GIANLUIGI BUFFON is only star from Pele’s “Fifa 100” list of the greatest footballers ever who is still playing.
In 2004, the Brazilian legend, now 79, listed his top 100 players of all-time to celebrate Fifa’s 100th anniversary.
Gianluigi Buffon is the only star on the Fifa 100 list to still be playing
Incredibly, just ONE of those players is still going – with that honour going to Juventus legend Buffon.
The evergreen Italian goalkeeper, 42, kicked-off his professional career at Parma 25 YEARS ago.
In 1995, Buffon burst on to the scene as a fresh-faced 17-year-old.
After six stunning years at Parma, Buffon would go on to become arguably the greatest goalkeeper of all time with a 17-year stay at Juventus.
A quick season at Paris Saint-Germain followed, before his return to the Old Lady last summer.
Still going to this day, Buffon is the one player out of Pele‘s 100 best-ever to have not retired.
Pele listed his top 100 players of all time back in 2004
Buffon holds that honour by himself after Turkish former Newcastle star Emre Belozoglu hung up his boots earlier this year, aged 39.
But Emre wasn’t the only somewhat surprising name on the Fifa 100… with Liverpool bad-boy El-Hadji Diouf making the cut.
To put that into context, greats such as Jairzinho and even 1966 World Cup final hat-trick hero Geoff Hurst did NOT make the list.
Check out the full somewhat bizarre 100, organised by nation, below…
Contents
ARGENTINA
- Gabriel Batistuta
- Hernan Crespo
- Alfredo di Stefano
- Mario Kempes
- Diego Maradona
- Daniel Passarella
- Javier Saviola
- Omar Sivor
- Juan Sebastian Veron
- Javier Zanetti
BELGIUM
- Jan Ceulemans
- Jean-Marie Pfaff
- Franky van der Elst
Rivaldo and Ronaldo were both named in the Fifa 100
BRAZIL
- Carlos Alberto
- Cafu
- Falcao
- Junior
- Pele
- Rivaldo
- Rivelino
- Roberto Carlos
- Romario
- Ronaldinho
- Ronaldo
- Djalma Santos
- Nilton Santos
- Socrates
- Zico
BULGARIA
- Hristo Stoichkov
CAMEROON
- Roger Milla
CHILE
- Elias Figueroa
- Ivan Zamorano
Carlos Valderrama was named by Pele in the top 100 players ever
COLOMBIA
- Carlos Valderrama
CROATIA
- Davor Suker
CZECH REPUBLIC
- Josef Masopust
- Pavel Nedved
DENMARK
- Brian Laudrup
- Michael Laudrup
- Peter Schmeichel
Beckham, Shearer and Owen were three of seven English entries
ENGLAND
- Gordon Banks
- David Beckham
- Bobby Charlton
- Kevin Keegan
- Gary Lineker
- Michael Owen
- Alan Shearer
FRANCE
- Eric Cantona
- Marcel Desailly
- Didier Deschamps
- Just Fontaine
- Thierry Henry
- Raymond Kopa
- Jean-Pierre Papin
- Robert Pires
- Michel Platini
- Lilian Thuram
- Marius Tresor
- David Trezeguet
- Patrick Vieira
- Zinedine Zidane
GERMANY
- Michael Ballack
- Franz Beckenbauer
- Paul Breitner
- Oliver Kahn
- Jurgen Klinsmann
- Sepp Maier
- Lothar Matthaus
- Gerd Muller
- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
- Uwe Seeler
Suker and Klinsmann both made the Fifa 100 list
GHANA
- Abedi Pele
HOLLAND
- Marco van Basten
- Dennis Bergkamp
- Johan Cruyff
- Edgar Davids
- Ruud Gullit
- Rene van de Kerkhof
- Willy van de Kerkhof
- Patrick Kluivert
- Johan Neeskens
- Ruud van Nistelrooy
- Rob Rensenbrink
- Frank Rijkaard
- Clarence Seedorf
HUNGARY
- Ferenc Puskás
ITALY
- Roberto Baggio
- Franco Baresi
- Giuseppe Bergomi
- Giampiero Boniperti
- Gianluigi Buffon
- Alessandro Del Piero
- Giacinto Facchetti
- Paolo Maldini
- Alessandro Nesta
- Gianni Rivera
- Paolo Rossi
- Francesco Totti
- Christian Vieri
- Dino Zoff
Maldini and Del Piero were also named by Pele in the Fifa 100
JAPAN
- Hidetoshi Nakata
LIBERIA
- George Weah
MEXICO
- Hugo Sanchez
NIGERIA
- Jay-Jay Okocha
NORTHERN IRELAND
- George Best
George Best unsurprisingly made the list
PARAGUAY
- Romerito
PERU
- Teofilo Cubillas
POLAND
- Zbigniew Boniek
PORTUGAL
- Eusebio
- Luis Figo
- Rui Costa
Portugal legends Luis Figo and Rui Costa both made the list
REPUBLIC OR IRELAND
- Roy Keane
ROMANIA
- Gheorghe Hagi
RUSSIA
- Rinat Dasayev
SCOTLAND
- Kenny Dalglish
Kenny Dalglish was the only Scottish player to make the Fifa 100
SENEGAL
- El Hadji Diouf
SOUTH KOREA
- Hong Myung-bo
SPAIN
- Emilio Butragueno
- Luis Enrique
- Raul
TURKEY
- Rustu Recber
- Emre Belozoglu
UKRAINE
- Andriy Shevchenko
USA
- Michelle Akers
- Mia Hamm
URUGUAY
- Enzo Francescoli
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By: Dave Fraser
Title: Gianluigi Buffon is only star from Pele’s ‘Fifa 100’ list of greatest ever footballers who is still playing
Sourced From: www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/12442063/gianluigi-buffon-fifa-100-pele/
Published Date: Wed, 19 Aug 2020 11:34:31 +0000
