- Alessandro Del del Piero
Alessandro Del Piero, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born November 9, 1974 in Conegliano) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. He is the captain of Juventus and a member of the Italian national team. He is regarded as one of the best Italian footballers of his generation. Usually, Del Piero plays as a supporting-striker and occasionally between the midfield and the strikers (in the hole), known in Italy as the "Trequartista" position.
- Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE (born 13 August 1970 in Gosforth, Tyne and Wear) is an English former professional footballer who played for the English national team and three English Premiership clubs: Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United. During his career he enjoyed successes at both club and international level and also in his personal life, becoming one of the most prolific strikers of all time. In total he scored 422 goals for club and country, …
- Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane, popularly nicknamed Zizou, is a French former football midfielder who played for four European clubs, including Juventus FC and Real Madrid. As a member and later captain of the French national team he participated in two World Cup finals - including winning the tournament in 1998 - and in three European Championships, winning that tournament in 2000. Having gained fame in Europe as a playmaker for Juventus, …
- Lilian Thuram
Lilian Thuram is a French professional football defender, the most capped player in the history of the France national team. He has played at the top division level for over 15 seasons, including ten in Italy's Serie A. With the France national team, Thuram won the 1998 World Cup and the Euro 2000. Before Thuram pursued a football career, he aspired to be a Roman Catholic priest, until he found that he wanted to make use of his football talents.
- Hristo Stoichkov
Hristo Stoichkov alternatively spelt Stoitchkov (born February 8, 1966, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria) is a football manager and former striker who was a member of the Bulgaria national team that finished fourth at the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Apart from his footballing talent, he was notable for his on-pitch temper. He was honoured as European Footballer of the Year in 1994.
- Michael Laudrup
Michael Laudrup (born June 15, 1964) is a Danish former professional football player and manager. He is now manager of Spanish club Getafe CF. His most prominent run of football came with Spanish club FC Barcelona, with whom he won four straight "La Liga" championships, as well as the 1992 European Cup. He most famously moved to arch rivals Real Madrid in 1994, with whom he won his fifth "La Liga" title in a row.
- Rui Costa
Rui Manuel César Costa, <small>OIH</small>, usually referred to simply as Rui Costa (pron.) (born March 29, 1972 in Lisbon), is a legendaryPortuguese football player. He is an attacking midfielder for Portuguese club SL Benfica and is also capable of playing as a deep-seated defensive midfielder. He is considered to be the best Portuguese playmaker of all times - for that, he is commonly known as the "maestro", or "The number 10", …
- Gary Neville
Gary Alexander Neville (born February 18, 1975 in Bury, Greater Manchester) is an English footballer who is England's most capped right full back, and Manchester United's club captain. Neville started his career at Old Trafford as a central defender, but was later converted into a full back because it was felt he may have been too short to play centrally.
- Tony Adams
Tony Alexander Adams MBE (born 10 October 1966) is a former English football player who is currently assistant manager of Portsmouth. He spent his entire playing career of 22 years at Arsenal, and is considered one of the club's greatest players of all time by the club's own fans. He wore the number 6 shirt for Arsenal and 5 for England.
- Patrick Kluivert
Patrick Stephan Kluivert is a Dutch international football striker of Surinamese descent. He currently is without a club, after being released by PSV Eindhoven for whom he signed a one-year deal. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers chosen by Pelé as part of FIFA's centenary observances.
- Claus Thomsen
Claus Thomsen (born May 31, 1970 in Aarhus) is a Danish former professional footballer, who most notably won the Danish Cup with Aarhus GF, and played abroad for English teams Ipswich Town and Everton, as well as Wolfsburg in Germany. He played 20 matches for Danish national team, including the 1992 Summer Olympics and Euro 96.
- Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce MBE (born April 24, 1962 in Hammersmith, London) is an English football coach, a former manager of Manchester City and currently the England Under 21s, having been appointed as permanent manager of the former after a period as caretaker following the retirement of Kevin Keegan. On May 14 2007, he was sacked as manager of Manchester City because of a 'disappointing season'. As a player, Pearce had a long and distinguished career, …
- Marcel Desailly
Marcel Desailly (born September 7, 1968 in Accra, Ghana as "Odenke Abbey") is a former French football player and a former star of the French national football team, with whom he won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. He also enjoyed a distinguished career at club level with several European clubs.
- Dennis Bergkamp
Dennis Nicolaas Maria Bergkamp (born May 10, 1969 in Amsterdam) is a retired Dutch professional footballer. At club level he played for Ajax Amsterdam, Internazionale, Arsenal and also represented the Netherlands at international level. Bergkamp played most of his best games as a support striker, where his tactical awareness and deft passes made him a great exponent of the game from the 'hole'.
- Fernando Couto
Fernando Manuel Silva Couto, <small>OIH</small> (born 2 August 1969; pron. or ) is a Portuguese professional football player, who currently plays as a defender for Parma in the Italian Serie A championship. Couto has played in a number of top clubs in Portugal, Spain and Italy and he has won the national league title of each country, as well as the European UEFA Cup and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup trophies.
- Torben Piechnik
Torben Piechnik (born 21 May 1963) is a Danish former professional football player in the defender position. He made a total of 15 appearances for the Danish national team, which he represented in the 1992 European Championship and 1996 European Championship.
- Davor Šuker
Davor Šuker is a former Croatian footballer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers in the 1990s. The crowning moment of his career was the 1998 World Cup in France, where he became the top goalscorer and won the Golden Boot by scoring 6 goals in 7 matches, leading the Croatian national team to a third-place finish in their first World Cup appearance. He is also the Croatian national team's all-time goalscoring leader with 45 goals.
- Didier Deschamps
Didier Deschamps (born 15 October 1968 in Bayonne) is a former French football player who captained France to victories in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. On 26 May 2007, Didier resigned as coach of Juventus F.C., a position he had held since the start of the 2006/07 season.
- Francesco Toldo
Francesco Toldo (born December 2, 1971 in Padua) is an Italian football goalkeeper, who currently plays for Inter.
- Gheorghe Hagi
Gheorghe Hagi, is a Romanian former football player and head coach of FC Steaua Bucureşti. Nicknamed "The Maradona of the Carpathians", he is considered a hero in his homeland as well as in Turkey. He has won his country's "Player of the Year" award a record six times, and was recently named "Romanian football player of the century". He played for the Romanian national team in three World Cups in 1990, 1994 and 1998, …
- Fabien Barthez
Fabien Alain Barthez (born 28 June 1971 in Lavelanet) is a French football player who plays the position of goalkeeper.One of the best goalkeepers to play the sport, he played with the French national team, he won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000 and reached the final of the 2006 World Cup. He shares the record for most World Cup final clean sheets with Peter Shilton, with 10. Professionally, …
- David Seaman
David Andrew Seaman MBE (born 19 September 1963 in Rotherham, South Yorkshire) is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal and most recently with Manchester City. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury. He was awarded the MBE in 1997 for services to the sport.
- Edwin van Der van der Sar
Edwin van der Sar (born October 29, 1970 in Voorhout, Netherlands) is a professional Dutch footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He is captain of the Dutch national team and plays club football for Manchester United in the English Premier League. He was a member of the 2006/2007 PFA Team of the Year.
- Jacob Laursen
Jacob Thaysen Laursen (born October 6, 1971) is a Danish retired professional football (soccer) player, who played as a defender. He most notably played for English club Derby County and won the Danish Superliga championship with Silkeborg IF and F.C. Copenhagen. He played 25 matches for the Danish national team, with whom he won the 1995 King Fahd Cup and participated in the 1996 European Championship and 1998 FIFA World Cup tournaments.
- Brian Steen Nielsen
Brian Steen Nielsen (born 28 December, 1968) is a former Danish professional footballer from Denmark, who most notably played 66 matches as a defensive midfielder for the Denmark national football team between 1990 and 2002, scoring three goals. After his retirement from his active career, he is now the sports director of former club Aarhus GF.
- Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI, (born March 19, 1976 in Rome) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. He plays centre back for AC Milan in Serie A and also in the Italian National Team. Having previously played for S.S. Lazio, Nesta transferred to A.C. Milan from Lazio in 2002 for approximately €30 million paid over three years, after being valued at over £50 million by Lazio a year earlier.
- Marc Rieper
Marc Jensen Rieper is a Danish former professional football (soccer) player, who most notably played as a central defender for English club West Ham United F.C. and Celtic F.C. from Scotland. He played 61 matches and scored two goals for the Denmark national football team, first as the defensive partner of Lars Olsen and most prominently as part of a defending duo with Jes Høgh in the Euro 1996 and 1998 FIFA World Cup tournaments.
- Clarence Seedorf
Clarence Seedorf (born April 1, 1976 in Paramaribo, Suriname) is a Dutch-Surinamese football midfielder, who currently plays for AC Milan in Serie A. He was the first, and to date, the only person to have won the UEFA Champions League with three different clubs: Ajax (1995), Real Madrid (1998), and AC Milan (2003, 2007); he has also played for the clubs Sampdoria and Internazionale, and is a member of the Netherlands national team.
- Laurent Blanc
Laurent Blanc is a retired French football defender, who scored the first golden goal in World Cup history. Blanc is considered to be one of the great centre-halves of the 90s, eclipsed only by Franco Baresi. For France, Blanc played in Euro 92, reached the semi-finals in Euro 96, and won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. He was also well-known for kissing good friend and goalkeeper Fabien Barthez's head before the start of every match, …
- Darren Anderton
Darren Robert Anderton (born March 3, 1972 in Southampton) is an English football player currently playing for Bournemouth and has recently extended his contract for a further year. Renowned as a player of huge potential, Anderton's career has been constantly frustrated by injury earning him the nickname "Sicknote". He began his career at Portsmouth, earning praise for his performances for Jim Smith's attacking side of the early 90s.
- David Platt
David Andrew Platt (born June 10 1966 in Chadderton, near Oldham, in Lancashire) is a former English footballer, who played in midfield.
- Jamie Redknapp
Jamie Frank Redknapp (born June 25, 1973 in Barton-on-Sea, Hampshire) is a well-known former English footballer of the 1990s and early 2000s and current football pundit with Sky Sports. He played as a midfielder in a promising career that was also dogged by injury. Redknapp was one of the most popular players of his generation although it is widely accepted that his good looks, celebrity spouse and modelling commitments often overshadowed his football talent.
- Christian Karembeu
Christian Karembeu (born December 3, 1970 in Lifou, New Caledonia) is a former French international football (soccer) player. He announced his retirement on October 13 2005, although he added that he would "be having a kickabout from time to time". He last played midfield for Bastia in the French Ligue 1. They obtained him on loan from Swiss side Servette, until they lost their relegation battle. Prior to joining Servette, Karembeu played for Nantes (1990-95), …
- Hami Mandıralı
Hami Mandıralı, born on July 20, 1968 in Arsin, a coastal town east of Trabzon, Turkey. He was a Turkish footballer, playing for Trabzonspor for nearly all of his career, and is one of the most famous and talented Turkish footballers of all time. He joined Trabzonspor aged 10, and continued on to make his professional debut in 1985, aged 17. He quickly established himself as one of the most consistent finishers of his time.
- Matthias Sammer
Matthias Sammer (born September 5, 1967) is a former German football player who is now a coach. He played as a midfielder, and later in his career as a sweeper. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1996, the year he led Germany to victory in the European Championship. Sammer retired with 74 total caps, 23 for East Germany and 51 for the unified side.
- Pavel Nedvěd
Pavel Nedvěd is a Czech professional football player. Nedvěd is a midfielder for Italian club Juventus and formerly for the Czech Republic national team. Before joining Juventus, Nedvěd played for Czech clubs Dukla Prague (1991-92), Sparta Prague (1992-96), and Lazio (1996-2001) in Italy. He has won one Italian "scudetto" championship with Lazio and four with Juventus (though two of these were later stripped from Juventus after the match-fixing scandal).
- Julen Guerrero
Julen Guerrero López is a retired Basque footballer who played as a midfielder for Athletic Bilbao, Spain and the Euskadi XI. During the early 1990s he was the golden boy of Spanish and Basque football. He was awarded New Spanish Player of the Year by "El País" in 1993 and then was awarded Spanish Footballer of the Year by both "Don Balón" and "El País" in 1994.
- Thomas Helveg
Thomas Lund Helveg (born June 24, 1971) is a Danish professional football (soccer) player, a defensive midfielder and defender who plays for Odense Boldklub (OB) in the Danish Superliga. The most prominent period of his career was his five years with AC Milan, with whom he won the Serie A and the UEFA Champions League. A rock in the defense of the Denmark national football team since his debut in April 1994, Helveg was named 1994 Danish "Player of the Year".
- Paulo Sousa
Paulo Manuel Carvalho Sousa, <small>CavIH</small> (born August 30, 1970 in Viseu; pron.) is a former Portuguese football (soccer) defensive midfielder. On the club level, Paulo Sousa played for Benfica (1989-93), Sporting (1993-94), Juventus (1994-96), Borussia Dortmund (1996-98), Inter Milan (1998-99), Parma (2000), Panathinaikos (2000-01) and Espanyol (2002). He won the Champions League twice, with Juventus in 1996 and Dortmund in 1997.
- Sol Campbell
Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell (born 18 September 1974 in Plaistow, London) is an English footballer. He currently plays for Portsmouth in the English Premiership, having previously played for Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. He is the only player to have played for England in six consecutive major tournaments.