The graceful captain of the all-conquering Real Madrid during the 1997-2003 period, Hierro has won almost everything at club level. His cool composure and reliable defending has seen him mentoring the upcoming players during that period such as Pavon and Casillas.

Hierro actually started his career as a striker, but moved to the defensive line as he became older. Nevetheless he did not lose his predator instinct as he scored almost 1 in 4 games for Real Madrid and was once the all-time top scorer for Spain.

Hierro left his beloved Real Madrid in 2003 as a bitter man after the club management decided to break up the Dream Team of Galacticos.

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Having the most international caps (142) for France and winning the World Cup and European Championship as well as the Italian Serie A titles, Thuram's biggest regret is perhaps the failure to win the Champions League trophy with Juventus or Barcelona.

A reliable right back for both Juventus and Barcelona as well as France, Thuram's favourite position is the center back instead. His energetic runs down the right lane were still common to be seen despite playing into his mid-30s.

Thuram was supposed to play for Paris SG after his Barcelona days, but he was detected with a cardic malformation, which forced him to announce retirement from football in 2008 instead.

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The Fiorentina fans loved "Batigol" so much that they erected a statue of him in Florence in 1996. Sticked to Fiorentina despite relegated to Serie B, Batitstuta helped the team promoted back to Serie A, but sadly for him, he could not win a Scudetto for his beloved team. Nevertheless, he still scored an incredible 168 goals in 269 appearances, a ratio of 1 goal per 1.6 game.

Batistuta left Fiorentina reluctantly in 2000 in search of a Scudetto, and he realised his dream finally with Roma as they won the title in 2001 in Batistuta's first season. Batigol was best remembered for his refusal to celebrate when he scored against Fiorentina.

One of the best number 9 ever to play for Argentina, Batigol is also the current all-time top scorer for Argentina with 56 goals in 78 caps.

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He was certainly the most gifted England player of his generation, but Paul Gascoigne, nicknamed Gazza, never truly realised his potential as a player as he was bothered by a series of off-field problems. He has also never played for a big club like Liverpool and Man Utd.

Gascoigne's career highlight came in 1990 when he was called up for the World Cup. Displaying great vision and excellent passing, the talented midfielder led England all the way to the semi-final, where they would lost to old foe Germany. Nevertheless, Gascoigne impressed so much that he was named in the World Cup All-Star team then.

Approaching the end of his football career, Gascoigne could not stay at the one club for long and was largely bothered by alcoholism.

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Erratic German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn was among the best goalkeepers in the world during his peak. The only goalkeeper to win the World Cup Golden Ball award, Kahn led unfancy Germany all the way into the final, but he was beaten by Brazil and Ronaldo's 2 goals.

Neverthless, at club level, Kahn has great success with Bayern Munich. He has spent some 15 years of his career with the German giant, dominating the German bundesliga and winning 8 titles. Kahn lost the Champions League trophy in 1999 to Man Utd's 2 very late goals, but he would have his dream come true in 2001, when Bayern Munich beat Valencia to win the ultimate prize in Europe.

Oliver Kahn finally retired from soccer in 2008 at an age of 39.

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Rivaldo's peak came in 1999, when he swept all individual honours including the Ballon d'Or and the World Footballer of the Year. Blessed with a nimble left foot and superb dribbling skills and technique, the nomadic forward could sometimes win a match on his own with his goals and freekicks.

Rivaldo also won everything in the football scene, including Spanish La Liga titles with Barcelona, Champions League with AC Milan and the World Cup and Copa America with Brazil. In 2002 when Brazil lifted the World Cup trophy, he was part of the famous 3R (together with Ronaldo and Ronaldinho) that terrorised the defense of the opponents.

In 2008, Rivaldo made a shock move to the unknown Uzbekistan league, largely motivated by huge contract.

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