Position Football (soccer) positions In the sport of association football, each of the eleven players on a team is assigned to a particular position on the field of play. A team is made up of one goalkeeper and ten outfield players who fill various defensive, midfield and attacking positions depending on the formation deployed. These...	Player	National side(s) represented by year
Goalkeeper Goalkeeper (football) In association football, the goalkeeper occupies a position that represents the last line of defence between the opponent's offence and his own team's goal. The primary role of the goalkeeper is to defend his team's goal and prevent the opposition from scoring a goal...	Lev Yashin Lev Yashin Lev Ivanovich Yashin nicknamed as "The Black Spider", was a Soviet-Russian football goalkeeper, considered by many to be the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the game. He was known for his superior athleticism in goal, imposing stature, amazing reflex saves and inventing the idea of...	(1954–1970)
Defender Defender (football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....  (fullback)	Djalma Santos Djalma Santos Djalma Pereira Dias dos Santos known simply as Djalma Santos is a former Brazilian footballer who started for the Brazil national team in four World Cups, winning two, in 1958 and 1962. Santos is considered to be one of the greatest right-backs of all time...	(1952–1968)
Defender (centre-back)	Franz Beckenbauer Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" , and his dominance on the football pitch...	(1965–1977)
Defender (centre-back)	Bobby Moore Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup...	(1962–1973)
Defender (fullback)	Paul Breitner Paul Breitner Paul Breitner is a former German football player. One of Germany's most controversial players, he was capped 48 times for his country.-Playing career:...	(1971–1982)
Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...	Johan Cruyff Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff OON , known as Johan Cruyff, is a retired Dutch footballer and is currently the manager of the Catalan national team as well as a member of the AFC Ajax board of directors. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974, which is a record jointly held with...	(1966–1978)
Midfielder	Michel Platini Michel Platini Michel François Platini is a former French football player, manager and current president of UEFA. Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He participated in the 1978, 1982...	(1976–1987)
Midfielder	Bobby Charlton Bobby Charlton Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...	(1958–1970)
Forward Striker Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...	Garrincha Garrincha Manuel Francisco dos Santos , known by the nickname "Garrincha" , was an association football right winger and forward who helped the Brazil national team win the World Cups of 1958 and 1962. He played the majority of his professional career for Brazilian club Botafogo.The word garrincha itself...	(1955–1966)
Forward	Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás was a Hungarian footballer and manager. He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary, and 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues. He became Olympic champion in 1952 and was a World Cup finalist in 1954...	Hungary Hungary national football team The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation.... (1945–1956)
Forward	Pelé Pelé However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...	(1956–1971)

See also

• African Footballer of the Year
  African Footballer of the Year
  The African Footballer of the Year award, presented to the best African football player each year, has been conferred by the Confederation of African Football since 1992. An earlier African Footballer of the Year Golden Ball award was given out between 1970 and 1994 by France Football magazine...
  
  , Asian Footballer of the Year
  Asian Footballer of the Year
  The Asian Footballer of the Year is an award that annually honors Asian footballer each year, has been conferred by Asian Football Confederation since 1994...
  
  , European Footballer of the Year
  European Footballer of the Year
  The "", literally translated as "the golden ball" and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year...
  
  , Oceania Footballer of the Year
  Oceania Footballer of the Year
  The Oceania Footballer of the Year award is presented to the best football player from the Oceania region. The winner is chosen by a forum of journalists. The award is dominated by Australian players, though New Zealand's Wynton Rufer is tied with Harry Kewell for the most titles with 3...
  
  , Onze d'Or
  Onze d'Or
  The Onze d'Or is a football award handed out by French magazine Onze Mondial at the end of the year since 1976...
  
  , South American Footballer of the Year
  South American Footballer of the Year
  The South American Footballer of the Year is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar year. The award was conceived by Venezuelan newspaper El Mundo, whom awarded it from 1971 to 1985. Uruguayan newspaper El País took over...
  
  
• FIFA 100
  FIFA 100
  The FIFA 100 is a list of the world-renowned Brazilian striker Pelé's choice of the "greatest living footballers". Unveiled on 4 March 2004 at a gala ceremony in London, the FIFA 100 marked part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de...
  
  
• World Team of the 20th Century
  World Team of the 20th Century
  The World Team of the 20th Century were chosen in 1998 to comprise, as an eleven-member side divided as one goalkeeper four defenders, three midfielders, and three forwards, the best association football players of the 20th century CE....
  
  
• FIFA World Player of the Year
  FIFA World Player of the Year
  The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award given annually to the male and female player who were thought to be the best in the world, based on votes by coaches and captains of international teams...
  
  
• World Soccer Awards
• World Soccer players of the 20th century
• Football League 100 Legends
  Football League 100 Legends
  The Football League 100 Legends is a list of 100 great association football players who played part or all of their professional career in English Premier season of League football...
  
  
• UEFA Jubilee Awards
  UEFA Jubilee Awards
  To celebrate the Union of European Football Associations 's 50th anniversary in 2004, each of its member associations was asked by UEFA to choose one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years . The 52 players were known as the Golden Players...
  
  
• International Federation of Football History & Statistics
  International Federation of Football History & Statistics
  The International Federation of Football History & Statistics is an organization that chronicles the history and records of Association football. It was founded on 27 March 1984 at Leipzig by Dr. Alfredo Pöge with the blessings of general secretary of the FIFA at the time, Dr. Helmut Käser...