The best footballers of the 80s

The 1980s produced some of the most memorable moments in the whole history of football – and behind those moments were some of the finest players ever to grace the pitch.

Deciding on the best players of that decade and putting them in order was no mean feat – but here at FourFourTwo, we managed it.

And we might as well dive straight in. Here's the list!

32. Walter Zenga

Italy has produced a long line of exceptional goalkeepers over the years – and Walter Zenga belongs right up there with the very best of them.

Having taken over as Azzurri number one ahead of the 1988 European Championship, Zenga helped hometown club Inter Milan – where he spent the majority of his career – to Serie A glory in 1988/89.

31. Emilio Butragueno

Real Madrid and Spain’s go-to striker during the latter half of the 80s, Emilio Butragueno won four La Liga titles and reached a European Championship final between 1984 and 1985.

A scorer of vital goals for club and country, El Buitre (The Vulture) finished third in the Ballon d’Or in 1986 and 1987.

30. Glenn Hoddle

David Beckham said he wanted to be like Glenn Hoddle – and it’s not hard to see why: the Tottenham legend was among the most technically gifted players of his era.

Part of England’s 1982 and 1986 World Cup squads, the sublimely elegant midfielder left Spurs in 1987 for Monaco and starred in their 1987/88 Ligue 1 title-winning team.

29. Paulo Futre

Ballon d’Or runner-up in 1987 after playing a key role in Porto’s 1986/87 European Cup triumph, Portuguese great Paulo Futre was one of the finest wingers of his generation.

Portugal’s youngest ever player when he made his international debut in 1983, the tremendously gifted Futre drew comparisons with a certain Diego Maradona.

28. Jean Tigana

At his peak in the 80s, Jean Tigana was among the finest midfielders on the planet, providing an indefatigable presence in the French engine room.

A 1984 European champion with his country, Tigana also enjoyed immense club success at Bordeaux, starring as they won three Ligue 1 titles and two Coupes de France in the space of four seasons.

27. Ian Rush

Having begun the 80s with Third Division Chester City, Ian Rush ended them as a Liverpool Legend, banging in well over 200 goals to fire the Reds to multiple First Division titles, FA Cups and European Cups.

The moustachioed Welsh icon even had time to net 13 times in a brief stint at Juventus before returning to Anfield.

26. Neville Southall

One of the best goalkeepers never to play at a World Cup (or any major tournament, for that matter), Neville Southall was a formidable presence between the sticks for Everton and Wales throughout the 80s.

A First Division champion in 1984/85 and 1986/87 – and a 1983/84 FA Cup winner – Big Nev was voted 1985 FWA Footballer of the Year.

25. Hugo Sanchez

Mexico’s greatest player of all time, Hugo Sanchez scored a hatful of goals for Real Madrid during the second half of the 80s – having started the decade with local rivals Atletico.

La Liga top scorer and champion in each of his first four campaigns at Real, Sanchez helped his country to the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup as hosts.

24. Jean-Pierre Papin

Still playing in the third tier of French football in 1983, Jean-Pierre Papin would rapidly become one of the most feared centre-forwards around.

Prolific in helping Club Brugge to 1985/86 Belgian Cup glory, he scored twice as France finished third at the 1986 World Cup – before joining Marseille and firing them to the 1988/89 Ligue 1 title.

23. Giuseppe Bergomi

Giuseppe Bergomi made his Italy debut in 1982 – and almost immediately starred in the Azzurri’s World Cup victory, lining up on the right of their rock-solid back five.

Born in Milan, Bergomi spent his entire 20-year career with Inter, winning the 1981/82 Coppa Italia and 1988/89 Scudetto with the Nerazzurri.

22. Rinat Dasayev

Regarded as the second-best Russian goalkeeper of all time – behind only the inimitable Lev Yashin – Rinat Dasayev earned the vast majority of his 91 caps for the Soviet Union in the 80s.

Soviet footballer of the year in 1982, Dasayev was recognised as the top ‘keeper on the planet by football history doyens IFFHS in 1988 – when he finished as a European Championship runner-up.

21. Rudi Voller

Rudi Voller averaged better than a goal every other game for West Germany and Germany, with the majority of his caps coming during the 80s – when he helped his country to the 1986 World Cup final.

A clinical finisher, Voller achieved the impressive feat of finishing as top scorer in the West German second tier and top flight in 1981/82 and 1982/83.

20. Enzo Scifo

Nicknamed Little Pele as a kid, Enzo Scifo went on to become one of Belgium’s greatest ever players, winning his first of 84 caps in 1984.

Nominated for the Ballon d’Or that same year, the attacking midfielder went on to be named Best Young Player at the 1986 World Cup, impressing in his nation’s run to the semi-finals.

19. Oleg Blokhin

Ballon d’Or winner in 1975, Oleg Blokhin was still going seriously strong well into the 80s, spearheading Valeriy Lobanovskyi’s legendary Dynamo Kyiv side who lifted the 1985/86 Cup Winners’ Cup.

Joint leading scorer in that competition, Blokhin holds the all-time caps and goals records for the Soviet Union, who he represented at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups.

18. Igor Belanov

Blokhin’s Dynamo striker partner, fellow Ukrainian Igor Belanov followed in his club and international teammate’s footsteps by scooping the 1986 Ballon d’Or.

Equal top scorer in the 1985/86 Cup Winners’ Cup with five goals – alongside Blokhin, another Dynamo colleague, Oleksandr Zavaraov, and Frank Lippmann of Dynamo Dresden – he helped the Soviet Union to the final of Euro 1988.

17. Zbigniew Boniek

A highly versatile midfielder who could also line up out wide or as a second striker, Zbigniew Boniek is one of Poland’s very best players of all time.

Boniek notably starred as his country finished third at the 1982 World Cup, making the Team of the Tournament. He later enjoyed Serie A and European Cup glory with Juventus.

16. Gary Lineker

England went out of the 1986 World Cup at the quarter-final stage (two words: Diego Maradona), but that still gave Gary Lineker enough time to become the Three Lions’ first Golden Boot winner.

The archetypal poacher, Lineker – a 1988/89 Cup Winners’ Cup winner with Barcelona – finished as First Division top scorer in both campaigns leading up to that tournament and placed second in the 1986 Ballon d’Or.

15. Paolo Rossi

Iconic striker Paolo Rossi’s goals fired Italy to victory at the 1982 World Cup – where he found the net six times to claim the Golden Boot, opening the scoring in the final against West Germany.

So impressive were Rossi’s performances that he also won the Golden Ball as player of the tournament. He went on to win two Serie A titles and lift the European Cup with Juventus.

14. Lothar Matthaus

Lothar Matthaus earned his 150th and final international cap in 2000 – some 20 years after making his debut for West Germany, who he was captaining by 1988.

One of the finest midfielders of his era, Matthaus was a league champion in Germany and Italy during the 80s with Bayern Munich and Inter Milan respectively.

13. Kenny Dalglish

Scotland’s greatest player of all time, Kenny Dalglish earned the same status with Liverpool during a trophy-laden 13-year spell at Anfield – which spanned all of the 80s.

PFA Players’ Player of the Year, FWA Footballer of the Year, and Ballon d’Or runner-up in 1983, King Kenny got his hands on 12 pieces of major silverware before the decade was out.

12. Socrates

Described as “the symbol of cool for a whole generation of football supporters” in a BBC Sport obituary following his death in 2011, Socrates epitomised the Samba style that has made Brazil so engrossing to watch for decades.

Brazil’s skipper at the 1982 World Cup, Doctor Socrates (he famously had a medical degree) brought immense footballing intelligence to the national team’s midfield.

11. Andreas Brehme

He would go on to score the winning goal for West Germany in the 1990 World Cup final – but Andreas Brehme had already long since risen to prominence as one of the best wing-backs of all time.

Adept with both feet and a strong free-kick and penalty taker, he made the 1984 European Championship team of the tournament and helped Bayern Munich to the 1986/87 Bundesliga title.

10. Ronald Koeman

Possibly the most attack-minded centre-half ever to play the game, Ronald Koeman enjoyed immense success for club and country between 1985 and 1989.

An Eredivisie champion with Ajax and PSV during that time – and a European Cup winner with the latter – Koeman was named 1986 and 1987 Dutch Footballer of the Year, starring in the Netherlands’ Euro 1988 triumph.

9. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

All-time German great Karl-Heinz Rummennigge kicked off the 80s in style, scooping back-to-back Ballons d’Or in 1980 and 1981, helping West Germany to 1980 European Championship glory, and top-scoring in the 1980/81 European Cup for Bayern Munich.

The massively versatile striker – who moved to Inter Milan in 1984 – was also a finalist at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups.

8. Ruud Gullit

Another all-time Dutch legend, Ruud Gullit’s 1987 switch from PSV to AC Milan broke the world transfer record – and it was money very well spent indeed by the Italian giants.

There, the 1987 Ballon d’Or winner – who operated up front, in midfield and at the back during his career – won his first of successive European Cups in 1988/89, having tasted continental glory with the Netherlands the previous summer.

7. Franco Baresi

Gullit’s Milan teammate, Franco Baresi spent his whole career with the Rossoneri, making his debut in 1977 and playing on until 1997.

Capped 82 times by Italy, the all-time great sweeper was a 1982 world champion without featuring, before winning the Scudetto and European Cup towards the end of the 80s.

6. Gaetano Scirea

One of the first names on the teamsheet, Gaetano Scirea occupied the middle spot in Italy’s 1982 World Cup-winning back five, cementing his legend at that tournament.

At club level, Scirea’s finest season came in 1983/84 as he won both the Serie A title and European Cup with Juventus – where he is regarded as one of the club’s greatest ever players.

5. Frank Rijkaard

In 2010, The Telegraph described Frank Rijkaard as “a stylish player of faultless pedigree” – and that cannot be disputed. The remarkable Dutch defensive midfielder really was special.

After enjoying great domestic success with Ajax, Rijkaard joined AC Milan in 1987 and was a European champion two years later – having been crowned one at international level in 1988.

4. Zico

Often cited among the best players never to win the World Cup, Zico’s brilliance was such that he came to be dubbed the White Pele.

A supremely gifted attacking midfielder who really could do it all, Zico – who was named Serie A Player of the Year during a short spell at Udinese – has to go down as one of the finest free-kick takers of all time.

3. Marco van Basten

Undoubtedly one of the greatest strikers ever, Marco van Basten’s frankly outrageous volley against the Soviet Union in the Euro 1988 final is rightly regarded as one of the best goals of all time.

Between his professional debut in 1981/82 and the 1988/89 campaign, the 1988 and 1989 Ballon d’Or winner banged in 195 goals in 240 appearances for Ajax and AC Milan, bagging a brace for the latter in the 1989 European Cup final.

2. Michel Platini

The first player ever to win the Ballon d’Or three years running – in 1983, 1984 and 1985 – no midfielder could hold a candle to Michel Platini during the 80s.

Among the most remarkable playmakers in the history of the game, Platini excelled at everything from dribbling to set-pieces, and was a European champion with France – as captain – and Juventus in 1984 and 1985 respectively.

1. Diego Maradona

Come on… Who else did you think was going to top this list? Unquestionably one of the best ever to do it, Diego Maradona was named joint FIFA Player of the 20th Century with Pele.

Twice the most expensive player in history, Maradona’s finest hour came at the 1986 World Cup – where he scored his Goal of the Century against England in the quarter-finals, en route to inspiring Argentina to glory.