Talk:FIFA 100/Archive 1

Archive 1

Translations

Wow look how many languages this list in in already. Amazing! Mintguy (T) 00:31, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Vfd

It looks this list has rather little to do with football or soccer. This is just a FIFA commercial venture of creating artistic images of the players. Vfd. Kpjas 10:10, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)

This is the equivalent of the US National Soccer Hall of Fame - there is nothing wrong with the list per se, we have equivalent titled articles such as 100 Greatest Britons or 100 Worst Britons Mintguy (T) 10:22, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)

So, now that the list is here to stay, what title should it be listed under? Clearly, it can't be at List of 100 Greatest Living Footballers, as it does not include any of the all-time greats, such as Jack Dyer, Peter Hudson, John Nichols, Ron Barassi, Gary Ablett, or even David Campese. Tannin

Oh, excuse me. Jack Dyer is dead. John Nichols seems to link to some unimportant politican or somesuch, and I've probably misspelled David Campese. No matter. My point should be clerar enough despite these errors. Tannin

Well, when you think it's worth creating and populating List of footballers (Australian Rules football) (which has been a blank link on List of footballers for over a year) then maybe it might be worthy of discussion, but I doubt it. Mintguy (T) 13:21, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

You move it to a more appropriate and NPOV tipte or I will. Please yourself. Tannin 13:27, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

What do you suggest? Mintguy (T) 13:35, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

If this is really a problem, and with the history List of footballers in mind, it probably will be, maybe a move to Pele's List of 100 Greatest Living Footballers would solve it? Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 18:03, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

That's kind of what I was thinking. But it should be Pelé's List of 100 Greatest Living Footballers. But putting aside the "what is a footballer?" argument. We haven't had anyone complaining about 100 Greatest Britons being POV. Mintguy (T) 18:18, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Adding the accent would be fine, with appropiate redirects to help out those of us too stupid to get accents from their keyboard. My idea was to solve the two issues I thought Tannin had raised (i.e. i) "which sport" and ii) "what if my opinion differs"). Now that the I understand who Gary Ablett is I realise he was referring just to i). However including Pelé's name solves ii) to boot which is why I made the suggestion. Agreed that 100 Greatest Britons is unobjectionable. It was the name of a TV series. Similarly we can have an article about the film The Greatest Story Ever Told at The Greatest Story Ever Told without Wikipedia making a judgement about christianity. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 18:49, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I realised exactly where you were coming from with i) and as I said I'd thought of that myself. You point about 100 Greatest Britions and The Greatest Story Ever Told is a fair one. All in all I think moving to either Pelé's List of 100 Greatest Living Footballers or FIFA list of 100 Greatest Living Footballers would be sensible idea, both rule out Aussie rules etc.. Mintguy (T)

Gary Ablett also confused the hell of me. He is an relatively obscure football (soccer)er who used to play for Liverpool. I now know, of course, of Gary Ablett the football (Australian rules)er. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 18:13, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Indentation

Errr .. how many indentation colons are we up to? I'll just start again at the left-hand margin. I always dislike the Somethingorother (qualifier) style of indentaton, and try to avoid it wherever possible, so it's nice to see the Pele's list of ... suggestion. That would do nicely. For thse unfamiliar with Gary Ablett (the Oz rules footballer), perhaps mentioning his nickname will provide a hint until such time as a contributor more interested in football (any code) than me gets around to writing the entry. He was universally known simply as "God".

Off the field, alas, he has more in common with ... er ... the other bloke. The one with the horns. Ablett was going to be inducted into the short official list of all-time-greats a few years ago (shortly after he retired) but got himself embroiled in a scandal and a subsequent coronial inquest into the death of a girl and the list comittee started to wonder what sort of example this was setting for young people and got cold feet. Tannin 22:14, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Still listed on VfD and Copyvio

Apparently both the VfD notice and the Copyvio notice were prematurely removed from this article even though, as of March 8, it is still listed on both. Because of this, you may not be aware that time is running out for the following actions: 1. voting on the VFD page to keep or delete this article; and 2. getting documentation from FIFA posted on this talk page releasing the list under the WP license. Failure in either could result in the removal of this article from WP. Thanks, Davodd 22:43, Mar 8, 2004 (UTC)

The listing on Vfd was for 125 Greatest Living Footballers not this one. The issue regarding copright violation has been resolved, it is not a question of voting. Mintguy (T) 22:45, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I have already replied on the copyvio page. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 22:50, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Please keep the copyvio link as long as the article is still in process -- it allows those interested to express thier views. Davodd 23:41, Mar 8, 2004 (UTC)

Fine by me. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 23:43, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Confused talk on VfD

The talk supposedly about the deletion of the 125 footballers page on VfD turned into a discussion more relevant to this page. I am listing the content from VfD here, as it may be useful. Please feel free to transfer any segments to Wikipedia:Possible copyright infringements if needs be. The discussion on deleting the 125 page has restarted on VfD (phew! hope that's all clear and ok!)

I think the List of 125 Greatest Living Footballers should be deleted. The List of 100 Greatest Living Footballers is the list. JB82 16:59, Mar 6, 2004 (UTC)

• Delete Merge with List of footballers (soccer) or broaden the scope. Anthony DiPierro 17:10, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC)
• Delete or broaden the scope. Optim 17:10, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC)
• Just make it a redirect to the correct list. Shouldn't have come up here. -- Seth Ilys 21:20, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC)
• Also delete List of 100 Greatest Living Footballers. Transwiki both for possible inclusion in wikisource. Anthony DiPierro 21:37, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC)
• To Wikisource. If not delete, as "greatest" is pov. Maroux 22:44, 2004 Mar 6 (UTC)
• Delete - pov - Texture 23:08, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC)
• No vote here. Both lists are POV -- and Copyvio unless we have permission from [1]. I am listing both on the possible copyvio page. [We do not list the companies of the Fortune 500 for similar reasons] Davodd 23:22, Mar 6, 2004 (UTC)
  • List of Forbes 500
• This is Pelé's personal list of 100 greatest footballers. He was asked to compile this list by FIFA. What's wrong with it? Mintguy (T) 23:59, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC)
  • He and FIFA own the copyright to that list. Similarly, Fortune magazine owns the copyright to the Fortune 500 list. It is not a mere directory of all soccer players; it is one man's creative, editorial product. Therefore, it is copyrighted under international law. Davodd 00:05, Mar 7, 2004 (UTC)
    • I don't believe that mere lists can be copyrighted. And if they can then I think the use of this list is fair use. Mintguy (T)
      • A compilation is not a mere list. As a working journalist for the past 18 years, I can verify compiled rank-type lists are editorial content and very copyrightable. See U.S. Copyright Office guidelines here Davodd 00:27, Mar 7, 2004 (UTC)
        • There is no ranking in this list. Mintguy (T) 00:33, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)~
          • Ranking these players above any others counts as ranking. Fredrik 00:35, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)
      • I don't believe that to be the case, but anyway if it is then I think this is fair use. This list has been published in hundreds of newspapers across the globe in the last few days. This list has been added to Wikipedia in 12 languages already. Mintguy (T) 00:42, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)
• Discuss copyright infringement on possible copyright infringements. The question here is, even if it is legal, is this something we want? Wikipedia is not "Mere collections of public domain or other source material...that are only useful when presented with their original, un-modified wording." Anthony DiPierro 14:26, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)
• Delete. Regardless of copyright issue, topic is inherently POV and unverifiable, therefore non-encyclopedic. Rossami 17:40, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)
• Pending Copyright issues, keep. It is perfectly verifiable and NPOV to say that this is the list that Pele and the FIFA made. There is no Hall of Fame of footballers, the criteria with which members of Halls of Fame are inducted are (i think) subjetive, but the fact that they are there is not. Same here, the criteria of Pele and FIFA may be subjetive, but not the fact that those are the members of the list.--AstroNomer 21:18, Mar 8, 2004 (UTC)

---

I phoned the FIFA press office on 8 March, and they told me in specific words that there would be no problem whatsoever in publishing this list on Wikipedia. This issue of copyright violation is closed. Mintguy (T) 23:56, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)

• Thank you for getting permission from the copyright holder. Davodd 00:30, Mar 9, 2004 (UTC)

Text from Copyvio issue

• List of 100 Greatest Living Footballers from [2] -- Davodd 23:25, Mar 6, 2004 (UTC)
  • This list was published in many newspapers a couple of days a go. Are lists copyrightable? Mintguy (T) 23:54, 6 Mar 2004 (UTC) Even if they are, this is fair use. Mintguy (T) 00:19, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)
  • From [3] Facts, well-known phrases or a list of names, in and of itself, are not copyright. However, if these items are organized or expressed in an original manner, then a copyright would protect that organization or expression. This is just a list of names, the list is compiled by Pelé but there is no original expression or organization to the list. The list is not numbered or organized in any particular way. So this list is not copyrightable Mintguy (T) 00:28, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)
    • The items are organized or expressed in an original manner and listed as an image on a site with a clear copyright. Davodd 22:55, Mar 8, 2004 (UTC)
  • Compilations [4] are automatically protected under international copyright law. We need permission from Pele and/or FIFA to release their property under the WP license. Davodd 00:55, Mar 7, 2004 (UTC)
  • By this reckoning, we should also delete the List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame, or all cast lists of films, which are both lists of peoples names chosen by someone for some reason. I am sure that compilations means compilations of other works and not simply compiling a list. Again, even if you are correct, this list has been created so that it can be publicised. This is fair use. Mintguy (T) 10:07, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)
    • The list has been very widely published. The list is effectively a freebie titbit distributed to the press to promote the organisation's book and roving exhibtion. Fair use is applicable here, surely. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 11:20, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)
      • Fair use in this clearly applies to newspapers. We need to have permission documentation releasing it under the WP license. The list is part of the FIFA website - "Copyright © 1994 - 2004 FIFA" Davodd 13:56, Mar 7, 2004 (UTC)
        • There is no copright information on the pdf file you just posted. And also I don't understand why you say "fair use in this clearly applies to newspapers" and imply that that it doesn't apply to Wikipedia, the same conditions apply. Mintguy (T) 07:08, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)
          • I called the FIFA press office. (Tel: +44 20 7235 8010). FIFA reserves international copyright on the The FIFA 100 list. Davodd 10:44, Mar 8, 2004 (UTC)
            • Ok Thanks for the phone number, I just rang them and asked if we could publish the list on Wikipedia, and they said (and I quote) "That would be absolutely no problem at all". Mintguy (T) 11:14, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)
              • Suggest you include the phone number and the name of your contact on the Talk page. Dpbsmith 11:33, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)
              • I agree. I would like to see some sort of proof in writing that FIFA is willing to allow their property to be released under the WP's GNU Free Documentation License. User:Mintguy lost credibility by reverting the copyvio notice off the page and refusing to follow WP procedures. Davodd 22:08, Mar 8, 2004 (UTC)
                • Is that not moving the goalposts? The proposal is to use it under fair use. We have Mintguy's word that FIFA won't have a problem with that. I don't think he has lost any credibility at all, certainly not in my eyes at least. He asked for permission, got it and so it is not a possible copyright infringement anymore and thus restored the text. I am not really sure what you are now trying to achieve with this now, Davodd. The page is an asset to Wikipedia and is not a copyright problem. As for the "Wikipedia procedures" what do you mean? The 7 day minimum? That applies (just as the 5 days does for VfD) as a minimum before pages can be deleted, to give page creators a "fair trial" not as a minimum before a page can be removed if resolved. Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 22:42, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)
                  • No goal posts moved. It is common WP policy to get permission from the source posted on the Talk page of a copyrighted piece.Davodd 22:49, Mar 8, 2004 (UTC)
                    • You think Mintguy is lying. On some level you know there is no reason to get rid of the page... but you don't want to "lose" to Mintguy... otherwise I can so no reason for you to say "Great! We got permission, let's improve Wikipedia." Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 23:00, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)
• This is abosolutely ridiculous. Davodd, when you made that phone call to FIFA you could have asked for permission yourself, but you chose not to. That speaks volumes about where your interests lie. Mintguy (T) 23:05, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)
  • Please do not mistake this as a personal attack of any sort. Honestly, I believe there should definitely be a FIFA 100 reference in WP. But I also believe we should get permission when copying copyrighted material and follow established WP policy when there is a disagreement. I am still awaiting my email and phone message to a be returned from FIFA on the license matter. Since we are writing a reference guide that will be around for decades -- not a newspaper tossed in the trash after a day or two -- an article deleted from WP because of copyvio one week can always be re-instated in the future after permission is granted from the copyright holder. Davodd 23:31, Mar 8, 2004 (UTC)
    • Well as I live in the UK a phone call to London was no problem for me and I can assure you that as stated above I was told quite clearly without any equivocation that "That would be absolutely no problem at all". Now why don't just drop this issue and take this crusade about coprighted lists to Forbes 500, which you thought we didn't have for similar reasons. Mintguy (T) 23:40, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)
      • The Forbes list is significantly altered from the original in that it is an alphabetical list. The current WP FIFA 100 article is an exact copy of a copyrighted piece. Davodd 23:45, Mar 8, 2004 (UTC)
        • Great let's mix up the list, or better yet lets get permission,... wait no I've already got it. don't you see the issue is closed!Mintguy (T) 23:50, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)
  • Merging with List of footballers (soccer) would be legitimate. Anthony DiPierro 14:30, 7 Mar 2004 (UTC)
    • I disagree with that course of action. Merging with List of footballers (soccer) will get rid of the information that Pelé chose the list. SimonMayer 23:52, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)
  • Keep the list without merging for the same reason we keep lists like List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Angela. 23:54, Mar 8, 2004 (UTC)
• Pele's list was intended for general consumption. Leave it there as it is. --Tappyea 23:57, 8 Mar 2004 (UTC)
  • Can someone neutral to the discussion please remove this item from this page and restore the article back the way it was. There is no copyright infringment, because for one it is fair use and for two I have obtained permission. Mintguy (T)
    • If permission was granted, I vote to keep. Davodd 00:32, Mar 9, 2004 (UTC)
      • It's not a question of voting to keep. This page is for listing pages which might be violating copyright. This page isn't violating copyright and no longer needs to be listed here. Why don't you just remove it instead of saying "I vote to keep" Mintguy (T) 00:36, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)
        • I am awaiting email confirmation from FIFA officials to allow us to copy-and-paste their copyrighted compilation. But I do support this: List_of_100_Greatest_Living_Footballers/temp as sufficiently original to avoid copyright issues. Davodd 01:49, Mar 9, 2004 (UTC)

• I copied the text from the /Temp file written by User:JB82, User:Dale Arnett and User:Rossami to the main page.

I'm sorry I just don't get it. WTF is the difference!? Please tell me it's not just the formatting, because you have just got to be kidding. Mintguy (T) 10:53, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)

I don't know what the difference was either, or why it was supposed to avoid the copyright problem. I've deleted the page and restored only the commentary text. I made every effort to identify and credit the people who had actually authored the text in my edit summary. If anyone was overlooked, I apologize and I'm willing to see if there's a way to rectify it. --Michael Snow 05:46, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

Renamed "FIFA 100"

I renamed this article FIFA 100 to remove POV title and to adopt what most other language WP sites are calling it. Davodd 02:10, Mar 9, 2004 (UTC)

The proposal emerging from the talk above was that Pelé's List of 100 Greatest Living Footballers would be an good title. Which is better? The short one or the long one?! Pete/Pcb21 (talk) 09:04, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)

Well as it happens I'm now of the opinion that "FIFA 100" is probably best, as it is actually 125 players. 100 referring to the 100th anniversary. Mintguy (T) 11:13, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)

The criticism

Just thought I should mention that the criticism seems to be warranted, in case anyone wondered about removing it on the basis of being unsupported. It's a tad surprising to see so few Spaniards, or even Englishmen, or the somewhat small percentage of defensive players, or no mention of Sandor Puskas, ... at the same time there does seem to be a noticable percentage of recent, popular players. --Shallot 18:10, 23 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Why is Turkey listed under Asia?

Why is Turkey listed under Asia? I was under the impression it was part of Europe, certainly considering it was in the playoffs against Latvia for the European Championship... calexico 22:39, 22 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Turkey is in both Asia and Europe and was historically the meeting of the two great continents for centuries. Recently Turkey's application to join the E.U. was postponed, but it looks as if it will be accepted at some point in the future.

Granted! However, from a football standpoint, would it not be more sensible to list it under Europe? Reasons: 1) Turkey's national team play in European qualifiers for the European Championship, 2) Turkey's club teams qualify and compete in the UEFA Cup and Champion's League - both European competitions. I would be interested to know if I have overlooked something major, if there are no objections listed here - I'll move Turkey to the Europe section. calexico 23:05, 22 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Sweden

How could Gunnar Nordahl or Gunnar Gren be chosen for a list of living players when they both died in the 1990s? --Ben davison 20:20, 1 Jun 2005 (UTC)

They weren't. I've removed them. This page is a candidate for Wikipedia:Most vandalized pages as people add and remove the most/least favorite players, themselves, etc. Joestynes 07:25, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Clarence Seedorf

Is Clarence Seedorf really one of the 125 greatest football players?,He can't take a penalty if the goal was empty and penalty mark was 1 mm away of it

• According to FIFA, he is one of the 125 greatest players ever. Which kinda surprises me, because if Seedorf is on the list, where are Grzegorz Lato, Toni Schumacher and Lev Yashin? Aecis 08:24, 27 July 2005 (UTC)

Where is Ryan Giggs!--Hamedog_Talk|^@ 06:30, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

The list is "The 125 Greatest Living Footballers". CanbekEsen 11:24, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

FIFA Aim To Spread The Fame !

Some of the players you mentioned, Yashin for instance, cannot be on the list because they are dead. What troubles me is that, for obviously political reasons, they have included two women in the list, but not Jairzinho... who is alive, well, and still largely incomparable. I won't belabour what he represents to football, how good he was, or that is an undisputed legend, but if players like Ivan Zamorano, Jean-Marie Pfaff, BOTH the Laudrups (what?), Clarence Seedorf, Giuseppi Bergomi, Okocha and Myung-Bo are going to be on the list, then he should CERTAINLY also be there, perhaps in place of one of the abovementioned, or the women... which, no offense, but, as of yet, in my opinion, are not comparable to the men. This is for a number of factors, such as strenght and speed, which in women, are determined by biological factors such as physiology. Other good players have also gone unnoticed. For instance, recently, on German Television, they argued in favour of two goalkeepers that certainly should have been drafted onto the list. These were Bodo Illneger and Sergio Goycochea. Others come to mind; Jean Tigana, Paul Gascoigne (obviously disciplinary problems don't stand in the way of a nomination, a quick flick through the list will reveal why...) perhaps Koemann or one of the De Boars, Salvatore Schillaci (incomparable during his short-lived reign)... and several others. An authentic top 100 wouldn't be so geographically spread, but naturally, like everyone else, FIFA is in the numbers game...

List

This List is a Shame .. I respected Pele as the greatest of all Times but now I see, he's an Idiot - So many Legendary Magicians on the Pitch are Missing - and so many Average Players are on this List. As Pele's Voice in the World of Football weights a lot - This List is nothing more than a Provocation. Mr. Pele, next Time you do something like this - switch on your Brain first. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.17.113.228 (talk • contribs)

There's also a certain Sir Tom Finney missing from the list, and he's very much alive. The list, as a judge of players is worthless.

Well, It is said, and I also believe it, that the list was made by the FIFA trying to have a wide range of players from all the continents so nobody would feel relegated, and pele just put his signature below. Another example of Pele's applepolishing to FIFA... Mariano(t/c) 10:10, 14 June 2006 (UTC)

Why was the list removed?

Even if there was a copyright issue (which seems questionable - we include tons of similar lists, like the Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Nonfiction. These kinds of lists are widely reprinted in mainstream media, suggesting that they are written with the intention to be widely distributed - it is not as though FIFA gets money from its exclusive right to sell the contents of the list), Mintguy notes above that he got permission from FIFA to include the list under fair use. Michael Snow also appears to have deleted the original article without discussion, and without posting any kind of notice here. john k 20:19, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps he was strongarmed by the dasterdly FIFA organisation. This list is a travesty, if Myung-Bo makes the list then Roberto Carlos should be on it twice. Why not, if we are saying that the world's greatest players are distributed evenly across the world. Naturally this must be the case, the African and Asian "legends" have secured as many as zero world cups for their nations. How dare FIFA insult our intelligence with this rubbish. Do they think that by getting Pele to say something, we will just accept it, and then buy the book, with Pele's face on it. The posters are rubbish as well.

Well, that was constructive. john k 20:05, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

Criticism

There is a flagrant contradiction in the statement about criticism. So, after all, is the criticism saying that there are too many Asian and African players (where, 'for example', there are only 7 of them), or too few? The list seems to be concentrated on European and South American players as the criticism suggests it should have been! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.172.17.55 (talk) 22:28, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

It seems that the major part of the introductory paragraph is criticism of the list and its selections. Perhaps it would be well-suited if a Criticism section is made, simply to free up the introductory paragraph to summarize what it actually is. If there are no objections, I'll go ahead and do it myself. Anton1234 03:44, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

I thought about this a while ago, but didn't get round to rewriting it. The first few sentences don't get to the point very well - just look how far in FIFA 100 is into the prose. I think a criticism section is worthwhile. Also, the points on criticism could all do with better referencing. Go for it, be bold! Regards, Mk3severo 16:46, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

Well, I don't know about referencing the criticism, but I'll plug in a Criticism section anyway. You're right about the intro, I'll fiddle around with it a bit. Anton1234 18:13, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

There, better? Anton1234 18:21, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I think so. I've found most of the references, just working out how best to write them out (I'm not used to quoting opinion). Do you think the list could be better presented? Mk3severo 18:25, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Yeah, come to think of it, there's very little dividing the countries and players. I was thinking perhaps a table or horizontal dividers would make the list easier to read and make it easier for the reader to discern between nations and their players. However, I have absolutely no idea how to do this. What do you think? Anton1234 19:42, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Here's a couple of ideas:

Argentina

Player Pos. DoB Diego Maradona FW 1960-10-30 Brazil Player Pos. DoB Cafu RB 1970-06-07

---

Player Pos. DoB Diego Maradona FW 1960-10-30 Cafu RB 1970-06-07

Mk3severo 20:50, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

Perfect! Anton1234 03:06, 6 January 2007 (UTC)

I've tried to denote the 50 players active at the time of the unveiling of the list - but I can only work out 49 of them. If anyone can find the missing one, and also double check the DoBs, I'd greatly appreciate it! Mk3severo 19:19, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Active players

I included asterisks by players active when the FIFA 100 was announced. I deemed this noteworthy information as Pelé was asked to compile a list of 50 active and 50 retired players, and he returned a list of 50 active and 75 former players. Italics denote the players that are still active. I could only work out 49 of the 50 active players - if anyone who can work out which one I missed it would be great. However, please do not remove asterisks without further discussion. Regards, Mk3severo 21:24, 8 January 2007 (UTC)

should there be a star next to mia hamm? and the 50th player is desailly. edited Numberwang 18:01, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

I can't believe the writer put tha Hernan Crespo is retired, when he's playing curently in the Serie A of Italy, unbelievable!!!:( —Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.235.65.135 (talk) 20:26, 14 July 2010 (UTC)

Crespo is definitely retired now (http://uk.soccerway.com/news/2012/November/13/coaching-career-beckons-for-crespo/) --Mdb23b (talk) 03:29, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

Keep List

ChrisGriswold has removed the list (a significant portion of the page and a lot of work for a lot of people, especially Mk3severo), without anybody's agreement or consent. I suggest somebody reverts back to a version with the list (wiki-n00b alert - I don't know how to revert) and we hold a vote to decide whether we keep the list or not. I will begin.

Keep the list because it is helpful, what the article encompasses (therefore being extremely relevant), and is a good point of reference, keeping with the mission of Wikipedia. --Anton1234

It's a copyvio. It doesn't belong here. --Chris Griswold (☎☓) 18:14, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

Well, if you'd have done your research and looked at the rest of the talk page, you'd see that it wasn't an issue, and that it wouldn't hurt to keep it. Anton1234

The whole ratios part doesnt make sense.

How can brazil have the best ration when its 188:13, and Holland is 16:13 in terms of millions:players chosen

Notable omissions

I removed the notable omissions section because without citation, it is POV. There may be notable omissions, but without citing who said what, then your list of notable omissions is as good as mine, which is headed by Justin Hoyte. I left the thing about Gerson ripping a list up because I have read that (I thought we had that one cited a while ago but I was evidently wrong), but it still needs citation. Severo^TC 19:56, 28 April 2007 (UTC)

Speaking of notable omissions, I only counted 123 in the list! Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands) is definitely missing. Koeman has been put in his place by an overly zealous fan, I suppose. Hernan Crespo (Argentina) is also missing. The Eristic (talk) 08:15, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

Where's Lev Yashin?? the greatest goalkeeper ever is not on the list??? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 200.86.149.133 (talk) 19:01, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Lev Yashin died in 1990 and the list came out in 2004. The list was for living footballers only, hence the omission. Cocytus [»talk«] 19:08, 6 November 2009 (UTC)

Messed up

Bulgaria and Brazil are messed up a little. Bulgaria's flag is before the Brazil players instead of after them. I would fix it but I am horrified that I would mess up the entire list. Mandarim 04:53, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

Y Done That's vandalism for you. Reverted to an earlier edition. Severo^TC 08:23, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

someone take a look at the first "argentinian player"... "ya mum"??? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 121.120.30.52 (talk) 09:49, August 20, 2007 (UTC)

Steven Gerrard born on 1937-12-30 .....? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.236.134.146 (talk) 10:46, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

Relevance of this List

I'm not sure why this list is so prominent on the player pages of those who were named in the list. Every time I go to a player page of someone who is on this list, it's right at the very top, but the way I remember it, this was largely a non-event when announced and not many people took it that seriously. Why is it so prominent? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Shearer9 (talk • contribs) 04:24, 14 November 2007 (UTC)

Question

Why isn't Sun Wen there when Hidetoshi Nakata is there?- 219.78.58.133 (talk) 10:31, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

Because Nakata was selected but Sun wasn't. Mosmof (talk) 14:24, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

and isnt sun wen a lady? i thought the list was purely for men?

She is, but the list also contains female players, see Mia Hamm and Michelle Akers, so Sun Wen could have been theoretically also selected. However, she wasnt't. Gruen (talk) 14:57, 23 June 2009 (UTC)

It seems to me that this article is completely bias. Isn't that something that Wikipedia is against? I have played soccer my whole life and I could take some of these players off and add some other players. There are no true "100 greatest players". Everyone has their own opinion on who could be placed in this category. Is it really fair to say that these are the players who are the greatest to ever play the game? Should Wikipedia really publish an article that is seen as one persons perspective?Hrndfrg13 (talk) 16:13, 15 March 2011 (UTC)

NEDVED

He's retired so italic no more.

Paolo Maldini is retired as well.

Deceased players

What do others think, should the players who have died since then marked separately. At least Puskas, Sivori and Best have passed away since the list was done.BleuDXXXIV (talk) 08:31, 12 October 2009 (UTC)

MESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSIU —Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.43.233.38 (talk) 23:12, 24 January 2010 (UTC)

It should perhaps be noted that Bobby Mooore was selected for the list despite having died over a decade beforehand. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.165.133.147 (talk) 02:26, 10 May 2016 (UTC)

Gazza

Why the hell is Gazza not on the list, living genius of football —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.241.56.36 (talk) 20:47, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

Edit request on 3 August 2012

Ruud van Nitelrooy is retired in May 2012, his name should not be in Italics any more, which suggests he is still playing. Ashishbirajdar (talk) 19:01, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

 Done. Fat&Happy (talk) 19:30, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 17 December 2012

Argentina football player Hernán Crespo retired in November 2012 so his name shouldn't be in italics anymore. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 186.18.56.97 (talk • contribs) 17 December 2012

Done. —KuyaBriBri^Talk 16:44, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

Dates of deaths

What you tink about include of the dates of football players' deaths? Dawid2009 (talk) 07:26, 26 March 2016 (UTC)

I agree with this - if we have a Born column, it makes sense to have a Died column. OGBC1992 (talk) 11:08, 1 March 2023 (UTC)

Francesco Totti Edit

Francesco Totti is still an active football player. I suggest to remove the * next to his name. George Tagas (talk) 13:46, 21 September 2016 (UTC)

 Not done - please read the key

Players active at the time of announcement are marked by (*).

Players who are still active are in italics.

Totti's name is in italics, which if he is still active, is correct - Arjayay (talk) 14:52, 21 September 2016 (UTC)

Bobby Moore

Bobby Moore was not selected. אגסי (talk) 21:09, 26 October 2016 (UTC)

Table format

Having links and flag icons in the section headers contravenes MOS:HEAD. I propose combining all entries into one single table, with a new Nationality column as the first column in the table. --Jameboy (talk) 23:42, 14 March 2018 (UTC)