Daei 26th in AFS best players list

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'.