There have been many British sporting legends over the years and many of them have come from the world of football. While the home nations may not have been overly successful on the international stage in recent years, domestic clubs such as Manchester United and Liverpool have won a handful of European trophies between them. Some of the players that helped the Reds and Red Devils to these achievements will go down as sporting legends, but they’re not alone.
Compiled by talkSPORT, a list of the 100 Greatest British Sporting Legends has been put together, and as you’d expect there are footballers left, right and centre. Some of the players are included in the list for their passion and commitment, which cannot be better illustrated than by ‘psycho’ himself Stuart Pearce, while others make the grade due to a natural talent that is extremely rare, as exemplified by John Barnes for example.
The footballers span both past and present, and sadly some such as John Charles are no longer with us. Some have moved into management, such as Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, while others have left football altogether and tried their luck in other areas; step forward Hollywood star Vinnie Jones.
Players from all over the pitch are included, ranging from goalkeeper Pat Jennings to ‘goal hanger’ Gary Lineker; only joking Gary, you were a great striker. It’s not just about former and current players either, as the likes of Sir Matt Busby make the grade for the achievements made in football management, for Manchester United in this example.
Some of talkSPORT’s renowned and forthright presenters including ex-footballers Alan Brazil, Stan Collymore and Andy Gray have been hard at work to select their most legendary characters from the beautiful game. You might not agree with all their selections and you may wonder why some didn’t make the list, but it will be a fascinating read nonetheless.
So, who got the ultimate accolade of being named number one in the 100 Greatest British Sporting Legends? Well, there are four football legends in the top five: two managers, an England World Cup winning captain and arguably the most talented footballer to ever play the beautiful game. As for number one? I wouldn’t say he was the best manager in the business, but I’d put him in the top one!
