Oliver Kahn (Bayern, 103 CL appearances)
No surprise to see the Bayern behemoth here, considering how often his side made the Champions League and how long he was their undisputed Number One.

Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid, Fenerbahce. 117 CL appearances)
The best fullback of his generation is still plugging away at Fener, having been part of the huge Real Madrid side that dominated at the start of the decade.

Paolo Maldini (AC Milan, 108 Champions League Appearances)
The legendary Italian would have added a few more had Milan finished 4th and not 5th last season. An unbelievable defender who has been quality his entire career.

Gary Neville (Manchester United, 100 CL Appearances)
The Man United captain has missed out alot recently due to injury, but he has long been part of the United defence that has grown and grown. Like Maldini it will be odd when he isn’t still playing.

Ryan Giggs (Manchester United, 122 appearances)
He put away a penalty in the shootout last year which helped United to their third Champions League, and the second of his amazing career.

David Beckham (Manchester United, Real Madrid 103 Appearances)
Part of the United team that won the treble in 1999, he didn’t repeat his sucess at Real, but was still a regular in the Galacticos side.

Clarence Seedorf (Ajax, Real Madrid, AC Milan, 101 Appearances)
Has won the CL with three different clubs, so not too surprising to see him in this list.

Paul Scholes (Manchester United. 102 Appearances)
Another of the Giggs/Beckham/Neville generation, Scholes missed the 1999 final due to suspension, which he put right with the winner in the semi last season to ensure he’d get another crack.

Luis Figo (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, 101 Appearances)
One of the most talented players of his generation, Figo is still going, picking up another appeance tonight with Inter.

Raul (Real Madrid, 125 Appearances)
The ruler of the Champions League, with the most apperances and goals since the rebranding. An absolute goliath.

Thierry Henry (Monaco, Juventus, Arsenal, Barca 100 Appearances)
The latest addition to the side, Henry might have slipped from his reputation as the best goal getter on the planet, but he’s still among the most trusted, evidently.

Making his debut for Milan a full 13 months before I was born, against Udinese, Maldini has become an essential part of several sucsessful Milan sides. Here I am in my 22nd year, and I am still talking about him.

He broke into the Milan first team the year after his solitary showing against Udinese, and quickly established himself as the best Left-Back at the club. He soon became undroppable and established himself in the invincible Milan defence of the late 1980s.

He soon picked up his first Scudetto (of seven) in 1988. The Milan team of this period was absolutely unstoppable and Maldini was an integral part of that. A stylish footballer, who was impossible to beat, he was usually an integral part of Milan’s attacks as well, and although he has long lost his pace his reading of the game and intellegent play, mean that he remains an absolute joy to watch.

When Franco Baresi retired from that invincible Milan team, he left a big hole at centre-back. Alot of Milanista wondered, despite the talent of the rest of the defence, who would replace him, but the young left-back switched to centre-half where he remained for most of the rest of his carrer. He bacame the rock which around several Milan teams were built.

His record in Europe is astounding. He has played in 8 Champions League finals – more than any other active player, and only one shy of the record. He has lifted the trophy on five seperate occasions. In the 2005 final he became the fastest goalscorer in a Champions League final, and also the oldest player to score in the tournaments history. He still described the night as the worst of his carrer, after a stunning Liverpool comeback left him with just a runners-up medal. He got his revenge on the English club 2 years later.

He won 126 caps for his country, a record. Astonishing considering he retired from International duty back in 2002, after the World Cup in Japan and Korea. Its not unfair to suggest that he would have played an integral part of the 2006 winning side had he stayed on, and would have gained an insurmountable amount of caps.

He also has made 1,000 professional appearences, and holds the Serie A record (previously held by legendary Italian keeper Dino Zoff) for appearances made. He never won European Footballer of the Year (bafflingly) but upon being awarded World Soccer Magazine’s World Footballer of the Year, he proclaimed it a great hounor as defenders rarely get the attention.

Even now, in his 39th year, he has been Milan’s best player and the only one to come out of this season with real credit. Don’t think its a sympathy vote either – after the Arsenal-Milan game that ended Maldini’s Champions League carrer, both the English and Italian press enthused about his good performance.

Milan are to retire his number 3 shirt (it would be a bit odd after 20 years to see someone else wear it) unless one of his sons breaks into the Milan first team. His eldest Christian plays for the Milan youth side and Daniel is too good for Seedorf The future’s bright in the Maldini family

An absolute gentleman, and a credit to his sport, if this really is the end of Maldini’s carrer, I would like to be the first to say Arrivederci Poalo. You’ve been a hero to so many, and I’m sure you will continue to inspire.

“I don’t understand why players cross themselves before they come onto the pitch. If it works, and all 22 players cross themselves, every game is going to end in a draw” – Johan Cruyff

When Cruyff was first coming to prominece in the mid-1960s for Ajax, dutch football had no real history. The Dutch national team was not a force to be reckoned with at all. In fact, its quite difficult to imagine with knowledge of the 1974 team, but they didn’t even qualify for the world cup in 1970. Cruyff did however make an pretty immediate impact in the Ajax side – playing centre forward, he scored 25 goals in 23 games in his second season in dutch football, guiding Ajax to the title.
The 1969 Ajax team were quite a revelation – knocking out esteemed opposition on the way, Ajax made it to the final, and though they were beaten by AC Milan in the final were considered a great new, exciting attacking team. Up till this point Cruyff has been wearing #9, the next season after missing the start of the campagin with a groin injury, he would switch to his now iconic number 14.
The 1970-71 seson, Cruyff inspired Ajax to a European Cup, and as star player in the tournament won European Footballer of the Year, as well Dutch Player of the Year for about the thousendth time. Cruyff’s finest hour in the competetion came against Inter in the 1972 final, where as the star of the show, tore apart the super-defensive Italian side and scored two goals.
At the end of every season at Ajax, the unique way of picking a captain was a blind vote by the players (a novel way of sorting out the England captaincy, methinks) Cruyff had been voted a couple of times, and naturally expected it to be a formality that he would be voted again. He wasn’t as his supposed arrogance and superstardom was supposedly getting in the way. Reportedly after finding out, the first thing he did was get on the phone to his agent to get him out of Amsterdam. He joined Barcalona just two games into the Dutch season.
At Barca, he instantly became a hero after saying he joined the Catalan club because unlike Real Madrid, they weren’t associated with Franco, and Fascism. Imagine for a second a modern player having the intellegence to have a political opinion – Oleguer aside – let alone letting it be known. Cruyff was rather different from most footballers however. In fact, he pretty much was the first modern footballer in alot of ways, the first to see the chance to sell image rights and only play in certain brands – he famously tore a stripe off of his Holland shirt at the ‘74 World Cup because he was paid by a different brans, and didn’t want to be associated with adidas.
Idyosncratic as always he once delibrately hit the post, so as to liven up the crowd in a game Ajax were winning easily.
He was also, a tactical genius. Together with Rinus Michels at Ajax they invented Total Football, and completely revolutionised the game again (The last revolution had been the England team of ‘Wingless Wonders’ in 1966, pretty much cementing the 4-4-2 formation, that would be thier cross to bear for the next 40 years. The ‘Ajax Formation’ is much more modern, and indeed coming into fashion again, with two wide forwards and a deep sitting striker – Its pretty much how Roma, and Man United play these days) so it was natural when he went on to become a fantastic coach. He also always stayed true to his attacking principles – one season as Ajax coach Ajax had a goal difference of +85. He also picked up a European Cup as the manager of Barca, in 1992 at Wembley. And he still stands as the most sucsessful Barca manager of all time.

The best player to never win a World Cup, and in my humble opinion the greatest footballer of all time. Johan, we salute you.

A couple of Youtube links to tick you over:

European Record – As A Player

Ajax 49 Appreances 23 Goals Winner 1971, 1972, 1973

Barca 34 Apperences 12 Goals

(87 Apperances, 36 Goals)