The greatest football XI of all time

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both make the squad

A plethora of world-class players across positions have graced the game since the turn of the century, winning big titles for club and country. While most have etched their names as some of the finest in their respective positions, few have displayed impressive consistency for a sustained period as well.

Determining the greatest XI of all time is a perennial debate. Rules, tactics, playing styles, clothing, balls, pitches, and sensitivities many things have changed as football has evolved over the decades. These factors make it hard, if not impossible, to pinpoint the greatest XI of all time.

So, without further ado, here’s a look at Khel Now‘s greatest football XI of all time:

Lev Yashin: Goalkeeper (GK)

Considered by many in the sport to be the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the game. Yashin was an imposing presence in goal due to his tall stature and was highly regarded for his athleticism, agility, positional sense, bravery, and exceptional reflexes, which enabled him to produce acrobatic and spectacular saves.

Yashin remains the only goalkeeper to have won the Ballon d’Or, in 1963. Yashin was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1967, the highest award of the USSR. A vocal and authoritative figure between the posts, Yashin is known for revolutionising the goalkeeping position.

Roberto Carlos: Left Back (LB)

Roberto Carlos is arguably the best left-back to have graced the sport. During an illustrious two-decade-long playing career, Carlos enjoyed the most success with Real Madrid, with whom he won three Champions League titles and four La Liga crowns. The left-back also enjoyed success with Brazil, winning two Copa America titles in the 90s and the FIFA World Cup in 2002. A tireless runner down the flanks, Carlos was also equally adept going forward.

Roberto Carlos was nicknamed El Hombre Bala throughout his career, due to his powerful bending shots and free kicks. While he earned a reputation as a hard tackler, he was also known for being a clean player throughout his career, he was also known for his long throw-ins.

Paolo Maldini: Left Center Back (LCB)

Maldini is one of the most revered and no-nonsense figures in the history of world football, earning a reputation built around respect and deeply-held principles that led him to be a one-club man for the iconic AC Milan. What made Maldini so brilliant and so enduring was the fact that he could read strikers like they were mere street signs. Maldini knew exactly what the best forwards in the world were going to do before they even made their move off the ball.

Maldini understood the true art of defending decades before the wider footballing world started to have an inkling of an idea of what it takes to be a top-class defender. As a centre-back, Maldini was renowned for his marking, awareness and ability to anticipate a threat from the opposition.

Franz Beckenbauer: Right Center Back (RCB)

Franz Beckenbauer was a different profile at centre-back but equally legendary for another one of the most iconic clubs in history, Bayern Munich. Der Kaiser, as he was known for his imposing figure and even more imposing personality, scored 60 goals as a defender for Die Roten. With two Ballon d’Or victories and three more podium finishes, Beckenbauer is the most individually decorated defender in the history of world football.

Cafu: Right Back (RB)

Regarded as one of the greatest full-backs of all time, one of the best footballers of his generation, and one of Brazil’s best-ever players. Cafu was a dynamic, hard-working, offensive-minded, and energetic right-sided wing-back who is mostly remembered for his great pace, stamina, tactical intelligence, distribution, and technical skills, as well as his ability to make overlapping attacking runs down the right flank and provide accurate crosses.

It was such an asset to have Cafú because teams that had him knew that they could entirely control the right flank. An example to many future footballers, Cafú set the benchmark for how a fullback should play. Supportive in attack and resolute in defence, never sacrificing offensive output for defensive solidity, yet still proved capable of supporting the front line as necessary.

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Zinedine Zidane: Left Center Midfielder (LCM)

Zidane is one of the greatest players in history, a truly magnificent player. Zidane’s roulette is one of the most iconic skill moves in football history, but there were so many other turns, flicks, and touches that left defenders for dead and started attacks that don’t even have a name to them.

He was capable of using either foot, despite being naturally right-footed. His technique and coordination enabled him to execute shots and volleys with extreme power and precision, in particular from outside the penalty area. Zidane has thus become a symbol of inspiration to so many fans around the world, both for his sheer brilliance on the pitch and for the significance of his success off of it.

Diego Maradona: Right Center Midfielder (RCM)

A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname “El Pibe de Oro” a name that stuck with him throughout his career. He was renowned for his dribbling ability, vision, close ball control, passing, and creativity, and is considered to have been one of the most skilful players in the sport. He had a compact physique, and with his strong legs, low centre of gravity, and resulting balance, he could withstand physical pressure well while running with the ball, despite his small stature.

Maradona’s 1986 World Cup triumph is one of the greatest tournament performances in the history of international football. His 1989-1990 title-winning season with Napoli is also one of the best. Summing up Maradona’s game in stats would never do justice to the man.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Left Wing (LW)

From his humble beginnings to becoming football royalty, Ronaldo’s journey is the stuff of fairy tales. Arguably one of the greatest players to have graced the game, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored goals and won trophies galore for club and country. Starting as a winger thanks to his blistering pace and trickery on the ball, Ronaldo also found success while operating down the middle, where his aerial prowess has stood him in good stead.

Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or winner, has won a record five Champions League titles. With stints at Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, Man United again and now at Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, he’s redefined what it means to be a global superstar.

Lionel Messi: Right Wing (RW)

Widely regarded as the best player to have played the beautiful game, Lionel Messi has been a standout performer for club and country throughout his illustrious career. As much as Messi was blasted for being a choker in light of Barcelona’s Champions League failures to the end of his time with the club, those exaggerated debates were definitively negated by an all-time great World Cup run in 2022.

Messi won the Ballon d’Or an unprecedented and unthinkable eight times in his career despite going head-to-head with the only other player who could measure up to him in terms of career statistical dominance, Cristiano Ronaldo. Based on his statistical dominance, Lionel Messi may have the strongest GOAT case of any player on this list.

Johan Cruyff: Centre Foward (CF)

The team orchestrator, Cruyff was a creative playmaker with a gift for timing passes. Cruyff was known for his technical ability, speed, acceleration, dribbling and vision. Cruyff always considered the aesthetic and moral aspects of the game, it was not just about winning, but about winning with the right style and in the right way. He also always spoke highly of the entertainment value of the game.

Cruyff is widely seen as a revolutionary figure in the history of Ajax, Barcelona, and the Netherlands. Due to the way Cruyff played the game, he is still referred to as “the total footballer”.

Pele: Striker (ST)

A prolific goalscorer, he was known for his ability to anticipate opponents in the area and finish off chances with an accurate and powerful shot with either foot. Pelé was also a hard-working team player, and a complete forward, with exceptional vision and intelligence, who was recognised for his precise passing and ability to link up with teammates.

Despite his relatively small stature, he excelled in the air, due to his heading accuracy, timing, and elevation. Pelé was also known to be a fair and highly influential player, who stood out for his charismatic leadership and sportsmanship on the pitch.

Pelé’s life and legacy touched the hearts of many. Those who watched him play in person have never forgotten how they felt when they absorbed his magic and presence. 

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