The hard player: Henri Camara
Henri Camara, born on 10 May 1977 in Dakar, is a Senegalese striker who built his career on grit and goals. After spells at Neuchâtel Xamax (32 matches, 17 goals) and CS Sedan Ardennes (65 matches, 25 goals), he made his mark in England with Wolverhampton Wanderers before excelling at Wigan Athletic, where he scored 29 goals in 73 appearances. He rounded off his career in Greece with Panetolikós FC, adding another 29 goals from 102 matches.
With the Senegal national team, he earned 99 caps and scored 31 goals. But it is one single moment that made him a legend back home: at the 2002 World Cup, he scored the golden goal that sent Senegal through to the quarter-finals at Sweden’s expense. He was involved in five of his team’s seven goals during that historic tournament.
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PlayThe medium player: Landon Donovan
Landon Donovan, born on 4 March 1982 in Ontario, California, is the defining figure of American soccer history. The all-time top scorer for the LA Galaxy with 140 goals in 308 appearances, he is also the all-time assist leader in MLS history with 136 assists. A double record that speaks volumes about his dominance over the competition.
For the United States national team, the numbers are equally striking: the all-time top scorer with 57 goals, and the all-time assist leader with 58 assists – a figure he shares with Neymar and Lionel Messi. He also had a stint in the Premier League at Everton, where he managed 13 appearances and 2 goals. After retiring, Donovan moved into coaching and is widely regarded as the greatest American soccer player of all time.
The easy player: Juan Román Riquelme
Juan Román Riquelme, born on 24 June 1978 in San Fernando, Argentina, was the kind of attacking midfielder who made football look effortless. He started out at Argentinos Juniors before establishing himself at Boca Juniors, where he won three Copa Libertadores titles, five Argentine championships and the Intercontinental Cup. Across his two spells at the club, he racked up over 340 appearances and 77 goals, numbers that barely scratch the surface of his influence.
A move to FC Barcelona in 2002 failed to ignite, but Villarreal gave him the European stage he deserved between 2003 and 2007: 94 matches, 30 goals, and a Champions League semi-final run for the ages. He earned 51 caps for Argentina, scoring 17 goals, before ending his career exactly where it began – back at Boca Juniors.