people still saw him as the best RB in the world.

ROBERTO CARLOS – REAL MADRID
Still the undisputed King of the LB position.

ALESSANDRO NESTA – AC MILAN
The Worlds best defender.

PAOLO MALDINI - AC MILAN
No signs of slowing down. There has never been a time in history where the football world has been so spoiled for choice at CB. So, it´s a testament to his class that he could still be in this team as a 35-year old.

PATRICK VIEIRA – ARSENAL
It could have been Keane. It could have been Davids. Some might even argue for Baraja or Makelele or even Albelda. Vieira it is.


ZINEDINE ZIDANE – REAL MADRID
This was his last year as the number one in the world. He would stay among the elite for three more years, but this was his last as the very best.

DAVID BECKHAM – MANCHESTER U
Certainly not all agree that he should still be here, but he is.

PAVEL NEDVED – JUVENTUS
Developing into one of the finest footballers around. In fact, Juve had almost never missed Zidane because of Nedved.

RONALDO – REAL MADRID
Fine first season for Madrid. You could see that this was not the 1996-1998 version of Ronaldo. But he was still world class and seen as the best player in the world when truly fit and on form. His standing ovation at Old Trafford was a testament to that.

THIERRY HENRY – ARSENAL
His absolute peak had begun. The best player the English Premier League has ever seen.

MANAGER: ALEX FERGUSON
Though his United team went out of the Champions League to the Galacticos many felt United was the best team in Europe. It could have been Lippi, Ancelotti or Wenger though.

 

Thanks a lot mate. I´ve put a lot of effort and countless hours through multiple years into this, so it is of course nice to get so kind words from people. Thank you!

My first peek into football was the World Cup 1982 in Spain and I´ve been a huge fan of the sport ever since. I quickly got fond of all kinds of rankings and as I`m also very interested in history in general I really like working with this.

I mainly got the idea to do this project around 6-7 years ago and it was primarily because I´ve felt for many years that the The Ballon d´Or is flawed. The Ballon d´Or mainly awards the best players from the best team in only the past season. The Ballon d´Or doesn´t tell you anything about who are/was regarded the best individual players in the world. I´ve always hated that fact and that is why I came up with this idea to rank the players based on how the general football fans, pundits and journalists around the world saw it at the time (NOT in hindsight). For me it´s way more fun and more true to history than the Ballon d´Or.

If someone in 2040 asks you "Who was the best player of the 1980s?" you can look at the Ballon d´Or and say "Well, Platini won three Ballon d´Ors in row, so he must have been". Well - WRONG. Someone could ask "Who was the best player in the world in 2001" and you could answer "Well, Michael Owen won the Ballon d´Or so he must have been" - WRONG again. My rankings will hopefully answer these questions more true to history - or that is at least the idea.

Regarding your comments about consistency I would say that all years especially these early years have been adjusted a bit since I posted them due to comments from various people but also due to the fact that I continue to research and thus getting more knowledgeable by the week. I will of course look into your specific comments and maybe adjust accordingly.

 

THE 100 BEST FOOTBALLERS AUGUST 2004

GOLD: Thierry HENRY (Arsenal)
SILVER: RONALDINHO (Barcelona)
BRONZE: Zinedine ZIDANE (Real Madrid)

4: Andriy SHEVCHENKO (AC Milan)
5: RONALDO (Real Madrid)
6: Pavel NEDVED (Juventus)
7: Ruud VAN NISTELROOY (Manchester U)
8: Francesco TOTTI (Roma)
9: Alessandro NESTA (AC Milan)
10: Patrick VIEIRA (Arsenal)

11: Michael BALLACK (Bayern)
12: Robert PIRES (Arsenal)
13: Luis FIGO (Real Madrid)
14: RAUL (Real Madrid)
15: Roberto CARLOS (Real Madrid)
16: David Beckham (Real Madrid)
17: DECO (FC Porto)
18: Edgar DAVIDS (Juventus/Barcelona)
19: Roy KEANE (Manchester U)
20: Gianluigi BUFFON (Juventus)

21: Roy MAKAAY (Bayern)
22: Sol CAMPBELL (Arsenal)
23: Ryan GIGGS (Manchester U)
24: ADRIANO (Parma)
25: KAKA (AC Milan)
26: Frank LAMPARD (Chelsea)
27: Steven GERRARD (Liverpool)
28: Didier DROGBA (Marseille)
29: CAFU (AC Milan)
30: Alessandro DEL PIERO (Juventus)

31: Clarence SEEDORF (AC Milan)
32: Roberto AYALA (Valencia)
33: Walter SAMUEL (Roma)
34: JUNINHO Pernambucano (Lyon)
35: Paolo MALDINI (AC Milan)
36: Carles PUYOL (Barcelona)
37: Rio FERDINAND (Manchester U)
38: Gennaro GATTUSO (AC Milan)
39: Andrea PIRLO (AC Milan)
40: Ashley COLE (Arsenal)

41: Ruben BARAJA (Valencia)
42: Iker CASILLAS (Real Madrid)
43: Michael OWEN (Liverpool)
44: Christian VIERI (Inter)
45: Claude MAKELELE (Chelsea)
46: EMERSON (Roma)
47: Paul SCHOLES (Manchester U)
48: VICENTE (Valencia)
49: Lilian THURAM (Juventus)
50: David TREZEGEUT (Juventus)

51: LUCIO (Bayern)
52: Pablo AIMAR (Valencia)
53: Samuel ETO´O (Mallorca)
54: Jaap STAM (Lazio)
55: Juan Carlos VALERON (Deportivo)
56: Wayne ROONEY (Everton)
57: Xabi ALONSO (Sociedad)
58: Ludovic GUILY (Monaco)
59: Antonio CASSANO (Roma)
60: Cristiano RONALDO (Manchester U)

61: MANICHE (FC Porto)
62: Christian CHIVU (Roma)
63: Johan MICOUD (Werder Bremen)
64: Alberto GILARDINO (Parma)¨
65: Julio BAPTISTA (Sevilla)
66: Mateja KEZMAN (PSV)
67: Djibril CISSE (Auxerre)
68: AILTON (Werder Bremen)
69: Javier ZANETTI (Inter)
70: Alan SHEARER (Newcastle)

71: Ricardo CARVALHO (FC Porto)
72: Henrik LARSSON (Celtic)
73: Gilberto SILVA (Arsenal)
74: David ALBELDA (Valencia)
75: Dennis BERGKAMP (Arsenal)
76: Fabio CANNAVARO (Inter)
77: Oliver KAHN (Bayern)
78: Gianluca ZAMBROTTA (Juventus)
79: RIQUELME (Villarreal)
80: Ze ROBERTO (Bayern)

81: Edwin VAN DER SAR (Fulham)
82: Freddie LJUNGBERG (Arsenal)
83: John TERRY (Chelsea)
84: Fernando MORIENTES (Monaco)
85: Nicola ANELKA (Manchester C)
86: Carlos TEVEZ (Boca Juniors)
87: Rafael VAN DER VAART (Ajax)
88: RIVALDO (CRUZEIRO)
89: Paolo FERREIRA (FC Porto)
90: XAVI Hernandez (Barcelona)
91: William GALLAS (Chelsea)

92: Arjen ROBBEN (PSV)
93: Fernando TORRES (Atletico Madrid)
94: NIHAT KAHVECI (Sociedad)
95: COSTINHA (FC Porto)
96: Jerome ROTHEN (Monaco)
97: Damien DUFF (Chelsea)
98: Adrian MUTU (Chelsea)
99: Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC (Ajax)
100: Michael ESSIEN (Lyon)


BEST XI:

GIANLUIGI BUFFON – JUVENTUS
Untouchable at this point. Casillas was in fact the best player of the disappointing star-studded Real Madrid side this season, however it was nowhere enough to dismantle Buffon.

CAFU – AC MILAN
Past his peak but still the best. Paolo Ferreira of FC Porto was the most talked about this summer though.

ROBERTO CARLOS – REAL MADRID
Now, also past his peak but he too was still the best.

ALESSANDRO NESTA – AC MILAN
Still the best defender in the world. No questions asked. However, he didn´t look world class at the Riazor when his AC Milan side was brushed aside by Deportivo in the Champions League.

SOL CAMPBELL – ARSENAL
In my humble opinion this was his peak. He had been world class or thereabouts for years but now he was invincible. Maybe underrated outside England but I promise you he was immense.

PATRICK VIEIRA – ARSENAL
The best defensive midfielder the Premier League has ever seen. He was so good that he was even able to play box-to-box.

ZINEDINE ZIDANE – REAL MADRID
Past his peak and now declining. Still the talisman of the Galacticos and their leader though.

PAVEL NEDVED – JUVENTUS
Fresh off his Ballon d´Or in 2003 he was still one of the best players alive.

RONALDINHO - BARCELONA
He was huge already before the season. The second part of the 2003/2004 was absolutely out of this world. The most fun player to watch in my lifetime. What a joy.

ANDRIY SHEVCHENKO – AC MILAN
His injury riddled 2002/2003 season had people questioning him a bit. Back with a vengeance in 2003/2004 and now in the conversation of being the best player in the world outright.

THIERRY HENRY - ARSENAL
In flew over from Denmark and was in the stands at Highbury 9th April 2004. If you do not know what happened, look it up on YouTube. The best player in the world at this stage. For a fan who did not support him at the time it says it all.

BENCH:

CASILLAS – FERREIRA – COLE – AYALA – SAMUEL – DAVIDS – BALLACK – PIRES – TOTTI – RONALDO – VAN NISTELROOY


MANAGER: ARSENE WENGER
Wenger is the pick of a very strong group of world-class managers. Ferguson, Mourinho, Hitzfeld, Lippi and Ancelotti were all in the mix.

GOLDEN BOY:

1: Wayne ROONEY (Everton)
2: Cristiano RONALDO (Manchester U)
3: Carlos TEVEZ (Boca Juniors)
4: Arjen ROBBEN (PSV)
5: Fernando TORRES (Atl. Madrid)