Football's Greatest

Last updated

Football's Greatest
Genre Sport
Created by Pitch International
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes66
Production
Executive producersPaul McGrath
Jon Owen
Hans Duikersloot
EditorsMatt Bowen
Crispin Holland
Camera setupDaniel Vitalis
Running time23 minutes
Original release
Network Sky Sports HD 1/2
Release10 June (2010-06-10) 
11 July 2010 (2010-07-11)

Football's Greatest is a TV series that started on 10 June 2010 and finished on 11 July 2010 on Sky Sports for the World Cup. There are 26 shows in total all narrated by Richard Keys, 25 featuring one footballer for each show. The first episode, The Contenders, is about players that did not make the following shows, though are still notable.

The series was then followed by Football's Greatest Managers around Christmas 2011, running to a similar format. This series was narrated by Gabriel Clarke and features shows for José Mourinho, Bill Shankly, Alex Ferguson, Bob Paisley, Giovanni Trapattoni, Fabio Capello, Arrigo Sacchi, Rinus Michels, Mário Zagallo and Ottmar Hitzfeld.

Ten for Football's Greatest International Teams: West Germany (1972–1974), Netherlands (1974 and 1988), Brazil (1958/1962, 1970 and 1982), France (1984 and 1998–2000), Hungary (1954) and Spain (2008–2012).

Sixteen for Football's Greatest Teams: Chelsea, Manchester United, Barcelona, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid (1954–1966 and 1996–2003), Ajax, Benfica, Celtic, Juventus, Liverpool, Milan, Santos, Red Star Belgrade and Nottingham Forest.

Eight for Football's Greatest International Rivalries: England v Scotland, Holland v Germany, Brazil v Argentina, England v Germany, Italy v France & Yugoslavia, England v Argentina & Czech Republic v Slovenia, Portugal v Spain & Uruguay v Argentina and Turkey v Greece & Sweden v Denmark.

List of episodes

The first episode, The Contenders, featured Ryan Giggs, Paolo Rossi, Gheorghe Hagi, Luís Figo, Denis Law, Roberto Baggio, Emilio Butragueño, Thierry Henry, Bobby Moore, George Weah, Kaká, Dino Zoff, Lothar Matthäus, Eric Cantona, Hugo Sánchez, Hristo Stoichkov, Dennis Bergkamp, Steven Gerrard, Franco Baresi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Lionel Messi, Sócrates, David Beckham and Romário.

EpisodeSeasonPlayerNationalityDate of episode
11The Contenders10 June 2010
21 Bobby Charlton Flag of England.svg England11 June 2010
31 Gerd Müller Flag of Germany.svg Germany13 June 2010
41 Ruud Gullit Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands14 June 2010
51 Eusébio Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal15 June 2010
61 Rivellino Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil16 June 2010
71 Michel Platini Flag of France.svg France17 June 2010
81 Peter Schmeichel Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark19 June 2010
91 Garrincha Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil20 June 2010
101 Kenny Dalglish Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland21 June 2010
111 Raúl Flag of Spain.svg Spain22 June 2010
121 Johan Cruyff Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands24 June 2010
131 Ronaldinho Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil25 June 2010
141 Alfredo Di Stéfano Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina27 June 2010
151 Marco van Basten Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands28 June 2010
161 Paolo Maldini Flag of Italy.svg Italy29 June 2010
171 Franz Beckenbauer Flag of Germany.svg Germany30 June 2010
181 Zinedine Zidane Flag of France.svg France1 July 2010
191 Zico Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil2 July 2010
201 Michael Laudrup Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark3 July 2010
211 Ronaldo Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil4 July 2010
221 Gabriel Batistuta Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina5 July 2010
231 Ferenc Puskás Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary6 July 2010
241 George Best Ulster Banner.svg Northern Ireland7 July 2010
251 Diego Maradona Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina10 July 2010
261 Pelé Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil11 July 2010
272Dennis Bergkamp Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands18 April 2014
282 Andrés Iniesta Flag of Spain.svg Spain20 April 2014
292 Clarence Seedorf Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands21 April 2014
302 Alan Shearer Flag of England.svg England22 April 2014
312Cristiano Ronaldo Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal23 April 2014
322Thierry Henry Flag of France.svg France24 April 2014
332Luís Figo Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal25 April 2014
342Lionel Messi Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina26 April 2014
352Steven Gerrard Flag of England.svg England27 April 2014
362Ryan Giggs Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales28 April 2014
373Franco Baresi Flag of Italy.svg Italy30 August 2016
383 Alessandro Del Piero Flag of Italy.svg Italy31 August 2016
393George Weah Flag of Liberia.svg Liberia01 September 2016
403Gheorghe Hagi Flag of Romania.svg Romania02 September 2016
413Kaká Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil05 September 2016
423 Andrea Pirlo Flag of Italy.svg Italy06 September 2016
433Hristo Stoichkov Flag of Bulgaria.svg Bulgaria07 September 2016
443 Iker Casillas Flag of Spain.svg Spain08 September 2016
453 Xavi Flag of Spain.svg Spain09 September 2016
463 Rivaldo Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil12 September 2016
474 David Villa Flag of Spain.svg Spain
484 Ian Rush Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Wales
494Lothar Matthäus Flag of Germany.svg Germany
504 Patrick Vieira Flag of France.svg France
514 Cafu Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil
524Roberto Baggio Flag of Italy.svg Italy
534 Roberto Carlos Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil
544 Carles Puyol Flag of Spain.svg Spain
554 Samuel Eto'o Flag of Cameroon.svg Cameroon
564 Marcel Desailly Flag of France.svg France
575 Didier Deschamps Flag of France.svg France
585 Fernando Hierro Flag of Spain.svg Spain
595 Jürgen Klinsmann Flag of Germany.svg Germany
605 Ronald Koeman Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
615 Jean-Pierre Papin Flag of France.svg France
625 Graeme Souness Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland
635Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Flag of Germany.svg Germany
645 Ruud van Nistelrooy Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
655 Gianluca Vialli Flag of Italy.svg Italy
665 Xabi Alonso Flag of Spain.svg Spain

Notes

    Related Research Articles

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">FIFA World Cup</span> Football tournament

    The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War. The reigning champions are Argentina, who won their third title at the 2022 tournament.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">1954 FIFA World Cup</span> Association football tournament in Switzerland

    The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the 5th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was selected as the host country in July 1946. At the tournament, several all-time records for goal-scoring were set, including the highest average number of goals scored per game. The tournament was won by West Germany, who defeated tournament favourites Hungary 3–2 in the final for their first World Cup title. Uruguay the defending champions were eliminated by Hungary and would lose to Austria in the third-place match.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazil national football team</span> Mens association football team

    The Brazil national football team, nicknamed Seleção Canarinho, represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), the governing body for football in Brazil. They have been a member of FIFA since 1923 and a member of CONMEBOL since 1916.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">1974 FIFA World Cup</span> Association football tournament in West Germany

    The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded. The previous trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, had been won for the third time by Brazil in 1970 and awarded permanently to the Brazilians.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">1982 FIFA World Cup</span> Association football tournament in Spain

    The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 in the final held in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in the capital, Madrid. It was Italy's third World Cup title, but their first since 1938. The defending champions, Argentina, were eliminated in the second round. Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait and New Zealand made their first appearances in the finals.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">1990 FIFA World Cup</span> Association football tournament in Italy

    The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time. Teams representing 116 national football associations entered and qualification began in April 1988. 22 teams qualified from this process, along with the host nation Italy and defending champions Argentina.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Germany national football team</span> Mens association football team

    The Germany national football team represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association, founded in 1900. Between 1949 and 1990, separate German national teams were recognised by FIFA due to Allied occupation and division: the DFB's team representing the Federal Republic of Germany, the Saarland team representing the Saar Protectorate (1950–1956) and the East Germany team representing the German Democratic Republic (1952–1990). The latter two were absorbed along with their records; the present team represents the reunified Federal Republic. The official name and code "Germany FR (FRG)" was shortened to "Germany (GER)" following reunification in 1990.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Argentina national football team</span> Mens association football team

    The Argentina national football team, nicknamed La Albiceleste, represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Spain national football team</span> Mens association football team

    The Spain national football team has represented Spain in men's international football competitions since 1920. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Mario Kempes</span> Argentine footballer and manager

    Mario Alberto Kempes Chiodi is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker or attacking midfielder. A prolific goalscorer, he finished as La Liga's top goalscorer twice with Valencia where he amassed 116 goals in 184 league games. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Hungary national football team</span> Mens association football team

    The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in men's international football, and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation. The team has made nine appearances in the FIFA World Cup, and five in the UEFA European Championship. Hungary plays their home matches at the Puskás Aréna, in Budapest, which opened in November 2019.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Chile national football team</span> Mens association football team

    The Chile national football team, nicknamed La Roja, represents Chile in men's international football competitions and is controlled by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile which was established in 1895. Chile has appeared in nine World Cup tournaments and were hosts of the 1962 FIFA World Cup where they finished in third place, the highest position the country has ever achieved in the World Cup.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Czechoslovakia national football team</span> National football team of Czechoslovakia from 1920 to 1992

    The Czechoslovakia national football team represented Czechoslovakia in men's international football from 1919 to 1993. The team was controlled by the Czechoslovak Football Association, and the team qualified for eight World Cups and three European Championships. It had two runner-up finishes in World Cups, in 1934 and 1962, and won the European Championship in the 1976 tournament.

    As of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, 80 national teams have competed at the finals of the FIFA World Cup. Brazil is the only team to have appeared in all 22 tournaments to date, with Germany having participated in 20, Italy and Argentina in 18 and Mexico in 17. Eight nations have won the tournament. The inaugural winners in 1930 were Uruguay; the current champions are Argentina. The most successful nation is Brazil, which has won the cup on five occasions. Five teams have appeared in FIFA World Cup finals without winning, while twelve more have appeared in the semi-finals.

    The FIFA 100 is a list compiled by Brazilian professional footballer Pelé featuring his choices of the "greatest living footballers" at the time of its release. The list was unveiled on 4 March 2004 during a gala ceremony at the Natural History Museum in London, England, as part of the celebrations commemorating the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the international governing body of football.

    The FIFA World Cup was first held in 1930, when FIFA, the world's football governing body, decided to stage an international men's football tournament under the era of FIFA president Jules Rimet who put this idea into place. Jules Rimet was the president of FIFA from 1921 to 1954. Rimet was appreciated so much for bringing the idea of FIFA to life that 1946 the trophy was named the Jules Rimet Cup instead of the World Cup Trophy. The inaugural edition, held in 1930, was contested as a final tournament of only thirteen teams invited by the organization. Since then, the World Cup has experienced successive expansions and format remodeling, with its current 48-team final tournament preceded by a two-year qualifying process, involving over 200 teams from around the world. Daniel limpio

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands national football team</span> Mens association football team

    The Netherlands national football team has represented the Netherlands in international men's football matches since 1905. The men's national team is controlled by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), the governing body for football in the Netherlands, which is a part of UEFA, under the jurisdiction of FIFA. Most of the Netherlands home matches are played at the Johan Cruyff Arena, De Kuip, Philips Stadion, and De Grolsch Veste.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">South American nations at the FIFA World Cup</span>

    Nine of ten members of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) have competed in the men's FIFA World Cup finals. National association football teams from CONMEBOL have won the tournament ten times, including Brazil's record five championships. CONMEBOL countries have hosted the finals five times.