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PTV - Iran's well-known soccer
player Ali Daei ranks 26 in the Association of Football Statisticians' list
of Greatest Ever Footballers.
Former national team striker Daei was the only Asian player to be included
in the latest list of the 100 greatest players of all time, which is said to
be based on fact and not on mere opinion.
The Association of Football Statisticians' (AFS) compendium of 'Greatest
Ever Footballers', soon to hit the shelves, used a points-based all-time
player ranking system to reveal that Pele is in fact, the best football
player the world has ever seen. However, according to the list, the
Brazilian's normal opponent for that title Diego Maradona is actually only
the sixth best player in the history of the game.
According to the AFS, the best team in the world includes Peter Schmeichel,
Roberto Carlos, Lothar Matthaus, Franz Beckenbauer, Cafu, Johan Cruyff,
Zinedine Zidane, Michel Platini, Luis Figo, Ronaldo, Pele.
Manchester United legend George Best, does not even make it into the
controversial list, whilst United defender Gary Neville is ranked 86th. Daei
ranks 26th due to his 109 goals in 149 international matches for Iran.
Former France striker Sylvain Wiltord comes in at 58, a rank higher than
that of AC Milan legend Franco Baresi, Roberto Baggio, Bryan Robson and
Edgar Davids.
Although AFS' system awarded points for goals scored by forwards, clean
sheets from defenders and honors won, including cups and caps, some analysts
have attacked it, calling it 'flawed' for 'not considering the other
variables that are important in football'. Yet, a spokesman for the book's
publishers defended the rankings by saying it was a 'comprehensive list of
who really were, statistically, the best players of all time'.
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