The hard player: Gaël Clichy
Born on 26 July 1985 in Toulouse, Gaël Clichy began his career at AS Cannes before crossing the Channel to join Arsenal. In London, the French left-back made himself indispensable over the long haul: 264 appearances, 2 goals in the Gunners shirt – a testament to his defensive consistency.
He then left Arsenal for Manchester City, making 203 appearances and scoring 3 goals, before seeking a new challenge at Istanbul Başakşehir (113 games, 3 goals) and then Servette FC in Switzerland (83 games, 1 goal). He wore the French shirt as early as the under-17s, earning 5 caps without scoring. A quiet but well-travelled career, spread across four countries and five major clubs.
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PlayThe medium player: Rafael van der Vaart
Born on 11 February 1983 in Heemskerk in the Netherlands, Rafael van der Vaart is the archetypal old-school attacking midfielder: technical, elegant, incisive. His career begins at Ajax Amsterdam, where he scores 63 goals in 156 appearances – a golden calling card.
From there, the Dutchman criss-crosses Europe: Real Madrid (12 goals in 73 games), Tottenham Hotspur (28 goals in 77 games), and two stints at Hamburg (48 goals in 113 games in the first spell, 18 goals in 86 in the second). At every stop, he leaves his mark. Blooded with the Netherlands under-17s (6 goals in 19 games), he established himself as a cornerstone of Dutch football.
The easy player: Raúl
Born on 27 June 1977 in Madrid, Raúl is the ultimate homegrown hero. Striker, attacking midfielder, winger: his technical range allowed him to operate all across the front line. But it’s above all with Real Madrid that he wrote his legend, piling up 323 goals in 741 appearances in the white shirt – numbers that still boggle the mind.
Schalke 04 (40 goals in 98 games), Al-Sadd SC in Qatar (16 goals in 61 games), then the New York Cosmos (9 goals in 32 games): Raúl carried his class to the very end. In international football, he wore the Spain shirt as early as the under-18s, scoring 4 goals in just 2 matches.