Quiz

Look up the phrase ‘no-nonsense defender’ in the dictionary and it will show a picture of Jamie Carragher. He is Mr Liverpool (though he grew up an Everton fan!). A one-club man for 17 years, Carragher’s career is a perfect example of why you should always stick at it. After playing as a midfielder, a left back and a right back, in 2004-2005 he finally got to move to his best position of central defence – and helped the Mighty Reds to FA Cup glory and Champions’ League victory that same season.

Who wouldn’t want to be Stevie G? A stone-cold legend, no one could grab a game by the scruff of the neck and make things happen like the former Liverpool skipper. A storming midfielder, famed for his long-range goals and his magic wand of a right foot, the Anfield legend is now displaying all of his leadership skills as manager of Glasgow Rangers.

There are good players, and great players, and then there’s ‘Zizou’. Although he always looked like he’d just wandered onto the football pitch after a game in the park with his mates, Zidane, when he pulled on the France, Juventus and Real Madrid jerseys, played with a grace and skill that no one else in his generation came close to. He won titles in Italy and Spain (and the 2002 Champions’ League, where he scored an absolute worldie), and led France to a World Cup win in 1998 and European Championship glory two years later.

Congratulations, you’ve just been made England captain… Not bad for a ‘one-season wonder’ (for five seasons in a row!). Harry Kane is the ultimate goal-scoring predator, a natural striker. Feed him the ball around the penalty area and it’s going in. There’s no messing about, no tricky dribbling or showing off. Just: shot, goal. Simple as that.

The greatest of all time? For many, yes. ‘Leo’ has only got one foot, of course – but what a foot it is. At times it seems as though the ball is glued to Messi’s left boot as he slaloms through defences at will. A world-class performer, he’s been consistently brilliant for Barcelona and Argentina for 15 years, notching up 1,000 career goals – and is still going strong. A once-in-a-lifetime footballer, so just enjoy him while it lasts.

They call him ‘sticky gloves’, and rightly so. Spain and Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea’s amazing acrobatics have saved his team mates on countless occasions. He simply refuses to give goals away and has a quiet authority that puts his team mates at ease. Model yourself on this no-nonsense hero and you won’t go far wrong!

Uh oh, here comes trouble. There’s always something happening around this chap. Opponents fall over inexplicably, strikers in full flow suddenly find themselves launched into row Z – and always with the Real Madrid captain standing nearby with that trademark ‘who me?’ look on his face. But he’s not just a master of the dark arts of defending. Sergio Ramos is the sort of inspirational, win-at-all-costs player that every successful team needs.

Defenders call it ‘twisted blood’, that feeling they get when they’ve been turned inside-out by a tricky forward. And nobody does it better than Belgium’s Eden Hazard. Skilful, pacy and with superb balance, he led Chelsea to Europa League glory in 2019 before moving to the mighty Real Madrid to begin the next chapter in his glorious career of skinning opponents and scoring jaw-dropping individual goals.

Can you handle this? It’s a big burden to bear. Diego Maradona was the most naturally gifted player to ever set foot on the pitch. He was the most controversial, too. In a single 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England he scored twice: one the infamous ‘hand of God’ goal that never should have stood; the other quite possibly the greatest World Cup goal of all time. That’s the little genius in a nutshell. Oh, and he won the World Cup that year with Argentina.

He’s good, and boy does he know it! Love him or hate him, Ronaldo’s got the lot: pace, two good feet, great in the air, and a never-say-die attitude that puts him up there among the all-time greats. After learning his craft as a dazzling winger at Manchester United, CR7 went on to become a Real Madrid galactico, his ‘friendly’ rivalry with Lionel Messi pushing him on to an astonishing 438 goals in 451 appearances, as well as two La Liga titles and four Champions’ League victories. He also led Portugal to European Championship glory in 2016.

Put this Swedish superstar in a team and anything can happen. You’re guaranteed goals, of course – he scored 156 of them for PSG in just 180 games, for example. But there’s usually a bit of bother, too: the occasional red card, or a yellow or two here and there following a ‘full-blooded’ tackle. Let’s just say that super-confident Zlatan plays with passion. But it’s a passion that’s bagged the big man more than 30 trophies in his time in Italy, Spain, France, England, and now the USA. What a beast!

Elegant? No. Sophisticated? Certainly not. A brilliant and committed defender? Absolutely. That’s Harry ‘Slab Head’ Maguire. The Leicester stopper was one of the stars of England’s World Cup run in 2018, his quarter-final header against Sweden propelling his team into the semis. Big and uncompromising, but skilful too and with an eye for goal, Maguire is modern English defending at its best.

It’s hard to believe, but not that long ago Raheem Sterling had more critics than fans. He can’t finish, they said; he’s got no end product, they complained. More than any other young English player, Sterling has done his growing up in public, and he’s handled it perfectly. A key member of the England and title-winning Manchester City sides, he’s an example to every young player of what you can do by believing in yourself and not listening to the haters.

His stats are mind-boggling: 13 (13!) Premier League titles; the most decorated footballer player in history, with 34 (34!!) trophies, the only player to score in 21 (21!!!) successive Premier League seasons, and Manchester United’s all-time record holder for appearances, with 632 (632!!!!) games under his belt. Giggsy is the model professional.

Here’s a story about never giving up: when he signed for Chelsea in 2014, Mo Salah thought his time had arrived. But just a year later he was out the door, sent on loan to Italy. Fast forward to 2017 and the Egyptian goal scorer was back in the UK, this time signed to Liverpool for a then-club-record of £36.9 million. Now he’s rightly seen as one of the best players in the world, blessed with sizzling pace and dribbling ability to spare.

Well done, you’re a quiet superstar. Some people say that to be a truly great striker you have to be selfish. Not according to this 2018 World Cup winner. He makes goals and scores goals, always thinking about what’s best for his team – be it France or club side Atlético Madrid. It’s an unselfish but winning attitude that’s got all of Europe’s biggest clubs looking to sign him up.

Not all players have success handed to them on a plate. Take Kieran Trippier. This is a lad that didn’t make the grade at Manchester City and spent spells on loan at Barnsley, before signing for Burnley in the Championship in 2012. But hard graft and ability saw him sign for Spurs in 2015, where his consistently excellent performances saw him into the England team – just in time to become one of the stars of the 2018 World Cup. The boy’s done good!

It must be pretty cool being Andrés Iniesta. You score the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup Final for Spain, you’re the midfield kingpin in the all-conquering Barcelona team of the 2000s, and you get to play for arguably the best club side ever 674 times. Also, you’re a really nice, humble guy. And, boy can he pass a ball. More than a player, Iniesta is an orchestra conductor, dictating the pace and movement of a game better than anyone. Look and learn.

Consistency is a great thing to have. Consistent brilliance is even better. That’s what Luka Modrić has. The Croatian playmaker has been doing it for years, for his country, for Spurs and for Real Madrid, and now the world has finally caught up with the man that led his tiny nation to the 2018 World Cup final and he’s getting the full recognition that he’s always deserved as a modern great.

Bang! You’re Agüero. Like the Manchester City and Argentina goal machine, you just go about the business of scoring goals (and plenty of them) with no fuss, no showing off and no hate off anyone at all. All fans, whatever their team, have nothing but respect for this guy. Keep at it and maybe one day you’ll better his record of 164 Premier League goals – so far!

You’ve hit the jackpot here: you’re Kylian Mbappé. You are 19 years old and you’ve just won the World Cup with France. What do you do next? Well, you stay with Paris Saint German and wait for every big club in Europe to try to sign you up. And why wouldn’t they? You’ve got blistering pace, a goal-scorer’s killer instinct and a calmness under pressure that only one player in a million possesses.