Football Players Quiz

Ten questions & answers on the greatest soccer players ever

Football players: Question 1
Which footballer holds two doctorates, one in medicine and in philosophy?

a.    The Brazilian Socrates
b.    The French Franck Ribery
c.    The Italian Dino Zoff
d.    The Dutch Marco Van Basten

Football players: Question 2
Which soccer player was voted “Greatest Manchester United Player of the 20th Century” in 2001?

a.    Ryan Giggs
b.    David Beckham
c.    Eric Cantona
d.    George Best

Football players: Question 3
Which of the following football legends has a phobia of flying?

a.    The Italian Alessandro Del Piero
b.    The Dutch Dennis Bergkamp
c.    The Swedish Zlatan Ibrahimovic
d.    The Danish Michael Laudrup

Football players: Question 4
For which Italian club the German Lothar Matthaus has played for 4 years?

a.    Internazionale
b.    Juventus
c.    A.C. Milan
d.    A.S. Roma

Football players: Question 5
Who is dubbed as the “Maradona of the Carpathians”?

a.    The Bulgarian Hristo Stoichkov
b.    The Romanian Gheorghe Hagi
c.    The Turkish Hakan Sukur
d.    The Czech Pavel Nedved

Football players: Question 6
Which football legend is born with several physical defects?

a.    The Nigerian Jay-Jay Okocha
b.    The Mexican Jorge Campos
c.    The Colombian Carlos Valderrama
d.    The Brazilian Garrincha

Football players: Question 7
For which Portuguese club the legendary center-forward Eusebio played?

a.    FC Porto
b.    Sporting Clube de Portugal
c.    Benfica
d.    Belenenses

Football players: Question 8
Which of these football superstars has never played a World Cup match?

a.    Lev Yashin
b.    Alfredo Di Stefano
c.    Raul
d.    Luis Figo

Football players: Question 9
Who is renowned as the greatest Polish player ever?
a.    Jerzy Dudek
b.    Grzegorz Lato
c.    Zbigniew Boniek
d.    Roman Kosecki

Football players: Question 10
Which of these following football legends has never won the “Ballon d’Or” (European Footballer of the Year)?

a.    Bobby Charlton
b.    Franz Beckenbauer
c.    Ferenc Puskás
d.    Ruud Gullit



Answers to the legendary footballers quiz:


Soccer legends: Answer 1
The Brazilian Socrates

Socrates is one of the greatest Brazilian footballers and what makes him even more distinguished are the doctorate degrees he holds in philosophy and medicine, a rarity in the football world. The former Brazilian midfielder stood out on the ground because of his beard and his elegant gait, made emphatic by his 6’4” frame.

Soccer legends: Answer 2
Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona is one of the best forwards of his era and this distinction was affirmed by fans when he was voted as the best Manchester United player of the century in 2001. He was also elected best player in the history of the Premier League by a poll conducted by Barclays. King Eric is well-loved by fans and until today fans would sing the Marseillaise (the French anthem) whenever he goes to a game at Old Trafford.

Soccer legends: Answer 3
The Dutch Dennis Bergkamp

Dennis Bergkamp has a great fear of flying, which earned him the nickname “The non-flying Dutchman” (a pun on the Flying Dutchman, a ghost ship in the folklore of Netherlands). Because of his flight phobia, he rarely played in matches where his team would be required to fly. Nevertheless, he was able to play in some Champions League games in Italy or Spain by traveling on land, usually by train, days ahead of his teammates.

Soccer legends: Answer 4
Internazionale

Lothar Matthaus is a famous German footballer turned coach. He started his career as a midfielder and later on became a sweeper. He spent some of his best years in Inter Milano, where he played from 1988 to 1992, and won one Serie A championship and one UEFA Cup.

Along with Mexican goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal, he holds the record for most number of appearances in the final stages of the World Cup with five.

Soccer legends: Answer 5
The Romanian Gheorghe Hagi

Gheorghe Hagi is a former Romanian football star who was nicknamed “Maradona of the Carpathians” because of his excellent skills and a temper comparable to that of Argentine football legend Diego Maradona (Carpathian is a mountain range in Romania).

Hagi played in the 1990, 1994, and 1998 World Cup and is considered one of the greatest players of the 1990s.

Soccer legends: Answer 6
The Brazilian Garrincha

Garrincha is one of the most stylish Brazilian footballers of all time. As a right winger, he won the 1958 & 1962 World Cup with Pele.

Garrincha’s father was an alcoholic, which caused him to suffer from congenital defects when he was born: his spine was deformed and his legs were bent and not of the same length. (His left leg is shorter by two inches than the left.) His condition earned him the nickname O Anjo de Pernas Tordas, “the Angel with Bent Legs,” derived from the title of a poem by Vinicius de Moraes.

Soccer legends: Answer 7
Benfica

Nicknamed the Black Pearl and the Black Panther, Eusebio played most of his career in Benfica, with which he won the European Champions Cup in 1961 and 1962. In 1965, he won the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious individual award in Europe.  

In the 1966 World Cup, the Portuguese national football team finished third with Eusebio at the forward position. He ended the tournament as top scorer with nine goals.

Soccer legends: Answer 8
Alfredo Di Stefano

Di Stefano is one of the greatest footballers of all time but a bizarre series of circumstances prevented him from ever playing in a World Cup. He was originally a member of the Argentine National Team but failed to play in the 1950 & 1954 World Cup because of Argentina’s boycott. When he became a naturalized Spanish in 1958, he failed to help in Spain’s World Cup campaign as La Roja did not make it beyond the qualifying matches. Spain managed to qualify in the 1962 World Cup but a muscular injury prevented him from playing a single game in the tournament.

Soccer legends: Answer 9
Zbigniew Boniek

Zbigniew Boniek was a winger of unnatural pace who led the Polish national team to the quarter-finals of the 1978 World Cup and the semifinals of the 1982 World Cup.

After witnessing his outstanding brilliance in 1982, Juventus recruited Boniek together with Michel Platini. Great partners on and off the field, Platini and Boniek made up a formidable attacking duo for the Bianconeri for three seasons.

Soccer legends: Answer 10
Ferenc Puskás

Puskas is a Hungarian football legend who scored 84 goals in 85 appearances for his national team. His successful club career includes a long stay with Real Madrid, with which he won 5 Liga, 3 European Cups, and 1 Intercontinental Cup.

He never won the Ballon d’Or, having finished only second in 1960 behind the Spanish Luis Suarez.

As homage to his brilliance as a striker, FIFA created the Puskas Award in 2009. It is given to the best goal of the year from a selection of ten goals. The winner is decided by vote from the fans.