The 100 best footballers in 25 years - page 4 - I love number 10

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40. Iker Casillas

“He must be one of the best keepers ever in one-on-ones, and I should know – I faced him a lot in training! He is very, very difficult to beat, and he was an important part of Real Madrid’s success while I was there.” Fernando Morientes, FFT 137 (January 2006)

39. Edgar Davids

The only former Barnet player on this list (sorry, Giuliano Grazioli) was a midfielder formidable enough to live up to his nickname, ‘The Pitbull’. It’s little wonder Milan, Juventus, Barcelona and Inter all signed him after Ajax’s Champions League win. His glasses were cool; that he had to wear them due to glaucoma, less so.

38. Roberto Carlos

That mesmerising free-kick against France is reason enough for his inclusion here. The left-back with tree-trunk thighs (“My dad’s legs are the same – it’s a family thing”) won three Champions League titles with Real Madrid and the World Cup with Brazil, while rewriting the rule book of what a full-back must be and do.

37. Gareth Bale

“He began at left-back and had that run where Spurs never won when he played, but that was just coincidence. When I joined, he was becoming a winger. His ability to go past people was incredible.” Eidur Gudjohnsen, FFT 294

36 Alessandro Del Piero

The Pinturicchio to Roberto Baggio’s Raphael in bursting onto the scene at Juventus in 1993, Del Piero had overtaken his master in the hearts of Old Lady fans by the time he left Turin in 2012. The forward defined Italian football for two decades as a genuine fantastista, winning 17 major honours – including six Series A, a Champions League and the World Cup.

35. David Beckham

Beckham won the Treble with Manchester United, La Liga with Real Madrid and Ligue 1 with PSG, but the moment that typified Goldenballs’ greatness came wrapped in an England shirt: that stoppage-time free-kick to reach the 2002 World Cup.

34. Gerard Pique

“Who’s the best defender in the world?” Carles Puyol was asked recently. “Gerard Pique, without a doubt.” Pique, with increasingly impressive leadership skills to go with his easy-on-the-eye style, has topped the impressive trophy haul of his former defensive partner and fellow Barcelona and Spain legend.

33. Steven Gerrard

“Stevie could win a game on his own. When the chips were down, you saw him in the dressing room and knew you had a chance. Look at the 2005 Champions League Final, or Liverpool’s final group game against Olympiakos. A phenomenal passer, a great athlete and a great motivator.” John Terry, FFT 270

32. Francesco Totti

The Golden Boy scored his first Roma goal in September 1994 – the same month FourFourTwo was launched – and went on to be the ultimate one-club man and perfect incarnation of the Italian centravanti di manovra: a metronomic, hard-grafting forward with outstanding vision as well as the ability to bag goals.

31. David Villa

Spain’s all-time top goalscorer took home the Golden Boot as Spain won Euro 2008, then tied at the top with another five goals as they lifted the 2010 World Cup. A lethal finisher and big-game player, he scored in Barcelona’s 2011 Champions League Final victory and even had a hand in Atletico Madrid’s shock La Liga win.

30. Luis Suarez

No player adds bite to an attack quite like Suarez. While his win-at-all-costs mentality has won him few friends, his talent has never been in doubt: nobody else in the past decade has broken Messi and Ronaldo’s duopoly on the European Golden Boot, yet Suarez did it with Liverpool and Barcelona. The latter’s Champions League-winning MSN strikeforce made him unstoppable.

29. Dennis Bergkamp

“I’m an arrogant, selfish sort. I don’t think there’s a player in the world today who can play the role behind the main striker as well as I can! It suits me well. If a striker is willing to work for me, I can be very effective in that position.” FFT 126 (February 2005)

28. Andrea Pirlo

“Pirlo spots a pass in a split-second that lesser players could spend a lifetime waiting to see,” said Carlo Ancelotti. The midfield genius was a magical deep-lying playmaker for Milan and Juventus for 15 years, and pulled the strings in Italy’s 2006 World Cup win.

27. Neymar

“We met after the 2014 World Cup and I really liked him – he’s a very nice guy. He plays with his heart, enjoys the game and inspires those around him. It might sound controversial but, for me, he is the best player in the world at the moment.” Bastian Schweinsteiger, FFT 279 (September 2017)

26 Philipp Lahm

When Pep Guardiola calls you “perhaps the most intelligent player I have ever trained”, it’s safe to say you’re one of the all-time greats. World-class in three different positions – either full-back or in defensive midfield – the Magic Dwarf was the captain every coach dreams of. Dependable and unflinchingly honest.

25 Gianluigi Buffon

“I’ll never forget his Italy debut. He came off the bench against Russia in a play-off for France 98. We were worried because he was just 19, so we went to give him some advice. He just told us to be calm! He was a young veteran.” Alessandro Costacurta, FFT 276

24. Sergio Ramos

“At 29, Sergio has won the World Cup, the Euros twice, and more than 125 caps for Spain. He was a midfielder when he joined Real Madrid at just 19; now he’s outstanding at right-back and in central defence, too.” Jonathan Woodgate, FFT 255

23. Romario

“He was often criticised for doing nothing during a game, but then he would get you a goal out of nothing. His finishing was extraordinary and he would leave defenders for dead. There’s no one like him today.” Hristo Stoichkov, FFT 162 (February 2008)

22. Paul Scholes

“I know that everyone says Scholes was great, but he’s still underrated. You only realise it when you play against him – you can’t get close. He would play a one-two around you, then slide someone in for a shot.” Emile Heskey, FFT 253

21. Raul

Pre-Messi and Ronaldo, Raul was unrivalled in Europe. In 2005 he was the first player to hit 50 goals in the European Cup, remaining its top scorer until 2014, and he won the trophy three times while amassing a record 741 Real Madrid appearances. “Raul may not be 10 out of 10 in anything,” said Fernando Hierro, “but he’s nine-and-a-half at absolutely everything.”

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