19. Roberto Carlos

Personal information
Full name	Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha
Date of birth	10 April 1973 (age 38)
Place of birth	Garça, São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position	Left Back

He has played for Spanish club Real Madrid for eleven years, winning four leagues, three UEFA Champions League trophies, and two Intercontinental Cups. He is also one of only six players to have played more than one hundred matches in the Champions League. He is especially famous for a free kick against France on June 3, 1997, where he shot from 35 m (110 ft) from the centre-right channel, and scored.

Club career:

União São João

Roberto Carlos began his professional career playing for União São João, a football club based in Araras (São Paulo state). Despite playing at what was seen as a lesser club, he was called up for the Brazil national football team.

Palmeiras

At Palmeiras, Roberto Carlos was recognized as one of the greats of Brazilian football of all time, winning two consecutive Brazilian Leagues.

Internazionale

After almost signing for Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough side in 1995, Roberto Carlos chose a move to F.C. Internazionale Milano, in the Serie A, playing one season for the Nerazzurri. He scored a 30 yard free-kick on his debut vs Vicenza. Javier Zanetti also made his debut in this game alongside former England international Paul Ince.The then-coach of Inter, Roy Hodgson, wanted him to play as a left winger, but Carlos preferred to play only as a left back.

Real Madrid

Roberto Carlos played at Real Madrid for 11 seasons, playing a total of 584 matches and scoring 71 goals in all competitions. 370 of them were league matches, in which he scored 46 goals from his left-back position. He famously set up Zinedine Zidane to score the winner for Real Madrid to win the Champions League in 2002. His consistently high standard and dynamic displays saw him voted into the uefa.com users' UEFA Team of the Year in 2002 and 2003.

On 2 August 2005, he received dual Spanish and Brazilian citizenship. This proved important for Real Madrid, as it meant that he now counted as a European Union player. In January 2006, he set a club record for the most league matches played by a non-Spanish born player by making his 330th appearance for Madrid. He broke the previous mark of 329 held by Alfredo di Stéfano.

Having played 30 or more league matches for ten consecutive seasons and being one of the most consistent players in the squad, he was heavily criticized for conceding the ball early during the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against Bayern Munich, which led to Roy Makaay's goal, the quickest goal in the tournament's history. On 9 March 2007, he announced his decision to not renew his contract with Real Madrid. In the dying seconds of one of the last few games of the season against Recreativo de Huelva, Fernando Gago played a beautiful pass and Roberto Carlos slotted it home. As a result, Real Madrid were on course for their 30th La Liga championship. He was linked with a move to Chelsea in the summer of 2006.

Fenerbahçe

On 19 June 2007, Roberto Carlos signed a two-year contract and one year optional with the Turkish Super League champions Fenerbahçe at the stadium in front of thousands of fans.

In the first official match he played with the team, Fenerbahçe won the Turkish Super Cup against Beşiktaş by a score of two goals to one. During a league match against Sivasspor, he scored his first goal for Fenerbahçe on 25 August 2007 on a diving header, which was only the third headed goal of his career.

He was injured during the final period of the same season and missed the title race between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. His team eventually lost the title to their rivals, while guaranteeing a place for themselves in Champions League knockouts for the next season. He announced that he was unhappy about the final result and would do his best to carry the domestic trophy back to the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.

On 7 October 2009 Roberto Carlos announced that he would leave Fenerbahçe upon the expiration of his contract in December 2009. He offered to return to Real Madrid and play for free, though he also said return to the Brazilian domestic leagues was a possibility and announced on 25 November 2009 his departure.

He played in his last match for the Turkish club when he came on in the 89th minute as a substitute against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League on 17 December 2009. Team-mates gave Carlos a goodbye shower after the match as Fenerbahçe fans chanted "I love you Carlos," giving him a standing ovation.

Corinthians

After 15 years away from Brazil, Roberto Carlos returned to his country in 2010 to play for Corinthians. He joined his friend and former Real Madrid and Internazionale teammate Ronaldo.

On 4 June 2010, Roberto Carlos scored a goal against Internacional and helped Corinthians to move to the top of the Brazilian Championship table. The Timão won the game with the score of 2–0.

On 16 January 2011, Roberto Carlos scored an impressive goal directly from a corner kick against Portuguesa. Concerned with his safety after being threatened by fans after the Copa Libertadores da América defeat to Tolima, Roberto Carlos requested his release by the club, and was promptly released by Corinthians.

Anzhi Makhachkala

On 12 February 2011, Roberto Carlos signed a two-and-a-half year contract with Russian Premier League club Anzhi Makhachkala, worth approximately €10 million.

Roberto Carlos — team captain

Playing in a defensive midfield position, Carlos has been captain of Anzhi since 8 March 2011. On 25th April 2011, Roberto Carlos scored his first goal for Anzhi in a 2-2 draw Dynamo Moscow, converting a 58th minute penalty.

 On 30 April 2011, Roberto Carlos scored his second goal, converting a penalty in a 1-0 win over FC Rostov. On 10 June 2011, Roberto Carlos then scored his third goal on a 20th minute in a 2-0 win over Spartak Nalchik.On 11 September 2011, Roberto Carlos scored his fourth goal in a 2-1 win over Volga. As of his first season for Anzhi, Roberto Carlos made 28 appearance and scoring 5. On 30th September 2011, Carlos became the caretaker coach of Anzhi following the sacking of Gadzhi Gadzhiyev, before Andrei Gordeyev assumed the role also in a caretaker capacity.

Roberto Carlos has announced his plans to extend his playing career until 2014.

International career:

Roberto Carlos amassed 125 caps, scoring 11 goals for the Brazilian national team. At the 1998 World Cup, he played seven matches, including the final loss to France. After a qualifying game for the 2002 World Cup, Paraguay goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert spat on Roberto Carlos, an action which caused FIFA to give Chilavert a three-match suspension and forced him to watch the first game of the World Cup from the stands. Roberto Carlos also played seven matches in the finals, scoring a goal from a free kick against China. He also was a starter in the final against Germany, with Brazil winning 2–0. After the tournament Carlos was also included in the World Cup's All Star team.

He is especially famous for a free kick against France in the inaugural match of Tournoi de France 1997 on 3 June 1997. He shot from 35 m (115 ft) from the centre-right channel, and scored. The ball curved so much that the ball boy 10 yards to the right ducked instinctively, thinking that the ball would hit him. Instead, it eventually curled back on target, much to the surprise of goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, who just stood in place. In 2010, a team of French scientists produced a paper explaining the trajectory of the ball.

Roberto Carlos' next international tournament was 2006 World Cup. In July 2006, after Brazil's 1–0 defeat to France in the World Cup quarter-finals, Roberto Carlos announced his retirement from the national team, saying, "I've stopped with the national team. It was my last game.

 He said he no longer wanted to play for Brazil because of the criticism he faced from fans and Brazilian media for his failure to mark goalscorer Thierry Henry on France's winning goal.

Upon signing with Corinthians in January 2010, Roberto Carlos told TV Globo that he hoped to play at the 2010 World Cup and believed his return to Brazilian football may help him return to the national team, as manager Dunga had yet to settle on a left back.

However, he was left off the 30-man provisional squad that was submitted to FIFA on 11 May 2010, along with Ronaldinho and Ronaldo.

 Despite his deep desire to do so, Roberto Carlos was not named in Coach Dunga's final squad of 23 for the Brazilian squad in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup. Instead, Brazil newcomer Michel Bastos earned a spot for the left wingback position.

Bonus: Claudio Gentile

Personal information
Date of birth	27 September 1953 (age 58)
Place of birth	Tripoli, Libya
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Central Defender, Full back

Considered by many as football’s greatest ever man marker, Gentile’s finest hour came on 11 July 1982 when he produced an immaculate defensive display alongside fellow defender Gaetano Scirea, as Italy defeated West Germany 3-1 to lift the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. Gentile came to international acclaim in the 2nd phase match against the title-holders Argentina, when he man-marked Diego Maradona out of the game by kicking and flooring him constantly throughout the game. In Italy’s next match against the favorites, Brazil, he first performed a violent tackle from behind on Zico and later ripped the Brazilian’s shirt in half during a tussle

Club career:

In 1972–73 he played in Serie B with Varese.

He then moved to Juventus and first played for them in a Coppa Italia match against Ascoli Calcio on 29 August 1973, with his Serie A debut following on 2 December 1973 against Verona. In all he played 414 senior matches for Juventus, including 283 in Serie A. In over a decade in Turin, Gentile won two major European club competitions (1976-77 UEFA Cup and 1983–84 European Cup Winners' Cup), six Serie A championships, and two Coppa Italias.

In 1984 he moved to Fiorentina where he spent three further years in Serie A, and he then played a final season in Serie B with Piacenza before retiring.

International career:

Gentile was capped on 71 occasions by Italy between 1975 and 1984.

He man-marked Diego Maradona in a match at the 1982 World Cup, after which he famously quipped, "Football is not for ballerinas!"

20. Lillian Thuram

Personal information
Full name	Ruddy Lilian Thuram-Ulien
Date of birth	1 January 1972 (age 39)
Place of birth	Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position	Right back / Centre back

One of the best defenders of all time from France, he is famous for his 2 goals in the 1998 world cup semi final against Croatia when France came from behind to win 2-1. France eventually won the world cup beating Brazil 3-0. At club level.


Club career:


Thuram's football career began with AS Monaco of the French Ligue 1 in 1991. He then transferred to Parma FC (1996–2001) and then to Juventus FC (2001–2006) for £25 million, and eventually to FC Barcelona in 2006. 

AS Monaco
Thuram started his professional career with AS Monaco in 1991. He only made 1 appearance that season, but was officially promoted to the first team the following season, when he would go on to make 19 appearances. He was inserted into the starting eleven by the end of 1992 and would go onto make 155 league appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit, before transferring to Parma FC in the summer of 1996. He made his national team debut in 1994, while at Monaco.


Parma FC
In July 1996, Thuram made a highly watched transfer to Italy, with Serie A club, Parma. In his first season with the club, he made over 40 appearances for the club, in all competitions, scoring 1 goal. He maintained starting position throughout his time with Parma, and racked up 163 Serie A appearances, scoring the lone league goal. In all, he made over 200 appearances for the club, really making a name for himself, also earning caps for France. Following another overly impressive season in 2000–2001, Thuram along with teammate Gianluigi Buffon transferred to Juventus FC, one of the European giants, and Italian Scudetto holders. His transfer cost the club reported £22 million.[2] While at Parma, he won the UEFA Cup in 1998–99, along with eventual Juventus teammate Gianluigi Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro.


Juventus FC
In the summer of 2001, Thuram made a high profile transfer to Juventus FC, along with Buffon. During this period, under coach Marcello Lippi, Juventus was considered as one of the strongest teams in the world, also containing what was considered as one of the best defences in the world by many, and teams strongly regretted ever going down a goal to the club, as they knew how hard it would be to score one back for themselves. Thuram formed impressive defensive partnerships with the likes of Ciro Ferrara, Paolo Montero, Gianluca Pessotto, Mark Iuliano, Alessandro Birindelli, Igor Tudor, Gianluca Zambrotta, Nicola Legrottaglie, Fabio Cannavaro, Giorgio Chiellini, Federico Balzaretti, and Jonathan Zebina during his 5 year tenure with the club. During his time with the club Thuram won the Scudetto two times with Juventus. During the seasons 2004–05 and 2005–06 Thuram, along with Gianluigi Buffon in goal, Gianluca Zambrotta at left back, he and Fabio Cannavaro in the center of defence, and Jonathan Zebina at right back formed one of the most expensive, but also most feared, defenses in Italy. After 5 years with the Italian giants, Thuram transferred to FC Barcelona in La Liga, in the wake of the calciopoli scandal. He managed over 200 total appearances for the club, with 2 goals.


FC Barcelona
On 24 July 2006, Thuram signed with Spanish club FC Barcelona[3] for 5 million[4] after Juventus were relegated to Serie B due to the Calciopoli scandal. Sadly, after his contract expired in the 2007–2008 season, Thuram was forced to call time on his illustrious career due to a rare heart condition which had a few years prior taken the life of his brother. In the season before his announced retirement (the 2007–08 season), he was the third/fourth choice centre back after Carles Puyol, Gabriel Milito, and Rafael Márquez.[5]




International career:


After becoming world champion in 1998, Thuram was an integral part of France's triumph at Euro 2000, which led to the team being ranked by FIFA as number one from 2001–2002. He also played in the 2002 World Cup, 2006 World Cup, Euro 96, Euro 2004, and Euro 2008


1998 World Cup
Thuram scored only two international goals, both of which came in one game – the 1998 World Cup semi-final against Croatia, in which France came back to win 2–1 and advance to the final. France defeated Brazil 3–0 to capture their inaugural World Cup and Thuram won the Bronze Ball as the third most valuable player in the tournament. He, Bixente Lizarazu, Laurent Blanc and Marcel Desailly formed the backbone of the French defence that conceded only 2 goals in seven games.


2006 World Cup
After a brief international retirement, France coach Raymond Domenech convinced Thuram to return to the French team on 17 August 2005, along with fellow "Golden Generation" teammates Zinedine Zidane and Claude Makélélé, as Les Bleus struggled to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. Thuram's centre-back partnership with William Gallas was to be the foundation for France's progression to the final. Thuram earned his 116th cap for France in the group stage match against South Korea in Leipzig on 18 June 2006. In that game he equalled Desailly's record number of caps, which he broke in the final group stage match, a 2–0 win over Togo in Cologne on 23 June 2006, winning his 117th cap. He was named the Man of the match in France's semi-final 1–0 victory against Portugal, coincidentally the same distinction he had earned eight years earlier at the semi-finals of the 1998 
World Cup.


Euro 2008
On 9 June 2008, Thuram took the field against Romania in a group match, and became the first player to make 15 UEFA European Championship finals appearances. The former record of 14 appearances was held by Zinedine Zidane, Luís Figo and Karel Poborský.[6] He played one more game during the tournament, raising the number of his appearances to 16, which record was then equaled a few days later by Edwin van der Sar from the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. Thuram was the captain of France in the tournament. He, along with Claude Makélélé, announced his retirement from international football on 17 June 2008, after France's 2–0 loss to Italy.[7] He finished his career with the national team as France's most capped player with 142 caps.

1. Zinedine Zidane

Personal information
Full name	Zinedine Yazid Zidane
Date of birth	24 June 1972 (age 39)
Place of birth	Marseille, France
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Midfielder

Popularly nicknamed Zizou, he is a French former football midfielder. His career accomplishments include winning the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000, in addition to the 2002 UEFA Champions League. He is also one of only two three-time FIFA World Player of the Year winners. Zidane won the Golden Ball as the MVP in the World Cups of 1998 and 2006. Zidane played his first professional First Division game for Cannes and quickly rose through the professional ranks. He sealed his reputation by scoring two goals in the World Cup finals of 1998, helping France defeat Brazil to claim its first-ever World Cup championship. Extremely passionate and a leader by example, he came first in an online poll conducted by UEFA.

Club career:

Cannes

Zidane went to Cannes for a six-week stay, but ended up remaining at the club for four years to play at the professional level. Having left his family at the age of fourteen to join Cannes, the youngster was invited by Cannes director Jean-Claude Elineau, to leave the dormitory he shared with 20 other trainees and to come and stay with him and his family. Zidane later said that it was in living with the Elineaus that he found equilibrium.

Zidane made his professional debut with Cannes on 18 May 1989 at the age of seventeen in a Ligue 1 match against Nantes.He scored his first goal for the club on 8 February 1991 also against Nantes in a 2–1 win. After the match during a party for all the Cannes players, Zidane was gifted a car by Cannes chairman Alain Pedretti, who had promised him one the day he scored his first goal for the club. In his first full season with Cannes, the club secured its first ever European football berth by qualifying for the UEFA Cup after finishing 4th in the league. This remains the club's highest finish in the top flight since getting relegated for the first time from the first division in the 1948–49 season.

Bordeaux

Zidane was transferred to Girondins de Bordeaux in the 1992–93 season, winning the 1995 Intertoto Cup and finishing runner-up in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup in four years with the club. He played a set of midfield combinations with Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, which would become the trademark of both Bordeaux and the 1998 French national team. In 1995, Blackburn Rovers coach Ray Harford had expressed interest in signing both Zidane and Dugarry, to which team owner Jack Walker reportedly replied, "Why do you want to sign Zidane when we have Tim Sherwood?"

Juventus

In 1996, Zidane moved to UEFA Champions League winners Juventus for a fee of £3.2 millionand won the 1996–97 Serie A and the 1996 Intercontinental Cup, but lost the 1997 UEFA Champions League Final 3–1 to Borussia Dortmund. The following season, Zidane netted 7 goals in 32 matches in the league to help Juventus win the 1997–98 Serie A and thus retain the Scudetto. In Europe, Juventus made their third consecutive UEFA Champions League Final appearance, but lost the game 1–0 to Real Madrid, a club Zidane would later join. Juventus finished second in the 2000–01 Serie A, but were eliminated in the group stage of the Champions League after Zidane was banned for headbutting Hamburger SV player Jochen Kientz. However Zidane was named Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year for the second time.

Real Madrid

In 2001, Zidane joined Real Madrid for a then world record fee of 150 billion Italian lire(about €75 million) and signed a four-year contract. He scored a famous match-winning goal, a volley hit with his weaker foot, in Madrid's 2–1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final completing his personal quadruple. The next season, Zidane helped Real Madrid to win the 2002–03 La Liga and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year for the third time. In 2004, fans voted him as the best European footballer of the previous 50 years in UEFA's fiftieth-anniversary Golden Jubilee Poll.

While Zidane's final season of club football ended trophyless, he enjoyed success on a personal note recording the maiden hat-trick of his career, scoring thrice against Sevilla FC in a 4–2 win in January 2006. He ended the season for Real Madrid as their second highest goal scorer and assists provider behind teammates Ronaldo and Beckham respectively, with 9 goals and 10 assists in 28 games.On 7 May 2006, Zidane, who had announced his plans to retire after the 2006 World Cup, played his last home match and scored in a 3–3 draw with Villarreal CF. The squad wore commemorative shirts with ZIDANE 2001–2006 below the club logo.

International career:

Both France and Algeria consider Zidane a citizen, but he was ineligible to play for the Algerian national team. There was a rumour that coach Abdelhamid Kermali denied Zidane a position for the Algerian squad because he felt the young midfielder was not fast enough. However, Zidane dismissed the rumour in a 2005 interview, saying that he would have been ineligible to play for Algeria because he had already played for France.

The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the first World Cup that Zidane participated in. It was held in his home country France. The French team won all three games in the group stage but Zidane was sent off in the second match against Saudi Arabia for a stamp on Fuad Anwar, becoming the first French player to receive a red card in a World Cup finals. Without their suspended playmaker France proceeded to win 1–0 in the last sixteen game against Paraguay and, on his return to the side, defeated Italy 4–3 on penalties after a goalless draw in the quarter finals. France then defeated Croatia 2–1 in the semi final. Zidane played a major role in the team's accomplishment, though he had yet to score a goal at the World Cup.

Zidane and France went on to play against defending champions and favourites Brazil at the Stade de France in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final. France dominated Brazil from the kick-off, with Zidane scoring two identical goals, both headers from corner kicks taken by Emmanuel Petit and Youri Djorkaeff. Courtesy of Zidane's brace, France went into the break 2–0 up at half-time with one hand already on the World Cup trophy. Emmanuel Petit added a third goal deep in stoppage time to seal the 3–0 win and France's first ever World Cup. Zidane became an instant national hero and his image was projected onto the Arc de Triomphe.

Two years later France won Euro 2000, becoming the first team to hold both the World Cup and the European Championship since West Germany in 1974. Zidane finished with two goals, a memorable free kick against Spain in the quarter final and the golden goal in the semi final against Portugal, and was named player of the tournament by UEFA.

As reigning world and European champions, France entered the 2002 World Cup as favourites but a thigh injury prevented Zidane from playing in France's first two matches and without their talisman the French team failed to score in either match. He was rushed back prematurely for the third game despite not being fully fit, but could not prevent France from being ignominiously eliminated in the group stage without scoring a single goal; the worst performance by a defending champion in the history of the competition.

At Euro 2004, France topped their group with wins over England and Switzerland, before being knocked out in the quarter finals by eventual champions Greece in a surprise 1-0 loss. In the opening match against England, Zidane scored a free kick and penalty in stoppage time to turn defeat into a 2–1 victory for France. After France's elimination Zidane announced his retirement from international football.

Before the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final in Berlin, Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the competition. Having already announced he was to retire after the expiration of his Real Madrid contract at the end of the 2005–06 season, the world of football already knew Zidane's second World Cup final was to be the last match of his career. Seven minutes into the match Zidane put France ahead with a penalty kick and became only the fourth player in World Cup history to score in two different finals, along with Pelé, Paul Breitner, and Vavá, in addition to being tied for first place with Vavá, Pelé and Geoff Hurst with three World Cup final goals apiece. He almost scored a second goal during the first period of extra time but his header was saved by Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Zidane was then sent off in the 110th minute of the game after headbutting Marco Materazzi (who had just insulted his sister) in the chest, so he did not participate in the penalty shootout which Italy won 5–3 courtesy of David Trezeguet's shot rattling the crossbar. Neither Fabien Barthez nor Gianluigi Buffon made a single save in the penalty shootout. In 2010, Zidane said that he "would rather die" than apologize to Materazzi for the headbutt in the final, but also admitted that he “could never have lived with himself” had he been allowed to remain on the pitch and help France win the match.

Following his red card in the final, Zidane retired from professional football, and confirmed that he would not go back on his decision. He was sentenced by FIFA to a three game suspension for his red card, but since he had retired from professional football, he agreed to complete three days of community service with children as part of FIFA’s humanitarian projects.

2. Pele

Personal information
Full name	Edison Arantes do Nascimento
Date of birth	23 October 1940 (age 71)
Place of birth	Três Corações, Brazil
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position	Forward

Pele – called “the Black Pearl,” was the greatest soccer player in the history of the game. With a career total of 1280 goals, he may have been the world’s most popular athlete after he was named Athlete of the Century by the world’s combined National Olympic Committees in 1999, though he never played in the Olympics himself. In March of 2002, the jersey Pelé wore in the 1970 World Cup final sold at auction for $220,850. Pelé became Brazil’s minister of sports in 1995, serving until 1998.

Club career:

Santos

In 1956, de Brito took Pelé to Santos, an industrial and port city in the state of São Paulo, to try out for professional club Santos Futebol Clube telling the directors at Santos that the 15-year-old would be "the greatest football player in the world.

Pelé won his first major title with Santos in 1958 as the team won the Campeonato Paulista; Pelé would finish the tournament as top scorer with an incredible 58 goals, a record that stands today. A year later, O Rei would help the team earn their first victory in the Torneio Rio-São Paulo with a 3–0 over Vasco da Gama. However, Santos was unable to retain the Paulista title. In 1960, Pelé scored 33 goals to help his team regain the Campeonato Paulista trophy but lost out on the Rio-São Paulo tournament after finishing in a disappointing 8th place. Another 47 goals from Pelé saw Santos retain the Campeonato Paulista. The club went on to win the Taça Brasil that same year, crushing Bahia in the finals; Pelé finished as top scorer of the tournament with 9 goals. The victory allowed Santos to participate in the Copa Libertadores, the most prestigious club tournament in the Western hemisphere

Pelé states that his most beautiful goal was scored at Rua Javari stadium on a Campeonato Paulista match against São Paulo rival Juventus on 2 August 1959. As there is no video footage of this match, Pelé asked that a computer animation be made of this specific goal. In March 1961, Pelé scored the gol de placa (goal worthy of a plaque), against Fluminense at the Maracanã. Pelé received the ball on the edge of his own penalty area, and ran the length of the field, eluding opposition players, and fired the ball beyond the goalkeeper. The goal was regarded as being so spectacular that a plaque was commissioned with a dedication to the most beautiful goal in the history of the Maracanã.

Pelé’s electrifying play and penchant for spectacular goals made him a star around the world. His team Santos toured internationally in order to take full advantage of his popularity. In 1967, the two factions involved in the Nigerian Civil War agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire so they could watch Pelé play an exhibition game in Lagos. During his time at Santos, Pelé played alongside many gifted players, including Zito, Pepe, and Coutinho; the latter partnered him in numerous one-two plays, attacks, and goals.

New York Cosmos

After the 1972 season (his 17th with Santos), Pelé retired from Brazilian club football although he continued to occasionally suit up for Santos in official competitive matches. Two years later, he came out of semi-retirement to sign with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1975 season. Though well past his prime at this point, Pelé is credited with significantly increasing public awareness and interest in soccer in the United States. He led the Cosmos to the 1977 NASL championship, in his third and final season with the club.

On 1 October 1977, Pelé closed out his legendary career in an exhibition match between the Cosmos and Santos. Santos arrived in New York and New Jersey after previously defeating the Seattle Sounders 2–0. The match was played in front of a capacity crowd at Giants Stadium and was televised in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports as well as throughout the world. Pelé's father and wife both attended the match, as well as a number of his friends in sport such as Muhammad Ali and Bobby Moore. Pelé gave a brief pre-match speech during which he asked the crowd to say the word "love" with him three times. He played the first half for the Cosmos and the second half for Santos. Pelé scored his final goal on a direct free kick, driving the ball past the diving Santos goalkeeper. At halftime, the Cosmos retired Pelé's number 10. Pelé presented his Cosmos shirt to his father, who was escorted to the field by Cosmos captain Werner Roth. During the second half, Cosmos striker Ramon Mifflin, who had replaced Pelé when he switched sides at halftime, scored on a deflected cross, and the Cosmos won the match 2–1. After the match, Pelé was embraced by the Cosmos players, including longtime rival Giorgio Chinaglia, and then ran around the field while holding an American flag in his left hand and a Brazilian flag in his right hand. Pelé was soon lifted by several Cosmos players and carried around the field.

In 1977, Cosmos came to India to play an exhibition match with Mohun Bagan Athletic Club, the National Club of India. The match was held in Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India. The match ended in 2-2 draw and Pele scored one goal for Cosmos.

National team career:

Pelé's first international match was a 2–1 defeat against Argentina on 7 July 1957 at the Maracanã. In that match, he scored his first goal for Brazil aged 16 years and 9 months to become the youngest player to score in International football.

1958 World Cup

His first match in the World Cup was against the USSR in the first round of the 1958 FIFA World Cup, on the third game of the Cup, alongside Garrincha, Zito and Vavá.He was the youngest player of that tournament, and at the time the youngest ever to play in the World Cup.

It was in the 1958 World Cup that Pelé began using a number 10 t-shirt that immortalized him. Recently it is known that the event was the result of disorganization: the leaders didn't send the shirt numbers of players and it was up to FIFA to choose the number 10 shirt to Pele, who was a substitute on the occasion. The press of the time cataloged Pelé as the greatest revelation of the 1958 Cup who was also given retroactively the Silver Ball as the second best player of the tournament, behind Didi.

1962 World Cup

In the first match of the 1962 World Cup, against Mexico, Pelé assisted the first goal and then scored the second one, after a run past four defenders, to go up 2–0. He injured himself while attempting a long-range shot against Czechoslovakia. This would keep him out of the rest of the tournament, and forced coach Aymoré Moreira to make his only lineup change of the tournament. The substitute was Amarildo, who performed well for the rest of the tournament. However, it was Garrincha who would take the leading role and carry Brazil to their second World Cup title.

1966 World Cup

The 1966 World Cup was marked, among other things, for the brutal fouling on Pelé, by the Bulgarian and Portuguese defenders.By this stage Pelé was the most famous footballer in the world, and the expectation was that Brazil, at the very least, would reach the final. Brazil was eliminated in the first round, playing only three matches. Pelé scored the first goal from a free kick against Bulgaria, becoming the first player to score in three successive FIFA World Cups, but due to his injury, a result of persistent fouling by the Bulgarians, he missed the second game against Hungary. Brazil lost that game and Pelé, although still recovering, was brought back for the last crucial match against Portugal. In that game João Morais brutally fouled Pelé, but was not sent off by referee George McCabe, of whom it is acknowledged let "the Portuguese get away with murder". Pelé had to stay on the field limping for the rest of the game, since substitutes were not allowed at that time. After this game he vowed he would not play again in the World Cup, a decision he would later change

1970 World Cup

Pelé was called to the national team in early 1969, he refused at first, but then accepted and played in six World Cup qualifying matches, scoring six goals. The 1970 World Cup in Mexico was to be Pelé's last. Brazil's squad for the tournament featured major changes in relation to the 1966 squad. Players like Garrincha, Nilton Santos, Valdir Pereira, Djalma Santos and Gilmar had already retired, but the team, with Pelé, Rivelino, Jairzinho, Gérson, Carlos Alberto Torres, Tostão and Clodoaldo, is often considered to be the greatest football team in history.

Brazil played Italy in the final, with Pelé scoring the opener, with a header over Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich. He then made assists on Jairzinho's and Carlos Alberto's goals, the latter one coming after an impressive collective play. Brazil won the match 4–1, keeping the Jules Rimet Trophy indefinitely, and Pelé was named player of the tournament.Burgnich, who marked Pelé during the final, was quoted saying "I told myself before the game, he's made of skin and bones just like everyone else — but I was wrong.

Pelé's last international match was on 18 July 1971 against Yugoslavia in Rio de Janeiro.With Pelé on the field, the Brazilian team's record was 67 wins, 14 draws and 11 losses, .Although Pelé lost many international games, Brazil never lost a match while fielding both Pelé and Garrincha.The only international match Garrincha lost was against Hungary in 1966, 1–3, which Pelé did not play in because of injury.

South American Championship

Pelé also played in the South American Championship. In the 1959 competition he was top scorer with eight goals, as Brazil came second in the tournament.

3. Diego Maradona

Personal information
Full name	Diego Armando Maradona
Date of birth	30 October 1960 (age 51)
Place of birth	Lanús, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder Second Striker

Maradona is an icon in Argentina. As a soccer player, he took his team to new heights and became a hero to sports fans – many of whom referred to him as “San Diego.” He also took sports paychecks to new heights, claiming unheard of salaries in trade after trade. Maradona was plagued by cocaine addiction, though, and his career came to an early end. His performance included two memorable goals against England, one scored with his hand (the referee mistakenly thought the ball struck his head) and now remembered as the “Hand of God,” and another that saw him dribble through a pack of defenders.

Club career:

Argentinos Juniors and Boca Juniors

On 20 October 1976, Maradona made his professional debut with Argentinos Juniors, ten days before his sixteenth birthday. He played there between 1976 and 1981, scoring 115 goals in 167 appearances before his £1m transfer to Boca Juniors. Having joined the Boca squad midway through the 1981 season, Maradona played through 1982 earning his first league championship medal. Whilst playing for Argentinos Juniors, English club Sheffield United put in an offer of £180,000 for his services but the bid was rejected.

FC Barcelona

After the 1982 World Cup, in June, Maradona was transferred to Barcelona in Spain for a then world record £5m.In 1983, under coach César Luis Menotti, Barcelona and Maradona won the Copa del Rey (Spain's annual national cup competition), beating Real Madrid, and the Spanish Super Cup, beating Athletic de Bilbao. However, Maradona had a difficult tenure in Barcelona.First a bout with hepatitis, then a broken ankle caused by an ill-timed tackle by Athletic's Andoni Goikoetxea threatened with jeopardizing Maradona's career, but after treatment and therapy it was possible for him to soon be back on the pitch. At Barcelona, Maradona got into frequent disputes with the team's directors, especially club president Josep Lluís Núñez, culminating with a demand to be transferred out of Camp Nou in 1984. He was transferred to Napoli in Italy's Serie A for another record fee, £6.9m.

Napoli

At Napoli, Maradona reached the peak of his professional career. He quickly became an adored star among the club's fans, and in his time there he elevated the team to the most successful era in its history. Led by Maradona, Napoli won their only Serie A Italian Championships in 1986/87 and 1989/1990, placing second in the league twice, in 1987/88 and 1988/89. Other honors during the Maradona era at Napoli included the Coppa Italia in 1987, (second place in the Coppa Italia in 1989), the UEFA Cup in 1989 and the Italian Supercup in 1990. Maradona was the top scorer in Serie A in 1987/88.

Later on, in honor of Maradona and his achievements during his career at Napoli, the #10 jersey of Napoli was officially retired.

Sevilla, Newell's Old Boys and Boca Juniors

After serving a 15-month ban for failing a drug test for cocaine, Maradona left Napoli in disgrace in 1992. Despite interest from Real Madrid of Spain and Olympique Marseille of France, he signed for Sevilla of Spain, where he stayed for one year.

In 1993 he played for Newell's Old Boys and in 1995 he returned to Boca Juniors for two years.

Maradona also appeared for Tottenham Hotspur in a friendly match against Internazionale, shortly before the 1986 world cup. The match was Osvaldo Ardiles' testimonial, who insisted his friend Maradona played, which Tottenham won 2–1. He played alongside Glenn Hoddle, who gave up his number ten shirt for the Argentine. Maradona would go on to dribble past Hoddle during his "goal of the century" against England in the world cup that year.

International career:

1982 World Cup

Maradona played his first World Cup tournament in 1982. In the first round, Argentina, the defending champions, lost to Belgium. Although the team convincingly beat Hungary and El Salvador to progress to the second round, they were defeated in the second round by Brazil and by eventual winners Italy. Maradona played in all five matches without being substituted, scoring twice against Hungary, but was sent off with 5 minutes remaining in the game against Brazil for serious foul play.

1986 World Cup

Maradona captained the Argentine national team to victory in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, winning the final in Mexico against West Germany. Throughout the 1986 World Cup Maradona asserted his dominance and was the most dynamic player of the tournament. He played every minute of every Argentina game, scored 5 goals and made 5 assists. After scoring two goals in the 2–1 quarter-final win against England his legend was cemented.

1990 World Cup

Maradona captained Argentina again in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. An ankle injury affected his overall performance, and he was much less dominant than four years earlier. Argentina was almost eliminated in the first round, only qualifying in third position from their group. In the round of 16 match against Brazil, Claudio Caniggia scored the only goal after being set up by Maradona.

In the quarter final, Argentina faced Yugoslavia, the match ending 0–0 after 120 minutes, and Argentina advancing on penalty kicks, despite Maradona missing one of the penalties in the shootout with a weak shot at the centre of the goal. The semifinal against the host nation Italy was also resolved on penalties after a 1–1 draw; this time, Maradona was successful with his effort, daringly placing the ball at exactly the same spot as his missed penalty in the previous round. In the final, Argentina lost 1–0 to West Germany, the only goal being a penalty by Andreas Brehme in the 85th minute after a controversial foul on Rudi Völler.

1994 World Cup

At the 1994 FIFA World Cup Maradona played in only two games, scoring one goal against Greece, before being sent home after failing a drug test for ephedrine doping. In his autobiography, Maradona argued that the test result was due to his personal trainer giving him the power drink Rip Fuel. His claim was that the U.S. version, unlike the Argentine one, contained the chemical and that, having run out of his Argentine dosage, his trainer unwittingly bought the U.S. formula. FIFA expelled him from USA '94 and Argentina were subsequently eliminated in the second round. Maradona has also separately claimed that he had an agreement with FIFA, on which the organization reneged, to allow him to use the drug for weight loss before the competition in order to be able to play. According to Maradona, this was so that the World Cup would not lose prestige because of his absence. This allegation has never been proven.

4. Franz Beckenbauer

Personal information
Full name	Franz Anton Beckenbauer
Date of birth	11 September 1945 (age 66)
Place of birth	Munich, Germany
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Sweeper

German football (soccer) player. He is credited with inventing the modern attacking sweeper position. Nicknamed “Der Kaiser,” Beckenbauer is the only man to both captain and manage World Cup-winning teams (1974 and 1990, respectively). He spent most of his career with Bayern Munich, leading the team to three European Cup championships and four national titles. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1972 and 1976. He is generally regarded as the greatest German footballer of all time and also as one of the greatest footballers in the history of the game.

Club career:

Beckenbauer made his debut with Bayern in the Regionalliga Süd ("Regional League South") on the left wing against Stuttgarter Kickers on 6 June 1964. In his first season in the regional league, 1964–65, the team won promotion to the recently formed Bundesliga, the national league.

Bayern soon became a force in the new German league, winning the German Cup in 1966–67 and achieving European success in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1967. Beckenbauer became team captain for the 1968–69 season and led his club to their first league title. He began experimenting with the sweeper (libero) role around this time, refining the role into a new form and becoming perhaps the greatest exponent of the attacking sweeper game.

During Beckenbauer's tenure at Bayern Munich, the club won three league championships in a row from 1972 to 1974 and also a hat-trick of European Cup wins (1974–76) which earned the club the honour of keeping the trophy permanently.

Interestingly, since 1968 Beckenbauer, has been called Der Kaiser by fans and the media. The following anecdote is told (even by Beckenbauer himself) to explain the origin: On the occasion of a friendly game of Bayern Munich in Vienna, Austria, Beckenbauer posed for a photo session right beside a bust of the former Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I. The media called him Fußball-Kaiser (football-emperor) afterwards, soon after he was just called Der Kaiser. However, according to a report in the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag, this explanation is untrue, though very popular. According to the report, Beckenbauer fouled his opposite number, Reinhard Libuda from Schalke 04, in the cup final on 14 June 1969. Disregarding the fans' hooting, Beckenbauer took the ball into the opposite part of the field, where he balanced the ball in front of the upset fans for half a minute. Libuda was commonly called König von Westfalen (king of Westphalia), so the press looked for an even more exalted moniker and invented Der Kaiser.

Beckenbauer's popularity was such that he was included as a character in Monty Python's sketch "The Philosophers' Football Match" as being a surprise addition to the German team. However, instead of actually playing football, all the "players" walk in circles thinking, much to the confusion of Beckenbauer.

In 1977, Beckenbauer accepted a lucrative contract to play in the North American Soccer League with the New York Cosmos. He played with the Cosmos for four seasons up to 1980, and the team won the Soccer Bowl on three occasions ('77, '78, '80).

Beckenbauer retired after a two-year spell with Hamburger SV in Germany (1980–82) with the win of the Bundesliga title that year and one final season with the New York Cosmos in 1983. In his career in domestic leagues, he made 587 appearances and scored 81 goals.

International career:

Beckenbauer won 103 caps and scored 14 goals for West Germany. He was a member of the World Cup squads that finished runners-up in 1966, third place in 1970, and champions in 1974. Beckenbauer's first game for the national team came on 26 September 1965.

1966 World Cup

Beckenbauer appeared in his first World Cup in 1966, playing every match. In his first World Cup match, against Switzerland, he scored twice in a 5–0 win. West Germany won their group, and then beat Uruguay 4–0 in quarter-finals, with Beckenbauer scoring the second goal in the 70th minute. In the semi-finals, the Germans faced the USSR. Helmut Haller opened the scoring, with Beckenbauer contributing the second of the match, his fourth goal of the tournament. The Soviets scored a late goal but were unable to draw level, and West Germany advanced to the final against hosts England. The English won the final and the Jules Rimet Trophy in extra time. The Germans had fallen at the final hurdle, but Beckenbauer had a notable tournament, finishing tied for third on the list of top scorers—from a non-attacking position. The team returned to a heroes' welcome in their homeland.

1970 World Cup

West Germany won their first three matches before facing England in second round on a rematch of the 1966 final. The English were ahead 2–0 in the second half, but a spectacular goal by Beckenbauer in the 69th minute helped the Germans recover and equalise before the end of normal time and win the match in extra time. West Germany advanced to the semi-finals to face Italy, in what would be known as the Game of the Century. He fractured his clavicle after being fouled, but he was not deterred from continuing in the match, as his side had already used their two permitted substitutions. He stayed on the field carrying his dislocated arm in a sling. The result of this match was 4–3 (after extra time) in favour of the Italians. Germany defeated Uruguay 1–0 for third place.

1974 World Cup

The 1974 World Cup was hosted by West Germany and Beckenbauer led his side to victory, including a hardfought 2–1 win over the hotly favoured Netherlands side featuring Johan Cruyff. Beckenbauer and fellow defenders man-marked Cruyff so well that the Dutch were never quite able to put their "Total Football" into full use.

Beckenbauer became the first captain to lift the new FIFA World Cup Trophy after Brazil had retained the Jules Rimet Trophy in 1970. This also gave West Germany the distinction of being the first national team to hold both the Euro and World Cup titles simultaneously (two other countries have done it since: France in 2000, and Spain in 2010).

European Championships

Beckenbauer became captain of the national side in 1971. In 1972, West Germany won the European Championship, beating the Soviet Union 3–0 in the final. In 1976, West Germany again reached the final, where they lost on penalties to Czechoslovakia.