The Top 250 Players of All-Time: 1
In February 2013 up in the attic bedroom of our student house, Football History Boys Gareth Thomas and Ben Jones, with the help on contributor Ollie Jackson, decided it was time we did something about the question, 'Who is the best player in the World?'. Housemate Liam suggested setting out to find the greatest 50 players of all time, this swiftly grew to 100, 150 and 200 before we settled on 250. Our original website www.top250.webs.com is still there to answer the debate but we furthered our work to blogging about the beautiful game starting up www.thefootballhistoryboys.blogspot.com.
Missed the last installment? Here it is!
Without further ado here is the winner of our public poll, TFHB's number 1!
1. Zinedine ZIDANE
NATION: France (108/31);
CLUB(s): Cannes (FRA), Bordeaux (FRA), Juventus (ITA), Real Madrid (ESP)
CLUB HONOURS: 2x UEFA Intertoto Cup, 2x Serie A, 1x Supercoppa Italiana, 2x UEFA Super Cup, 2x Intercontinental Cup, 1x Supercopa de Espana, 1x UEFA Champions League, 1x La Liga,
INTERNATIONAL HONOURS: 1x FIFA World Cup, 1x FIFA World Cup Runner-up, 1x UEFA European Championship
Other Notable Honours: Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year (1994) Ligue 1 Player of the Year (1996), Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year (1997, 2001), Ballon d'Or Bronze Ball (1997), FIFA World Player of the Year Third place (1997, 2002), ESM Season XI (1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04), UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year (1998), FIFA World Cup All-Star Team (1998, 2006), FIFA World Cup Final Man of the Match (1998), L'Équipe Champion of Champions (1998), French Player of the Year (1998, 2002), Onze d'Or (1998, 2000, 2001), Ballon d'Or (1998), FIFA World Player of the Year (1998, 2000, 2003), World Soccer 100 Greatest Players of the 20th century (1999), UEFA Euro Player of the Tournament (2000), UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament (2000, 2004), Ballon d'Or Silver Ball (2000), Serie A Footballer of the Year (2001), UEFA Team of the Year (2001, 2002, 2003), UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match (2002), La Liga Best Foreign Player (2002), UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (2002), FIFA World Cup Dream Team (2002), UEFA Best European Player of the Past 50 Years (2004), FIFPro World XI All-Star Team (2005, 2006), FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (2006), FIFA World Player of the Year Second place (2006), Goal.com Team of the Decade (2009), ESPN Team of the Decade (2009), ESPN Player of the Decade (2009), Sports Illustrated Player of the Decade (2009), UEFA Champions League Best Player of the Past 20 Years (2011), World Soccer Greatest XI of all Time (2013), The Football History Boys Greatest Player of All-Time (2014)
What can we say about him?
This volley (below) in the Champions League final 2002 is probably the best cup final goal ever, you cannot begin to describe how good it was!
Another thing is of course the World Cup final 2006, that panenka'ed penalty and of course that headbutt... What a way to bow out of a phenominal career!
Finally, a little film called Zidane - A 21st Century Portrait, a 90 minute documentary in which 17 cameras follow Zizou around for the whole game... Just him! I've watched it all and it's mesmerizing to see him in action (spoilers:), he even gets sent off at the end!
Anyway, I'm more than proud to induct Zidane as Number 1 in our Top 250 countdown!!"
Gareth - TFHB
Ben- TFHB
"Whichever way you want to look at it, there is no way a legends list can be compiled without Zinedene Zidane. Described as “The Scientist,” Zidane is regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation. His determination, passion and overall ability, often left dazzled opposition players breaking sweat to get back in the game. Zidane is, in the simplest of terms, a legend of football." Total Football Mag
"Few players have the ability to change the face of football with their talent. Zinedine Zidane's touch, grace and skill on the ball have ensured that, despite one of the most public breakdowns in the game's history at the 2006 World Cup final, he remains in the public consciousness as the best player of his generation and an icon to all who have seen him play." Jon Carter - ESPN

"At every stage of his career, in any game he played in, Zidane was a player who would inspire young and old to find their nearest football so they could try their best to mimic the tricks and flicks they had just seen the legendary Frenchman dazzle them with.
An icon of the beautiful game, he was known worldwide by not just football fanatics. "The guy with the bald patch, the one that looks like a monk" those outside football would say, "Isn't he best in the world now?" Despite their lack of knowledge on the subject they still knew what this player was, super human." Forza Italian Football
And some views from within the game:
Pele
Alfredo Di Stefano
"Zidane is one of the greatest players in history, a truly magnificent player."
Franz Beckenbauer
"Zidane is unique. The ball flows with him. He is more like a dancer than a football player"
Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Beckenbauer
"He is the best player I've seen... Playing alongside him was a crazy thing! Supporters arrived earlier at the Bernabeu just to see him warm-up."
Roberto Carlos
"I would give up five players to have Zidane in my squad."

Roberto Carlos
Cesare Maldini
"Zidane was from another planet. When Zidane stepped onto the pitch, the 10 other guys just got suddenly better. It is that simple."
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
"What he could do with a football is a dream for most of us."
Xabi Alonso
Xabi Alonso
"You look at Zidane and think 'I've never seen a player quite like that'. Diego Maradona was a great player. Johan Cruyff was a great player. They were different - but with similarities. What sets Zidane apart is the way he manipulates a football, buying himself space that isn't there. Add his vision and it makes him very special."
Kevin Keegan
Kevin Keegan
"He’d go past one, two, three, five, six players – it was sublime. His feet spoke with the ball."
Jean Varraud
"Sometimes I don't know what takes me over during a game. Sometimes I just feel I have moved to a different place and I can make the pass, score the goal or go past my marker at will."
Jean Varraud
"Sometimes I don't know what takes me over during a game. Sometimes I just feel I have moved to a different place and I can make the pass, score the goal or go past my marker at will."
Zinedine Zidane
TFHB Blogs with Zizou involved:
Juventus: All-Time XI
1998 World Cup: A French Dream Team
2006 World Cup: The Battle of Nuremburg
TFHB Blogs with Zizou involved:
Juventus: All-Time XI
1998 World Cup: A French Dream Team
2006 World Cup: The Battle of Nuremburg
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