Posts Tagged ‘Greatest’
March 30th, 2011 | 
Author: While a lot of people may contest and debate the five greatest NFL teams in the history of football as listed here, everyone will agree that these were awesome teams that deserve the honor and accolade one way or another.
1985 Chicago Bears
The 1985 Chicago Bears was a phenomenal team composed of a mismatched group with raw and exciting energy and interesting personalities. They were great and they knew it, recording their championship video, “The Super Bowl Shuffle” even before playoffs started. Led by the Mohawk-wearing quarterback Jim “Punky QB” McMahon and an impenetrable running and defense line, chief of them William “The Refrigerator” Perry, Super Bowl MVP defensive end Richard Dent, and NFL Defensive Player of the Year Mike Singletary, the Bears finished the season with a 15-1 record and scored a total of 456 to 198 points. During the playoffs they won 21-0 against the giants and 24-0 against the rams for the NFC title. They won the Super Bowl, scoring 46-10 over the Patriots.
1972 Miami Dolphins
The 1972 Miami Dolphins is the only NFL team that ever had a “perfect season,” with a season record of 17-0. This is also the reason why they are considered as the greatest NFL team of all time, particularly by the documentary America’s Game: The Super Bowl Champions, produced by the NFL Network. Their undefeated team was led by coach Don Shula and football greats such as Earl Morrall, Bob Griese, and Larry Csonka. They won all three playoff games and finally won the Super Bowl VII against the Redskins. Some argue however that the ’72 Dolphins had the advantage of playing one of the easiest schedules in the history of modern NFL, and this when equally matched with the ’85 Bears, they were no contender.
1962 Green Bay Packers
A dream team consisting of a list of football hall of famers including Paul Hornung, Max McGee, Jim Taylor, Boyd Dowler, and Vince Lombardi, the 1962 Green Bay Packers set a 13-1 record earning them a first place at the Western Conference. In the NFL Championship Game, they won 16-7 against the New York Giants, marking the Packers’ 8th NFL Championship.
1991 Washington Redskins
The 1991 Washington Redskins topped the NFL in two important stats: the yards gained per pass and yards allowed per pass, with star player Mark Rypien averaging a whopping 8.5 yards per attempt, gaining a total of 1,340 yards on 70 receptions. The additional contributions of Redskins’ Ricky Ervins and Earnest Byner with a combined 1,708 yards make their stats legendary. Even with a tough schedule, they were able to outscore their opponents 485-224.
1999 St. Louis Rams
One of the most exciting personalities in the 1999 season was then barely-known night-shift grocery-clerk and St. Louis Rams’ star quarterback, Kurt Warner who led the Rams to a record of 13-3 in the regular-season. He was both NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP. The Rams defeated the Tennessee Titans in the Super Bowl XXXIV with a score of 23-16, and claimed their 1st NFL World Championship since 1951.
Posted in 
Tags: 
The list of the greatest footballers has been made after research of number of internet websites related to football. One of the ways how to find out the answer was the survey!
So here they are – the greatest of the greatest.
1. Pele
Edson Arantes Do Nascimento (Pele)
Brazil
1940 – Present day
Clubs: Santos, New York Cosmos
Major Honours:
World Cup (1958, 62, 70)
World Club Championship (1962, 63)
Sao Paulo State Championship (1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1973)
FIFA World Cup Golden Ball (Best Player) 1970
2. Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona
Argentina
1960 – Present day
Clubs: Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Seville, Newell’s Old Boys
Major Honours:
Argentine championship, 1981
Spanish Cup, 1983
Italian championship, 1987, 90
Italian Cup, 1987
UEFA Cup, 1989
FIFA World Youth Championship, 1979
FIFA World Cup, 1986
South American Footballer of the Year, 1979, 86, 89, 90, 92
European Footballer of the Year, 1986
Argentine Sports Writers’ Sportsman of the Century, 1999
3. Johan Cruyff
Johann Cruyff
Holland
1947 – Present day
Clubs: Ajax, Barcelona, Los Angeles Aztecs, Washington Diplomats, Levante, Feyenoord
Major Honours:
World Club Championship (1972)
European Cup (1971, 72, 73)
Dutch Championship (1966, 67, 68, 72, 73, 82, 84)
Dutch Cup (1967, 70, 71, 72, 83)
Spanish Championship (1974)
Spanish Cup (1978)
European Footballer of the Year (1971, 73, 74)
4. Franz Beckenbauer
Franz Beckenbauer
Germany
1945 – Present day
Clubs:Bayern Munich, New York Cosmos, SV Hamburg
Major Honours:
World Cup: 1974
European Championship: 1972
European Cup: 1974, 75, 76
Cup Winners: Cup: 1967
World Club Championships: 1976
Bundersliga: 1969, 72, 73, 74.
West German Cup: 1966, 67, 69, 71.
European Footballer of the Year: 1972, 76
5. Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane
France
1972 – Present Day
Clubs :Cannes, Bordeaux, Juventus, Real Madrid
Major Honours:
UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1995,1999
European Super Cup: 1996,2002
Intercontinental Cup: 1996, 2002
Italian Super Cup: 1997
Italia Serie A: 1996-97, 1997-98
UEFA Champions League: 2001-02
Spanish La Liga: 2002-03
Spanish Super Cup: 2001, 2003
FIFA World Cup: 1998,
UEFA European Championship: 2000
UEFA Champions League Best Midfielder – 1998
UEFA Euro Player of the Tournament – 2000
Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year – 1997, 2001
Serie A Footballer of the Year – 2001
French Player of the Year – 1998, 2002
FIFA World Player of the Year – 1998, 2000, 2003
FIFA World Cup Golden Ball – 2006
Full list is in Ivoland/10 greatest football players
Every four years a World Cup will come along and occupy a football fan’s thoughts and time for weeks. Game after game, the best footballers in the world will parade their skills in front of thousands at the stadium and millions watching on the TV back in their homes.
Players
Players generally make the World Cup what it is. If there were not great players we would certainly not be watching this tournament in the vast numbers that we do. In previous World Cup finals we have seen the emergence of some great talents, talents that we would not normally be able to see.
History
Which players did the world discover after displaying their skills in previous World Cups? There would be far too greats many to be able to list in detail and there has always has always been heated discussions about who is the greatest player of all time, with two players always at the forefront of the debate.
Lets look at these players’ credentials.
Diego Armando Maradona [Argentina]
[World Cup Honours : 1982, 1986 (winner), 1990 (2nd), 1994]
Maradona is a flawed genius, no-one has ever had his sublime talents and been able to hit the self destruct button with such great effect. Never before has a player been credited with winning the World Cup trophy single handed as he did in Mexico 1986. Even in the infamous 1986 quarter final and scoring what is widely regarded the best goal that has ever been scored in the Finals. After picking the ball up in his own half he managed to dribble hi way through a quality England side before slotting the ball past Peter Shilton, the England keeper on the day.
The Argentinean team that he played with in this tournament were all excellent players but possibly not quite good enough to lift the trophy. However, with Maradona at the height of his powers there could only be one team that could possibly win.
Maradona also helped his nation to the final of the World Cup in 1990 in Italy and only lost to a German penalty scored by Andy Brehme.
However, after failing a drug test in 1991 his career was on a downhill path and then came his final appearance on the greatest stage in the game of football.
In 1994, the World Cup in USA when he scored in Argentina’s first game against Greece anyone that watched his celebration knew that it was not only adreneline that powered the little magician. Eyes glaring into the camera, the hearts of all Argentineans knew that drugs were fuelling their talismanic captain. A drug test followed and the inevitable positive result ended Maradona’s tournament and effectively his career.
Edson Arantes do Nascimento – Pele
[World Cup honours : 1958 (winner), 1962 (winner), 1966, 1970 (winner)]
The only similarity between Pele and Maradona is that they hail from the same continent. Pele was the original World superstar, enjoying a career that can be regarded as a being a model professional.
Pele’s credentials are there for all to see, he set up goals, he was an instrumental leader on and off the field and he also scored goals. In fact the amount of goals that he scored is a substantial feat in itself.
His record is phenomenal, scoring five goals in a game six times, four goals 30 times and three goals 90 times. These are numbers the modern player can never dream of matching. In his illustrious playing career he scored a stunning total of 1283 goals. In his international career he scored an amazing 77 goals in 92 appearances. However, there was much more to Pele than ‘just’ goals.
He will also be remembered as being the only player in history for winning the world Cup on three occasions, a feat that is unlikely to ever be repeated. Only an injury in 1966 in England stopped him from possibly winning the World Cup on four consecutive occasions, allowing a fine England side to become World Champions for the first time.
He was captain of the greatest team of all time, the 1970 Brazil side that won the tournament so convincingly in Mexico. Anyone who has watched the final game of that tournament, which Brazil defeated Italy by four goals to one, will be amazed at the skill and vision of the original total footballing side.
Given that Pele hung his playing boots up over 20 years ago and is still revered by football fans that never saw him in his prime is testament to the great man’s passion and skill for the greatest game of all.
Many others have graced the greatest tournament that is the World Cup, but both of the players named above are by far heralded as the greatest two. But who would make the top ten complete?
Gordon Banks, Eusebio, Puskas, Zinedine Zidane, Michel Platini, Franz Beckenbauer, Garrincha and the Johann Cruyff to name but a few. In fact many modern day critics may have Cruyff as the greatest modern player, a player who helped to mould the game into the style of play that you see today.
Then there are players that did not manage to show their talents in the World Cup, the most notable being the late, great George Best from Northern Ireland. The other most notable absentee is Alfredo Di Stefano. There are actually many Latin Americans that would hail the ‘Blonde Arrow’ Di Stefano as the greatest player that the world has ever seen.
Among those still playing, Czech Republic playmaker Pavel Nedved, of Juventus, Manchester United’s Dutch predator Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ukrainian goal-machine Andrey Shevchenko, of AC Milan, would top the list. But all three will appear at Germany 2006, barring late injuries, and will probably write some new headlines too.
We look forward to this year’s event with great enthusiasm and hopefully it will be remembered as being one of the greatest tournaments of all time. Let us all hope!