For some time now, I’ve been working on some lists of the greatest ever players in each position. Some of you might have seen my own thread on the greatest players in English league history www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=620289 or the thread that inspired it by Gregoriak of their German equivalents https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=420539 Basically over the coming months I will reveal the 100 best players (in my opinion) in each position, who have ever graced the game. These will be the finest footballers to kick a ball since the codification of the game in 1863. Let me start by outlining some of the criteria that I have applied: 1. Peak performance. How good were they at their very best. 2. Longevity and consistency. How long did they perform well for. 3. Achievements. Where did they get to in the game, how much did they win and what style did they do it in. Furthermore I have excluded all players aged below 28 today, as I do not feel they have a sufficient "body of work" on which to be judged. All eligible current players have probably been judged slightly more harshy than they might be as it is difficult to fully evaluate a career until it is over. These criteria naturally favour some of the players from the bigger nations and bigger clubs. I’m afraid that is largely unavoidable. But if you disagree with any of my selections then please let me know. That is what these threads are for. This is just a bit of fun and I've tried to include players across all eras. I'm not pretending it is in any way definitive, but its there for some debate and hopefully a few people (including myself) can learn a bit more about some forgotten greats. I’d like to thank some of the members of the BigSoccer history group for their input on this as well. Please do not post your thoughts in this thread. I will set up a designated discussion thread for these threads. I will delete any posts in this thread. Please though do contribute. I am really going to try to get this forum back on track, but I will need the input of many members of this board. If you have any feedback or questions about this then please put them in the discussion thread. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?p=19314177#post19314177 Enjoy!
100.Carlos José Castilho Goalkeeper Brazil 27/11/1927 29 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Fluminense http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_José_Castilho
99. Brad Friedel Goalkeeper USA 18/5/1971 82 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Brondby, Galatasaray, Columbus Crew, Liverpool, Blackburn, Aston Villa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brad_Friedel
98. Antal Szabo Goalkeeper Hungary 9/4/1910 40 caps (0 goals) Clubs: MTK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antal_Szabó
97. Simeon Simeonov Goalkeeper Bulgaria 26/3/1946 34 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Slavia Sofia, CSKA Sofia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_Simeonov
96. Manuel Bento Goalkeeper Portugal 25/12/1948 63 caps (0 goals) Clubs: FC Barreirense, Benfica http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_Bento
95.Joseph-Antoine Bell Goalkeeper Cameroon 8/10/1954 ? caps Clubs: Union Douala, Africa Sports National, Al Mokawloon, Marseille, Toulon, Bordeaux, Saint-Etienne http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph-Antoine_Bell
94.Francisco Buyo Goalkeeper Spain 13/1/1958 7 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Mallorca, Deportivo, Huesca, Deportivo, Sevilla, Real Madrid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Buyo
93. Elisha Scott Goalkeeper Ireland 24/8/1894 31 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Linfield, Liverpool, Belfast Celtic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisha_Scott
92.Bodo Illgner Goalkeeper Germany 7/4/1967 54 caps Clubs: Koln, Real Madrid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodo_Illgner
91. Rodolfo Rodríguez Goalkeeper Uruguay 20/1/1956 79 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Cerro, Nacional, Santos, Sporting Lisbon, Portuguesa, Bahia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodolfo_Rodríguez
90. Aldo Olivieri Goalkeeper Italy 2/10/1910 24 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Verona, Lucchese, Brescia, Torino http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Olivieri
89. Anton Turek Goalkeeper West Germany 18/1/1919 20 caps Clubs: Eintracht Frankfurt, TSG Ulm 1846, Fortuna Düsseldorf, Borussia Mönchengladbach http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toni_Turek
88. Jean Nicolay. Goalkeeper Belgium 27/12/1937 39 caps Clubs: Standard Liege, Daring Club Brussels http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Nicolay
87. Ivan Curkovic Goalkeeper Yugoslavia 15/3/1944 19 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Velez Mostar, Partizan Belgrade, Saint-Etienne http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Curkovic
86. Bert Trautmann Goalkeeper 22/10/1923 Germany 0 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Manchester City http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Trautmann
85. Barbosa Moacir Nascimento Goalkeeper Brazil 27/3/1921 20 caps (0 goals) Clubs: ADCI, Ypiranga, Vasco da Gama, Bonsucesso, Santa Cruz, Campo Grande http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moacyr_Barbosa
84. Heinrich Stuhlfauth Goalkeeper Germany 11/1/1896 21 caps (0 goals) Clubs: 1 FC Nuremberg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Stuhlfauth
83. Vitor Baia Goalkeeper Portugal 15/10/1969 80 caps Clubs: Porto, Barcelona, Porto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitor_Baia
82. Jack Kelsey Goalkeeper Wales 19/11/1929 41 caps (0 goals) Clubs: Arsenal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kelsey
81. Hans Jakob Goalkeeper Germany 16/6/1908 38 caps Clubs: SSV Jahn Regensburg, Bayern Munich http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Jakob
80.Américo Tesoriere Goalkeeper Argentina 18/3/1899 38 caps Clubs: Boca Juniors, Sportivo del Norte, Boca Juniors http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Américo_Tesoriere
79. Milutin Soskic Goalkeeper Yugoslavia 31/12/1937 50 caps Clubs: Partizan Belgrade, FC Koln http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milutin_Šoškić
78. Georgi Naydenov Goalkeeper Bulgaria 21/12/1931 51 caps Clubs: Cherevno Zname, Spartak Sofia, CSKA Sofia, Spartak Sofia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Naydenov_(footballer)
77José René Higuíta Goalkeeper Colombia 27/8/1966 69 caps (3 goals) Clubs: Millionarios Bogota, Nacional Medellin, Real Valladolid, Nacional Medellin, Vera Cruz, Indepediente Medellin, Real Cartagena, Junior Baranquilla, SD Aucas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rene_Higuita