The UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll is the popular name for an online poll

Opinion poll

An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...

 conducted in 2004 by UEFA

UEFA

The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

 as part of their Golden Jubilee

Golden Jubilee

A Golden Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 50th anniversary.- In Thailand :King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, celebrated his Golden Jubilee on 9 June 1996.- In the Commonwealth Realms :...

 celebrations, celebrating the best European footballers from the fifty previous years. The poll, available on UEFA's website

Website

A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...

, asked respondents to pick their ten favorite players from each of the five previous decades, from a shortlist of 250 players. Over 150,000 people responded, producing over seven million votes. Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Zidane

Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...

 topped the poll narrowly from 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...

. Italian players featured most frequently with 10 nominations, edging out German players with 8 nominations.

Full results

	Player	Nation	Votes
1	Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Zidane Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...		123,582
2	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...		122,569
3	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...		119,332
4	Marco van Basten		117,987
5	Dino Zoff Dino Zoff Dino Zoff is an Italian former football goalkeeper and is the oldest winner ever of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian team in the 1982 tournament in Spain, at the age of 40 years, 4 months and 13 days.Zoff was a goalkeeper of outstanding ability and has a place in the...		114,529
6	Alfredo di Stéfano Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé, born into a family of Italian immigrants from Capri, is a former Argentinian footballer and coach, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time...	Spain	107,435
7	Eusébio Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, GCIH, GCM , commonly known simply as Eusébio, is a retired Mozambican-born Portuguese football forward. He is considered one of the best footballers of all-time by the IFFHS, experts and fans...		103,937
8	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...		101,862
9	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...		99,380
10	Paolo Maldini Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...		95,497
11	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  Spain	94,361
12	Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi Paolo Rossi is an Italian former football striker. In 1982, he led Italy to the 1982 FIFA World Cup title, scoring six goals to win the Golden Boot/top scorer honors, and the Golden Ball. After his performance at the 1982 FIFA World Cup he became a hero in the hearts of all Italians...		91,194
13	Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...		91,001
14	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...		89,921
15	Lothar Matthäus Lothar Matthäus Lothar Herbert Matthäus , is a German football manager and former player.In 1990, he was named European Footballer of the Year and World Soccer Player of the Year after captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup...		86,798
16	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Karl-Heinz "Kalle" Rummenigge is a German former football player.He had his greatest career success with German club Bayern Munich, where he won the Intercontinental Cup, the European Cup, as well as two league titles and two domestic cups.A member of the German national team, Rummenigge won the...		86,649
17	Franco Baresi Franco Baresi Franco Baresi is an Italian football youth team coach and former player. He played as a sweeper and spent his entire career with Serie A club AC Milan, acknowledged as one of the greatest defenders ever to play the game. Baresi was nicknamed "Piscinin", Milanese for "Little one"...		83,800
18	Gerd Müller Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller is a former German football player and one of the most prolific goalscorers of all time.With national records of 68 goals in 62 international appearances, 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and the international record of 66 goals in 74 European Club games, he was one of the...		82,668
19	George Best George Best George Best was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland, who played for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. He was a winger whose game combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders...		79,036
20	Kevin Keegan Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....		78,840
21	Frank Rijkaard Frank Rijkaard Franklin Edmundo Rijkaard is a Dutch football manager of Dutch and Surinamese descent and former player. Rijkaard has played for Ajax, Real Zaragoza and Milan, and represented his national side 73 times, scoring 10 goals. In his coaching career, he has been at the helm of the Dutch national side,...		71,333
22	Luís Figo Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo, OIH, is a Portuguese former international footballer. He played as a midfielder for Sporting CP, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Internazionale, during a career which spanned over a period of 20 years. He retired from football on 31 May 2009...		71,299
23	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...		70,884
24	Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio is a retired Italian footballer. Widely regarded as one of the finest footballers of his generation, Baggio won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993. He is the only Italian player ever to score in three World Cups. He is also one of the top 5 all-time...		68,239
25	Michael Laudrup Michael Laudrup Michael Laudrup is a retired Danish footballer, who works as a manager and last coached La Liga side RCD Mallorca. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of football. His most prominent run of football came with Spanish club Barcelona, with whom he won four straight La...		67,484
26	Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman is a former Dutch footballer, and the current manager of Feyenoord. He is the younger brother of former Feyenoord coach Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman...		66,661
27	Peter Schmeichel Peter Schmeichel Peter Bolesław Schmeichel MBE is a retired Danish professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the "World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1992 and 1993...		66,463
28	Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe Hagi is a former Romanian footballer. He was famous for his passing, close control, long shots and was regarded as one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe during the 1980s and 1990s and is considered the greatest Romanian footballer of all time...		62,383
29	Sepp Maier		62,375
30	Oliver Kahn Oliver Kahn Oliver Rolf Kahn is a former German football goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team. He had his debut game in the professional squad in 1987...		58,151
31	Davor Šuker Davor Šuker Davor Šuker , is a retired Croatian footballer. He played as a striker for a number of European clubs as well as the Croatian national team, where he is the all-time top goal scorer with 45 goals....		58,078
32	Raúl Raúl González Raúl González Blanco , known simply as Raúl, is a Spanish footballer who plays as a striker. He currently plays for German club Schalke 04....		56,880
33	Berti Vogts Berti Vogts Hans-Hubert "Berti" Vogts is a German former footballer. He played for Borussia Mönchengladbach and won the World Cup with West Germany in 1974. He later managed Germany , Scotland and Nigeria...		55,398
34	Johan Neeskens Johan Neeskens Johannes Jacobus "Johan" Neeskens is a Dutch football manager and former midfielder. As a player, he was an important member of the Dutch national team that finished as runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups. Former England manager Alf Ramsey said Neeskens was "as good as any player" in...		54,796
35	Gianni Rivera Gianni Rivera Giovanni Rivera is an Italian former football midfielder, mostly as an offensive playmaker, who was awarded the Ballon d'Or, one of the most prestigious individual awards in football, in 1969. He played the majority of his career with Serie A side A.C. Milan...		53,874
36	José Antonio Camacho José Antonio Camacho José Antonio Camacho Alfaro is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a left defender, and the current coach of the China PR national football team....		53,873
37	Marco Tardelli		53,732
38	Just Fontaine Just Fontaine Just "Justo" Fontaine is a former French football player.-Football career:He holds the record for most goals scored in a single FIFA World Cup finals tournament, with 13 in 1958...		53,612
39	Peter Shilton Peter Shilton Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....		50,841
40	Bernd Schuster Bernd Schuster Bernhard Schuster is a German football manager and former player, currently unemployed. His nickname is "der Blonde Engel" .-Club career:...		50,247
41	Raymond Kopa Raymond Kopa Raymond Kopa , is a former French football offensive midfielder, integral to the French national team of the 1950s....		49,504
42	Éric Cantona Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona is a French actor and former French international footballer. He played for Auxerre, Martigues, Marseille, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Nîmes and Leeds United before ending his professional footballing career at Manchester United, where he won four Premier League titles in...		48,436
43	Stanley Matthews Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...		47,915
44	Ruud van Nistelrooy Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus "Ruud" van Nistelrooy, , is a Dutch footballer who plays as a striker for Málaga CF in Spain's La Liga. He is the second-highest goalscorer in Champions League history with 60 goals...		47,398
45	Valentin Kozmich Ivanov Valentin Kozmich Ivanov Valentin Kozmich Ivanov was a football winger/striker, co-leading scorer at the 1962 World Cup and co-1960 European Nations' Cup top scorer.Ivanov appeared 59 times for the Soviet Union, scoring 26 goals...		46,022
46	Gary Lineker Gary Lineker Gary Winston Lineker, OBE , is a former English footballer, who played as a striker. He is a sports broadcaster for the BBC, Al Jazeera Sports and Eredivisie Live...		44,787
47	Alessandro Nesta Alessandro Nesta Alessandro Nesta, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Milan. Considered by many as one of the best centre backs to have ever played the game, he is a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year.-Early life:Nesta was raised in...		44,667
48	José Santamaría José Santamaria José Emilio Santamaría Iglesias is an Spanish-Uruguayan former football player and coach. He is regarded by many as one of the all-time greatest central defenders...	Spain	43,690
49	Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays for Serie A club Juventus, of which he is also club captain....		43,227
50	Alessandro Costacurta Alessandro Costacurta Alessandro "Billy" Costacurta is an Italian former professional football defender turned manager.Costacurta spent some twenty years at Milan, with a brief period spent in AC Monza on loan. He is best known for his role alongside Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Mauro Tassotti, forming one of the...		42,511

External links

• UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll Media Release