The hard player: Shay Given
Born on 20 April 1976 in Lifford, Ireland, Shay Given is a goalkeeper who made longevity his trademark. It was in the colours of Newcastle United that he wrote the most important chapter of his career, making no fewer than 462 appearances for the north-east English club. A remarkable display of loyalty that is vanishingly rare in modern football.
After Newcastle, he joined Manchester City (69 appearances) and then Aston Villa (53 appearances), with loan spells at Sunderland (17 games) and Middlesbrough (16 games). With the Irish national team, Given accumulated 134 caps – an enormous total for a goalkeeper – confirming his status as an undisputed number one for the Republic of Ireland over many years.
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PlayThe medium player: Jefferson Farfán
Born on 26 October 1984 in Lima, Jefferson Farfán is one of the most-capped Peruvian players of his era. Operating as an attacking midfielder or a forward depending on the needs, he learned his trade at Alianza Lima – 33 goals in 93 appearances – before heading to Europe for a series of impressive stints.
It was at Schalke 04 and PSV Eindhoven that he truly made his name: 53 goals in 228 matches with the German club, and 67 goals in 169 appearances for the Dutch side. He then moved on to Lokomotiv Moscow (25 goals in 69 games) and Al-Jazira Club (5 goals in 18 games). With Peru, Farfán earned 102 caps and scored 27 goals, cementing his place as a cornerstone of the Blanquirroja.
The easy player: Jürgen Klinsmann
Born on 30 July 1964 in Göppingen, Jürgen Klinsmann built a striker’s career spanning twenty years of professional football. He made his mark at VfB Stuttgart with 94 goals in 186 appearances before shining abroad: 40 goals at Inter Milan, 35 at AS Monaco and 31 at Bayern Munich. A relentless goalscorer who adapted seamlessly to every major European league.
With the German national team, Klinsmann racked up 47 goals in 108 caps and secured the two biggest prizes in football: the 1990 World Cup and Euro 1996. After hanging up his boots, he moved to the dugout, managing the Germany national team from 2004 to 2006, Bayern Munich from July 2008 to April 2009, and then the United States from 2011 to 2016.