The hard player: Hamit Altıntop
Hamit Altıntop was born on 8 December 1982 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. A right-sided midfielder of Turkish nationality, he cut his teeth in the lower divisions of German football with SG Wattenscheid (75 games, 12 goals) and SV Darmstadt 98 (34 games, 1 goal) – a patient apprenticeship that laid solid foundations.
He then emerged at Schalke 04, the club from his hometown, racking up 157 appearances and 14 goals. Bayern Munich brought him to an even bigger stage: 109 games and 13 goals for the Bavarian giants. He wrapped up his career in Turkey with Galatasaray, playing 89 games and scoring 4 goals. He earned 84 caps for the Turkish national team, scoring 7 goals.
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PlayThe medium player: Éric Abidal
Éric Abidal was born on 11 September 1979 in Saint-Genis-Laval, France. A left-back by trade, he came through stints at AS Monaco and LOSC Lille before establishing himself at Olympique Lyonnais, where he racked up 107 appearances and 2 goals. A solid and dependable presence on the left flank, his value was never measured in goals.
His time at FC Barcelona was the longest spell of his career: 193 games and 2 goals in the famous blaugrana shirt. With the French national team, the defender from Saint-Genis-Laval earned 67 caps without ever finding the net.
The easy player: Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit was born on 1 September 1962 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. An attacking midfielder by trade, he first made his mark at HFC Haarlem with 36 goals in 100 games, before moving to Feyenoord Rotterdam where he added 41 goals in 103 appearances. At PSV Eindhoven, his output was simply devastating: 53 goals in just 75 matches.
It was at AC Milan, however, that he wrote the most celebrated chapter of his club career: 56 goals in 171 games for the Rossoneri. He rounded off his playing days at Chelsea, making 63 appearances and scoring 7 goals. For the Netherlands national team, Gullit earned 66 caps and scored 17 goals.