Here is a list of legendary players who all made great contributions to their teams and became heroes for millions of fans world wide due to their achievements in the World Cup. Current stars like Ronaldo and Zidane are not added as they will most likely feature in future World Cups. Only retired World Cup stars or players who will not feature in future tournaments will be here. There are links to many of these players other places on this World Cup site as well, but here they are all gathered.Gabriel Batistuta, Paolo Maldini and Romario will be added soon!
BAGGIO, Roberto- The Italian star of the 1990s.
BANKS, Gordon - One of the best goalkeepers in history. World Cup winner for England in 1966.
BARESI, Franco - The outstanding central defender of the past 15 years. Runner-up for Italy in 1994.
BECKENBAUER, Franz - Probably the greatest defender in the game of all time. World Cup winner in 1974.
BERGOMI, Giuseppe - Faithful and reliable Italian defender and World Cup winner as an 18 year-old in 1982.
BONIEK, Zbigniew - One of the best players in the world in the early 80s. Helped Poland to bronzemedals in 1982.
BREHME, Andreas - Great German left-back who was matchwinner in the 1990 final.
BREITNER, Paul - Controversial and classy German full-back and later midfielder. World Cup winner 1974.
BUTRAGUEÑO, Emilio - Great Spanish center-forward of the 1980s.
CARECA - Best Brazilian striker of the 1980s. Scored 7 goals in his two World Cups.
CEULEMANS, Jan - Great Belgian player and one of Europe's best midfielders in the 1980s.
CHARLTON, Bobby - Arguably the greatest English player in the greatest era of their national team. World Cup winner in 1966.
CRUIJFF, Johan - Playmaker and captain for the Dutch team that invented the Total-Football.
CUBILLAS, Teofilio - Great Peruvian striker who scored 10 World Cup goals.
EUSEBIO - Portugal's greatest ever player. Topscorer of the 1966 World Cup.
FILLOL, Ubaldo - Probably the greatest South American goalkeeper ever. World Cup winner for Argentina in 1978.
FONTAINE, Juste - French record holder for most goals in a single World Cup. 13 goals in 1958.
GARRINCHA - Brazilian winger and great dribbler. World Cup winner in 1958 and 1962.
HAGI, Gheorghe - Romanian captain and playmaker in three World Cups. One of the best players in the world in the 1990s.
HURST, Geoff - World Cup winner in 1966. Hat-trick hero in the final.
JAIRZINHO - Another great Brazilian winger. Member of the magical World Cup winning team in 1970.
KEMPES, Mario - The man who did everything in 1978. Topscorer and World Cup winning hero for Argentina.
KLINSMANN, Jürgen - Great German striker with 11 goals from three World Cups. Winner in 1990.
KOCSIS, Sandor - Goalmachine for Hungary as they won silver in 1954. Topscorer with 11 goals.
KRANKL, Hans - Great Austrian striker regarded as one of Europe's top players in the late 70s.
KROL, Ruud - Elegant Dutch defender. Member of the Total-Football teams of the 1970s.
LATO, Grzegorz - Winner of two bronzemedals for Poland. Topscorer in 1974 with 7 goals.
LEONIDAS - Perhaps the greatest pre-war Brazilian player. Topscorer in 1938 with 8 goals.
LINEKER, Gary - Perhaps the greatest English striker in modern time. Topscorer in 1986 with 6 goals.
MAIER, Sepp - Legendary German goalkeeper of the 1970s. World Cup winner in 1974.
MARADONA, Diego - One of the all-time greats. Played 21 games in four World Cups and won the 1986 WC almost singlehandedly.
MATTHÄUS, Lothar - Only outfield player with five tournaments. Captained West Germany to the title in 1990.
MEAZZA, Giuseppe - The great star and member of two Italian World Cup winning teams in 1934 and 1938.
MILLA, Roger - The "super-sub" who turned Cameroon into a world class team at the age of 38 in 1990. Played in three World Cups.
MONTI, Luis - Only player to have played for two countries in a WC final. Winner in 1934 with Italy.
MOORE, Bobby - Classy English defender and captain of their 1966 World Cup winning team.
MÜLLER, Gerd - The World Cup's all time topscorer with 14 goals. World Cup winner in for West Germany 1974 and topscorer in 1970 with 10 goals.
NEESKENS, Johann - Dutch midfielder with a powerful shot. Beaten finalist in 1974 and 1978.
N'KONO, Thomas - Greatest African goalkeeper ever. Member of Cameroon's memorable 1990 team.
OVERATH, Wolfgang - Hardworking German midfielder with a great left foot. World Cup winner in 1974.
PASSARELLA, Daniel - The great central defender who captained Argentina to the title on home soil in 1978.
PELÉ - The only man to win three World Cups. Scored 12 goals in the four World Cups he played in.
PLATINI, Michel - May be the greatest French player of all time. Captain for two great teams in 1982 and 1986. Played in three World Cups.
PUSKAS, Ferenc - One of the greatest players of all time. Captain of Hungary's marvellous team in 1954.
RENSENBRINK, Rob - Dutch forward and penalty expert. Twice silvermedalist in 1974 and 1978.
RIVA, Luigi - All time topscorer for the Italian national team. Silvermedalist in 1970.
RIVELINO, Roberto - Attacking Brazilian midfielder with a powerful shot in the 1970s. World Cup winner in 1970.
ROSSI, Paolo - The skinny forward who became topscorer in 1982 on 6 goals as well as helping Italy to their first post-war World Cup title.
RUGGERI, Oscar - Commanding Argentinian central defender. World Cup winner in 1986.
RUMMENIGGE, Karl-Heinz - Arguably the greatest German player of the post-Beckenbauer era. He is the only captain to lose two World Cup finals.
SCARONE, Hector - Inside-forward of Uruguay's 1930 World Cup winning team.
SCHIAFFINO, Juan - Influential Uruguayan player who helped his team win the World Cup in 1950.
SCIFO, Enzo - Creative Belgian playmaker with great vision. Played in four World Cups.
SCIREA, Gaetano - Elegant and fair playing Italian defender. World Cup winner in 1982.
SEELER, Uwe - The only player, apart from Pelé, to have scored in four different World Cups. Reached three semifinals, but never won the cup.
SKOGLUND, Lennart - Excellent Swedish winger of the 1950s. Beaten finalist in 1958.
SOCRATES - Elegant Brazilian midfielder and captain of their "Dreamteam" in 1982.
STÁBILE, Guillermo - Topscorer of the very first World Cup in 1930 with 8 goals. Helped Argentina to the final.
STOITCHKOV, Hristo - Temperamental Bulgarian striker who was topscorer at the 1994 World Cup.
TOMASZEWSKI, Jan - Superb Polish goalkeeper who contributed so much to his team winning bronzemedals in 1974.
VALDERRAMA, Carlos - Skillful and creative playmaker who captained Colombia in three World Cups.
VARELA, Obdulio - Captain of Uruguay's team that won the World Cup in 1950.
VOGTS, Berti - Tough German defender of the seventies. World Cup winner in 1974.
VÖLLER, Rudi - Prolific goalscorer for Germany in the eighties and early nineties. World Cup winner in 1990.
WALTER, Fritz - Playmaker and captain of West Germany's 1954 World Cup winning team.
YASHIN, Lev - Probably the greatest ever goalkeeper. Played for the Soviet Union in three World Cups.
ZICO - Regarded by many as the best player in Brazil since Pelé. Despite playing in three World Cups, he never managed to play in a final.
ZOFF, Dino - Another legendary goalkeeper. Was the oldest ever winner of the World Cup when he captained Italy to the title in 1982.
ZUBIZARRETA, Andoni - Great Spanish goalkeeper with four World Cups under his belt.
