The hard player: Emre Belözoğlu
Born on September 7, 1980 in Istanbul, Emre Belözoğlu is a Turkish midfielder whose career took him through the most iconic clubs in his country and some of the biggest in Europe. He represented Galatasaray (153 matches, 19 goals), Fenerbahçe (138 matches, 15 goals) and Istanbul Başakşehir (128 matches, 16 goals) – three fierce rivals, a feat that is virtually unheard of in football.
In Europe, he made his mark at Inter Milan (115 matches, 5 goals) and Newcastle United (80 matches, 6 goals). On the international scene, he stood out from a very young age, making his national team debut at 15, playing 11 matches and scoring 7 goals at that age. After hanging up his boots, he moved into management.
Discovering Le Roi des Footix? Identify 3 football players a day, climb the leaderboard, become the Roi des Footix.
PlayThe medium player: Diego Milito
Born on June 12, 1979 in Bernal, Argentina, Diego Milito is a centre-forward who built his reputation on both sides of the Atlantic. Developed at Racing Club, he left Argentina for Spain and Real Zaragoza, where he made his mark as a clinical finisher with 59 goals in 126 matches.
A spell at Genoa CFC (34 goals in 62 matches) opened the doors of Inter Milan, where he played 171 matches and scored 75 goals. He rounded off his career by returning to Racing Club, adding 73 matches and 23 more goals to his Argentine tally. With the national team, he wore the Albiceleste shirt 25 times, scoring 4 goals.
The easy player: Johan Cruyff
Born on April 25, 1947 in Amsterdam, Johan Cruyff established himself as one of the most decisive players of his generation. A forward and attacking midfielder, he wore the Ajax Amsterdam shirt across two separate spells, racking up 322 appearances and 253 goals in the first, then 46 matches and 16 goals in the second.
Between those two Ajax chapters, he crossed Europe to join FC Barcelona, where he scored 93 goals in 180 matches, before taking on the North American adventure with the Washington Diplomats (32 matches, 12 goals) and ending his career at Feyenoord Rotterdam (42 matches, 13 goals). With the Dutch national team, he wore the orange jersey 48 times and scored 33 goals. He passed away on March 24, 2016.
