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#3 Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane could have topped this list had a greater share of his exploits not come towards the end of the 20th century. Zinedine Zidane is a pure artist and when he had the ball at his feet, he could make football look like the simplest game on the planet.
The recipient of the FIFA Player of the Year in 1998, 2000 and 2003, Zizou was perhaps the most important player of Les Bleus during the time he served for them in the international circuit, guiding them to World Cup triumph in 1998 before following it up with a triumphant campaign in the European Championship in 2000.
Zizou also got on the scoresheet for the French side in their epic 2006 World Cup final but ended the night on a forgettable note getting red-carded for a headbutting Materazzi and losing the game on penalties.
Zinedine Zidane could beat a defender in his sleep and used to glide past opponents with the grace of a gazelle. He packed everything- incredible vision, immaculate passing and an unparalleled understanding of the beautiful game in addition to his obvious athletic abilities.
#2 Xavi
Xavier Hernandez or Xavi is one of the greatest players to have been produced by the famed La Masia. The undisputed master of passing, Xavi was the engine that kept the Barcelona and Spain teams ticking and was also one of the key components that made both those teams the most dominant forces in football at the time.
Xavi has won the lot at Barcelona and with Spain and he is one of the best technicians of all time. He was part of the Barcelona setup that perfected the tiki-taka style popularized by none other than Johan Cruyff.
As a deep-lying playmaker, there was perhaps no one better than Xavi in the history of the game. He knew how to upend entire defences and send defenders guessing with so much as a simple drop of the shoulder and his well-weighted throw balls have helped Barcelona carve oppositions out like is seldom seen on a football pitch.
He made up for his lack of physical ability by using his slender physique and low centre of gravity to wriggle out of tight spaces without getting so much as a scratch on him. Xavi has won the La Liga eight times. He also won the UEFA Champions League on four occasions during Barcelona's golden era.
His World Cup triumph with Spain was bookended by two UEFA European Championship titles in 2008 and 2012.
#1 Andres Iniesta
Xavi's partner in crime in midfield, Andres Iniesta is the most decorated Spanish player in history with nine La Ligas and four UEFA Champions League titles in addition to the 2010 World Cup and the UEFA European Championship titles in 2008 and 2012.
Andres Iniesta is one of the finest dribblers in modern football and his agility in addition to his impeccable close control made him a treat to watch on the football field. He is also one of the most inventive footballers of all time and his versatility enabled him to be deployed anywhere in midfield and continue come up trumps irrespective of his position.
Iniesta dances out of tight spaces like a dream and popularized the La Croqueta where he shifts the ball from one feet to the other and back in a split second often enabling him to drift past multiple defenders in one swift move.
His precise and intelligent passing coupled with his amazing ability to win the ball back despite his fragile frame makes him a complete midfielder. Alongside Xavi, and Sergio Busquets, Iniesta formed perhaps the greatest midfield trio in modern football and could dictate the play like no other.
In addition to scoring Spain's World Cup winning goal in 2010, he has assisted a goal each in the 2009, 2011 and the 2015 Champions League final and is one of the most reliable big game players of all time.
