Top 10 greatest Argentina footballers of all time

The South American nation have produced some of football’s finest talents.

Football is not just a sport in Argentina but it is rather a culture, a religion that is lived and followed by each and every individual.

With two World Cup wins and a further three final appearances, Argentina are up there amongst the elite of international football.

This football freak nation have over the years given world football some of its most well-known players, whose astounding talent and Argentine flare helped them transcend into a different status not just in the nation, but amongst the entire footballing fraternity. 

Today, we take a look at 10 such Argentine stalwarts. 

10. Omar Sivori

Omar Sivori’s exploits both for River Plate as well as for Juventus makes him a distinguished figure in Argentina’s history of football. 

The lethal forward lifted league titles in six successive seasons, three for River Plate and then three more in Serie A with Juventus. He was also a part of Argentina’s 1957 Copa America triumph. And in those days, many consider him the greatest ever fielded by La Albiceleste in a major competition.

9. Angel Di Maria

A goal in the final of the Olympic games, the Copa America and the World Cup surely accounts for a special player who has the ability to turn up at crucial moments. Di Maria has always been an underrated figure in the Argentina national football team, despite his unmatched contributions. 

Angel Di Maria has always performed his very best both for club and country. He is a world Champion with Argentina and also a UEFA Champions League winner with Spanish giants Real Madrid. 

8. Sergio Aguero

One of the Premier League’s greatest-ever legends – Sergio Aguero is another Argentine sensation who has left lasting impacts on world football. 

The attacker is Man City’s highest-ever goalscorer with 184 goals in 275 appearances. Aguero’s five Premier League titles are also a major achievement for any footballer. He also has 41 goals for the national team to his name. 

7. Daniel Passarella

Being the World Cup-winning captain in 1978 and the only La Albiceleste player to boast two World Cup winners’ medals, Daniel Passarella surely holds a special distinction in Argentinian football. 

The World-class defender was not only spectacular at stopping goals but also had a thing for scoring some. Passarella had 144 goals in 447 matches at the club level with a further 22 in 70 Argentina caps.

6. Ubaldo Fillol

Considered by the masses as Argentina’s finest-ever shot-stopper, Ubaldo Fillol was a special figure in between the sticks. Be it with his clubs or for his nation, Fillol was always up to the task of making an impact in every game. 

Fillol starred at the 1974, 1978 and 1982 World Cups, and his athleticism and agility played a huge part in Argentina’s World Cup victory. He was also a terrific penalty saver, saving a total of 25 per cent of all the spot-kicks he faced.

5. Gabriel Batistuta

A lethal finisher who had the eyes of a predator and the ability of a master. Gabriel Batistuta was a beast in front of the goal, scoring 56 goals in 72 international appearances and becoming Argentina‘s all-time top scorer by the time he hung up his boots in 2005. A record only since surpassed by Lionel Messi.

Batistuta also remains the only player in history to have scored a hat-trick in two different World Cup competitions.

4. Mario Kempes

Mario Kempes will forever be an Argentinian legend. It was he who helped the nation win its first-ever World Cup. Kempes scored six goals in the 1978 World Cup, including a brace in the final against the Netherlands, to become a national hero. 

A prolific goalscorer, he finished as LaLiga’s top goalscorer twice with Valencia where he amassed 116 goals in 184 league games, and is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time in their club history.

3. Alfredo De Stefano

It is by no means an easy feat to go down as Real Madrid’s greatest player of all time. But Alfredo di Stefano was truly a superstar in his age, guiding the Los Blancos to an incredible five consecutive European Cups, a record which still holds great value to this day.

De Stefano’s unmatched attacking abilities render him one of Argentina’s greatest ever to play football. 

2. Diego Maradona

In a close contest with Lionel Messi for the number one spot, comes Diego Maradona. Another player who is pretty much argued as the greatest to ever play the sport, Maradona was a different player altogether. 

The things that Maradona used to do on the field are impossible to replicate by any other player, and very few footballers have ever left an impact as big as the Argentine sensation. 

Maradona also carried Argentina to a World Cup victory in 1986, forever making himself a national hero. 

1. Lionel Messi

Argued by many to be the greatest of all time, Lionel Messi surely tops the list of the greatest Argentine footballers. The former FC Barcelona player has forever changed the game with his astronomical ball-playing abilities on the field. 

Having won the Copa America and the World Cup in recent years bolstered La Pulga’s international achievements, and has forever etched his name as one of World Football’s finest and evidently of Argentina as well.

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