40 Petr Cech
Nationality Czech
British club Chelsea (2004-)

The lowdown
Claudio Ranieri sealed Cech’s signing in January 2004 but it was Jose Mourinho who picked him ahead of Carlo Cudicini for his debut that August. In his first year, Cech went a Premier League record of 1025 minutes – over three months, spanning 11 games – without conceding a goal. His 25 clean sheets remains a record. Last season he fractured his skull against Reading
but recovered and was playing again three months later.
Finest hour
A series of brilliant saves in Chelsea’s decisive 4-2 win over Barcelona the same season and keeping out Wayne Rooney in last season’s FA Cup final.
He said
“My first season was very successful, and in the second season, we retained the title. Thanks to that success, my position at the club improved.” BL

39 Brad Friedel
Nationality American
British clubs Liverpool (1997-2000);
Blackburn Rovers (2000-)

The lowdown
Surely the best signing of Graeme Souness’s dud-filled managerial career, free-agent Friedel pitched up at Ewood Park in 2000 and remains rooted to its goalmouth. The big keeper had been itching for a proper Premier League chance after numerous work permit problems then three unfulfilled years at Liverpool. His career really took off during a five-month spell in 2002, with
a match-winning display in the League Cup final then
a heroic World Cup for the USA. You can count his bad games since then on the fingers of one hand.
Finest hour
That final. Spurs were hot favourites but Friedel’s performance has gone down in Rovers folklore.
They said
“He’s a bloody nice bloke and someone anybody would want to spend time with” – Graeme Souness. SH

38 Georgi Kinkladze
Nationality Georgian
British clubs Manchester City (1995-98); Derby County (1999-2003)

The lowdown
Arguably the most skilful dribbler to grace the Premier League, ‘Kinky‘ represented something of a coup for City chairman Francis Lee when he secured his signing from Dinamo Tbilisi and his skill endeared him to fans.
Finest hour
The song (to the tune of Wonderwall) may have been exaggerating when it claimed that all the goals he scored were blinding, but not by much. The best of a fine bunch, though, probably came in March 1996 in a game against Southampton, when he shuffled through five challenges before chipping Dave Beasant.
They said
“The rest of England won’t be familiar with Kinkladze’s name right now. But just you wait until the season starts. Every soccer fan in the country will be talking about him” – Alan Ball after signing Kinkladze. JW

37 Nicolas Anelka
Nationality French
British clubs Arsenal (1996-99); Liverpool (2001-02); Man City (2002-05); Bolton (2006-08); Chelsea (2008-)

The lowdown
Anelka cost Arsenal £500,000 when he moved from PSG aged 17 and within a year he’d helped them win
a League and Cup double. Since then, he has played for a quarter of the top-flight’s clubs (as well as three foreign Champions League sides), and cost a world-record £84m in combined transfer fees. He has top-scored at every club – apart from Liverpool – and, despite his “Le Sulk” nickname, claims to have never fallen out with a coach or team-mate.
Finest hour
Scoring in Arsenal’s 1998 FA Cup Final win over Newcastle at Wembley.
He said
“My reputation proceeds me, but that’s got nothing to do with what I can do on the field. I just know that when I play, I have to show that I can be one of the best.” BL

36 Clyde Best
Nationality Bermudan
British club West Ham United (1968-75)

The lowdown
A groundbreaker for young black fans, Clyde Best stood up to the boo-boys to make himself a firm favourite
at Upton Park, alongside Moore, Hurst and Peters. Possessed a ‘great touch for a big man’, a never-say-die approach, and a decent goal threat.
Finest hour
Though he didn’t win a medal with the Hammers, his MBE, awarded in 2006, was perhaps his crowning achievement, a long-overdue reward for his sterling efforts to beat the bigots.
He said
“They said black players couldn’t play in cold weather. Total nonsense. I thought that people of colour had dominated world football for so long – Pele, Garrincha, Eusebio – that abuse and ignorance wasn’t going to stop me playing football.” SM

35 Michael Essien
Nationality Ghanaian
British club Chelsea (2005-)

The lowdown
Essien arrived at Stamford Bridge in August 2005 for
a fee of almost £25m after a protracted summer of bargaining between Chelsea and the Ghanaian’s former club Lyon. A supreme athlete capable of playing anywhere in midfield or defence, the 25-year-old has since gone on to establish himself as one of the club’s finest ever signings.
Finest hour
Chelsea looked set for a Champions League quarter-final exit at the hands of Valencia at the Mestella in
April 2007 before Essien drove home an injury-time winner to send the West Londoners through.
They said
“Michael is one of the reasons why in my fourth season at the club I wish to stay for a long time” – Jose Mourinho, shortly before clearing his desk. RE

34 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Nationality Norwegian
British club Manchester United (1996-2007)

The lowdown
Unknown when he arrived in 1996, Ole is now immortalised at Old Trafford with a flag combining his name and number (20Legend) adorning the Stretford End. He scored 126 goals in 216 starts and was top scorer in his debut season as United won the title. Solskjaer developed a penchant for coming off the bench, like when he bagged four in 19 minutes against Nottingham Forest in 1999. “Good job they didn’t bring him on earlier,” mused Forest boss Ron Atkinson.
Finest hour
His toe-poked Treble-winner against Bayern Munich in 1999. “It was just instinct,” he said modestly.
They said
“Ole’s a natural. He seems to know where the ball is going to land inside the penalty area well before it arrives there” – Sir Alex Ferguson. NJ

33 Freddie Ljungberg
Nationality Swedish
British clubs Arsenal (1997-2007), West Ham (07-08)

The lowdown
A top performer in the Premiership for more than
a decade, and a key component of every one of Arsene Wenger’s triumphs. Gay icon and underwear model
for Calvin Klein he might be, but he is also a fierce competitor with a consistent knack for scoring goals when it matters most. His streak of seven goals in eight games during the 2002 run-in reinvigorated Arsenal’s title tilt on their way to the Double.
Finest hour
FA Cup final win over Chelsea in 2002 – regarded by Arsenal fans as “Freddie’s final”. With a red streak in
his hair he terrorised the Blues defence and sealed victory with a terrific goal.
He said
“I usually don’t have sex [on match days]. Mentally,
I want to keep the feeling in my feet. I think the feeling disappears out of your feet if you have sex before.” DB

32 Gianluca Vialli
Nationality Italian
British club Chelsea (1996-2000)

The lowdown
Unsurprisingly for one of football’s most famous smokers, Vialli lit the blue touchpaper at Chelsea when Ruud Gullit signed him from Juventus in 1996, bringing even more glamour and professionalism to the Chelsea revolution. He would later go on to be installed as manager, at the expense of a certain R Gullit.
Finest hour
Chelsea were 2-0 down at home to Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup in January 1997 before Vialli’s two-goal salvo inspired an epic comeback as the Blues won 4-2. They went on to beat Middlesbrough 2-0 in the final, qualifying for the penultimate Cup Winners’ Cup; by the time they won it, Vialli was the boss.
He said
“I did not come here to have a holiday or to have fun.
I came to do well and to become a legend in London at Chelsea.” RE

31 Juninho
Nationality Brazilian
British clubs Middlesbrough (1995-97, 1999-00
& 2002-04), Celtic (2004-05)

The lowdown
Known to the locals as “The Little Fella”, Juninho arrived on Teesside to the strains of samba music and 5,000 baying locals, and is widely regarded as the greatest player in Boro’s history. His transfer was something of a coup for Bryan Robson; the diminutive Brazilian boasted more tricks than the Great Soprendo and his low centre of gravity helped him ghost past players with ease. Not content with playing for Boro once he returned for another two goes before joining Celtic.
Finest hour
He’s got a good head for a little man... A diving header from Mikkel Beck’s cross against Chelsea in March 1996, which was later voted as Boro’s Goal of the Season.
He said
“I’d like to think I’ve helped Brazilians appreciate English football more.” NJ

30 Jan Molby
Nationality Danish British clubs Liverpool (1984-95), Swansea City (1996-98)

The lowdown
On a cold autumn night at Anfield in 1985, Liverpool were hosting Manchester United in what was then the Milk Cup. Jan Molby, the Danish midfielder the club had signed the previous year, was still trying to convince some fans of his ability, so when he picked up the ball on the halfway line there would have been few in the ground quite prepared for what happened next.
With a speed and agility that belied his generously proportioned frame, Molby sauntered past two United players before unleashing a howitzer of a shot from fully 30 yards that almost took the rigging into the Kop. You’ll have to take the word of the 41,000 fans there that night because a strike by the television camera operators strike meant there was no coverage, but those lucky enough to be present will tell you that it was the moment
a new star was born.
Up to that point things hadn’t been easy for Molby. His £225,000 move from Ajax in summer 1984 had been given the added burden of coinciding with the departure of Graeme Souness to Sampdoria. The loss of the talismanic skipper coincided with the club’s first trophyless season for nine years – and it was in the centre of midfield that the team were seen as lacking their usual nous.
In the summer of 1985 Kenny Dalglish took over as manager and immediately addressed the flagrant misuse of Molby’s talents. The big Dane was an old-fashioned playmaker, schooled at Ajax by Johan Cruyff; asking him to get stuck in was akin to asking a fine-arts graduate to spraypaint cars. “I’ll buy you a Graeme Souness,” Dalglish told him, making Aston Villa’s hard-nut midfielder Steve McMahon his first recruit and letting Molby get on with creating rather than destroying.
In the late-’80s there was no better passer in the English game than Molby. His range and vision, with either foot, helped Liverpool to League and FA Cup wins and earned Molby the affections of Kopites who nicknamed him “Rambo” while taking great pleasure at the gradual Scousification of his English accent.
Injuries and a spell at Her Majesty’s pleasure hindered Molby’s progress but even when obviously overweight he ran games from the centre circle, conducting play to his own tempo. He left to manage Swansea in 1996 having given over 10 years to the cause. He always will be Liverpool’s Great Dane.

Finest hour
His Man of the Match display in the 1986 FA Cup Final against Everton. He had a hand in all three Liverpool goals, outmanoeuvred their great local rivals, and ensured Liverpool won their first-ever Double.

They said
“The most naturally two-footed player I’ve ever seen” – Kenny Dalglish. LM

29 & 28 Arnold Muhren & Frans Thijssen
Nationality Dutch British clubs Ipswich Town (1978-82); Manchester United (Muhren, 1982-85), Nottingham Forest (Thijssen, 1983)
The lowdown
“The Dutchmen’s careers at Ipswich hardly got off to a flying start,” recalled former Portman Road supremo Bobby Robson years later. Signed in an audacious double swoop from FC Twente, the pair were afforded
a distinctly lukewarm reception when they turned up in Suffolk, despite Robson claiming their arrival “could herald the dawning of a genuine Ipswich title challenge.” With Town having won the FA Cup in 1978, others remained sceptical. Kevin Beattie questioned the need “for the foreign lads
at Ipswich”. For the majority of their early matches at Ipswich, the pair were peripheral figures in the hurly-burly world of Division One football.
Thijssen was hardly enamoured with Town players’ diets, either, claiming: “If my coach back in Holland saw all the junk food and beer these players consume, he’d have a heart attack.” Muhren was horrified at the lack of medical expertise at the club. “Early on in my time there, I had a tight calf muscle, and I asked the physio if
I could have a massage on the leg. ‘No, no,’ he said. ‘Go and run around in the cold. That’s the best thing for it.’”
By the start of the ’80-81 season, the pair had begun to grab games by the scruff of the neck; Thijssen’s tight close control and Muhren’s raking passes made them arguably “the most potent midfield combination in Europe”, according to Johan Cruyff. After finishing runners-up in the league, and losing to Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals, Ipswich finally garnered silverware with a 5-4 aggregate victory over AZ 67 Alkmaar in
the UEFA Cup final. “Everyone said what
a great side we were,” recalled Muhren, “and it was wonderful to actually have a major trophy to show for it during our time at Ipswich.” Once again, Cruyff waxed lyrical, claiming, “Bobby Robson’s team are possibly the most attractive passing side in Europe. In the main, you have to say that is down to the influence of Muhren and Thijssen.”
With the Dutchmen having placed the Suffolk outfit firmly on the football map, both men, along with the England-bound Bobby Robson, took their leave of the club. Muhren joined Manchester United, winning the FA Cup twice, and Thijssen joined Brian Clough at Forest in 1983. But their hearts remain at Ipswich. “Arnold and myself look back on our time with Bobby and the boys with huge affection,” recalled Thijssen. “In a sense, we were a sign of things to come in the English game. But in the early-’80s, our aversion to ketchup and drinking sessions made us feel slightly out of place at times!”

Best moment
“It was one of the most surgical destructions of a British team I’ve ever seen,” claimed Brian Glanville after Muhren and Thijssen combined to inspire Ipswich to a 6-0 home win over Manchester United in 1980.

They said
“They address it and caress it in such a beautiful way that it’s a joy to behold” – Bobby Robson is impressed with his imports. JW

27 Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Nationality Dutch
British clubs Leeds United (1997-99), Chelsea (2000-04), Middlesbrough (2004-06), Charlton (2006-07), Cardiff City (2007-08)

The lowdown
Hasselbaink has proved himself to be one of the English game’s most prolific goalscorers, with a goal every other game for Leeds, Chelsea and Middlesbrough, despite appearing to be permanently angry on the pitch.
Finest hour
A priceless late winner for Leeds against Arsenal in May 1999 to seal fourth place in the Premier League for the Yorkshire side and end the Gunners’ title dreams.
They said
“He scored with a two-step run-up from 35 yards. It went past me like a bullet” – David James explains what it’s like to be on the receiving end. RE

26 Bert Trautmann
Nationality German
British clubs Manchester City (1949-64)

The lowdown
A paratrooper in the Luftwaffe, Trautmann was captured by the French, the Soviets and the Americans before finally being taken prisoner by the British. After the War he stayed in England doing bomb-disposal work and playing for St Helens Town. He was signed by City after impressing against them in a friendly and went on to make 545 appearances and won the FWA Footballer of the Year award in 1956.
Finest hour
The 1956 FA Cup Final against Birmingham, when
he played the last 15 minutes with a broken neck sustained in making a save. City won 3-1.
He said
“I won the FA Cup, an OBE and Footballer of the Year,
but for me the most important thing was the way the people of Lancashire and England accepted somebody who had been their enemy.” JW

25 Marcel Desailly
Nationality French
British clubs Chelsea (1998-2004)

The lowdown
Desailly was a World Cup winner and double European Cup-winner when he joined Chelsea in summer 1998. He played as a defensive midfielder under Gianluca Vialli but eventually moved to centre-back alongside Franck Leboeuf, William Gallas and then as mentor to
a young John Terry. He eventually replaced Dennis Wise as captain and on his departure in 2004, was voted into Chelsea’s all-time XI.
Finest hour
Desailly was superb in Chelsea’s FA Cup final win over Aston Villa in 2000, and the 2-0 win over Manchester United in the Charity Shield later that year. He was
also, indirectly, responsible for Ron Atkinson’s sacking as a pundit – for which many were thankful.
He said
“You have to sacrifice everything, to fight to stay at the top. It’s only when all that is done, you will have a long time to rest.” DB

24 Andrei Kanchelskis
Nationality Russian
British clubs Manchester United (1991-95), Everton (1995-96), Rangers (1998-2002), Southampton (2003)

The lowdown
A nippy winger who, despite being told he was too frail to make it in the game, became Manchester United’s best right-winger between Steve Coppell and Ronaldo. He scored 36 goals in 161 games, but it was his startling injections of pace that made him so popular – at Everton and Rangers as well as United.
Finest hour
His hat-trick against Manchester City in 1994-95, three of the 14 goals in 25 starts in a season that saw him crowned Player of the Year.
They said
“I told you what he has chairman, and that’s blinding pace. He’s powerfully built, too. For £600,000 he’s worth a gamble” – Sir Alex Ferguson to Martin Edwards during a game between Russia and Germany. NJ

23 David Ginola
Nationality French
British clubs Newcastle United (1995-97), Tottenham Hotspur (1997-2000), Aston Villa
(2000-02), Everton (2002)

The lowdown
A swashbuckling winger who scorched the touchlines of St James Park, White Hart Lane and, to a lesser degree, Villa Park, Ginola turned heads with his pace, stylish feet and incisive running. He was the housewife’s choice de jour, long before “The Special One” pouted his way to Premiership glory. Sadly his position as one of Europe’s greatest stars wasn’t matched with silverware. For his flamboyance and entertaining spirit, though, Ginola was always worth it.
Finest hour
An FA Cup quarter-final goal for Spurs against Barnsley in 1999 that recalled the run of Ricky Villa in 1981.
They said
“Probably the best player in the world right now” –Johan Cruyff, 1999. MA

22 Claude Makelele
Nationality French
British club Chelsea (2003-2008)

The lowdown
A defensive midfielder in his early thirties, Makelele wasn’t the sexiest of Roman Abramovich’s original swathe of signings, in the hectic summer of 2003. Indeed, his pivotal role went largely unrecognised for the next two years, until Jose Mourinho picked the
low-key Frenchman as his MVP in the triumphant first championship season. Eyebrows were raised, but soon enough pundits were renaming the anchor role in his honour. “That Makelele position, just in front of the back four” would swiftly become a Premier League cliché.
Finest hour
The final game of that 2004-05 campaign. Grateful Chelsea let Makelele take a late penalty; it’s saved,
but he calmly nets the rebound, unleashing bedlam.
He said
“It’s the ultimate honour to have it named after me.” SH

21 Didier Drogba
Nationality Ivorian
British clubs Chelsea (2004-)

The lowdown
Drogba didn’t want to leave Marseille after helping them to the UEFA Cup final in his only season there
and was widely derided despite scoring 10 league goals in his first season at Chelsea. But Jose Mourinho kept faith and was rewarded when Drogba became the first Chelsea player to score 30 goals in a season since Kerry Dixon in 1985.
Finest hour
Drogba ran to fetch Mourinho from the dressing-room after Chelsea’s Carling Cup final win over Liverpool, and has scored two brilliant goals against Barcelona. But his FA Cup final winner over Manchester United last season was his most important goal.
He said
“I’m proud of how I managed to change the way people in England saw me in my third season.” BL