As the year 2000 approached,
World Soccer
, the English
international football magazine established
in 1960, conducted a poll of its readers to choose the 100
greatest players of the 20th century. Voters picked their top 10 players
in order of preference. Points were assigned to each vote a player gained, 10 points
for a 1st place vote, 9 points for a 2nd place vote and so on down to 1 point
for a 10th place vote.
World Soccer
published the poll results in
its December, 1999 issue. Predictably, Pele ran away with 1st place.
Polls of this sort commonly suffer twin defects; they
give disproportionate weight to the views of younger football fans, who are
much more likely to vote than their elders and yet much less likely to have as
broad a perspective, and to the views of fans in the country where the
publisher of the poll is located. While it is based in England,
World Soccer
has a worldwide
readership, and its readers are relatively sophisticated football fans.
As the magazine itself noted, "Despite the enormous growth in media
coverage of the game since the advent of colour TV, nearly all the Top 10 were
in their prime many years ago." It also claimed that "in
general our voters opted for" choices representing "long-lasting
class rather than fly-by-night tabloid-and-telly hysteria" and that the
poll results "bear out the view" that "our readers are more
discerning than those of other football magazines."
Nevertheless, the entire list of players selected as the top 100 demonstrates beyond doubt that
the usual defects flawed the
World Soccer
poll, albeit perhaps not as
severely as most popular polls.
World Soccer
itself noted, "The majority of nominations were for
English players, which is hardly a shock in view of the magazine's
base." Moreover, the inclusion of some players who had only
recently begun to shine, the exclusion of stellar stars of the past and the
relative placement of both past and present stars were often
bewildering.
The voters' marked preference for the recent
put beyond the pale even some of England's most celebrated players of the past. While Michael
Owen and David Beckham, still beginning to establish themselves as England
stars when the vote was taken, finished in the top 50, Jimmy Greaves,
England's greatest modern-day scorer with 44 goals in 57 internationals
and
357
goals in 516 top-division league
games, collected just 24 points and was not
among the top 100. Neither Tommy Lawton, 14 points, nor Wilf Mannion, 3
points, two members of England's fabled post-Second War forward line, secured
enough votes to reach the top 100, and, as
World Soccer
observed, the
failure of a third, Stan Mortensen, to gain even a single point although he
scored more than 300 goals, including 23 in only 25
internationals, "was one of the biggest surprises of the entire
vote."
Yet, skewed as it was, the top 100 selection
could have been much
worse. At least the two wingers on that marvelous post-war England forward line,
Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney, were voted into the top 50. And,
despite
World Soccer
's English base and the resulting English bias, no England player finished in the top 10,
the least controversial portion of the poll's results. Three--Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore and Stanley
Matthews-- were in
the top 20, but they deserved those positions. Six more--Gordon Banks, Gary Lineker, Michael Owen, Duncan
Edwards, David Beckham and Tom Finney--finished in the top 50, and there were
at least two and perhaps three or even four question marks there. Another six finished in the top
100--Kevin Keegan, Paul Gascoigne, Glenn Hoddle, Alan Shearer, Dixie Dean and
Bryan Robson--great players all, but perhaps not all deserving a spot
among the 100 greatest.
Both England and Brazil had 15 players in
the top 100, Italy, 11 (1 of them shared), Germany,
8, Holland, 7, Argentina, 6 (1 of them shared), France, 6, Spain, 5 (3 of them
shared), Hungary, 4 (2 of them shared), Wales, 4, Denmark, 3, Scotland, 3, and
Uruguay, 3 (1 of them shared).
Many other England players drew votes but
placed outside the top 100, some of them, to put it charitably, singularly
peculiar choices.
They were, in alphabetical order: Tony Adams, 6 points, Alan Ball, 7, Gary
Bailey, 5, John Barnes, 23, Len Barry, 8 (or, since
World Soccer
gave no first name or initial, could that be the then
uncapped Gareth Barry?), Cliff Bastin, 6, Peter Beardsley, 3, Colin Bell, 17, Roger Byrne, 8,
Sol Campbell, 21, Allan Clarke, 2, Ray Clemence, 16, Andrew
Cole, 6, Tony Currie, 2, Brian Deane, 4, Tony
Dorigo, 2, Ted Drake, 6, Robbie Fowler, 10, the uncapped former England squad member Steve Froggatt, 5, Charlie
George, 1, Jimmy Greaves, 24, Geoff Hurst, 22, Paul Ince, 5, Tommy Lawton, 14,
Steve McManaman, 28, Wilf Mannion, 3, Phil Neal, 6, Gary Neville, 1, Stuart
Pearce, 11, Paul Parker, 2, David Platt, 4, Charlie Roberts, 5, David Seaman, 5, Len
Shackleton, 6, Lee Sharpe, 4, Peter Shilton,
16, Frank Swift, 8, Peter
Thompson, 3, Phil Thompson, 3, Dennis Tueart, 1, Chris Waddle, 1, Ray Wilson, 17, Frank Worthington,
5, Billy Wright,
15, Ian Wright, 14. One other English player, "Howells," no
first name or initial given, received 8 points. While there have been
several English players named Howells, none of them were ever capped at senior
level.
The complete list of players who received
votes but finished outside the top 100 in rough alphabetical order:
Ardiles
(Arg) 14, Ademir (Bra) 13, S Al-Owairan (Sau) 10, Albert (Hun) 10, Amoros
(Fra) 10, Archibald (Sco) 10, Albert (Blg) 9, Atmatsidis (Gre) 8, Adams (Eng)
6, Alemao (Bra) 6, Anelka (Fra) 6, Abedi Pele (Gha) 5, Aldridge (Ire) 5, I
Allchurch (Wal) 5, Asparuhov (Bul) 5, J L Andrade (Uru) 3, Antognoni (Ita)
3, Awukoso 3, Ayala (Chl) 2, Almeyda (Arg) 1.
Bergomi
(Ita) 27, Blokhin (Rus) 27, Brady (Ire) 25, Bremner (Sco) 24, J Barnes (Eng)
23, D Blanchflower (NI) 20, Butragueno (Spa) 18, Basler (Ger) 17, Bell (Eng)
17, Bierhoff (Ger) 16, Bozsik (Hun) 16, Ben Barek (Fra/Mor) 10, Bosman (Blg)
10, Bourdeau 10, Bratseth (Nor) 10, Baljic (Bos) 9, Barry (Eng) 8, Bettega
(Ita) 8, Bosman (Hol) 8, R Byrne (Eng) 8, Ball (Eng) 7, Blind (Hol) 7, Bastin
(Eng) 6, Benetti (Ita) 6, Binder (Aut) 6, Boniperti (Ita) 6, G Bailey (Eng) 5,
Bonner (Ire) 5, Barthez (Fra) 3, Beardsley (Eng) 3, Briegl (Ger) 3, Budai
(Hun) 3, Burruchaga (Arg) 3, Balakov (Bul) 2, Boban (Cro) 2, Buzansky (Hun) 2,
Belanov (Rus) 1, Blanc (Fra) 1.
Cubillas
(Per) 28, Czibor (Hun) 24, Claudio Lopez (Arg) 23, Campbell (Eng) 21, Clemence
(Eng) 16, Cafu (Bra) 12, Cannavaro (Ita) 10, Carlos Alberto (Bra) 10, Careca
(Bra) 9, Chiesa (Ita) 9, Clodoaldo (Bra) 8, Coluna (Por) 8, Carbajal (Mex) 7,
J Collins (Sco) 7, Cabrini (Ita) 6, Caldow (Sco) 6, Campos (Mex) 6, Carey
(Ire) 6, Ceulemans (Blg) 6, Coimbra (Por) 6, A Cole (Eng) 6, Croy (Ger) 6,
Causio (Ita) 5, Combi (Ita) 5, Cabanas (Par) 3, Conte (Ita) 3, Chumpitaz (Per)
2, A Clarke (Eng) 2, D Cooper (Sco) 2, Currie (Eng) 2, Colak (Tur) 1, Jordi
Cruyff (Hol) 1.
Detori
(Hun) 29, Dzajic (Yug) 24, Denilson (Bra) 19, Dunga (Bra) 17, Domingas (Bra)
14, Desailly (Fra) 10, Duff (Ire) 10, Dilman (Tur) 9, Donadoni (Ita) 9, F De
Boer (Hol) 6, Deyna (Pol) 6, Drake (Eng) 6, Dumitrescu (Rom) 5, Daei (Irn) 4,
Deane (Eng) 4, Del Sol (Spa) 4, Dorigo (Eng) 2, Dasayev (Rus) 1.
Eder (Bra) 14, Edmundo (Bra) 10, England (Wal) 9,
Effenberg (Ger) 1, Elder (NI) 1, M Etcheverry (Bol) 1.
Ferrara (Ita) 19, K-H Forster (Ger) 16, Friedenreich
(Bra) 11, Fowler (Eng) 10, Figueroa (Chl) 9, Figo (Por) 7, S Froggatt (Eng) 5,
Frantzeskos (Gre) 2, Fortunato (Ita) 1.
Greaves (Eng) 24, Gentile (Ita) 22, Gilmar (Hun) 15,
Giles (Ire) 14, Gilzean (Sco) 9, Giresse (Fra) 9, Grosics (Hun) 9, Gaetjens
(Usa) 8, Guardiola (Spa) 7, Goycochea (Arg) 6, Georgiatos (Gre) 3, E Gray
(Sco) 3, Gamarra (Par) 2, T Gemmell (Sco) 2, George (Eng) 1, B Gonsalves (Usa)
1.
Hierro (Spa) 26, Hassler (Ger) 25, Hurst (Eng) 22,
Hidegkuti (Hun) 21, Luis Hernandez (Mex) 20, Higuita (Col) 14, Haller (Ger)
12, Hakan Sukur (Tur) 10, Held (Ger) 8, Howells (Eng) 8, Haan (Hol) 7, Hanappi
(Aut) 6, Harder (Ger) 6, Hamman (Ger) 5, M Hughes (Wal) 3, Hellstroem (Swe) 2,
Hermann (Swi) 2, Hoeness (Ger) 2, Hamm (Usa) 1.
Ikpeba (Nig) 10, Ince (Eng) 5, F Inzaghi (Ita) 2,
Illgner (Ger) 1.
J Johnstone (Sco) 23, Jorginho (Bra) 11, Juninho (Bra)
11, James (Sco) 8, Jordao (Por) 7, Julinho (Bra) 7, Junior Baiano (Bra) 5,
Josimar (Bra) 4, Jardel (Bra) 3, R Johnstone (Sco) 3, Jurion (Blg) 3, Jarni
(Cro) 1.
Kohler (Ger) 29, Kanu (Nig) 25, R Koeman (Hol) 25, Krol
(Hol) 14, Kopke (Ger) 13, Roy Keane (Ire) 12, Kluivert (Hol) 12, Kipiani (Rus)
9, Kirkwood (Sco) 7, Kostic (Yug) 6, Kucukandonyadis (Tur) 6, Kiriakov (Rus)
5, Kahn (Ger) 3, Kanchelskis (Rus) 3, Konsel (Aut) 2, Krankl (Aut) 2, Kalb
(Ger) 1, Keller (Usa) 1, Kirsten (Ger) 1.
Lacatus (Rom) 24, B Laudrup (Den) 24, Labruna (Arg) 21,
Leonidas (Bra) 19, Lawton (Eng) 14, H Larsson (Swe) 12, Lentini (Ita) 10,
Liddell (Sco) 10, Lato (Pol) 8, Luzhnyi (Ukr) 8, Leonardo (Bra) 5, Leboeuf
(Fra) 4, Liedholm (Swe) 4, Letchkov (Bul) 3, Lubanski (Pol) 3, Lerby (Den) 2,
Lorimer (Sco) 1, Luis Enrique (Spa) 1.
McManaman (Eng) 28, S Mazzola (Ita) 25, Mancini (Ita)
17, McInally (Sco) 15, McCoist (Sco) 12, Moreno (Arg) 12, Marzolini (Arg) 10,
Masopust (Cze) 9, V Mazzola (Ita) 9, Meredith (Wal) 9, D Mackay (Sco) 7,
McNeill (Sco) 7, Majid Abdullah (Sau) 6, Moller (Ger) 6, C Maldini (Ita) 5,
McGrath (Ire) 5, Mihajlović (Yug) 5, Moravcic (Cze) 5, Murdoch (Sco) 5, J
McIlroy (Ire) 4, Montero (Uru) 4, Mostovoi (Rus) 4, Maddix (Jam) 3, Mannion
(Eng) 3, Mijatović (Yug) 3, McGrain (Sco) 2, W Miller (Sco) 2, Morena (Uru) 2,
Machlas (Gre) 1, Martin Vazquez (Spa) 1, Monti (Arg/Ita) 1.
Nicol (Sco) 10, Nikolaidis (Gre) 9, Neal (Eng) 6,
Niyilasi (Hun) 6, Nakata (Jap) 1, Nedved (Cze) 1, G Neville (Eng) 1, Nevin
(Sco) 1.
Ortega (Arg) 29, Oliseh (Nig) 28, Overath (Ger) 16,
Ocwirk (Aut) 7, F Omam-Biyik (Cam) 6, Okocha (Nig) 2, Oktay (Tur) 2.
Piola (Ita) 17, Gheorghe Popescu (Rom) 17, Pearce (Eng)
11, Planicka (Cze) 11, Pirri (Spa) 10, Piyapong (Tha) 10, Petit (Fra) 9,
Petrescu (Rom) 5, Preud?homme (Blg) 5, Papaioannou (Gre) 4, Parvin (Irn) 4,
Pedernera (Arg) 4, Platt (Eng) 4, Peruzzi (Ita) 3, Polster (Aut) 3, P Parker
(Eng) 2, Parola (Ita) 2, Hugo Perez (Usa) 1, Prosinecki (Cro) 1.
Rivera (Ita) 29, Rensenbrink (Hol) 15, Rui Costa (Por)
12, Rufai (Nig) 8, Rosenthal (Isr) 7, Rosler (Ger) 6, C Roberts (Eng) 5, Rava
(Ita) 3, Ramos (Usa) 2, Redondo (Arg) 2, Rep (Hol) 2, Ravelli (Swe) 1, J
Robertson (Sco) 1.
Sindelar
(Aut) 29, Stam (Hol) 29, Suarez (Spa) 29, N Santos (Bra) 28, Scirea (Ita) 28,
Salas (Chl) 27, Schuster (Ger) 27, Savicević (Yug) 23, Simeone (Arg) 21, Hugo
Sanchez (Mex) 19, Schillaci (Ita) 18, D Santos (Bra) 17, Solskjaer (Nor) 17,
Shilton (Eng) 16, Leonel Sanchez (Chl) 13, Seeler (Ger) 12, Santamaria
(Uru/Spa) 10, Scifo (Blg) 10, W Steel (Sco) 10, Savrakos (Gre) 9, Schlosser
(Hun) 9, Slijvo (Yug) 9, Sono (SAf) 9, Spiegler (Isr) 9, Stabile (Arg) 8,
Stojković (Yug) 8, Streltsov (Rus) 8, Swift (Eng) 8, Sekularac (Yug) 7,
Skoblar (Yug) 7, Shackleton (Eng) 6, Sarti (Ita) 5, Seaman (Eng) 5, Schumacher
(Ger) 4, Sharpe (Eng) 4, Stulfauth (Ger) 2, Schroif (Cze) 1, Simoes (Por) 1.
Trautmann
(Ger) 26, Thuram (Fra) 13, Tardelli (Ita) 8, Torres (Por) 6, Taffarel (Bra) 4,
Tigana (Fra) 4, Toshack (Wal) 4, Peter Thompson (Eng) 3, Phil Thompson (Eng)
3, Thon (Ger) 3, Tueart (Eng) 1.
Ugarte
13.
Vialli
(Ita) 26, Van der Sar (Hol) 23, Varela (Uru) 18, Voller (Ger) 17, Veron (Arg)
16, Van Hanegem (Hol) 13, Vava (Bra) 11, Viola (Bra) 7, Van Breukelen (Hol) 6,
Vierchowod (Ita) 6, Van Beveren (Hol) 4, Van Tiggelen (Hol) 2, Villa
(Arg)
1.
R Wilson (Eng) 17, W Wright (Eng) 15, I Wright (Eng) 14, J White (Sco) 8,
Wenger (Fra) 6, Worthington (Eng) 5, F Walter (Ger) 3, Worns (Ger) 2, Waddle
(Eng) 1, Wynalda (Usa) 1.
Yorke
(T&T) 18, A Young (Sco) 7, G Young (Sco) 6, Yeboah (Gha) 5, Yekini (Nig)
1.
Zubizarreta
(Spa) 29, Zola (Ita) 26, Zamorano (Chl) 7, Zagallo (Bra) 6, Zenga (Ita) 6,
Zalayeta (Uru) 5, Zanetti (Arg) 2.
____________________
PY