Men in Blazers Present Gods of Soccer

Can we be clear up front? To create a definitive list of the 100 greatest ever to have played football is an act of folly undertaken only by those who like to grab the third rail. One of the true joys of football is that no two fans’ experience of it is the same. Everybody sees the game, the characters, and the key moments differently. That is what makes football the world’s most compelling collective narrative. A shared text we all develop our own interpretations of, articulating and defending them with the heat of a thousand suns.

So, we present this book to you with a sense of joy and delight and an element of mischief. It is our hope you will revel in the depictions of players you adore, discover some stories you have never heard, then foam and fume at our idiocy, which can be the only plausible explanation as to why your favorite player is not included. That is the point of football. In the words of that great poet-philosopher Jürgen Klopp, it is “the most important least important thing,” safely enabling us to experience every possible human emotion and walk away unscathed. It is the arguments and differences that make us feel alive.

So, to our 100, drawn up by the entire Men in Blazers staff. Many are players we have been blessed to watch perform the ineffable with our own eyes. Others are part of the lore we inherited from stories told by our parents and grandparents, who talked of their feats as if they were characters in ballads or woven into tapestries as in days of yore. Still more are legends in the ether, pioneers of the early game universally accepted as the giants on whose shoulders all who follow stand.

Everybody defines greatness differently. To be clear, greatness is not defined solely by glory. To us, football is about something more than winning trophies. The game is a mirror that reflects the politics, culture, and history of the societies surrounding it. In the individual moments of play, humanity itself is revealed. The great English commentator Martin Tyler once told us, “Football is a simple game in which a player has three decisions to make on the ball. Should I pass, run, or shoot? The greatest players just make better decisions more of the time than the merely good ones.”

We believe that, absolutely.

So, this is a book of incredible humans who consistently made remarkable decisions in ways that either changed the game or, on occasion, the world around them. There are winners galore in here for sure. But there are also gutsy pathfinders who braved singular journeys, and in doing so, became radical changemakers. This is a book about football, yes. But it is also a book about much that is good in life: dreams, loyalty, self-confidence, tenacity, creativity, empathy, and collective commitment.

One last word. The football we watched in England in the 1980s was a gloomy, local affair played by huff-and-puff blokes, on muddy pitches, surrounded by fans who were there, as much as anything, for a pre- or post-match fight. The game has since changed and become a global spectacle. Every magical moment from every nation is now instantly shared around the world. As such, the game has become much more about superlatives, exclamation points, and the transcendent. And ever more about true greatness. No matter whom we are watching, be it Messi or Ronaldo, Sam Kerr or Vivianne Miedema, we strive hard never to take it for granted, and to revel in it, aware we are making collective memories together in the act of watching. This book is presented to you in that spirit. Of fandom built on love, respect, wonder, and gratitude. Our hope, dear reader, is that football continues to empower you to make great memories with those you love.

Now go and put together your 100 and email us at [email protected].

Courage.

—THE MEN IN BLAZERS TEAM