#TFHB100 Players of All-Time: 60-51

To mark our 4th birthday we have decided once more develop a list of the greatest players of all-time. In our infancy, we attempted to countdown the top 250 players through a public vote. However, over the past year a new poll was created gaining a far greater number of votes from almost 50 countries around the world! Alongside the public vote is a judging panel made up of:
Football has been pivotal to the last 100 years of history and players from all areas of the globe have become heroes, villains and even symbols of national identity in the process. Without further ado - here is The Football History Boys - Top 100.



60. Marcel DESAILLY

D.O.B: 07.09.68
Image result for marcel desailly
Place in #TFHB250: 131

Nation: France

Club(s): Nantes, Marseille, Milan, Chelsea, Al-Gharafa, Qatar SC

League Apps (Goals): 539 (23)

International: 116 (3)

Honours: 
UEFA Champions League x2; Serie A x2; Supercoppa Italiana; UEFA Super Cup x2; FA Cup; Charity Shield; FIFA World Cup; UEFA European Championship; FIFA Confederations Cup x2

Individual: FIFA 100; FIFA World Cup All-Star Team 1998; FIFA World XI 1996

Telegraph:
"Played outstandingly as AC Milan’s midfield ‘octopus’ in front of Alessandro Costacurta and Franco Baresi, winning two Serie A titles and a Champions League. Marcel Desailly joined Chelsea on the eve of the 1998 World Cup which he won with France after forming a centre-back partnership for the final with new team-mate Franck Leboeuf following Laurent Blanc’s red card in the semi. He was a defender of muscular elegance, strong, a master of positioning and anticipation, ruthlessly larcenous when he had a sight of the ball and the forward had his back to him. Lesser defensive talents than him later won more at the Bridge but Desailly had already been to the mountaintop with Marseille, Milan and France and never let his impeccable standards drop."

59. Zlatan IBRAHIMOVIC


D.O.B: 03.10.81
Image result for zlatan psg zimbio
Place in #TFHB250:
 New Entry


Nation: Sweden

Club(s):
Malmo, Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, Milan, PSG, Manchester United

League Apps (Goals): 
507 (317)

International:
116 (62)

Honours:
Eredivisie x2; KNVB Cup; Johan Cruyff Shield; Serie A x4; Supercoppa Italiana x3; La Liga; Supercopa de Espana x2; UEFA Super Cup; FIFA World Club Cup; Ligue 1 x4; Coupe de France x2; Coupe de la Ligue x2; Trophee des Champions; Community Shield

Individual: Serie A Footballer of the Year x3; UEFA Team of the Year x4; FIFA World XI 2013; FIFA Puskas Award 2013; Ligue 1 Player of the Year x3





58. Sir Tom FINNEY


D.O.B:
 05.04.22
Image result for tom finney

Place in #TFHB250: 207

Nation:
 England

Club(s): 
Preston North End

League Apps (Goals): 433 (187)

International: 
76 (30)

Honours: 
Football League Second Division

Individual: 
FWA Footballer of the Year 1954 1957

The Guardian:
"Tom Finney, who has died aged 91, was perhaps the most complete British footballer of all time, yet he failed to win a single major honour for either club or country. Blessed with exquisite balance, skill and tactical intelligence, he played the game with a grace – or indeed good grace – given to very few: he was never booked, sent off or even ticked off by referees. Stanley Matthews may have been the public's favourite, but to purists Finney was the greater all-rounder."



57. Alessandro DEL PIERO

Image result for alessandro del pieroD.O.B: 09.11.74

Place in #TFHB250: 64

Nation:
 Italy

Club(s):
 Padova, Juventus, Sydney FC, Delhi Dynamos

League Apps (Goals): 585 (234)

International: 
91 (27)

Honours: Serie A x6; Coppa Italia; Supercoppa Italiana x4; FIFA World Cup; UEFA Champions League; UEFA Super Cup; UEFA Intertoto Cup; Intercontinental Cup

Individual: 
FIFA 100




56. Billy MEREDITH


Image result for billy meredithD.O.B: 30.07.1874

Place in #TFHB250: 
New Entry

Nation:
 Wales

Club(s): 
Chirk; Northwich Victoria; Manchester City; Manchester United

League Apps (Goals): 
681 (169)

International: 
48 (11)

Honours: Welsh Cup; Football League First Division x2; FA Cup x2; FA Charity Shield; Home Championship x2

Individual: 
Manchester City Hall of Fame

Ben Jones - TFHB:
Who is Billy Meredith? I hear you ask! Simply put, he was football's first real 'superstar'. Playing for Manchester United and Manchester City - Meredith's record speaks for itself. Famous for playing with a toothpick in his mouth, Meredith was one of the game's first pioneers. Born to a working-class family in North Wales, his early life was spent down mines, working hard and developing a grit which would be evident in his style of play. Later, he became one the initial voices for a removal of the maximum wage, challenging the establishment and internationally amassing 48 caps, playing his last at the ripe old age of 45! A footballing legend!



55. Frank LAMPARD

D.O.B: 20.06.78
Image result for frank lampard zimbio

Place in #TFHB250: 56

Nation:
 England

Club(s): 
West Ham United; Swansea; Chelsea; Manchester City; New York City FC

League Apps (Goals): 647 (193)

International: 
106 (29)

Honours: Premier League x3; FA Cup x4; League Cup x2; Community Shield x2; UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League; UEFA Intertoto Cup

Individual: 
FWA Footballer of the Year; PFA Player of the Year; Baloon d'Or Silver; FIFA World XI 2005; England Player of the Year x2; MLS All-Star; UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament 2004

Squawka:
"Lampard’s best qualities have never been up for discussion. His value to a team is obvious rather than vague, opaque or mystical. There is no context required to appreciate what he has always been about. He excelled at being exactly the kind of midfielder he set out to be, and there is no doubt that he was the very best at what he did. A record of 274 goals from midfield in 913 competitive appearances is pure end product. In 11 out of his 22 seasons as professional player, he hit double figures for league goals. In 2010 bagged 22 in 36 Premier League games. That’s a return that would have won him the Golden Boot in seven seasons since the relaunch and re-branding of the English topflight in 1992."


54. Sandor KOCSIS


D.O.B: 21.09.29
Image result for sandor kocsis
Place in #TFHB250: 
196

Nation: Hungary

Club(s): 
Ferencvaros; EDOSZ; Honved; Young Fellows Zurich; Barcelona

League Apps (Goals): 
335 (296)

International: 
68 (75)

Honours:
Hungarian League x4; La Liga x2; Copa Del Rey x2; UEFA Cup; Olympic Gold Medal

Individual:
FIFA World Cup Golden Boot; FIFA World Cup All Star Team 1954


UEFA.com
"When Luis Suárez chipped his cross to the back post in Berne, the outcome seemed inevitable. Sándor Kocsis nipped in and headed FC Barcelona into the lead in the 21st minute of the 1961 European Champion Clubs' Cup final and scored one of the most memorable of his 151 goals for the club.
"There has never been anybody better with his head," Gusztáv Sebes, coach of the legendary Magical Magyars, said of the striker whose 11 goals took Hungary to the 1954 FIFA World Cup final. "He had a great leap and combined fierce power with pinpoint accuracy."


53. Carlos ALBERTO

D.O.B: 17.07.44
Image result for carlos alberto brazil
Place in #TFHB250:
 30

Nation:
 Brazil

Club(s):
Fluminense; Santos; Flamengo; New York Cosmos; California Surf

League Apps (Goals): 743 (64)

International: 53 (8)

Honours:
Campeonato Carioca x3; Campeonato Paulista x4; Taca Guanabara x2; Taca de Prata; Recopa Sul-Americana; FIFA World Cup 1970; NASL SoccerBowl x4

Individual: 
FIFA 100; Brazil Football Hall of Fame; World Team of the 20th Century;

There has to be only one option here....





52. Paul SCHOLES


Image result for paul scholes D.O.B: 16.09.74

Place in #TFHB250:
85

Nation: England

Club(s):
Manchester United

League Apps (Goals):
499 (107)

International:
66 (14)

Honours:
Premier League x11; FA Cup x3; League Cup x2; FA Community Shield x5; UEFA Champions League x2; FIFA Club World Cup x2

Individual:
PFA Team of the Year x2; English Football Hall of Fame


Zinedine Zidane:
"My toughest opponent? Scholes of Manchester. He is the complete midfielder. Scholes is undoubtedly the greatest midfielder of his generation."


David Beckham:

"Paul Scholes was always unbelievably talented. Quiet. And dirty. When he got his tackle right, it was a great tackle. But when he got it wrong, he could kill someone. He was so talented and a player I feel honoured to have played with."

51. Lothar MATTHAUS

Image result for Lothar matthausD.O.B: 21.03.61

Place in #TFHB250:
43

Nation:
 Germany

Club(s): 
Borussia Monchangladbach; Bayern; Inter; MetroStars

League Apps (Goals): 595 (161)

International: 150 (23)

Honours: Bundesliga x7; DFB-Pokal x3; DFB Supercup; Fuji Cup x4; DFB Liga-Pokal x3; UEFA Cup x2; Serie A; Supercoppa Italiana; UEFA European Championship; FIFA World Cup

Individual: FIFA World Cup Silver Ball; Onze d'Or; FIFA World Player of the Year 1991; Ballon d'Or 1990; FIFA XI 1996 1997 2001; FIFA 100

Who Ate All the Pies: 
"Matthaus wasn’t just a terrifically talented midfielder in a bygone era when central midfielders were expected to dabble in both defensive and offensive graft (can you even imagine?) – he also had presence, tons of the stuff. Matthaus was imposing, dominant, fiercely competitive, tireless. He was arguably the best (or perhaps most influential) player at Italia ’90, quashing entire teams – including a very handy Yugoslavian side – on his lonesome. He was nuts and bolts, but world class nuts and bolts. Such was his influence, Matthaus retired aged 40 following a brief stint in the US having won more caps for Germany than any other player (150) and having appeared at nine major international tournaments over the course of two entire decades with Die Mannschaft."





Keep track of the list so far:




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Keep tuned in to find out the next 10 in the #TFHB100 shortlist! Check out our judges' websites!!



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