Top 10 Best Dribblers Of All Time

It has always been a great controversy when it comes to the best dribblers of all time. There has been a lot of great players, stars and football legends,
who has amazed us with their extraordinary dribbling skills, but still there are very few without them this list can never be completed.
And it’s really not about who comes before whom, because we are talking about the top 10 best dribblers of all time, so each of them may claim the same spot. And while making this list we have kept in mind the time span they have played at their best for the country or the club. Players with more successful careers are given the preference to come first in the list. So here it goes.

10. Stanley Matthews

“The Wizard of The Dribble”, the iconic English footballer who was the first winner of both the European Footballer of The Year and the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of The Year awards comes at number 10. Matthews had great balance and near perfect sense of timing and often he was called “the magician”. He is the oldest footballer ever to represent his country. Pele once said Matthews was “the man who taught us the way football should be played”. 

9. Pelé

The most celebrated footballer, an ambassador of the game, often regarded as the best footballer of all time, the Brazilian star Pelé comes at number 9. According to the IFFHS, Pelé is the most successful league goal scorer in the world, with 541 league goals. He is famous for his incredible long runs from the midfield and most of those runs used to end in goals. And his dribbling skills leave us with no doubt that he was one of the greatest dribbler of all time.

8. Johan Cruyff

The Dutch genius comes at number 8. He is known for his instant acceleration through any little gap in the defense and movement in the penalty area. He is also the inventor of “The Cruyff Turn” where he used to fool the defenders with his false passing to his teammates and instead he used to turn ninety degrees and accelerate away from the defender. The former FC Barcelona star won the Ballon d’Or award three times in 1971, 1973 and 1974.

7. George Best

The former number 7 of Manchester United and unarguably one of the greatest Manchester United player of all time comes at number 7. The right footed Irish player used inside and outside of his foot to dodge tackles and cut away from defenders by changing his direction and dribbling forward. In 1968 he won the European Cup as a Manchester United player and was named the European Footballer of The year and FWA Footballer of The Year in the same year.

6. Ronaldinho

The Brazilian magician with his outstanding aerial skills with the ball comes at number 6. The former Barcelona superstar gave us some unforgettable moments in his glorious days. And one of his famous moves “elastico” still leave us with astonishment where he used to fool the defender by pushing the ball to a side before suddenly pulling it back to the opposite side. He was the member of the World Cup winning team in 2002 and was named the FIFA World Player of The Year award in 2004-2005.

5. Zinedine Zidane

The former French and Real Madrid superstar, the player with the best ball control ever comes at number 5. He is famous for his extraordinary and amazing skills with the ball where he played with the defenders and could come out from any kind of difficult situations. Despite being a sculpture of the game he was neither the fastest nor had a great acceleration. And he never needed that.  He also got an own move named after him the “Zidane Roulette” where he used to turn three sixty degrees while dribbling. Undoubtedly being one of the greatest players of all time he won 1998 World Cup for his country. And who can forget his one touch volley in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final which brought the winning goal for the team. Irrespective of any kind of football abilities he will always be one of the greatest footballers of all time.

4. Ronaldo

Another Brazilian great, probably the best player of the world in his time comes at number 4. Ronaldo had a huge list of skills in his pocket he used to execute in the field against the defenders. He is famous for his crazy solo runs where he used to trick all the defenders to get past them and sometimes even the goalkeeper to score a goal. One of his favourite skill was to step over in front of the goalkeeper while scoring the goal. No one has done it better than him in the history of the game. He won FIFA World Player of The Year award in 1996, 1997, 2002 and won Ballon d’Or award in 1997 and 2002. He is also a member of the World Cup winning Brazil team in 2002

3. Garrincha

Garrincha is one of the best dribbler of all time with a unique style. He used to trick defenders by threatening them from inside and then moving outside with an instant acceleration. He used to do it for multiple times and get past all the defenders to score a goal or assist. Brazil never lost a match with Pele and Garrincha both in the team.

2. Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona, the great Argentine, may be the best footballer of all time was one of the finest dribbler in the history of the game. He had his own dribbling technique that no defender could follow. In his time the whole opponent team used to mark him and he used to get past all of them with ease. He used to fool defenders with his changing direction and doing the opposite he made them feel. The master of “Gambetta” won two world cups for his country and his goal against England in 1986 World Cup Quarter Final is often considered as the best example of his dribbling skills.

1.    Lionel Messi

       The best in the world, the footballer from a different planet, the man with a magical left foot, Lionel Messi comes first in the list. And again a man with great control and balance over the ball he has done so much in such a short time in his career. He is the ultimate nightmare to the opponent defenders. He changes his direction so quickly and gathers instant acceleration to fool the defenders. He never loses the ball and he can change the atmosphere of a match anytime. He is the only footballer to win Ballon d’Or for the four consecutive years. And yes, he is the best dribbler of all time in the history of the game.