The hard player: Jean-Alain Boumsong
Born on 14 December 1979 in Douala, Cameroon, Jean-Alain Boumsong is a French international centre-back who built his reputation across European football. Raised and revealed at AJ Auxerre (174 games, 6 goals), he went on to play in several different leagues: Newcastle United (59 games), Olympique Lyonnais (85 games, 5 goals), Panathinaikos (88 games, 7 goals) and Le Havre AC (47 games, 1 goal).
Capped 27 times for France between 2003 and 2009, he was a finalist at the 2006 World Cup. After retiring as a player, he returned to his roots and became assistant manager at AJ Auxerre, the club that first gave him his chance.
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PlayThe medium player: Luca Toni
Born on 26 May 1977 in Pavullo nel Frignano, Luca Toni is the quintessential Italian centre-forward: a striker who took time to bloom but ultimately made it to the very top. After spells at Brescia (16 goals in 50 games), Palermo (51 goals in 83 games) and Fiorentina (49 goals in 71 games), he moved to Bayern Munich where he scored 58 goals in 89 games, cementing his reputation as a relentless finisher.
It is with the Italian national team that he etched his name into history, starting the 2006 World Cup final against France as the lone striker – and ending it as a world champion. Across 47 caps, he scored 16 goals. His stint at Hellas Verona (51 goals in 100 games) stands out as one of the most impressive chapters of his club career.
The easy player: Robert Lewandowski
Born on 21 August 1988 in Warsaw, Robert Lewandowski climbed every rung of Polish football before taking Europe by storm. Spotted in the second division by Lech Poznań while playing for Znicz Pruszków, he quickly established himself as a prolific scorer. With 41 goals in 82 games at Poznań, he became the league’s top scorer in 2010 before heading to the Bundesliga.
At Borussia Dortmund (103 goals in 187 games) and then Bayern Munich (344 goals in 375 games), he cemented his place as the second-highest scorer in Bundesliga history behind Gerd Müller. In 2020, he netted 59 goals across all competitions in a single season and claimed the FIFA Best Men’s Player award, becoming the first Polish footballer ever to win it. Since joining FC Barcelona in 2022 (64 goals in 106 games), he has kept on scoring. For the Polish national team, of which he is both the all-time top scorer and most-capped player with 82 goals in 148 appearances, he has played in four European Championships and two World Cups.