Football is the absolute favorite sport. Hardly anyone can escape the fascination of round leather. The focus of the game is always on the absolute top stars like Pele or Messi, who shape entire eras with their outstanding skills and captivate millions of fans around the world. That’s why this page focuses on famous football players from the present and past. There are also interesting football facts and an excursion to women’s football. We also shed light on the dark sides of the game.
The Best Football Players of Today
A quick look at the voting for World Footballer of the Year over the last eleven years is enough and it immediately becomes clear to everyone who the two dominant personalities in world football today are. The title went to the Argentine Lionel Messi five times and his long-term Portuguese rival Cristiano Ronaldo was able to celebrate the award just as often. The careers of these two exceptional talents were completely different. While the Argentinian dribbling artist has played exclusively for FC Barcelona since he was 14, the Portuguese, who is a strong finisher, has already laced up his boots for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid and currently Juventus Turin.
With their outstanding technique, both world stars are excellent goal scorers. A look at the football facts shows that on average both hit the net in almost every game. With this yield they have led their teams to numerous titles. No wonder that the top scorer in the Champions League for the last eleven years was either Messi or Ronaldo. A small downside, however, is the lack of a crowning achievement at national team level. Despite numerous successes in club football, both have so far been denied the World Cup title. While Ronaldo can at least claim a European Championship title, Messi has so far only won the Olympic victory, which is rather insignificant at football level. Opinions differ when it comes to the question of who is the best football player. However, it is undisputed that both belong in the top ten list of the greatest players of all time. You can find an extensive offer with many special bets on these two world-class players at the best betting providers.
Famous Footballers of the Past
When it comes to the best football players in history, we can’t ignore two South American legends. However, both have never played against each other on the field. On one side the exceptional Brazilian striker Pele and on the other hand the outstanding Argentine playmaker Diego Maradona. With an incredible 619 goals in 638 competitive games, Pele helped FC Santos win over two dozen titles. His Argentine counterpart shone at club level, particularly at SSC Napoli. He led him to his first championship in 1987 and thus made himself immortal among the Napoli fans.
Both icons owe their great popularity not least to their appearances at the World Championships. Pele became world champion for the first time in 1958 as a 17-year-old prodigy and is a record world champion with two further titles in 1962 and 1970. Maradona’s finest hour was the 1986 World Cup. Argentina’s number 10 shaped the tournament, became the best player at the World Cup and almost single-handedly led a rather average team to an acclaimed triumph. However, the enthusiasm was overshadowed during the tournament by his “Hand of God”, an irregularly scored goal in the quarter-finals. At the end of his career, Pele helped US soccer achieve unprecedented glory. Maradona’s career, however, was marked by doping and drug scandals.
Football Betting Fraud – The Hoyzer Scandal
German football experienced one of its darkest hours when it became known that referee Robert Hoyzer had manipulated games. In the so-called football betting scandal of 2005, Hoyzer admitted to having postponed games in the 2nd Bundesliga, the Regionalliga and the DFB Cup. As a result, the previously bet results also came true. The betting scandal was triggered by the DFB Cup first round game between third division club Paderborn and Bundesliga club HSV on August 21, 2004. The underdog Paderborn surprisingly won this 4-2. Before the game, high stakes were placed on the third division team’s victory and Hoyzer made a decisive contribution to high betting winnings with several blatantly wrong decisions. For example, he awarded two unjustified penalties against HSV and also sent off a Hamburger without justification. As a result, the Hoyzer scandal resulted in a huge loss of image for football. In November 1990, Hoyzer was sentenced to two years and five months in prison, which he was able to end early due to good behavior.
