Top 100 Soccer Players Ever - by the ‘Association of Football Statisticians’
November 7th, 2007 by Marco Pantanella
Note: This is the same article I published on Soccerlens.com, which you can find here.
It’s that time of the year again. The time when a random (ok, let’s call it ‘well-respected’ if you prefer) football publication makes an “All Time Best” ranking that never fails to create controversy and offend a few people. FourFourTwo did one of those last month, this time it’s the turn of the ‘Association of Football Statisticians’ to make its Top 100, after studying every fact and figure from the beautiful game over the past 100 years. Points are given for goals scored by forwards and clean sheets for defenders. Players also get awarded marks for trophies won, captaincy and the level they played at throughout their career.
It should come as no big surprise to see Pelé at nº1 spot (the Brazilian legend totalling 16,799.44 points), but the names and rankings further down the list are bound to raise some eyebrows. The analysis of The Sun highlights the biggest problems in English Premiership terms:
- Manchester United legends George Best, Denis Law and Eric Cantona don’t make the top 100.
- Ali Daei’s 109 goals in 149 games for Iran puts him at 26th – ahead of players like Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and Ronaldinho.
- Diego Maradona is ranked only 6th.
The publishers explain to The Sun that Best misses out because he never participated in a World Cup tournament, and had a fairly short career, while Ali Daei won his place by scoring 109 goals in 149 international matches for… Iran.
The Daily Star takes a look the UK players, and finds out that England’s top star is Bobby Charlton in 23rd spot, two places above Scotland’s Kenny Dalglish. David Beckham is 44th, Kevin Keegan at 46th, Gary Lineker 56th, Welsh ace Ryan Giggs 62nd, and Michael Owen 68th. Alan Shearer misses out of the top 100.
Further analysis of the ‘Best 100′ reveals that the top 3 trio is 100% Brazilian (with Ronaldo 2nd and Romario 3rd… and Cafu closing down the Auriverde block at 10th). Figo is 4th, Zidane 5th, and other big names such as Platini (13th), Maldini (15th), Zico (16th), Gullit (18th) and Cruyff (21st) are excluded from the Top 10.
The most represented nation is France (with 16 players), followed by Brazil (11), Italy and Germany (10). England totals 7, Argentina 5 (Messi not included).
Also, in terms of overall football career, the most represented European league is the Serie A. Indeed, most of the Top 100 played at one point or another in Italy: Serie A totals at least 58 players in that ranking, closely followed by La Liga (44), and the EPL (36).
Other represented leagues include the Bundesliga (22), the French Ligue 1 (22), the Dutch Eredivisie (20), and the Portuguese Superliga (5). As for South America, the Campeonato Brasileiro counts 11 players while the Argentine Apertura/Clausura only 8 (most of the Brazilian/Argentine stars obviously beginning their career back home). An interesting note is the total of 13 players who played in the MLS/USL (mostly at the end of their careers), making North America the destination of choice for footballers close to retirement.
As for the Italians, aside from the aforementioned Paolo Maldini the remaining 9 players in the list are Paolo Rossi (43rd), Alessandro Costacurta (49th), Dino Zoff (51st), Alessandro Del Piero (60th), Demetrio Albertini (64th), Giacinto Facchetti (75th), Franco Baresi (77th), Gianni Rivera (78th) and Roberto Baggio (79th).
The Top 100 is revealed in the book Greatest Ever Footballers, on sale next week by Headline publishers for £14.99 (€21.50).
Here’s the full list.
| 1 |  |
Pelé | (Brazil) |
| 2 |  |
Ronaldo | (Brazil) |
| 3 |  |
Romário | (Brazil) |
| 4 |  |
Luís Figo | (Portugal) |
| 5 |  |
Zinedine Zidane | (France) |
| 6 |  |
Diego Maradona | (Argentina) |
| 7 |  |
Lothar Matthäus | (Germany) |
| 8 |  |
Gerd Müller | (Germany) |
| 9 |  |
Franz Beckenbauer | (Germany) |
| 10 |  |
Cafu | (Brazil) |
.
| 11 | Roberto Carlos | (Brazil) |
| 12 | Marco van Basten | (Holland) |
| 13 | Michel Platini | (France) |
| 14 | Rivaldo | (Brazil) |
| 15 | Paolo Maldini | (Italy) |
| 16 | Zico | (Brazil) |
| 17 | Raúl | (Spain) |
| 18 | Ruud Gullit | (Holland) |
| 19 | Eusébio | (Portugal) |
| 20 | Ferenc Puskás | (Hungary) |
| 21 | Johan Cruyff | (Holland) |
| 22 | Alfredo di Stefano | (Argentina) |
| 23 | Bobby Charlton | (England) |
| 24 | Jürgen Klinsmann | (Germany) |
| 25 | Kenny Dalglish | (Scotland) |
| 26 | Ali Daei | (Iran) |
| 27 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | (Germany) |
| 28 | Gabriel Batistuta | (Argentina) |
| 29 | Michael Laudrup | (Denmark) |
| 30 | Hristo Stoichkov | (Bulgaria) |
| 31 | Dennis Bergkamp | (Holland) |
| 32 | Frank Rijkaard | (Holland) |
| 33 | Thierry Henry | (France) |
| 34 | Pavel Nedved | (Czech Rep) |
| 35 | Gheorghe Hagi | (Romania) |
| 36 | Peter Schmeichel | (Denmark) |
| 37 | Andriy Shevchenko | (Ukraine) |
| 38 | Sepp Maier | (Germany) |
| 39 | Didier Deschamps | (France) |
| 40 | Lilian Thuram | (France) |
| 41 | Enzo Francescoli | (Uruguay) |
| 42 | Hakan Şükür | (Turkey) |
| 43 | Paolo Rossi | (Italy) |
| 44 | David Beckham | (England) |
| 45 | Jean-Pierre Papin | (France) |
| 46 | Kevin Keegan | (England) |
| 47 | Marcel Desailly | (France) |
| 48 | Oliver Kahn | (Germany) |
| 49 | Alessandro Costacurta | (Italy) |
| 50 | Clarence Seedorf | (Holland) |
| 51 | Dino Zoff | (Italy) |
| 52 | Patrick Kluivert | (Holland) |
| 53 | Jari Litmanen | (Finland) |
| 54 | Daniel Passarella | (Argentina) |
| 55 | Bixente Lizarazu | (France) |
| 56 | Gary Lineker | (England) |
| 57 | Ronaldinho | (Brazil) |
| 58 | Sylvain Wiltord | (France) |
| 59 | Bebeto | (Brazil) |
| 60 | Alessandro Del Piero | (Italy) |
| 61 | Davor Šuker | (Croatia) |
| 62 | Ryan Giggs | (Wales) |
| 63 | David Trezeguet | (France) |
| 64 | Demetrio Albertini | (Italy) |
| 65 | Patrick Vieira | (France) |
| 66 | Jürgen Kohler | (Germany) |
| 67 | Laurent Blanc | (France) |
| 68 | Michael Owen | (England) |
| 69 | Youri Djorkaeff | (France) |
| 70 | Frank De Boer | (Holland) |
| 71 | Emilio Butragueño | (Spain) |
| 72 | Hugo Sánchez | (Mexico) |
| 73 | Rudi Völler | (Germany) |
| 74 | Djalma Santos | (Brazil) |
| 75 | Giacinto Facchetti | (Italy) |
| 76 | Kanu | (Nigeria) |
| 77 | Franco Baresi | (Italy) |
| 78 | Gianni Rivera | (Italy) |
| 79 | Roberto Baggio | (Italy) |
| 80 | Oscar Ruggeri | (Argentina) |
| 81 | Gheorghe Popescu | (Romania) |
| 82 | Jon Dahl Tomasson | (Denmark) |
| 83 | Raymond Kopa | (France) |
| 84 | Carlos Valderrama | (Colombia) |
| 85 | Rui Costa | (Portugal) |
| 86 | Gary Neville | (England) |
| 87 | Edgar Davids | (Holland) |
| 88 | Claudio Taffarel | (Brazil) |
| 89 | Paul Scholes | (England) |
| 90 | Diego Simeone | (Argentina) |
| 91 | Bryan Robson | (England) |
| 92 | Roy Keane | (Rep of Ireland) |
| 93 | Brian Laudrup | (Denmark) |
| 94 | Henrik Larsson | (Sweden) |
| 95 | Fabien Barthez | (France) |
| 96 | Michael Ballack | (Germany) |
| 97 | Jan Koller | (Czech Rep) |
| 98 | Edwin van der Sar | (Holland) |
| 99 | Robert Pirès | (France) |
| 100 | Johan Neeskens | (Holland) |
Posted in Soccerlens, World News | 18,895 views
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Number 97 Jan Koller - is it joke?
There are two “All Time Best” players from Czech Rep.! Josef “Pepi” Bican (September 25, 1913 - December 12, 2001), SK Slavia Praha forward, one of the world’s most prolific goalscorers of all time, he claimed that he had scored 5000 goals (five times as many as Pelé) or Josef Masopust (born February 9, 1931), DUKLA Praha midfielder, European Footballer of the Year in 1962. Masopust was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers.
wat kind of crap is this..roy keane 92nd??….no cantona best or law???
wow this list is kinda shit….figo is 4th???!?!?!?!?! no way
where is cannavaro? buffon? gattuso?? best? shearer?
DISAPPOINTED
This is SHIT. Where are Obdulio Varela World Champion at maracana in 1950, Pepe Schiaffino, Ladislao Mazzuchiewicz, Yashin, Gigghia, Zico, you sucks and this ranck is shit
what crap!!!!!!
this is bull shit stuff
maradona 6th
n that fool pele 6th
u got to be kiddin
where is cantona , buffon , best!!!!!
where is C.Ronaldo , Kaka
IDIOTS>>>>>>>>>dose whu slectd d dem?>>
baggio 79th!?!?!?! are you kidding me, hes gotta be in the top 10 at least maybe top 5
KEVIN KEEGAN is 46th!! give me a break.
What a joke!Could Kanu have been the only African?It torments me more to think that only one represent Africa while more than five for just countries.I question the absence of George Weah,Samuel Eto’o,Abedi Pele ….. Note well though even if they never played for Africa,Zidane is of Algerian decent and Desailly of Ghanaian decent.Otherwise just swap Pele and Ronaldo,find space for Weah and Eto’o and I cool a little.
this list makes sense well the top 20 pele was a very good soccer player but i think if ronaldo didnt get injured he would have benn first. C.ronaldo sucks
This is an unbalanced look at contributions made by many other top class players. Africa has given the world incredible players who have strenghened the UEFA game in the past 20 years. I fail to understand how this ranking wouldn’t have George Weah in the top 10. Just as much as i can’t believe that Ruud Gullit is not in the top 10. Let alone Maradona, the greatest footballer ever at not at no.1. Notwithstanding Pele’s grace as the most potent striker ever. He never was quite at same level as Maradona in terms of travelling all over world, playing in different countries and manage to maintain top grade and mesmerising football. This ranking is clearly biased. We have all followed football through time and there’s no sense in rushing people like Beckham into the rankings. There are far better players who have had multidimensional, top class play in the beautiful game. Ronaldinho is not even in the top 15. It’s a joke. Eto’o and Drogba have impacted on football in the past 5 much more than some who in the top 20. This is wrong.
This is unbelievable. Players like Ronaldinho, Baggio, George Weah, Eto’o and Drogba are not in the top 20. It’s a farce. Maradona desrves top spot for his contributions at Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli and Argentina. He brought to the world unique qualities never before seen on the football pitch. He needn’t score as much as Pele but he touched the ball sweeter than him. I don’t understand why it should be a debate that Maradona is far ahead of Beckenbauer or Muller. The top 3 positions should be: Maradona, Pele and Zidane. Weah had immense skills and was scoring machine. he can’t be far off from Ronaldo. The ranking is questionable. Since Beckham hasn’t won a WC nor a Euro title, why the rush to rank him in the top 50? Ronaldinho came in an stated to the world by ridiculing David Seaman by unleashing the best set-piece ever. of course propaganda allows such great set-piece goals to beckham. Hence the brouhaha: It’s a fluke, it’s a fluke. Not only does Ronaldoinho master great set-piece goals but he dribbles, entertains, scores in regular time and assists team mates. He is worth more than Beckham in world football.
Where is Cantona? The player who ochastrated ManU’s revival. had it not been for outstanding brilliance ManU wouldn’t be enjoying the legacy he left: global phenomenon (though thru commercialised agrandisement in recent times). Eric cantona brought history to the great club institution.
OH MY WHERES PAULETA! NUNO GOMES! AND SERGIO CONCEICAO!! OMG THATS GAY
wheres c.ronaldo kaka e cantona and ronaldinho deseves top 10
you should be ashamed of ur self
hei the list is made after how many trophees has every player , clean sheets or goals scored for strickers.well,some players can’t take part in this list but they won trophees and scored goals and doesn’t matter if we like it or not
but they are here
What the hell! Beckham is listed but not Rooney! This is pure shit. Beckham is the worst soccer player ever. What a poop nose.
WHAT THE HELL!!!!! where in the world is Lionel Messi he’s not even listed this ranking list really sucks
I want to know what this ranking was really based on because I know for sure that Zinedine Yazid Zidane achieved much more awards and cup medals than Figo.
Are u kidding me figo shouldt even be in the top 30 and where is Cristiano roaldo hes in the top ten. And henry in top 15 .
What criterials were used to chose this players. It is full of nonsence, Ronldinho deserves the first position, where have you guys kept Roger Miller, Weah, Eto’o, Esien, Cantona, Okocha, etc. Bull shirt ranking man.
Thierry Henry is Better than Rivaldo by far, Swap them Places, There is no way that Silvain Wiltord is better than Samuel Eto’o, Remove Wiltord give Eto’o his place, George Weah was definitely a top 30 kind of a player, Ronaldinho is top 5 and you surely are silly, Patrick Vieira and Silvain Wiltord are not comparable, I wonder how Vieira ranked behind Wiltord.
1.Pele
2.Ronaldo
3.Zidane
4.Ronaldinho
5.Maradona
6.Cruyff
7.Romario
8.Beckenbauer
9.Roberto Carlos
10.Marco Van Basten
11.Ferenc Puskas
12.Alfredo Di Stefano
13.Paolo Maldini
14.Thierry Henry
15.Kaka
16.Eusebio
17.Kenny Dalglish
18.Cristiano Ronaldo
19.Luis Figo
20.Bobby Charlton
21.Eric Cantona
22.Samuel Eto’o
23.Ruud Gullit
24.Dennis Bergkamp
25.Ruud Van Nistelrooy
26.Claude Makelele
27.Raul
28.Peter Schmeichel
29.Michel Ballack
30.Robert Pires
31.Kanu
32.Garrincha
33.Jurgen Klinsmann
34.Andriy Shevschenko
35.Alessandro Del Pierro
36.Gabriel Batistuta
37.Rui Costa
39.Fabio Cannavaro
40.Edgar Davids
41.Rivaldo
42.Patrick Vieira
43.Karl-Heinz Rumenigge
44.Deco
45.Cafu
46.Patrick Kluivert
47.Henrik Larsson
48.Pauleta
49.Oliver Kahn
50.Jon Dahl Tomasson
What do you say!
no. c. ronaldo is the best player in the world right now. how can he not be in the top 100 when other players that are still playing are? this makes no sense.
FREDDIE KOIGI has the right idea (sorta), even if c.ronaldo is 18th. im fine with that.
ha ha dis is a joke!
who is da domass who wrote these ranking where ppl like alan shearar or c.ronaldo and loooooooool who put figo 4th and cafu 10th and morcos vanbasten should be in top 5 or atleast top 10
dis is shit
omfg !!! who puts cafu 10th and figo 4th the best player in i think is!! Ronaldo and Pele second he forgot Rooney Robbie keane he forgot like john terry like the best defender and my favorite player should be in top 15 C. Ronaldo
this list sucks. i agree with steve except i think figo should be higher.
You are all crazy. See Word Soccer’s list. It’s the best OK!!! Not yours, sons!