The hard player: Jack Wilshere
Born on 1 January 1992 in Stevenage, England, Jack Wilshere was a midfielder whose career was defined as much by flashes of brilliance as by injury. Arsenal was his home: 197 appearances and 14 goals in a Gunners shirt. Along the way he had loan spells at Bournemouth (27 games) and Bolton Wanderers (14 games, 1 goal), then signed permanently for West Ham United (19 games, 1 goal), before returning to Bournemouth for 17 more games and 2 goals.
A former England international, Wilshere has since moved into coaching. His story at Arsenal was ultimately one of promise interrupted – and a stint at West Ham that never caught fire. The kid from Stevenage will be remembered as a talent that flickered brightly but all too briefly.
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PlayThe medium player: Simão Sabrosa
Born on 31 October 1979 in Constantim, Portugal, Simão Sabrosa was a left winger who carved his way through the biggest clubs on the Iberian peninsula. It was at Benfica where he truly made his mark: 227 appearances and 93 goals, numbers that tell their own story. Before that, he had stops at FC Barcelona (70 games, 4 goals) and Sporting CP (62 games, 12 goals), clubs that shaped him ahead of his defining spell in Lisbon.
Simão’s career went beyond the Portuguese borders: he moved to Atlético de Madrid, racking up 168 appearances and 31 goals, before joining Espanyol de Barcelona (63 games, 5 goals). A technically gifted and prolific winger, he covered the two major peninsular leagues with remarkable consistency.
The easy player: Lilian Thuram
Born on 1 January 1972 in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, Lilian Thuram began his footballing education in the Paris region before completing it at AS Monaco, where he made his first-division debut in 1991. The defender became a fixture in a Monaco side that was regularly competing in European competition. In 1996, he took the step up to Serie A with Parma AC, forming a widely praised central defensive partnership with Fabio Cannavaro. In 1999, Parma completed an extraordinary treble: UEFA Cup, Coppa Italia, and Italian Super Cup. Two years later, Thuram moved to Juventus, where he won Serie A multiple times and reached the Champions League final in 2003.
With the French national team, the honours kept coming: World Cup 1998, Euro 2000, Confederations Cup 2003, and a runner-up place at the 2006 World Cup. His two goals in the semi-final against Croatia in 1998 – his only international strikes – proved enough to send France to the final. He retired with 142 caps, a French record until 2022. A heart condition detected just as he was about to sign for Paris Saint-Germain forced him to hang up his boots. Since then, he has dedicated himself to anti-racism causes through the Lilian Thuram Foundation, established in 2008. His two sons, Marcus and Khéphren, have followed him into the France squad.