50 of the greatest players from the 1980s

Despite unfortunately being defined by a handful of major incidents off the pitch – such as the Hillsborough and Heysel Stadium disasters and several bouts of severe football hooliganism – the 1980’s nonetheless provided the Beautiful Game with many incredible moments we certainly still cherish today.

From the old fashioned curly perm and Chuckle Brothers-esque moustache combo, to the notoriously short-shorts and classic black & white boots we’ve all come to expect from such a bygone era, this was a time in which real footballing skill was truly starting to take over.

As Brazil wowed supporters worldwide via their traditional brand of attacking flair, the likes of France and Holland among several other international powerhouses continued to excel both collectively, and on an individual level.

So then, in response to all the amazing technical brilliance and raw passionate spirit from the sport’s many die-hard followers achieved throughout this memorable decade, here are 50 of the best footballers to ply their trade in the 1980s…

50. Rafael Martin Vazquez

49. Bernd Schuster

48. Soren Lerby

47. Toninho Cerezo

46. Thomas Ravelli

45. Jorge Burruchaga

44. John Barnes

43. Careca (Antonio de Oliveira Filho)

42. Enzo Francescoli

41. Harald Schumacher

40. Falcao (Paulo Roberto)

39. Alan Hansen

38. Pierre Littbarski

37. Neville Southall

36. Bruno Conti

35. Jan Ceulemans

34. Eder (Alexio de Assis)

33. Rudi Voller

32. Manuel Amoros

31. Junior (Leovegildo Lins da Gama)

30. Andreas Brehme

29. Rinat Dasayev

28. Marco Tardelli

27. Jean Tigana

26. Ian Rush

25. Graeme Souness

24. Alain Giresse

23. Preben Elkjaer

22. Bryan Robson

21. Jean-Pierre Papin

20. Glenn Hoddle

19. Paulo Futre

18. Igor Belanov

17. Enzo Scifo

16. Ronald Koeman

15. Emilio Butragueno

14. Gary Lineker

13. Paolo Rossi

12. Zbigniew Boniek

11. Frank Rijkaard

10. Hugo Sanchez

9. Lothar Matthaus

8. Zico

7. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

6. Franco Baresi

5. Marco van Basten

4. Ruud Gullit

3. Socrates

2. Michel Platini

1. Diego Maradona