Image via Complex Original
Picking the 50 best players in the history of the FIFA franchise is no easy task, not least of all because of the inconsistent way the series has treated historical players. FIFA 2000 included classic teams from across the history of the beautiful game, so how can you not include Pelé and Maradona? But on the other hand, FIFA 2000 is not the FIFA we’ve come to know and love with 360-degree dribbling and real-world physics.
Recent editions of the game have included the Classic XI team, but that purportedly legendary side is sadly incomplete due to licensing restrictions. So we have to split the difference. The following list recognizes a blend of all-time greats, current stars and some real-world misfits who have simply been fun as hell to use in the franchise. There are, just by nature of the game, more strikers than midfielders, and probably more midfielders than defenders, but rest assured that every spot on the pitch gets at least a little shine.
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50. Paolo Maldini
You want ridiculous longevity and consistency? Look no further than Paolo Maldini, who played for AC Milan for 29 seasons, going all the way back to 1985. Basically, his first appearance in a soccer video game should have been in Soccer for the NES, had that game included the Italian national team. You don't really need to know much about his defensive acumen beyond the fact that he won Best Defender at the UEFA Club Football Awards when he was 39.
49. Fabio Cannavaro
Here's what you need to know about the now-retired Cannavaro, who spent the most time with Parma but also played for Inter, Juventus, and Real Madrid: the staunch defender's Italian nickname was "Muro di Berlino," or "Berlin Wall." He captained the Italian team that won the World Cup in 2006 and is one of only two defenders to be named FIFA World Player of the Year. Not particularly big, he was nevertheless known for his strength and anticipation.
48. Christian Vieri
A personal story: When I first got into soccer in video game form around 2002, Vieri was the man alongside Ronaldo at Inter. Dude scored 24 goals in 23 appearances in the 2002-03 Serie A season. Sadly, that was as good as it ever got for the striker but man, was he ever fun to play with. There might have been better all-around players like Ronaldhino, but in terms of finishing, it was neck and neck between Shevchenko and Vieri that year.
47. Edgar Davids
Let's face it: the only way to understand what's happening on the pitch is to be set back far enough that you can see plays evolving at a large scale. But sadly this means it can be hard to tell your little men apart down there. But not Davids, whose Milli Vanilli-esque hair and orange goggles made him a standout in the midfield whether he was playing for Juventus or the Dutch national team at the peak of his career. He also just happened to be an energetic and stalwart defender.
46. Didier Drogba
From 2004 to 2012, Drogba had a spectacular career at Chelsea that saw him rack up the most goals by a foreign player for the squad and placed him fourth on the team's all-time scoring list. A tall striker at 6'2" with terrific aerial ability and body control, Drogba was voted Chelsea's greatest player by the club's fans after bringing home the UEFA Euro Cup in 2012.
45. Radamel Falcao
The first time you fire up a new edition of FIFA, you want to see immediate who's the best: best overall, best in different leagues and, of course, best striker. There's a lot of reasons to put Falcao at the top of that list currently. He might not be the absolute wonder that Messi is, but as a pure striker he's amazing, with terrific finishing and header skills.
44. Mario Balotelli
The notoriously incendiary and difficult Balotelli might be more trouble than he's worth in the real world. Still only 22, he's already had difficult stints at Inter and Manchester City and AC Milan is now hoping he gets everything straightened out and becomes the pure joy he is to control in FIFA. He's big at 6'2" but still nimble and very fast with the ball, plus an absolute killer at penalties and set pieces. So long as it's you controlling him, you don't have to worry about those red cards.
43. Cesc Fabregas
As a promising young player, Fabregas was thrust into the starting central midfielder role for Arsenal at the beginning of the 2004-05 season when he was just 17 years old. For this reason, he was often better in theory in FIFA games than in practice, at least until his ratings caught up to the terrific vision and playmaking on display in the real world. Now with Barcelona and still only 26 years old, his scoring has improved dramatically and he's one of the game's finest attacking midfielders.
42. Andres Iniesta
Iniesta-who look kind of like Landon Donovan-doesn't look like he should be one of his generation's finest midfielders and players, but he certainly is. Rising to prominence with FC Barcelona and their brace of young talent like Fabregas and Messi, Iniesta displays the precise blend of attacking skill and defensive opportunism demanded of a player in the "tiki-taka" system. He's one of the most indispensable pistons in Barca's overwhelming playstyle.
41. Alan Shearer
Shearer is the Premier League's all-time top goal scorer, with 260 goals in 441 appearances-more than 50 goals better than Frank Lampard, who's in second place. Coming into the league with Southampton and then Blackburn but spending most of his career at Newcastle United from 1996 to 2006, Shearer was a classic forward, known for a solid shot and his heading ability, rather than his creativity.
40. Andrea Pirlo
You gotta give the Italians this: they come with some cool nicknames. A specialist at generating plays from the position of deep-lying playmaker with accurate long passes and crystal vision, Pirlo has been known to teammates as l'architetto ("the architect") and to fans as il professore ("the professor") and "Mozart." Pirlo was a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006 and has won numerous individual and team awards with both AC Milan and his current club, Juventus.
39. Gianluigi Buffon
Buffon is still minding the net for both Juventus and the Italian national team at the age of 35 and why not? His outstanding shot-stopping ability and head for organizing Italy's formidable defense have earned him a place among the greatest goalkeepers in history, named by none other than Pelé as being among the 125 all-time greatest footballers in 2009. No small feat for a position that's often forgotten, at least in video game soccer.
38. Mario Gomez
Currently partnering with Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben on a truly terrifying Bayern Munich preparing to play Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League Final on May 25, Gomez is the precise guy you want in the box when a blistering cross comes in. A threat to finish with either foot and solid in the air, he also has the strength to get solid position and hold it. What more could you ask for out of your striker?
37. Javier Zanetti
Like Giggs and Maldini, Zanetti is an ironman, having just this past season played in his 600th Serie A match for Inter Milan. He's also notable for having played all over the pitch in his career, beginning as a right back but also spending time as a winger and, most recently, as a defensive and center midfielder.
36. Francesco Totti
Attacking midfielder and sometimes second striker Francesco Totti is the all-time leading scorer and caps leader for AS Roma, as well as the second-leading scorer in Serie A history. Still an active player at the age of 36, Totti is equally adept at scoring and creating for others, and showed his grit and determination by contributing to Italy's 2006 World Cup win with metal plates still in his ankle from a serious injury. Also, he once celebrated a goal by pretending to give birth to the ball as a tribute to his pregnant wife. So yeah, that happened.
35. Patrick Vieira
A part of the French national team alongside Zinedine Zidane and a young Thierry Henry that won the World Cup in 1998, defensive midfielder Patrick Vieira was also an important part of Arsenal's success during his time there from 1996 to 2005, becoming captain in 2002. His leadership skills might not show up so obviously in FIFA but his considerable size and tackling ability sure do.
34. Frank Rijkaard
Ruud Gullit's teammate on AC Milan was one of the game's all-time great defensive midfielders, coming of age on Ajax under Cruyff and learning the "Total Football" system, which he would later help develop as "tiki-taka" as the coach of FC Barcelona. As ever with more defensive-minded players, his contributions on the virtual pitch can be hard to see, but his size and balance make him an ace challenger in his own half and help him score headers on set pieces.
33. Michael Ballack
Another masterful midfielder who was a staple of several German club teams in the late 1990s and 2000s including Kaiserslautern, Leverkusen and Bayern Munich and the German national side, Ballack controlled the game with accurate passing, scoring and ball skills. Early on, he earned the nickname "Little Kaiser" for his game's similarity to Franz Beckenbauer, who was called "Der Kaiser." As it can be with players farther back on the pitch, Ballack's contributions in FIFA were not always felt as strongly as those of dominant scorers, but he can nevertheless turn the tide of a match.
32. Dennis Bergkamp
Dubbed the "Non-Flying Dutchman" for his fear of flying, Dennis Bergkamp played an instrumental role in Arsenal's turnaround in the late-1990s and stayed there through the end of his career in 2006. Although ultimately overshadowed by another Arsenal striker, Thierry Henry, Bergkamp made his mark as an aggressive-some would say dirty-second striker.
31. Edwin van der Sar
Goalie Edwin van der Sar was part of the golden generation at Ajax in the mid-1990s (which includes Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf and Patrick Kluivert), but when on to achieve even greater fame as both a member of Manchester United and for the Netherlands at the national level, where he is the most-capped player in team history at 130. In FIFA terms he has everything a world-class goalie needs: height (6'5.5"), excellent reactions and terrific penalty stopping.
30. Ferenc Puskas
If you were curious why Hungary's 1954 national team made an appearance in FIFA 2000, it was largely because of inside-forward (kind of like second striker) Puskas. Known as the Mighty Magyars or the Golden Team, Hungary between 1950 and 1956 recorded 42 wins, 7 draws and only one defeat in the final of the 1954 World Cup against Germany. Puskas was instrumental in Hungary's multi-faceted approach to the game, which was a predecessor to the Netherlands' "Total Football" style. Notably referred to as "that little fat chap" by an England player before Hungary pantsed England 6-3 in 1953.
29. Josep Guardiola
Aside from having the very cool nickname "Pep," there's a lot to recommend Guardiola as a defensive midfielder. He was the lynchpin of Cruyff's "Dream Team" for FC Barcelona in the '90s and by the time FIFA debuted in 1993 was already one of the world's best young players. If anything, he's been an even greater success as a coach at Barca, refining their "tiki-taka" playstyle and functioning as a role model and mentor to Barca's impressive midfielders, including Xavi, Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas.
28. Steven Gerrard
Like his England teammate and fellow central midfielder, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard is likely most well-known to players of FIFA for this thunderous long range goals. Although he's capable of playing as a second striker or wing, Gerrard's natural position is controlling the game from the middle of the pitch where he's an energetic leader. As such, his star was a more slowly rising one than for high-profile forwards. It wasn't until he was well into his 20s that he truly came into his own but he's still a terror for Liverpool with that big right boot.
27. Andriy Shevchenko
If you want someone to put the ball in the back of the net, Shevchenko is your dude. When I first got into video game soccer seriously circa 2002, there were glitzier players like Ronaldhino, but Shevchenko was the reason the first soccer jersey I got was an AC Milan one. Solid in the air but mostly unbelievably accurate with his right foot, Sheva was the video game ideal of not the center forward so much as the striker.
26. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Everyone's favorite long-haired Swedish striker hits video game-worthy shots in real life. I mean, just look at this ridiculousness. As if that weren't enough he's tall (6'5"), especially for a soccer player, and has teamed with players like Vieira for Inter, Messi for Barca and Pato for AC Milan to lead his clubs to many championships. You want more evidence of his greatness? He's won a trademark on the name Zlatan in Sweden and the EU. Game over.
25. Kaká
Here's a handy rule of thumb for you: If a player has a tongue-twistingly long real name like, say, Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, but gets called by just one name like, say, Kaká, he's probably good at soccer. Like a lot of players who show potential early (including Messi), Kaká was in FIFA for quite a while in the early 2000s before he developed into the true star he became. For AC Milan and now Real Madrid, Kaká is the kind of all-around attacking midfielder who can anchor a team's game in a multitude of ways.
24. Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs has been around so long it's impossible to remember soccer video games without him. Maybe that's because his career with Manchester United-which began in 1990-PREDATES the first FIFA game, 1993's FIFA International Soccer. Basically, by the time FIFA rose to prominence as a video game franchise, Giggs was already a stabilizing veteran in the midfield where he excelled as a playmaker and leader, but could also score.
23. Thierry Henry
What truly sets Henry apart and made him one of the game's biggest stars for Arsenal in the mid-2000s was not strictly his scoring ability, but his flexibility in both finishing one-on-one and in generating play from the wing. Still active in the MLS with the New York Red Bulls, Henry has diversified his skill set even further as he's aged.
22. Ruud Gullit
A part of the the Milan 1988-90 team in FIFA 2000, Gullit had the size of a striker at 6'3" but the vision and passing of a midfielder (his natural position) and the balance and sturdiness of a world-class defender. Hailing from the Netherlands, he was an optimal expression of that national team's idea of "Total Football," where any player on the pitch could adapt to any necessary role. Also, he had awesome hair.
21. Ruud van Nistelrooy
Van Nistelrooy is an archetypal center forward who made a name for himself in FIFA as a reliable scorer on Manchester United and Real Madrid at the club level and with the Dutch national team in international play during the 2000s. Is he stylish? Not particularly. He looks more like he should be playing bass in Coldplay than leading the attack for Man U, but few have been his video game equal when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net.
20. Petr Cech
The contributions of goalies can be hard to measure within the gameplay of FIFA, but you feel them when you rack up a clean sheet at the end of the day. When you're building your own team, you mostly need a netminder who's not going to mess up, and Cech was at the top of that list for years. In the real world, he holds the Premier League record for quickest to 100 clean sheets (in only 180 appearance). Also: bonus points for his ruby-style headgear.
19. José Luis Chilavert
Here's the thing about Chilavert: the Paraguayan goalkeeper retired in 2003 before FIFA started getting really good, and while he won World Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 1995, 1997 and 1998, he's generally not considered to be in the same class as greats like Yashin or Kahn. But he's also the second-leading goal-scorer among goalkeepers, and the only one to ever score a hat trick (all on penalties). And that makes him kind of weird and really cool.
18. Iker Casillas
As the captain of both a dominant Real Madrid (Copa del Rey winners in 2011; La Liga champs in 2012 team) and a dominant Spanish national team (UEFA Euro champs in 2008 and 2012; World Cup champs in 2010), Casillas is a model of steady leadership in net. You might not spend much time controlling him in FIFA, but you can play as Spain or Real Madrid knowing your goal is in good hands.
17. David Beckham
David Beckham is very possibly more famous for his off-field activities than his work on the pitch. And on the pitch, he has deficiencies: he's not fast, he's not a great scorer aside from set pieces. BUT THOSE SET PIECES. There's a reason there's a movie called "Bend It Like Beckham." Simply put, a corner or free kick from within sight of the goal is a guided missile from Beckham.
16. George Best
Long story short: George Best is the reason that Manchester United's 1968 squad was in FIFA 2000. Living up to his last name, Best was also described by the Irish Football Association as the "greatest player to ever pull on the green shirt of Northern Ireland." The winger was one of the celebrity footballers in England, setting the stage for later megastars like Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo.
15. Zico
The Classic XI team concept that EA Sports introduced in FIFA 06 has had its glaring omissions (chief among them Pele, Maradona and Cruyff), but they got it right when they put Zico on the team. Another small of stature scorer and playmaker in the mold of Pele (and sometimes called the "White Pele"-a title Wayne Rooney has also earned) and a predecessor to Messi, Zico could score from all over the pitch and also curl the ball with the best of them.
14. Xavi
Here's the stunning real-world thing you need to know about Spanish midfielder and Barcelona mainstay Xavi: in April of this year, against Paris Saint-Germain, Xavi attempted 96 passes and completed ALL 96 OF THEM. The next nearest player to complete 100 percent of his passes-Javier Zanetti-only attempted 72. Basically, giving Xavi 99s in both short- and long-range passing is wildly underrating him. He's that good at finding space on the pitch.
13. Cristiano Ronaldo
So the real-life flopping is pretty damn annoying, I'll admit. It might even be enough to keep me from wanting Ronaldo on my squad (that and maybe the diamond earrings), but you can't knock the dribble skills, and that's what really matters in a video game. His moves might be more flashy than useful in many situations, but in the right hands he can be absolutely devastating.
12. Alfredo Di Stefano
Real Madrid in the 1950s were to soccer what the Boston Celtics in the late-1950s and 1960s were to basketball, winning the European Cup five times in a row with an all-star cast of international players, chief among them forward Alfredo Di Stefano. The Argentinian appears in FIFA on the Real Madrid 1950-56 team in FIFA 2000, a dynamic scorer and considered by other top players like Pelé and Eusebio as one of the all-time best footballers.
11. Franz Beckenbauer
Another all-time great that players should be grateful to have on FIFA 13's Classic XI, Beckenbauer was nicknamed Der Kaiser for his leadership and dominance on the pitch for Germany's national team and Bayern Munich. He's also largely recognized as the game's first sweeper and also appeared in FIFA 2000 as a member of the New York Cosmos (referred to as "NY 72-75" in the game) and West Germany 1974.
10. Ronaldo
Not to be confused with the Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo (who appears elsewhere on this list), the Brazilian Ronaldo was one of the most popular and successful players of the first decade of the 21st century and is now considered one of the greatest players of all-time. The complete package at striker, Ronaldo dominated FIFA games as part of Real Madrid's Galácticos squads with his prolific goal-scoring.
9. Johan Cruyff
As it has been with several other all-time greats, the difficulties of getting the rights to players who are no longer active has kept Cruyff out of more recent FIFA games' Classic XI teams, but he did make an appearance in FIFA 2000 as a member of the Ajax 1970–1973 team. FIFA 2000's classic teams were especially cool because if you pitted one against another, the game would be played with an old-timey filter that gave everything a sepia tint. But sepia tint or no, Cruyff was not to be messed with. The pillar of Rinus Michels' "Total Football" system pioneered at Ajax and brought to the Netherlands' national team in the '70s, Cruyff might have played CF, but he could create from the midfield or wing just as well as he could finish.
8. Zinedine Zidane
A fixture on the French national team for more than a decade and on both Real Madrid during the Galácticos years and Juventus, Zidane was named the best European footballer of the last 50 years and with good reason. Never the fastest player, Zidane was always one of the most accurate midfielders, both with passing and shooting. Oh and if you need him to, he can headbutt opposing players.
7. Diego Maradona
Another diminutive attacker in the mold of Pelé, Maradona is second only to Pelé himself for worldwide fame as a historical great of the game. As an Argentinian (and former player for Barcelona) he's also Messi's spiritual forefather as a player and appeared in FIFA 2000 as part of the Argentina 1978 squad. Although his real world legacy includes such dubious honors as the "Hand of God" goal against England in the 1986 World Cup, it also includes highlights like the "Goal of the Century."
6. Samuel Eto'o
In real life, Eto'o has had his ups and downs with clubs and fans and reporters and ... well, you get it. But none of that really matters on the digital pitch, where Eto'o dominated the mid-2000s as one of the best strikers in the game. Alongside teammate (and rival) Ronaldhino, Eto'o led a dominant FC Barcelona squad to video game and real world supremacy for several years.
5. Frank Lampard
Fancy dribbling is all well and good, but there's something about a long-range goal that's absolutely devastating and that's what Lampard excels at. What could be better than when an attack is stymied by a long clearance then sent rocketing back into goal off the powerful left foot of Lampard?
4. Wayne Rooney
Rooney is probably the best football player to ever look like a football player, if you get my drift. Or maybe a rugby player. Regardless of his stocky appearance, Rooney came on like a rocket for Manchester United at the age of 19 in the mid-2000s, at just about the same time as FIFA started getting really good. While his scoring ability is what stands out, his capabilities as a ballhandler and passer (and his strong shot) make him particularly good as a second striker in the game.
3. Pele
Pelé's not an easy guy to track down in FIFA. In recent editions, people have often mistaken Abedi Pelé (who's on the bench for the Classic XI team) for the brilliant Brazilian, but Abedi is actually a Ghanaian player. And when it comes to FIFA 2000's 40 classic teams, Pelé is there on both Brazil 1958 and Brazil 1970, but hidden with just the number 10 to identify him. But no matter how disguised he might be, Pelé's always going to stand out for being the Platonic ideal of a soccer player, like Babe Ruth in baseball or Michael Jordan in basketball.
2. Ronaldhino
Ronaldhino's rise to prominence with FC Barcelona dovetailed neatly with FIFA control innovations that allowed for more of the kind of tricks like the elastico that Ronaldhino was famous for. Certainly, by 2006, Ronaldhino was already an international star, but the series' step up to the next generation of consoles provided not just a graphical boost but the ability to incorporate finer dribbling. The Brazilian attacker was one of the prime beneficiaries of this, becoming a soccer video game mainstay in the process.
1. Lionel Messi
Messi is so good that it's almost unfair. Check that: he's totally unfair. Ballhandling, passing, set pieces, scoring: he's got everything you could want in an offensive player. He's fast, but also agile. OK: he's only 5'6" so he's not going to score buckets of headers off of corners. But in the second striker role he can carry your entire team over the last third of the field and make it look like sheer magic.