Curated playlist
UEFA European Championship–winning players
- Horst-Dieter HöttgesBorussia Mönchengladbach let defender Horst-Dieter Höttges go, and he won a Bundesliga title with Werder Bremen.
- Didier DeschampsDidier Deschamps is one of only three men to win the World Cup as both player and manager.
- Jürgen GrabowskiJürgen Grabowski's cross set up a last-second equalizer in the 1970 World Cup semi-final. West Germany still lost 4-3.
- Gerd MüllerGerd Müller scored 68 goals in 62 games for West Germany. He averaged more than one goal per game for eight years.
- Thierry HenryThierry Henry was thirteen years old in 1990 when a Monaco scout named Arnold Catalano went to watch him play. Henry's team won 6-0, and Henry scored every one of the six goals. Catalano did not ask for a trial. He asked the boy to join…
- Cristiano RonaldoCristiano Ronaldo's mother wanted to abort him, but her doctor refused. He became football's top goalscorer.
- Sepp MaierA car crash in July 1979 nearly killed goalkeeper Sepp Maier. Doctors first found only a few rib fractures.
- Xabi AlonsoXabi Alonso stood over a penalty in a Champions League final in Istanbul and watched Milan's Brazilian goalkeeper Dida save it. The ball came back out to him. Alonso fired the rebound into the roof of the net. Afterwards he said, "This is…
- Zinedine ZidaneZinedine Zidane scored two headers from corners in the 1998 World Cup Final. France beat Brazil 3-0 in Paris.
- Manuel AmorosFootballer Manuel Amoros won the 1992-93 Champions League with Marseille. He later coached Comoros and Benin.
- Lev YashinLev Yashin is the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d'Or. The Soviet keeper took the award in 1963.
- Jürgen KlinsmannJürgen Klinsmann scored sixteen goals in one match at age eight. He later lifted a World Cup with West Germany.
- Oliver KahnOliver Kahn won the 2002 World Cup's best player award after fumbling a goal in the final.
- Franz BeckenbauerFranz Beckenbauer won the World Cup as a captain, then again as a manager.
- Iker CasillasAs a child, goalkeeper Iker Casillas forgot to post his father's winning pool entry.
- Lothar MatthäusIn the 1986 World Cup final, Lothar Matthäus was assigned to mark Diego Maradona personally.
- Michel PlatiniMichel Platini scored nine goals in five matches at the 1984 European Championship. That record stood for 37 years.
- Fabien BarthezGoalkeeper Fabien Barthez once refused to defend a penalty until an official forced him back into goal.