Top Ten Footballers Of All Time

Oct 12, 2018 at 11:20 AM

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Top Ten Footballers Of All Time

‘Top Ten Footballers Of All Time’ –  Throughout its glorious history, the game of football has been graced by a plethora of players who made people fall in love with the game due to their sheer brilliance on the pitch. A teenaged Pele leading Brazil to World Cup glory or Maradona ripping apart teams with his scarcely-believable runs en route to the World Cup triumph, the game has been blessed enough to witness players who were well ahead of their contemporaries and carved a special place in the history of the game. Every generation has its own player who sets the benchmark for greatness.

As a result, it is very very tough to compare players from different generation and choose the best ten of the lot. But we have tried our best and have compiled a list of ‘Top Ten Footballers Of All Time’.

Table of contents:

Top Ten Footballers Of All Time:

Garrincha:
Gerd Muller:
Ronaldinho:
Zinedine Zidane:
Franz Beckenbauer:
Johan Cruyff:
Diego Maradona:
Cristiano Ronaldo:
Lionel Messi:
Pele:

Top Ten Footballers Of All Time:

There is absolutely no denying the fact that this question always spark contentious debate amongst the fans as well as the pundits. The reason being the absence of any standard method through which players could be compared. The game’s style and tactics keeps on changing which makes it more difficult to draw a conclusion.

Nevertheless, we’ve attempted to tackle it anyway,

A look at our methodology:

We have mainly given the importance to the length of a player’s success which will perhaps delight the fans. We have based our results on a highly scientific combination of statistics, talent and overall impact on the sport.

Secondly, club and international play were weighed equally, and team success also factored into consideration.

So without further ado, here is our list of Top Ten Footballers Of All Time:

10. Garrincha:

Top Ten Footballers Of All Time

At number ten in the list of Top Ten Footballers Of All Time is Garrincha.

His fans nicknamed him “Alegria do povo” whih means ‘People’s Joy’ which pretty much about what Garrincha delivered on the pitch.

He was born with both legs bent on one side, which he turned into Blessing in Disguise as this helped him befuddling defenders with his own kind of dribbling.

While Pele was the Hero for Brazil, Garrincha played as second fiddle for the team. Brazil never lost a single match when Garrincha and Pele played together.

When Pele could not play most of the 1962 World Cup, it was Garrincha who stood up and gave Brazil their second consecutive World Cup. He scored four goals thus becoming the Best Player of the Tournament.He played most of his club matches for Botafogo where he scored 245 goals in 614 matches.

In 1999, he came seventh in the FIFA Player of the Century grand jury vote. He is a member of the World Team of the 20th Century, and was inducted into the Brazilian Football Hall of Fame.

9. Gerd Muller:

Top Ten Footballers Of All Time
Top Ten Footballers Of All Time

At number nine in the list of Top Ten Footballers Of All Time is Gerd Muller.

A German legend who was nicknamed as ‘bomber der nations’, Muller won the 1974 World Cup for Germany.

He had a record of scoring 14 goals in the World Cups of which 10 came in the 1970th edition. His goal scoring instinct was impeccably remarkable and often scored during the dying moments of the match.

Muller mostly played for Bayern Munich where he amassed almost 400 goals in just 453 matches. He also scored 68 goals in just 62 appearances for his country including the winning goal for Germany in 1970.

Muller also won the 1972 Euro Cup along with four Bundesliga and one Ballon D’or. He was also named European Footballer of the Year in 1970.

He held the all-time goal-scoring record in the World Cup with 14 goals for 32 years. In 1999, Muller was ranked ninth in the European player of the Century election held by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), and he was voted 13th in the IFFHS’ World Player of the Century election.  In 2004, Pelé named Müller in the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players

8. Ronaldinho:

Top Ten Footballers Of All Time
Top Ten Footballers Of All Time

At number eight in the list of Top Ten Footballers Of All Time is Ronaldinho.

There are very moments as beautiful when Ronaldinho had the ball on his feet. He could dribble, run, pass without looking, assist, score beautiful goals and yet make it look easy.

Ronaldinho’s arrival at Barcelona changed the scenario in La Liga. He won league titles, Champions League, Super Cups, Ballon D’or and the World Player of the year in Barcelona. He was instrumental in Brazil’s triumph at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and Copa America a couple of years later.

Frank Lampard once said “The best player in history? Ronaldinho. Because when he was at his best nobody could compare. He always had a smile on his face as well. He had skill, scored fantastic goals and put magic into the game.”

When Ronaldinho was at his best, he could make the ball talk. His control on the ball, dribbling skills were so eye catching that he once got a standing ovation by the hostile crowd at Santiago Bernabeu.

Zinedine Zidane:

Top Ten Footballers Of All Time
Top Ten Footballers Of All Time

At number seven in the list of Top Ten Footballers Of All Time is Zinedine Zidane.

Very few midfielders have made as much impact as Zidane. Widely regarded as the greatest playmaker of the world, Zidane represented France and played for the likes of Juventus and Real Madrid during his illustrious career. The midfield maestro  netted twice for his national side in their 3-0 1998 World Cup final win over Brazil and almost single-handedly guided them to victory in Euro 2000.

He also scored one of the greatest goals in UEFA Champions League history with a left-foot volleyed winner in the 2002 final. Who could forget his performance in the 2006 FIFA World Cup which infamously ended for him with a red card as he was given the marching orders for head-butting Marco Materazzi in the final.  But even such a shameful end couldn’t detract from a career which included several personal accolades.

He was named the FIFA World Player of the Year three times, in 1998, 2000 and 2003, and also won the 1998 Ballon d’Or. He was Ligue 1 Player of the Year in 1996, Serie A Footballer of the Year in 2001, and La Liga Best Foreign Player in 2002. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the world’s greatest living players compiled by Pelé, and in the same year was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. Zidane is one of eight players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d’Or.

6. Franz Beckenbauer:

Top Ten Footballers Of All Time
Top Ten Footballers Of All Time

At number six in the list of Top Ten Footballers Of All Time is Franz Beckenbauer.

One of the rare players who won a World Cup both as a player and as a manager, Beckenbauer is arguably the greatest footballer to represent Germany.

He was nicknamed Der Kaiser (The Emperor) due to his commanding attitude on the field. Beckenbauer spearheaded West Germany to victory at the 1972 Euros and the 1974 World Cup, Bayern Munich to three European Cups and four Bundesliga titles and the all-star New York Cosmos to three Soccer Bowls.

He was named in the World Team of the 20th Century in 1998, the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and in 2004 was listed in the FIFA 100 of the world’s greatest living players.

At club level with Bayern Munich, Beckenbauer won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1967. He also won three consecutive European Cups from 1974 to 1976. The latter feat made him the first player to win three European Cups as captain of his club.

5. Johan Cruyff:

Top Ten Footballers Of All Time
Top Ten Footballers Of All Time

At number five in the list of Top Ten Footballers Of All Time is Johan Cruyff. 

The former Netherlands international is the finest exponent of Total Football. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dutch football rose remarkably and Cruyff played an integral role in it, He led the Netherlands to the final of the 1974 FIFA World Cup and received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament.

At the 1974 finals, he executed a feint that subsequently was named after him, the “Cruyff Turn”, a move widely replicated in the modern game.

At club level, Cruyff played for Ajax before moving to Barcelona. With Ajax he won eight Eredivisie titles, three European Cups and one Intercontinental Cup. In 1973, he moved to Barcelona for a world record transfer fee, winning La Liga in his first season and was named European Footballer of the Year.

In 1999, Cruyff became European Player of the Century in an election held by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics, and came second behind Pelé in their World Player of the Century poll.  He was third in a vote organised by the French magazine France Football consulting their former Ballon d’Or winners to elect their Football Player of the Century. He also made it to the World Team of the 20th Century in 1998, the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002. In 2004, he made it to the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players.

4. Diego Maradona

Top Ten Footballers Of All Time
Top Ten Footballers Of All Time

At number four in the list of Top Ten Footballers Of All Time is Diego Maradona.

Controversy’s favourite child, Maradona managed to keep his off-field antics behind him only because of his sheer brilliance on the field.

He was almost untouchable at his peak and the English team would agree to it.  Just ask those England internationals he ran rings around during that astonishing ‘Hand of God’ game at the 1986 World Cup. He had thoroughly dominated that tournament and led Argentina to the title. He also guided Napoli to two Serie A titles and a UEFA Cup.

Maradona was given the nickname “El Pibe de Oro” (“The Golden Boy”), a name that he completely justified.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo:

At number three in the list of Top Ten Footballers Of All Time is Cristiano Ronaldo.

One of the all time greats, Ronaldo is hailed by many as. the greatest of this generation. His achievements at the club level is second to none. A Euro Cup with Portugal in 2016 added more glitter to his impressive trophy cabinet.

He started his career with Sporting CP before moving to Manchester United at age 18 in 2003. After winning his first trophy, the FA Cup, during his first season in England, he helped United win three successive Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League title, and a FIFA Club World Cup. By age 22, he had received Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations and at age 23, he won his first Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In 2009, Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid in a then world-record transfer worth €94 million (£80 million).

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner helped Real Madrid win their consecutive Champions League title in 2017-18, scoring a staggering 15 goals and providing three assists in the third and final campaign.

Apart from winning the Ballon d’Or in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017, he has been named to the FIFPro World XI in 11 consecutive seasons.  He also captained Portugal’s run to the title at Euro 2016.

Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus  in 2017 after scoring a mind-boggling 449 goals in just nine seasons. In 291 La Liga appearances, he has scored 310 goals. Ronaldo is also the leading goal-scorer in the Champions League.

2. Lionel Messi:

Top Ten Footballers Of All Time
Top Ten Footballers Of All Time

At number two in the list of Top Ten Footballers Of All Time is Lionel Messi.

Considered by many as the finest of all times, Messi has enjoyed a trophy-laden career at the club-level. At the age of 22, he had a Ballon D’or, FIFA Player of the year and a Treble for Barcelona.

He has scored over 600 goals for his club and country whih includes 383 goals in La Liga, 100 goals in UEFA Champions League, 91 goals in a season and 65 international goals for his country Argentina.

His honours includes nine La Liga titles, four Champions League, six Copa Del Rey, three FIFA Club Wolrd Cup and many other personal feats for Barcelona.

His only regret would be missing out on a FIFA World Cup trophy in 2014 where he lost in the final but won the Golden ball.

1. Pele:

Top Ten Footballers Of All Time
Top Ten Footballers Of All Time

At number one in the list of Top Ten Footballers Of All Time is Pele.

No player has left his mark on the game like Pele. The sight of Pele lighting up the 1958 World Cup at the tender age of 17 is one of the best spectacles the game has ever seen.

1283 goals in 1366 matches and three FIFA World Cups, Pele has achieved which no footballer could achieve till date. Regarded as Greatest of all times by many, Pele received the Player of the Century award in 1999.

He is the all-time leading goalscorer for Brazil with 77 goals in 92 games. At club level he is the record goalscorer for Santos, and led them to the 1962 and 1963 Copa Libertadores.

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