Best Argentine Futbol (Soccer) Players

All superlatives and hyperbole of all-time, he is the greatest footballer of all time. A player of immense skill he could take over a game if need be (as witnessed by the World in his “Goal of the Century” against England in the 1986 World Cup) but also made those around him better as can be seen by his dragging a rather mediocre Argentina team to back to back World Cups in 1986 and 1990. No matter where he went winning followed him. He is practically a god not only in his home of Argentina nut also Napoli where he delivered the fans the club’s only two domestic championships.

The big debate in football about the greatest ever comes down to Pele or Maradona and Pele and Maradona have had a war of words going on for years now. They argue about everything. One thing they’ve both said—though at different points—is that Alfredo Di Stefano is the greatest footballer of all time. Though he never got the chance to play in a World Cup Final he absolutely dominated the Champions League in Europe. When Real Madrid fans brag about their 9 Champions League Cups it’s this man they should be thanking because he was on the team for eight of them including a run of four consecutive victories from 1961-1964.

Often a whiz kid comes onto the scene in football and blows everyone away for a couple of years. And then another one comes along. There have been some players that have truly amazing runs for two or three years and then begin to fade. Messi has already had that run of where he has been utterly dominant on the pitch to the point that few dispute that he is the greatest player in the world and he’s only 23 years old. If he keeps up his form—and wins a World Cup—he will surely top this list one day.

While he might lack the creativity and passing of the other players in the top 5, he was a true goalscorer in every sense of the word. He was the fist player to score a hat trick in two different World Cups. A big game player if ever there was one, he’s still the all-time leader in goals scored for Argentina’s national team with 56 goals. Besides being loved in Argentina he is a legend in Florence where fans of Fiorentina erected a life-size bronze statue of him for his accomplishments.

Born in La Boca, Moreno tried out for the Boca Juniors but didn’t make the cut. Soon after he was playing for Boca’s bitter rival River Plate dominating Argentine football. Part of the River Plate team dubbed “the machine” he led River Plate to national championships in 1941, 1942, 195. Not content to dominate the domestic league he also led Argentina in becoming South American champion in 1941, 1942 and 1947. He was also the first ever footballer to have won the first division title in four different countries (Argentina, Mexico, Chile and Colombia).