Right now I am watching Monday Night Football and it is Brett Favre's 200 consecutive start making him Football's Iron Man, and by a large margin. Cal Ripken jr. started something like 2600 baseball games consecutivly (though some of the were bs starts and leave the game in like the fifth). Both of them never missed a game due to injury. I was wondering is there anybody in the history of soccer that has some crazy ammount of games started/played streak?
I think you're really going to be looking at a keeper. Sepp Maier played 422 consecutive games for Bayern Munich - I don't know if anyone else has higher.
Most I can find for an outfield player (in England only) would be 401 by Harry Bell of Tranmere from 1946-56.
Bologna's goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca, who was Sampdoria, Inter and Italy's goalkeeper in the 90's, has not missed a game in 4 years. That's a long time. And if he stays with Bologna all of this season, and 2 games of next season, he'll overtake Dino Zoff with the most appearances in Serie A (i think it's like 532 or something like that.) To top it all off, Pagliuca is 38.
Bert Trautmann, the legendary Manchester City goalie of the 1950s. That is of course impressive, but those four years are easily overshadowed by Maier`s 13 years (April 1966 to May 1979).
The Bundesliga record for non-goalkeepers holds Heinz Simmet. Over 7 years from April 1970 to December 1977 (226 games).
Sir Stanley Mathews, Blackpool and Stoke City, started playing when Herbert Chapman was managing Arsenal in the early '30s and didn't retire until Sir Matt Busby and the Charlton brothers were winning titles with Man U. in the early '60s. He was never sent off in his entire career.