A list of underdogs considered as the best of all time (19th century – present)
Following the Part 1 of ”The greatest players in history” series, 90soccer presents a list of 15 legends who were also named as the best of all time by several teammates, opponents, experts and fans. Not widely regarded as ”G.O.A.T.”, but they have their own strong following like Beckenbauer in Germany or Garrincha in Brazil.
The first part of the reasearch covered the 15 best players in the history of the sport. The second part features the ones who trail the Top 15 players.
The criteria for the research this time were:
- Players who are or were considered as the best ever at one or another point, before or after retirement
- Three to six endorsements by experts, players or famous personalities who referred to them as ”the greatest of all time” – not just one of the best and not just recently, but throughout history
- Players who were condisered the greatest of their generation
- Attention from press and media and impact on soccer
- Performances for club and national team, including youth years, technical abilities, leadership skills and individual accolades
Below are 15 players considered as the greatest of all time, and several endorsers who named them as No1 in history. Note that the order is alphabetical, starting from number 16.
#16. Andrade (Uruguay)
- Name: José Leandro Andrade
- Born: 22 November 1901, died 5 October 1957
- Position: Defensive Midfielder, Right Half
- Jersey number: #4
- Youth career: Misiones
- Pro career (1921-1934): Bella Vista, Nacional, Peñarol, Atlanta, Lanús-Talleres, Wanderers
- National team: Uruguay
His style was mesmerizing, elegant. The “Black Marvel” (called ”maravilla negra” in Spanish) was one of the first black superstars in soccer. During his prime he was regarded as one of the finest players in the world and Uruguay’s anchor in the Olympic Games winning the 1924 and 1928 campaigns before the launch of the FIFA World Cup in 1930.
He was a dynamic, fast and highly technical player who was able to dominate the pitch without the physicality of many of his teammates. Andrade was also credited with being an intelligent and honest player. And he never celebrated his goals!
After Uruguay’s success in 1924 Olympics, new soccer star Andrande, stayed back in France for some time, revelling in his new-found popularity becoming a womaniser and developing a dapper clothing sense. In 1925, his club, Nacional Montevideo was invited to make an extensive European tour, playing 38 matches over six months. During that tour, Nacional played against both national squads and professional club teams from 9 European countries. Those games attracted a total of over 800,000 spectators! Most of them went to see Andrande who was also very popular among the female crowd. In Europe, the ”Black Marvel” contracted syphilis and as a result he got blinded in one eye.
He scored 36 times in around 190 appearances for Bella Vista and later Nacional, a solid record for a player that played so deeply. In 1954, Jules Rimet called him the best player ever.
One of the soccer’s all-time greats, Andrade died, penniless and alcoholic, in an asylum hospital in Montevideo in 1957, aged 55. He became the first black soccer player to take part in the Olympics – an influential moment for all of sport.
Endorsers: Ljubisa Stevanovic, Jules Rimet (1954), Bok de Korver (1943)
#17. Beckenbauer (Germany)
- Name: Franz Beckenbauer
- Born: 11 September 1945 – 7 January 2024
- Position: Sweeper, Centre-Back, Midfielder
- Jersey number: #3, #4, #5, #6
- Youth career: SC 1906 München, Bayern Munich
- Pro career (1964-1983): Bayern Munich, New York Cosmos, Hamburger SV, New York Cosmos
- National team: West Germany
Just like Di Stefano and Real Madrid, the link between Beckenbauer and Bayern Munich was similar: the Bavarian club was not successful, at all, before the arrival of ‘’Kaiser’’.
Beckenbauer was a versatile player who started out as a midfielder, but made his name as a sweeper. A complete player, Beckenbauer is considered to have revolutionized the role of a sweeper in soccer, as he was not only brilliant at helping out his fellow defenders and goalkeeper in their duties in protecting the goal from the opponents, but was also equally capable of offensive duties. He often was the driving force of said attacks, with his passing range and elegant technique allowing him to operate as a playmaker. ‘’The Emperor’’ was also a master of the one-two tactic – he would pass the ball to a teammate and then run past an opponent.
Beckenbauer made his name with Bayern Munich, but he was a 1860 Munich supporter. He grew up in Giesing, a working-class district home to mostly the ‘’Blues’’ of the city. In 1958, while he was playing for SC 1906 Munich in the final of an under-14 tournament against 1860, he was on the verge of getting signed by the club he supported as a child. But after a player from 1860 Munich hit the 13-year-old Franz Beckenbauer, he decided he would join FC Bayern instead of the ‘’Lions’’! TSV 1860 Munich never won a major title in Germany past the 1960s and their crosstown rivals, Bayern, have won everything since then.
He was the first captain to lift the World Cup and European Championship at the international level and the European Cup at the club level. The ”Kaiser” was also Cruyff’s great rival and Pele’s teammate at New York Cosmos.
Endorsers: Hugo Galli (1982), Juan Diaz (1982), Pele, Andreas Brehme (2014)
18. Buchan (England)
- Name: Charlie Buchan
- Born: 22 September 1891, died 25 June 1960
- Position: Centre-Forward
- Jersey number: #8
- Youth career: Woolwich Arsenal
- Pro career (1909-1928): Woolwich Arsenal, Leyton, Sunderland, Arsenal
- National team: England
Captain of England, Sunderland and Arsenal, Charlie Buchan was a tall, elegant inside forward, a true great of English soccer before and after the Great War. He is Sunderland’s all time record league scorer, with 209 league goals to his credit. Charlie scored 5 goals in a 7-0 win against Liverpool in 1912 to equal the club record.
Under Herbert Chapman, Buchan was a pioneer of Arsenal’s adoption of the WM formation, which brought significant success for the club in the 1930s. David Calderhead and William Harper considered Buchan as the best player they had ever seen.
In March 1928 he retired from the game, aged 36, and joined the Daily News as a journalist – he had been writing articles for newspapers for many years – initially he covered cricket and golf as well as soccer. From 1951, he edited his own soccer magazine – ”Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly”. He published his autobiography, ”A Lifetime in Football”, in 1955. Buchan died in 1960, at the age of 68, whilst holidaying in Monte Carlo.
Endorsers: David Calderhead (1913), William Harper (1926), W. J. Mils (1955), Jimmy Seed (1934)
#19. Dimmock (England)
- Name: Jimmy Dimmock
- Born: 5 December 1900, died 23 December 1972
- Position: Outside Left Forward
- Jersey number: #11
- Born: 23 December 1871, died 18 June 1908
- Youth career: Park Avenue, Gothic Works, Clapton Orient, Edmonton Ramblers, Tottenham
- Pro career (1919-1936): Tottenham, Thames, Clapton Orient, Ashford Town
- National team: England
Undoubtedly an underrated player. Dimmock holds a unique place in Tottenham’s history as the only player with 400 league games and 100 goals. Surprisingly enough, he still remains (at 20 years 139 days) the youngest Tottenham player to appear and score in an FA Cup Final. A record held since 1921, when Dimmock scored the winning goal for Tottenham Hotspur in the 1921 FA Cup Final against Wolves (1-0).
After playing for the youth section since 1916, Dimmock turned professional with Tottenham Hotspur in May 1919, and his first match was at Lincoln City on 4 October of the same year. He played as an outside left and he was known for his mazy runs and trickery. Dimmock immediately became the Tottenham fans’ favourite and stayed with the club for more than a decade including his youth years. Apart from 100 goals for the Spurs he also scored 12 in 38 FA Cup matches.
Dimmock’s life was adventurous and sad at the end. During the First World War, he served as a gunner with the Royal Field Artillery of Great Britain. He worked for a time in the road haulage industry but suffered from poor health later in life, eventually losing both legs. He died on 23 December 1972 at the North Middlesex Hospital, Edmonton, London.
According to soccer fanatics Cummings, Andy Wilson, and Stumbker he was the best player they had ever seen.
Endorsers: N. D. Cummings (1955), Andy Wilson, E. Stumbker (1955)
#20. Eusébio (Mozambique)
- Name: Eusébio da Silva Ferreira
- Born: 25 January 1942, died 5 January 2014
- Position: Centre-Forward
- Jersey number: #8, #9, #10, #20
- Youth career: Sporting Lourenço Marques
- Pro career (1957-1980): Sporting Lourenço Marques, Benfica, Boston Minutemen, Monterrey, Toronto Metros-Croatia, Beira-Mar, Las Vegas Quicksilvers, União de Tomar, New Jersey Americans, Buffalo Stallions (indoor)
- National team: Portugal
The best African player of all time according to many historians and one of the greatest ever. Benfica’s legend was born and raised in Mozambique, one of Portugal colonies. Eusebio’s first team was ”Os Brasileiros” (The Brazilians), founded by him and his friends to play against other neighborhood teams. In 1957, 15 at the time, he signed for Sporting Lourenco Marques (who sported exactly same jerseys like Sporting Lisbon as its feeder club in Mozambique) and scored 77 goals in 42 league games! As a teenager could already run the 100m in under 11 seconds, just like Josef Bican.
Three and a half years later, on 17 December 1960, 18-year-old Eusébio arrived in Lisbon, to sign not for Sporting but their fierce rivals Benfica for a 400,000-Portuguese-escudos fee. Benfica knew their bitter city rivals Sporting would be furious. During the transfer, the prodigy was codenamed ‘Ruth Masso’ and sent to Lagos, a small fishing village in the Algarve: a legal challenge with Sporting would go on through the courts. Eventually, Sporting would lose the case and a youth product belonged to the club. Eusebio registered with Benfica in May 1961. He took the ”Eagles” to the European Cup Final in his very first season in Portugal.
He was also eligible to play for the Portugal national team as Mozambique was not allowed to have their own one, as part of the Portuguese Empire, back then.
The “Black Panther” was known for his speed, technique, athleticism, his right-footed powerful shot, and his eye for goal. Eusebio was also fiercely ambitious. When Portugal drew Brazil in the first-round group stage of the 1966 World Cup, Eusebio was determined to show he belonged on the same field as the great Pele.
“He wanted to be better than Pele in this game. People already knew Eusebio’s name in European football, but the World Cup was the consecration, it would be forever’’, teammate Antonio Simoes once said. And the “Black Pearl” would score twice in a 3-1 win for Portugal, while Pele was treated to some fierce tackling from Portuguese defenders that left him hobbling off the field. Brazil exited the tournament, and Portugal won the third place.
He played for many clubs and ended his career in the States with Buffalo Stallions and the Major Indoor Soccer League. Rumour has it that he said “ I am better than your best player” soon after he signed for Benfica, but it does not matter as he proved it on field and soon he was called “O Rei” (“The King”) by fans. He finished fourth in FIFA’S internet poll about the Player of the Century in 2000. Portugal and Africa were clearly on his side.
Shortly after Eusébio’s death, in 2014, Di Stéfano stated: “For me Eusébio will always be the best player of all time”.
Endorsers: António Simões, Alfredo Di Stefano (2014), MemeSports (2024)
#21. Finney (England)
- Name: Sir Thomas Finney
- Born: 5 April 1922, died 14 February 2014
- Position: Winger, Centre-Forward
- Jersey number: #7
- Youth career: Pilkington’s, Preston North End
- Pro career (1940-1963): Preston North End, Toronto City, Distillery
- National team: England
One of the first soccer players to be knighted by the Queen of England. Tom Finney is widely acknowledged to have been one of England’s greatest ever players and of his era. He played as a winger (outside right) or centre forward mainly for Preston North End – a mediocre team- from 1940 until 1960. Finney was a versatile attacking player who could operate in any forward position on either side of the pitch or at centre-forward Finney would often be compared with Stanley Matthews as soccer fans would debate who was the best player, given Matthews’ dribbling skills and Finney’s all round ability.
He won the British Home Championship 10 times and scored 30 in 76 appearances for England and led Preston to the 1954 FA Cup final. Scottish manager Bill Shankly considered him as the best ever said about Finney: “Tom Finney would have been great in any team, in any match and in any age … even if he had been wearing an overcoat”. Tommy Docherty’s feeling were similar saying in 2014 that Finney was the best player he had ever seen, and also calling Lionel Messi a ‘Tom Finney reborn’.
Bill Shankly quoted about Tom Finney:”Pele was a great player. He must rank one of the best of all time. I’ve said that Tommy Finney was the best I’ve seen and I’d bracket Pele, Eusebio, Cruyff, Di Stefano and Puskas up there with him”.
Finney was voted Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year twice, in 1954 and 1957.
Endorsers: Bill Shankly, Tommy Docherty (2014), Keith Carabine
#22. Gallacher (Scotland)
- Name: Hughie Gallacher
- Born: 2 February 1903, died 11 June 1957
- Position: Centre-Forward
- Jersey number: #9
- Youth career: Tannochside Athletic
- Pro career (1919-1939): Hattonrigg Thistle, Bellshill Athletic, Queen of the South, Airdrieonians, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Derby County, Notts County, Grimsby Town, Gateshead
- National team: Scotland
A pocket sized natural soccer phenomenon of boundless skill and unquenchable determination, in 624 senior games he scored 463 times in a goal drenched career of terrorising opposing defences. Hughie Gallacher played as a centre forward in Scotland and England. When still a student at Bellshill Academy, he started a long friendship with another Scottish legend, Alex James. He began his pro career with then non-league Queen of the South: his soccer talent exhausted the superlatives available in the dictionary to reporters of the day.
His ratio for Scotland was incredible with 24 goals in 20 internationals, a strike rate of more than a goal a game. Gallacher was one of the Wembley Wizards who beat England 5–1 at Wembley Stadium in 1928 and won the British Home Championship 5 times with Scotland. He was the last man to captain Newcastle United to be champions of England and was man of the match in the 1924 Scottish Cup Final giving Airdrieonians their only major trophy to date.
Frank Watt, Raich Carter, and Lucien Gamblin considered him as the best player they had ever seen.
Endorsers: Frank Watt, Raich Carter, Lucien Gamblin
#23. Garrincha (Brazil)
- Name: Mané Garrincha
- Born: 28 October 1933, died 20 January 1983
- Position: Right Winger
- Jersey number: #7
- Youth career: Pau Grande, Cruzeiro do Sul FC
- Pro career (1951-1972): Serrano, Botafogo, Corinthians, Atlético Junior, Flamengo, Olaria
- National team: Brazil
For many Brazilian fans who were able to see him play, Garrincha was the best dribbler and greatest player ever. He was born with his right leg 6 centimetres shorter than his left, also his left leg turned outwards and his right turned inwards, leading one doctor to certify him as crippled as a child. However, this did not stop him at all. He would carry Brazil to 1962 World Cup glory.
Garrincha was known amongst soccer scouts from his teens, but he had no interest in a professional career despite his immense talent. But fate was on soccer’s side. Thank God. An explosive, agile, and diminutive right winger with a low centre of gravity, Garrincha was renowned for his creativity, pace, and speed of execution, as well as his remarkable ball control, technique, flair, imagination, dribbling skills and feints on the wing, which enabled him to create chances out of nothing. The “little bird” was a gifted crosser and set piece specialist known for his bending free kicks and corners taken with the outside of his foot.
Garrincha loved drinking, women, but training? Not much. Rumour has it that every time he would go to a Rio hospital after a binge, nurses would line up to have sex with in the patent’s room!
He is credited for inspiring the first bullfighting chants of –the now famous- ‘’olé’’ to be used at soccer grounds. Garrincha was a national hero in Brazil, called by fans as ”Alegria do Povo” (People’s Joy) and ”Anjo de Pernas Tortas” (Bent-Legged Angel). Garrincha became an idol for Botafogo, though he grew up as a Flamengo fan.
Old fans in Brazil would still argue that he was better than Pele. He died in 1983, at the age of just 49 after an alcoholic coma.
Endorsers: Formoso, Juan Jose Pizuti, Amancio Amaro, Resenha Alvinegra (2021), Jairzinho (2021)
#24. Meazza (Italy)
- Name: Giuseppe Meazza
- Born: 23 August 1910, died 21 August 1979
- Position: Centre-Forward, Full-Back, Attacking-Midfielder, Inside Forward
- Jersey numbers: #9, #10
- Youth career: Gloria, Inter Milan
- Pro career (1927-1947): Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, Varese, Atalanta, Inter Milan
- National team: Italy
San Siro Stadium was named after him. A two-time World Cup winner. A player who was Italy’s main star in its 2 winning pre-war editions.
Meazza grew uip as an AC Milan fan, but was turned down by them for being too small (only of 169 cm height) and skinny. After a Nerazzurri scout witnessed him juggling his rag ball on the streets of Milan, he was quickly signed by bitter rivals Inter. Initially deployed as full-back in his youth, Meazza began his professional career as a centre forward, but he later played for more than half of his career as a creative inside left forward, known as the ‘’mezzala’’ role in Italian soccer – he was also capable of playing on the right. He was known for his excellent shooting ability and dribbling skills, with an eye for the final pass. Despite his average height and slight yet stocky build, he was also an exceptional header of the ball and was known for his acrobatic abilities in the air.
The famous Italian intellectual Luigi Veronelli considered him as the greatest ever once said about Meazza: “I also saw Pele playing. He did not achieve Meazza’s elegant style of playing. One day, I witnessed him doing something astonishing. He stopped the ball with a bicycle kick, elevating himself two meters from the ground. Then he landed with the ball glued at his foot, dribbled over an astonished defender, and then went on to score a goal with one of his hallmark shots, sardonic and accurate to the millimeter.”
Meazza wasn’t a model athlete by any means. He had a weakness for several vices which saw him drinking and frequenting brothels the night before matches. He was also the only Inter player at that time that was permitted to smoke. This love for alcohol and women often got the talented striker into trouble with the club’s directors. His huge talent meant that he could get away with almost anything, and he often took advantage of this. Even a night of heavy drinking and sex before the 1937 match against Juventus didn’t stop the rebellious striker from scoring a brace, and taking the award for the best player on the pitch. Another Garrincha, Best or Moreno type of soccer player.
Gianni Brera, an accomplished Italian journalist would insist that he never saw any player better than Meazza, neither Pele or Maradona. The great Peppino Prisco also considered him to be the best of all time: “Meazza was great, unbeatable, even if he would occasionally run into a frightful crisis, caused by his intense sexual activity and his passion for the game. When he took over on the field, he did jaw-dropping things.”
Meazza eventually did sign for his boyhood team, Milan, and following his two year stint on the red side of Milan, he even played for Inter’s other fierce rival, Juventus, as well as Varese and Atalanta. And at the end of his career, he returned to Inter as a player-coach. Due to his technical skill, prolific goalscoring, and creative ability, he was often given the nickname ‘’Il genio’’ (The Genius) by the Italian press during his career.
Endorsers Gianni Brera, Giuseppe Prisco, Luigi Veronelli
#25. Needham (England)
- Name: Ernest Needham
- Born: 21 January 1873, died 8 March 1936
- Position: Full-Back, Forward, Left-Half
- Jersey numbers: #4, #6
- Youth career: Waverley, Staveley Wanderers
- Pro career (1889-1909): Staveley, Sheffield United
- National team: England
He was called “The Prince of Half-Backs” and apart from soccer he played first-class cricket for Derbyshire from 1901 to 1912. Needham was an outstanding left half who played for Sheffield United from 1891 until 1910 and was instrumental in their promotion campaign of 1892–93. He then captained their team from 1895 to 1905 and under his captaincy, United won the FA Cup twice, in 1899 and 1902. The “Nudger” has previously played as a forward for Waverley F.C. and Staveley Wanderers.
Arsenal’s legendary manager Herbert Chapman wrote in his ‘’Herbert Chapman on Football’’ book in 1932: “Now, what about Needham! Well, to put in nutshell, I consider the little Stavely man the greatest footballer who ever kicked the ball”. His England teammate Fred Spiksley described Needham as “the greatest player association football has ever seen”. Alfred Gibson also thought of him very highly.
Many fans and experts who saw him play also considered him as the best player of all time. Needham who also played first-class cricket for Derbyshire from 1901 to 1912, remains a legend for Sheffield United. In 2021 IFFHS selected him as one of the two defenders in its all-time world XI for the 19th century (formation 2-3-5).
Endorsers: William Pickford (1906), Herbert Chapman (1932), Fred Spiksley
#26. Puskás (Hungary)
- Name: Ferenc Puskás
- Born: 1 April 1927, died 17 November 2006
- Position: Inside Forward, Centre-Forward, Attacking Midfielder
- Jersey number: #10
- Youth career: Kispest Honvéd
- Pro career (1943-1966): Budapest Honvéd, Ethnikos Piraeus (unofficial matches), Real Madrid
- National team: Hungary, Spain
The front man of the “Mighty Magyars”, that dominant Hungarian national team of the 1950s. Left-footed Puskás, known as the “Galloping Major,” he played for army club Honved in Hungary and soon became a global superstar. Olympic champion in 1952 scoring 4 goals during the tournament and 1954 World Cup runner-up, against West Germany in Wern.
While on the road with Honvéd in 1956, the Hungarian Revolt was struck down by the Soviets, and Puskás decided not to return to Hungary. After a two year ban by FIFA, he returned to play for Real Madrid and won five consecutive league titles (1961-1965) and three European Cups (1959, 1960 and 1966).
Some would say that he was Real Madrid’s best player, above Di Stefano. Puskás had excellent ball control, mostly with his left foot, and had a great first touch of the ball giving very quick and precise passing and crossing. He also was able to maneuver and change positions quickly on the pitch by moving from inside left to centre forward. Puskas had one of the most powerful left shots in history and often scored from 30 to 35 metres from goal. He won the domestic topscorer award 8 times, four in Hungary and four in Madrid.
In 1995, he was recognized as the greatest top division scorer of the 20th century by the IFFHS. In 2016 he won an international internet poll called the ”Legends World Cup” leaving Cristiano Ronaldo second and was declared the greatest player of all time. Hungarian fans definitely supported his candidancy.
He scored 802 goals in 792 official games during his career including a staggering 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary! Lennart Johansson, the longest-serving president of UEFA, said that Puskás was the best player he had ever seen.
Endorsers: Fritz Walter (1997), Todor Veselinovic (1985), Lennart Johansson, Paul Meechan
#27. Ross (Scotland)
- Name: Nick Ross
- Born: 6 December 1862, died 7 August 1894
- Position: Full-back, Striker
- Jersey number: – (no squad numbers before 1911)
- Senior career (1880-1893): Hearts, Preston North End, Everton, Linfield, Preston North End
- National team: Scotland
Undoubtedly one of the best players of the 19th century when British soccer was the world’s best by far. Often described as versatile player, the man who could adorn any position. Ross stood out mainly as full-back, the position which he reached his peak, and centre-forward, where he proved to be a prolific scorer during his second stint at Preston. Not only the greatest full-back, but the Scot was for some, the greatest player of all time, while Billy Meredith also considered him as the greatest back ever.
In 1906 William Pickford, co-author of ”Association Football” and the ‘’Men who Made it’’ (1905) and a future FA President, described Nick Ross as a ”footballing genius” matched only by Ernest Needham and G.O. Smith. Ross played in Scotland, Northern Ireland and England, being captain for Hearts and Preston. He was the first ever full–back to score a League goal in England.
During his second spell with Preston he was converted to a striker and helped the club win the 1889–90 League Championship, the second in a row. That Preston team, the ‘’Original Invincibles’’ are considered the best in Britain from the 1860s until the First World War.
Health problems forced him to retire in 1893 and he died a year later from tuberculosis. He was still an active player and just 31 years old. For years after his death he would be considered as the best ever by many fans and other experts.
Endorsers: Alfred Gibson (1911), William Pickford (1906), Bob Holmes (1910), Old Fogey (1893)
#28. Scarone (Uruguay)
- Name: Héctor Scarone
- Born: 26 November 1898, died 4 April 1967
- Position: Inside Forward
- Jersey number: #8
- Youth career: Londres, Sportsman Montevideo, Nacional Montevideo Reserves
- Pro career (1917-1939): Nacional Montevideo, Barcelona, Nacional Montevideo, Inter, Palermo, Nacional Montevideo
- National team: Uruguay
Known as “the Gardel of Football” and ‘’El Mago’’ (the Magician) due to his extraordinary skills with the ball, and playmaking abilities Scarone played as inside right forward and was considered one of the best players in the world during his time. Only of 170cm height he was crowned world champion three times, after winning the 1924 and 1928 Olympics, along with the first World Cup in 1930 which helped his fame spread as Uruguay’s national hero.
At the age of 19, he scored the goal that gave Uruguay the title at the 1917 South American Championship in the final against Argentina, his fourth international match. He stayed 9 years with Nacional Montevideo and then he was signed by Barcelona back in 1926! After a career in Spain and Italy he signed for Nacional again in 1924 and won a total of 21 official titles with his beloved club and retired in 1939, aged 41.
In 1995 veteran Uruguayan soccer historian Marcelo Weinberger picked his top ten fellow-countrymen with Scarone topping the list (Piendibene was in second place). Italy’s legend Giuseppe Meazza said about the Uruguayan maestro: “Honestly, I’ve faced a lot of opponents and seen a lot of players in my life, but for me Hector Scarone was the best of the lot”.
Endorsers: Giuseppe Meazza, Gyula Feldmann (1937), Jozsef Eisennhoffer (1941), Virginio Rosetta
#29. Sindelar (Austria)
- Name: Matthias Sindelar
- Born: 10 February 1903, died January 1939
- Position: Centre-Forward
- Jersey number: #9, #10
- Youth career: Hertha Vienna
- Pro career (1921-1939): Hertha Vienna, Austria Vienna
- National team: Austria
The ‘’Mozart of football”. Jewish Austrian of Czech descent, Sindelar was born and raised in Vienna. Notably, he grew up alongside his future Austrian teammate Josef Bican, one of the highest goal scorers in history of soccer. Already considered to be “an excellent dribbler and finisher” as a teenager, Sindelar quickly progressed into Hertha Vienna’s first team by the early 1920s.
He played as a centre-forward for the celebrated Austrian national side of the early 1930s that became known as the Wunderteam, which he captained at the 1934 World Cup where Austria was robbed in the semifinal against Italy.
Also known as or ‘’Der Papierene’’ (Paper Man) for his slight build, Sindelar’s individual technical skill and vision would stand out in his games: undoubtedly one of the finest players of his era, famous for his fantastic dribbling ability and creativity.
After Austria was annexed by Germany, Sindelar refused to play for the new Germany national team citing old age (by that point he was 35) or injury issues. On 23 January 1939, both Sindelar and his girlfriend Camilla Castagnola were found dead at the apartment they shared in Vienna. He was only 36 years old and an active player. The official verdict cited carbon monoxide poisoning as the cause, but it was common belief that they were murdered by the Nazis.
Sindelar received the best player award in the Central European International Cup, twice (1927-30 and 1933-35). In 1954 Jules Rimet called Sindelar as the greatest of all time, alongside Andrade. In 1999 he was voted the best Austrian player of the 20th Century in poll by the IFFHS and named Austria’s sportsman of the century a year before, in 1998.
Endorsers: Gyorgy Sarosi, Jeff Mermans (1949), Jules Rimet (1954), Otto Nerz
#30. Walker (Scotland)
- Name: Bobby Walker
- Born: 10 January 1879, died 28 August 1930
- Position: Inside Forward, Outside Forward
- Jersey number: #7, #8
- Senior career (1896-1919): Dalry Primrose, Hearts
- National team: Scotland
Scotland’s first superstar and Heart of Midlothian’s best player ever and fans’ favourite with 33 goals against crosstown rivals Hibernian, which is the record tally in the Edinburgh Derby.
He joined Hearts in 1897 and played in a few games that clinched their second League Championship and his only with the club, losing out on the Scottish title on four occasions. With Walker in their squad Hearts won 2 Cups and played in 4 finals and also led the club to unprecedented success: 5 Edinburgh championships, 2 North-Eastern Cups, 1 World Championship and 10 East of Scotland Shields (out of 10 finals). The publication ‘’Football Encyclopaedia’’ from 1934, edited by Frank Johnston, referred to him simply as “Bobby Walker, the greatest natural footballer who ever played”. His fame soon spread abroad, outside the British Isles. During Hearts’ first overseas tour to Norway in May 1912, King Haakon of Norway attended one of the games specifically to see Walker play!
Walker who played as a forward (outside and inside right), was considered by many to be the finest player in Europe in the 1900s and early 1910s. He retired in 1919 after 23 years with Hearts, aged 40.
Endorsers: Charles O’Hagan (1927), Charles Clegg (1912), Frank Johnston (1934), Steve Bloomer (1913), William McLuckie (1965)
