Top 250 Footballers (1950- )

CAMEROON - 8

HM BELL, Joseph-Antoine (GK)
HM N'KONO, Thomas (GK)
HM SONGO'O, Jacques (GK)
HM LAUREN (RB)
HM ANGUISSA, Frank (BB)
HM ABEGA, Théophile (AM)
HM MILLA, Roger (SS)
T150 ETO'O, Samuel (ST)

ECUADOR - 8

HM PACHO, Willian (CB)
HM VALENCIA, Antonio (RB)
HM CAICEDO, Moisés (DM)
HM AGUINAGA, Álex (AM)
HM BOLAÑOS, Jorge (AM)
HM MÉNDEZ, Édison (AM)
T150 SPENCER, Alberto (ST)
HM VALENCIA, Enner (ST)

SWITZERLAND - 8

HM SOMMER, Yann (GK)
HM HENCHOZ, Stéphane (CB)
HM SFORZA, Ciriaco (CM)
HM XHAKA, Granit (CM)
HM SHAQIRI, Xherdan (TQ)
HM FATTON, Jacques (LW)
HM HÜGI, Josef (SS)
HM CHAPUISAT, Stéphane (ST)

TURKEY - 8

HM ÇALHANOĞLU, Hakan (CM)
HM ŞAHIN, Nuri (CM)
HM BAŞTÜRK, Yıldıray (AM)
HM TURAN, Arda (LW)
HM KÜÇÜKANDONYADIS, Lefter (SS)
HM NIHAT Kahveci (ST)
HM OKTAY, Metin (ST)
HM ŞÜKÜR, Hakan (ST)

ALGERIA - 7

HM ZITOUNI, Mustapha (CB)
HM BELLOUMI, Lakhdar (AM)
HM DAHLEB, Mustapha (TQ)
HM MEKHLOUFI, Rachid (TQ)
T500 MAHREZ, Riyad (RW)
HM MADJER, Rabah (SS)
HM OUDJANI, Ahmed (ST)

GREECE - 7

HM DELIKARIS, Georgios (AM)
HM DOMAZOS, Mimis (AM)
HM KOUDAS, Giorgos (AM)
HM HATZIPANAGIS, Vasilis (TQ)
HM MAVROS, Thomas (ST)
HM PAPAIOANNOU, Mimis (ST)
HM SIDERIS, Giorgos (ST)

SLOVENIA - 7

T500 OBLAK, Jan (GK)
HM HANDANOVIČ, Samir (GK)
HM KATANEC, Srečko (DM)
T450 OBLAK, Branko (BB)
HM ILIČIĆ, Josip (TQ)
HM ZAHOVIČ, Zlatko (TQ)
HM POPIVODA, Danilo (RW)

IVORY COAST - 6

HM TOURÉ, Kolo (CB)
T300 TOURÉ, Yaya (BB)
HM GERVINHO (LW)
HM KALOU, Salomon (SS)
T250 DROGBA, Didier (ST)
HM POKOU, Laurent (ST)

UNITED STATES - 6

HM FRIEDEL, Brad (GK)
HM HOWARD, Tim (GK)
HM REYNA, Claudio (CM)
HM PULISIC, Christian (LW)
HM DEMPSEY, Clint (SS)
HM DONOVAN, Landon (SS)

BOLIVIA - 5

HM MELGAR, Milton (CM)
HM ETCHEVERRY, Marco (AM)
HM ROMERO, Erwin (AM)
HM SÁNCHEZ, Erwin (AM)
HM UGARTE, Víctor Agustín (SS)

MALI - 5

HM DIARRA, Mahamadou (DM)
HM SISSOKO, Mohamed (DM)
HM KEITA, Seydou (BB)
T500 KEÏTA, Salif (SS)
HM KANOUTÉ, Frédéric (SS)

MOROCCO - 5

HM BOUNOU, Yassine (GK)
HM NAYBET, Noureddine (CB)
HM HAKIMI, Achraf (RB)
HM ZIYECH, Hakim (RW)
HM FARAS, Ahmed (SS)

AUSTRALIA - 4

HM BRESCIANO, Mark (BB)
HM KEWELL, Harry (LW)
HM CAHILL, Tim (SS)
HM VIDUKA, Mark (ST)

COSTA RICA - 4

T500 NAVAS, Keylor (GK)
HM MURILLO, Álvaro (TQ)
HM RUIZ, Bryan (TQ)
HM WANCHOPE, Paulo César (ST)

SOUTH KOREA - 4

HM HONG Myung-bo (CB)
HM PARK Ji-sung (RW)
T500 SON Heung-min (LW)
HM CHA Bum-kun (ST)

DR CONGO - 3

HM BWANGA Tshimen (CB)
HM BONGA BONGA, Paul (BB)
HM NONDA, Shabani (ST)

EGYPT - 3

HM ABOUTRIKA, Mohamed (AM)
T150 SALAH, Mohamed (RW)
HM EL KHATIB, Mahmoud (SS)

HONDURAS - 3

HM YEARWOOD, Gilberto (DM)
HM PALACIOS, Wilson (BB)
HM SUAZO, David (ST)

ICELAND - 3

HM SIGURVINSSON, Ásgeir (AM)
HM SIGURÐSSON, Gylfi (TQ)
HM GUÐJOHNSEN, Eiður (SS)

MONTENEGRO - 3

T150 SAVIĆEVIĆ, Dejan (TQ)
HM MIJATOVIĆ, Predrag (SS)
HM VUČINIĆ, Mirko (SS)

NIGERIA - 3

HM OKOCHA, Augustine (AM)
HM FINIDI George (RW)
HM OSIMHEN, Victor (ST)

NORTH MACEDONIA - 3

HM NAJDOSKI, Ilija (CB)
HM PANDEV, Goran (SS)
T450 PANČEV, Darko (ST)

SAUDI ARABIA - 3

HM AL-DEAYEA, Mohamed (GK)
HM AL-THUNAYAN, Yousuf (TQ)
HM ABDULLAH, Majed (ST)

SOUTH AFRICA - 3

HM RADEBE, Lucas (CB)
HM NTSOELENGOE, Patrick (TQ)
HM McCARTHY, Benni (ST)

ARMENIA - 2

HM MKHITARYAN, Henrikh (AM)
HM SIMONYAN, Nikita (ST)

BELARUS - 2

HM ALEINIKOV, Sergei (BB)
HM HLEB, Aliaksandr (AM)

FINLAND - 2

HM HYYPIÄ, Sami (CB)
T350 LITMANEN, Jari (TQ)

ISRAEL - 2

HM BENAYOUN, Yossi (TQ)
HM SPIEGLER, Mordechai (SS)

JAPAN - 2

HM KAGAWA, Shinji (AM)
HM NAKAMURA, Shunsuke (AM)

SENEGAL - 2

HM KOULIBALY, Kalidou (CB)
T350 MANÉ, Sadio (LW)

AZERBAIJAN - 1

HM BANISHEVSKIY, Anatoliy (ST)

CANADA - 1

HM DAVIES, Alphonso (LB)

EL SALVADOR - 1

HM GONZÁLEZ, Jorge (TQ)

GABON - 1

HM AUBAMEYANG, Pierre-Emerick (ST)

JAMAICA - 1

HM MORGAN, Wes (CB)

KOSOVO - 1

HM JUSUFI, Fahrudin (RB)

LIBERIA - 1

T250 WEAH, George (ST)

NEW ZEALAND - 1

HM RUFER, Wynton (SS)

PANAMA - 1

HM DELY VALDÉS, Julio César (ST)

SAN MARINO - 1

HM BONINI, Massimo (DM)

TOGO - 1

HM ADEBAYOR, Emmanuel (ST)

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO - 1

HM YORKE, Dwight (SS)

TUNISIA - 1

HM DHIAB, Tarak (AM)

VENEZUELA - 1

HM ARANGO, Juan (AM)

ZAMBIA - 1

HM BWALYA, Kalusha (SS)

ZIMBABWE - 1

HM GROBBELAAR, Bruce (GK)

 

I just realized a mistake. Among the Spanish players, for some reason, I forgot to include Estanislao Basora, one of the best right-wingers in Europe in the early 50s.

I had to correct it. He belongs to my T300 group, so I made the following changes:

T300 Basora x Scifo
T350 Scifo x Ashley Cole
T400 Ashley Cole x Šuker
T450 Šuker x Benetti
T500 Benetti x Amarildo
HM Amarildo

There are so many names that even though I tried not to make any mistakes, I found this one which I've already corrected in the original file.

 

I must say that this is a factor I took into account, considering that it seems to me his performance began to decline after 27 (after winning the Pichichi Trophy in 1991), having established himself in the First Division at 21/22. His consistency/longevity may appear somewhat compromised in comparison.

I'd leave that doubt open, I could understand Butragueño being ahead of him due to his prime (besides being more popular nowadays), but I'd choose Amancio as more decisive and consistent in general terms (but less remembered now).

 

Very interesting. As an aside (and using my system only for players while played for Real Madrid), I was recently discussing how to assemble the best XI in Real Madrid's history and I included Amancio as the right-winger.

That sparked a lot of discussion in my groups, Amancio is really not very well-remembered. Something that seems odd is that Francisco Gento has the opposite case, much more widely known, but I left him out because of Cristiano Ronaldo, and I was pressured to move CR7 to the other side (perfectly possible) so as not to displace him, while Amancio was perceived as a weak/unknown piece.

By the way, Puskás's case is impressive. He arrived at 31 or 32 years old after a very long prime in Hungary and very out of shape. He was adapted as a sort of striker (which wasn't his natural role), and even so, he certainly seems to be the best striker in the history of the most stellar club in history. It's incredible.

My XI since the 50s:

--------------------------------------------------- T. Courtois

-------------------------------- J. Santamaría ------------- S. Ramos
--- D. Carvajal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ R. Carlos
----------------------------------------- Pirri ------------------- F. Redondo

------------------------------------------------- A. Di Stéfano
-------- Amancio ---------------------------------------------------------------------- C. Ronaldo
---------------------------------------------------- F. Puskás

Of course, among the biggest controversies was not including Modrić (or Kroos), but I think they would require a different type of system.

 

On the other hand, Amancio would also be part of my all-time Spain XI in a 4-3-3 formation. Suddenly, he's a real stellar in my eyes and the teams I'd have in mind.

--------------------------------------------------- R. Zamora

------------------------------------- F. Hierro ----------------- S. Ramos
--- D. Carvajal ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ J. Camacho
-------------------------------------------------- S. Busquets
------------------------------------ Xavi ----------------------------- A. Iniesta

-------- Amancio --------------------------------- Raúl ------------------------------------ F. Gento

I think Amancio's versatility gives him an advantage. He wasn't a classic winger, but rather a forward positioned diagonally towards goal.

Of course, it's remarkable, to me, that Spain has the peculiarity of putting into debate not including in its ideal XI who could be its best player in history: Luis Suárez. He could replace one of them, but I feel that the synergy between Barcelona trio in midfield is overwhelming.

 

It certainly seems to me that Quini has been almost completely forgotten in most discussions. Is there a particular reason for this? It's strange considering he was a "Pentapichichi".

 

I'm very surprised by the opinion about Rijkaard, especially because I have felt the opposite every time I have reviewed him more, particularly during his entire period before Milan, in the Netherlands with Ajax, unleashed as an all-round midfielder of great technique.



While I'm not sure Kluivert is being properly assessed for his time with Milan more than for his early breakthrough with Ajax and his prime with Barcelona for 5 seasons.

 

I think you're right about Francis. He was very versatile, technically gifted, a great dribbler and could even be used as winger. I had my doubts before. I'll move him to support strikers.

I know that Finney played more as a right-winger for Preston North End, while he shifted to the left wing with England to accommodate Matthews. As far as I know, there don't seem to be any major differences in their lateral positioning, but you're probably right about prioritizing their natural flank. I'll move him to right-wingers.

I didn't quite understand you here, but I would comment that the cases of Benarrivo and Zambrotta are markable. First, I think they played at practically the same level on both sides, but both were naturally right-sided players, although both are remembered for important periods on the left side (like Benarrivo during most of the 1994 World Cup and Parma's best period during the late 90s, and like Zambrotta during the Euro 2004 + his usual position in Juventus' lineup in the mid 2000s, although he also has memorable moments as right-back in the World Cups).

Perhaps it would be better to move Benarrivo to the left-backs.

 

There is no doubt that Beckham's ideal position was right-sided midfielder, however, I don't have a specific role for his type of side-midfielder who isn't a natural winger, so I had to think about where to include him. I thought of him as a deep-lying playmaker because of his great deployment as a long and deep assistant, but he's a complicated hybrid to analyze.



I might be undervaluing his side style.

 

Actually, I cut Lizarazu out at the end of the T500. I'd been thinking about it for a while; I'll include him instead of Paul Ince. I still think Cole was slightly better, but considering I dropped him one group because of Basora's omission, the gap is much smaller now.

I think Bossis is better, do you agree?

 

That has to be one of the discussions I've participated in most often: Carvalho vs. Pepe.

In my opinion, Carvalho wins the argument, but that might be because I favor his playing style, which is much more technical and demonstrates excellent tactical awareness, plus his consistency at Porto, Chelsea, Real Madrid and the Portuguese national team.

Pepe's game, in contrast, is much more physical and aggressive. He undoubtedly reached his prime at an elite level, covering the aerial game exceptionally well and, I believe his reading of the ball and anticipation improved over the years, but I feel it's somewhat forgotten that for a long time his vehemence was a negative factor, at least for me.

 

That's very surprising to me. To be honest, I think Roberto Carlos is phenomenal in his role (I've never seen anyone like him, such a powerful attacking player).

I've only heard negative reviews about his defensive level, but, without believing that he was that bad at defending, I think his attacking influence was so beastly that even if he wasn't balanced, he was a positive and superior factor to the vast majority of full-backs with great defensive disposition.

Yes, he's an omission. I had listed him at some point, but I think I dropped him when I thought it would be a restrictive Top 250 and forgot to bring him up again.

I'll add him.

I would disagree there as a first impression, especially when compared to Bo Larsson. "Bosse" is widely considered one of the best Swedish players in history (at least in a second grade, only below to Gren, Nordahl, Liedholm, Hamrin, or Ibrahimović).

I believe that in Sweden he is widely recognized as such and the best player in Malmö's history, apart from having shone in Germany with Stuttgart and often remembered as the most complete player in Swedish football.

I remember Thern, especially with the Swedish national team in the early 90s (at the 1994 World Cup he didn't seem me to have a higher status than Dahlin or Kennet). I'd say he was more of a box-to-box midfielder with good ball control, although a bit slow. I'm not as familiar with his club career; what would you say were his best seasons? I think he had some consistency issues due to injuries, is that right?

 

I know that Paolo Rossi's case can be controversial. He's often even mentioned in conversations about the best Italian player of all-time, and yet I don't even place him among the top 46 Italians (and only from the 1950s onwards).

To be honest, I think that although it's counterintuitive (even for me), it seems reasonable. His consistency doesn't just seem somewhat low to me, but very low at this level, and it's only sustained by his iconic moments in the 1978 and 1982 World Cups. Having barely established himself as a star in Serie A in the 1977-78 season with Vicenza, I couldn't say if he had any other truly great season (beyond some isolated performances in the European Cup with Juventus).

I can't say for sure that I'm not being too harsh on him, but even his performances in the 1982 World Cup didn't impress me that much apart of the goals, although I understand how that etched his name in glory.

I tried to make the comparison with Di Natale and it seems to me that without having reached such iconic moments, Di Natale was a superior striker in skills and with greater consistency.

I cannot rule out being unfair.

 

I think that makes sense. Despite showing great potential from a young age, I believe that throughout his career he consistently fell short of expectations and only just surpassed them last season, when won the Ballon d'Or.

As a general case and subjected to a historical chronology, I do believe he could be the weakest case to date (which could change if he maintains a great/good level in the following years, of course).

On the other hand, I don't usually take the Ballon d'Or so seriously as a measuring stick. I wouldn't say he was the best player last season, although he was certainly one of the best.

 

I strongly agree that his main role was as a winger, perhaps a rare type of self-sacrificing winger. What I can't identify is a preferred side; I remember it being practically the same on either side.

I assume you're South Korean; you probably have a better eye for his development. I'll move him to the left-wingers (I decided to put him among the right-wingers only after remembering him playing on that side with PSV in his early days when there was doubt (when he shared the team with my compatriot, Farfán)).

 

I think Ilyin was a case like Finney's, playing one position for the national team but another at club level. I understand he almost always played as a centre-forward for Spartak Moscow, despite moving to left wing for the Soviet Union to accommodate Nikita Simonyan at late 50s (operating as wing-forward to cutting inside).

Meanwhile, although Nyers also played as a left-winger, I think he is best remembered for his prime with Inter as a very mobile centre forward (at least during the campaigns between 1948-49 and 1953-54 with Skoglund occupying the usual role as left-winger).