In association football, at least 47 players have played at least 1,000 official matches at all age levels. Regarding youth football, only matches with national teams are counted, as such data for club levels cannot be found for the majority of the players. Regarding B teams and reserve teams, appearances for such teams are only included if made in the primary football pyramid and not in reserve divisions. War-time results are also excluded if they were later regarded as unofficial by the relevant Football Association(s); if they were included, Billy Meredith would be the first ever player to have played in 1,000 official matches [1] and Stanley Matthews would also make the list. [2]
English goalkeeper Peter Shilton holds the record for the most appearances, making over 1,400 appearances between the 1960s and 1990s, including a national record of 125 appearances for England, and in 1996 became the first footballer to make 1,000 league appearances. [3] In March 2022, Robert Carmona from Uruguay was recognized as the oldest active footballer by Guinness World Records [4] [5] [6] and was reported as having played around 2,200 official matches, [4] [5] [6] a total that would place him at the top of the list by far; however, due to a lack of details about the distribution of these matches per year and team, or even which teams he played for, [7] [8] he cannot currently be added to the list.
As of 03:15, 28 June 2024 (UTC)
Bold indicates the player is currently active.
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, mononymously known as Ronaldo, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the owner of Brasileiro Série A club Cruzeiro and owner and president of La Liga club Real Valladolid. Nicknamed O Fenômeno and R9, he is considered one of the greatest players of all time. As a multi-functional striker who brought a new dimension to the position, Ronaldo has been an influence for a generation of strikers that have followed. His individual accolades include being named FIFA World Player of the Year three times and winning two Ballon d'Or awards.
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.
Santos Futebol Clube is a Brazilian sports club based in Vila Belmiro, a bairro in the city of Santos. It is also the team with the most goals in football history. It plays in the Campeonato Paulista, the state of São Paulo's premier state league, as well as the Campeonato Brasileiro Série B, the second tier of the Brazilian football league system, after getting relegated in the 2023 season for the first time in the club's history.
Romário de Souza Faria, known simply as Romário, is a Brazilian politician and former professional footballer. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he scored over 700 goals and is one of the few players to score at least 100 goals for three clubs. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time. Romário starred for Brazil in their 1994 FIFA World Cup triumph, receiving the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. He was named FIFA World Player of the Year the same year. He came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll in 1999, was elected to the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002, and was named in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players in 2004.
Kazuyoshi Miura, often known simply as Kazu, is a Japanese professional football player who plays as a forward for Liga Portugal 2 club Oliveirense, on loan from J2 League club Yokohama FC. He is the world's oldest active player to score in a professional match.
Alessandro Altobelli is a former professional Italian footballer who played as a forward, and who won the 1982 World Cup with Italy. Nicknamed Spillo ("Needle") for his slender build, Altobelli was a prolific goalscorer and regarded as one of the greatest and most effective Italian strikers of the late 1970s and 1980s. Altobelli is currently the all-time top scorer in the Coppa Italia, with 56 goals in 93 appearances, and the ninth-highest scoring Italian player in all competitions, with almost 300 career goals.
Alexsandro de Souza, commonly known as Alex, is a Brazilian football manager, pundit and retired footballer, who played as an attacking midfielder.
The Argentina–Brazil football rivalry is an association football sports rivalry between the Brazilian and Argentinian national teams. The rivalry is considered one of the biggest and fiercest in international football and FIFA has described it as the "essence of football rivalry". As both local and regional federation rivals in South America, clashes have been described as both the Battle of the Americas or the Superclassic of the Americas. Initially a cordial friendly competition between the two nations, the ferocity of the rivalry grew in the early part of the 20th century, marked by repeated controversial high profile incidents and periods of refusing to play each other.
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.
Fábio Deivson Lopes Maciel, simply known as Fábio, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Fluminense. He currently has the second-most official appearances ever for a professional football player.
Alan Kardec de Souza Pereira Júnior, known as Alan Kardec, is a Brazilian professional football player who plays for Atlético Mineiro as a striker.
Paulo Roberto Falcão, or simply Falcão, is a Brazilian former footballer and football manager. He is universally considered one of the greatest Brazilian players of all time and one of the greatest defensive midfielders in football history, and one of the best players in the world in his position at his peak in the 1980s.
This is a list of the Brazil national football team's competitive records and statistics.
Os Santásticos is the nickname for the group of Santos Futebol Clube players coached by Lula and Antoninho that won a total of 25 titles between 1959 and 1974, including two Copa Libertadores. The group is considered one of the strongest teams ever assembled in any sport, scoring over 3000 goals during this period, with an average of over 2.5 goals per match.
Adryan Oliveira Tavares, or simply Adryan, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. He has also represented Brazil at various age groups up to under-20.
Gabriel Barbosa Almeida, commonly known as Gabigol or Gabi, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward.
José Carlos Cracco Neto, known as Zeca, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a right or left back for Vitória. Zeca helped Brazil win a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, starting all 6 games of the tournament and playing 554 of a possible 570 minutes.
Since their first game in 1914, the Brazil national football team have played numerous matches against opposition whose identity did not fall within that of the standard FIFA international team. As Brazil are one of the most high-profile teams in the world, with a long-held reputation of skilled players and exciting matches, they are often sought to play in exhibition matches for commercial reasons, by clubs/regional federations celebrating anniversaries or by special select teams such as the World XI. Additionally, Brazil's many participations in official tournaments, primarily the FIFA World Cup, have occasionally involved warm-up matches against local non-international opponents.
Bibliography
Kolos, Vladimir; Dorian, Leveque. "Thousand Matches". RSSSF . Retrieved 24 January 2023.
"History Statistics: Club 1000+ Games: Updated Ranking". IFFHS . Retrieved 12 June 2024.