We are sure that today’s list of top 15 best Argentine soccer players of all time will be interesting reading material for sports fans, especially for those who enjoy soccer. Known as soccer in the USA and football in the rest of the world this game is defined in the mid-19th century. But, in various cultures, other similar games preceded soccer such as “Episkyros” in ancient Greece and “Harpastum” in Roman times.
The Argentina national football team is among the most successful teams worldwide, and you can check out Argentina’s position on our list of top 25 best soccer countries of all time. They won a championship in FIFA World Cup twice, the first time in 1978, followed by another trophy in 1986. Also, they almost won a championship in 1930, 1990 and 2014. However German national football team was better. Argentina’s next chance to win FIFA World Cup will be this year in Russia.
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You can take our word that this list will definitely include greatest Argentine footballers of all-time. Also, If you are looking to find who is the best footballer ever you’ve come to the right place, and maybe you might guess whom we have in mind. But, in case you are interested in soccer players from other South American countries like, let’s say, Brazil, you should check our list of top 20 best Brazilian soccer players of all time that we compiled a while ago. Without a doubt, we are talking about a country that has yielded the most successful soccer players who are known worldwide such as Pelé, Ronaldo, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, etc., and who are considered to be in the top ten football players of all time. Brazil’s national football team is the most successful team in the FIFA World Cup with five championship titles. The national football team from Germany is following them with four titles and they are also current champions as they won FIFA World Cup in 2014 that was held in Brazil. We will see which national team will win FIFA World Cup this year that is scheduled to begin on 14 June in Russia.
Before we start with our list of top 15 best Argentine soccer players of all time, let’s go briefly through the methodology that we devised for compiling it. There is a considerable amount of variables to be considered when ranking best soccer players like a number of goals they scored, a number of cups they played for the national team, etc. We used the similar ranking system like the one used for our list of top 15 best French soccer players of all time. First, we looked for the players that are considered to be best Argentine football players ever. We used the ranking of World Soccer 100 Players of the Century on Topend Sports. When we got a list of the best players, we ranked them according to the accomplishments they have achieved while playing for the national team. Considering only a number of goals they scored wouldn’t cut it, we also included a number of games they played.
15. Higuaín (Gonzalo Gerardo Higuaín)
The last place on our list of top 15 best Argentine soccer players of all time goes to Gonzalo Higuaín. He currently plays in a forward position as a striker for Italian club Juventus and the national team of Argentina, for which he played twice in FIFA World Cup.
14. Passarella (Daniel Alberto Passarella)
Daniel Passarella is a former Argentine footballer who played as a center-back and was a part of both Argentina’s winning teams for FIFA World Cup (1978 and 1986). In 1978 he was even a captain of a national team and was the first Argentine soccer player to hold World Cup.
13. Carlos Tevez (Carlos Alberto Martínez Tevez)
Next on our list of top 15 best Argentine soccer players of all time is Carlos Tevez. For eleven months he played for Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua for an $820,000 per week salary, which made him one of the highest-paid players.
12. Crespo (Hernán Jorge Crespo)
With 35 goals scored for Argentina national football team, he is among the first three highest goal scorers. He was a part of a FIFA World Cup three times for the Argentine national team: 1998, 2002 and 2006. In 2004, he made it to the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players.
11. Ruggeri (Oscar Alfredo Ruggeri)
Oscar Ruggeri found a place on our list of top 15 best Argentine soccer players of all time as he represented Argentina in three FIFA World Cups: 1986, 1990 and 1994 after which he retired.
10. Ortega (Ariel Arnaldo Ortega)
Also known as “Burrito Ortega”, Ariel Ortega played an attacking middle-fielder for the Argentine international team with whom he did take part in 1994, 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups. He also represented Argentina in 1996 Olympics where they won Silver Olympic medal.
9. Ayala (Roberto Fabián Ayala)
Roberto Ayala represented Argentina in 115 matches and was a team captain in 63 of them. As a soccer player of the national team of Argentina, he participated in three FIFA World Cups (1998, 2002 and 2006) and won an Olympic Gold medal in 2004.
8. Mascherano (Javier Alejandro Mascherano)
We are continuing our list of top 15 best Argentine soccer players of all time with the 8th place which belongs to Javier Mascherano. He has made 140 appearances for the Argentine national football team, and like Ayala, he represented them on three FIFA World Cups: 2006, 2010, and 2014. In 2004 and 2008 he won twice the Olympic Gold medal making him the second soccer player to achieve this accomplishment.
7. Simeone (Diego Pablo Simeone)
Alongside Ortega, Diego Simeone represented Argentine national football team in 1994, 1998, and 2002 FIFA World Cups. He played as a defensive middle-fielder, and since 2011 he manages a Spanish football club Atlético Madrid.
6. Zanetti (Javier Adelmar Zanetti)
Speaking of famous Argentine footballers, Javier Zanetti is one with 143 games played for the Argentine national football team, what makes him an Argentinian player with most cups. He is not best known for the goals he scored (21 goals for Argentina), but for being the most capped player in the history of Inter (858) and the captain with most games played in the Champions League (82).
5. Ángel Di María (Ángel Fabián Di María Hernández)
We are continuing our list of top 15 best Argentine soccer players of all time with Ángel Di María, one of the still active Argentine soccer players. At the age of 20, he scored a game-winning goal that brought Argentina a gold medal at 2008 Olympics. He also represented Argentine national football team at two FIFA Wolrd Cups: 2010 and 2014. With Spanish club, Real Madrid Di María won 2014 UEFA Champions League.
4. Sergio Agüero (Sergio Leonel “Kun” Agüero)
He made his FIFA World Cup debut in 2010 and was again a member of the Argentine national football team in 2014. With a forward position of a striker, he scored 36 goals for Argentina in 84 games. While being a member of Atlético Madrid he won the UEFA Super Cup and UEFA Europa League in 2010, and during that time with his 101 goals in 234 games, he got the attention of Europe’s most prominent clubs.
And now, let’s see the top three Argentina soccer players.
3. Batistuta (Gabriel Omar Batistuta)
We continue our list of top 15 best Argentine soccer players of all time with Gabriel Batistuta nicknamed “Batigol“. In 77 games he played for the Argentine national football team, and he scored even 54 times, what makes him the second on the list of Argentine most goal scorers. He took third place in the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1999 as he was acknowledged one of the best strikers at that time. In 2004 Batistuta got to the FIFA 100 list of the world’s greatest living players. He represented Argentina in three FIFA World Cups: 1994, 1998 and 2002.
2. Maradona (Diego Armando Maradona Franco)
The second on our list of top 15 best Argentine soccer players of all time is a player who is considered to be one of the legends of soccer. Diego Maradona is, without any doubt, the most famous Argentine soccer player. Alongside Pelé he takes place at the world’s top soccer players of all time. He represented the Argentine national football team at four FIFA World Cups, including 1986 when they won thanks to his two goals in the final game against West Germany. For that accomplishment, he was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Maradona was also Argentina soccer player with number 10.
1. Messi (Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini)
Diego Maradona may be the legend of Argentine soccer, but the first place on our list of top 15 best Argentine soccer players of all time goes to Lionel Messi who is paving his way to becoming one. Nowadays Messi is considered to be the best football player of all time. With Messi in the national team, Argentina may take another FIFA World Cup home since he already has five Ballon d’Ors. His next chance for that is in the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Russia this year. With 61 goals scored, Messi takes first place on a list of Argentine top scorers. In his current club Barcelona, he won 30 trophies.
That’s it for our list of top 15 best Argentine soccer players of all time. We hope that you enjoyed and learned some facts about best Argentine football players ever!
