What is the toughest honour a footballer can achieve in their career?
Maybe going through an entire league season unbeaten? Or perhaps playing in five consecutive World Cups?
Actually, for some unknown reason, it is receiving a perfect score of ten marks from a French daily sports newspaper. L’Equipe have a worldwide reputation for dishing out notoriously harsh player ratings on a regular basis.
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Whichever game they are covering, the French publication have historically been a very tough bunch to impress.
As recently as 2010, only four players had ever received a perfect score. We’ve seen them a little more often since but still, as of August 2024, only 15 players are on the exclusive list.
Let’s take a look at every player to have made it so far…
1. Franck Sauzee (France U21 v Greece U21, 1988)
Considering they were founded in 1946 L’Equipe held off for a long time before awarding a perfect ten marks.
The honour of the first player to achieve this feat goes to Franck Sauzee, who would later manage Hibs and the slightly less glamourous honour of captaining France. Sauzee earned his ten for scoring twice in the under-21 European Championship final against Greece, France winning 3-0
2. Bruno Martini (France U21 v Greece U21, 1988)
Like London buses, you wait ages for a L’Equipe 10/10, then two come along at once. Technically goalkeeper Bruno Martini is also the first player to have earned a ten, alongside teammate Sauzee.
Martini produced an excellent display that night against Greece to keep a clean sheet. With Sauzee doing the business at the other end, France had their first ever under-21 Euros title.
3. Oleg Salenko (Russia v Cameroon, 1994)
Oleg Salenko became the first non-French player to scoop full marks after he lit up the 1994 World Cup for Russia. Striker Salenko hit an incredible five goals during Russia’s 6-1 thrashing of Cameroon in Group B, the only player to do so in a finals match.
His stunning display not only earned him a ten from the French paper but also the tournament Golden Boot - shared with Hristo Stoichkov on six goals after Salenko had scored in an earlier loss against Sweden. He remains the only player to win the title whilst only playing in the group stage, with Russia eliminated despite the win over Cameroon.
4. Lars Windfeld (Aarhus v Nantes, 1997)
Spoiler alert: There are eventually some of the biggest names in football on this list.
However, there is also Lars Windfeld. Windfeld is a Danish goalkeeper who spent the majority of his career at AGF Aarhus and is known primarily for getting a ten from L’Equipe.
In 1997, Aarhus stunned French side Nantes in the decisive second leg of a first round UEFA Cup tie. Windfeld was outstanding between the sticks with a series of stunning stops. The match highlights for this game could easily be confused for YouTube compilation entitled ‘Impossible goalkeeper saves.’
5. Lionel Messi (Barcelona v Arsenal, 2010)
Just when L’Equipe 10/10s looked to be heading for extinction, Lionel Messi dropped a masterclass for the ages.
In a 2010 Champions League tie against Arsenal, Messi lit up the Nou Camp with a stunning four-goal haul, helping the Catalans overturn a first-leg deficit. The Barcelona No.10 was close to his peak, beating players for fun and producing stunning finishes almost at will. For fans of the beautiful game, this performance is well worth re-watching again and again - Gooners aside.
6. Lionel Messi (Barcelona v Bayer Leverkusen, 2012)
Two years after single-handedly destroying the Arsenal defence, Messi became the first player in history to receive the famous full marks for a second time.
It was history-making night for the Argentine against German side Bayer Leverkusen, Messi also becoming the first player to score five goals in a Champions League fixture. Barcelona ran out 7-1 winners, with Messi’s performance as close to perfection as you could wish to see.
7. Robert Lewandowski (Dortmund v Real Madrid, 2013)
Real Madrid seemed on course for a first Champions League final in over a decade back in 2013. That was until they ran into Robert Lewandowski and one of the greatest displays from a centre-forward in modern times, when facing Dortmund in the semi-final.
It was the game that put Lewandowski on the way to becoming one of the world's best number nines and deservedly received a perfect ten.
8. Carlos Eduardo (Guingamp v Nice, 2014)
Remarkably Carlos Eduardo only scored 10 goals for Nice during the 2014/15 season, with half of them coming in this one game. Struggling Guingamp were thrashed 7-2 on their own turf with Eduardo on fire.
His first goal, a stunning 30-yard free kick that left Stade de Roudourou stunned and set the tone for an incredible one-man performance.
9. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain v Dijon, 2018)
In truth, Neymar should have already had a perfect ten from L’Equipe in the bag for his inspirational display in La Remontada a year earlier.
But the French outlet finally gave in when the Brazilian superstar moved to PSG and destroyed Dijon in a routine Ligue 1 victory to hand out top marks. Neymar got four of the Parisians goals in an 8-0 win, earning the first full marks from the paper in four years.
10. Dusan Tadic (Real Madrid v Ajax, 2019)
One of the biggest Champions League’s shocks in recent times also saw one of the tournament's most memorable individual performances.
Former Southampton winger Dusan Tadic saved the best display of his career to help Ajax smash Real Madrid 4-1 in Santiago Bernabeu and eliminate the Spanish giants from the 2019 competition.
Tadic scored a brilliant goal and assisted two more, with his team eventually going on to reach the semi-finals.
11. Lucas Moura (Ajax v Tottenham, 2019)
Only a few months after Tadic’s Madrid masterclass, his team were on the wrong end of the next L’Equipe 10/10 performance.
With Ajax leading Tottenham 3-0 on aggregate in the second half of the Champions League semi-final, Lucas Moura decided to turn the tide. The Brazilian forward burst into life - scoring twice in quick succession to put Spurs within a goal of the final. With time running out in second-half stoppage time, Moura got on the end of Deli’s flick to fire home and complete an astonishing turnaround.
Spurs were through on away goals. Despite this miraculous performance, Lucas didn’t start the final which his team duly lost to Liverpool.
12. Serge Gnabry (Tottenham v Bayern Munich, 2019)
Former Arsenal prospect Serge Gnabry saved what will surely go down as the greatest performance of his Bayern Munich career for his return to north London.
Spurs were the unfortunate opponents in one of the worst nights in their European history, Bayern producing a stunning team display to win 7-2. Gnabry though was undoubtedly the star, running riot on the wing by scoring four goals all in the second half.
Not bad for a player who wasn’t at the “level” required by Tony Pulis when he was at West Brom three years prior to this game.
13. Kylian Mbappe (France v Kazakhstan, 2021)
Easily the least impressive performance on this list. Yes superstar Kylian Mbappe became the first France to player to score four goals in a game, and join former friend/foe Neymar on this list.
But it was a World Cup qualifier, at home, against Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan have never been to the World Cup and rarely rank inside FIFA’s top 100. Surely Mbappe’s scintillating World Cup final performance from 2022 would have been worthy of a maximum score, too? Nah, not according to L’Equipe.
14. Alban Lafont (Nantes v Paris Saint-Germain, 2022)
The third goalkeeper to make the list but the first in 25 years, Alban Lafont received a ten after a flawless performance against PSG.
Nantes upset the runaway league leaders after scoring three times inside the first half, eventually winning 3-1. But that scoreline was only preserved thanks to Lafont who was in inspired form, making a string of sensational saves and keeping out a Neymar penalty. Not a bad night’s work.
15. Erling Haaland (Manchester City v Manchester United, 2022)
Not shy of a record or two, Erling Haaland joined the exclusive club in 2022 after a dominant display in the Manchester derby.
City ran out 6-3 winners, Haaland rattling his third consecutive home hat-trick and also got two assists as United crumbled. Phil Foden also got a hat-trick in this game but merely scored a nine. This is the only time in history a Premier League fixture has led to a L’Equipe ten.
16. Erling Haaland - Manchester City v RB Leipzig – 2023
Haaland claimed his second maximum from the French newspaper after scoring five times in Manchester City’s 7-0 Champions League romp over RB Leipzig.
Surprisingly this gives him an accolade not yet achieved by the golden boy of French football Kylian Mbappe, by twice earning 10/10. Although you wouldn’t bet against either earning a few more perfect scores before they hang up their boots.
17. Ademola Lookman - Atalanta v Bayer Leverkusen – 2024
L’Equipe may be dishing out perfect scores on a more regular basis these days, but few could argue that Ademola Lookman didn’t deserve a ten in the 2024 Europa League final.
Lookman’s Atalanta side were huge underdogs against Leverkusen but took the German champions apart in Dublin, with the former Charlton and Everton man the star. The dynamic winger netted a stunning hat-trick with three superb finishes to leave Leverkusen stunned and Xabi Alonso’s dream of an invincible season in tatters.
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