#2 Romario – Vasco da Gama
Named in FIFA’s list of 100 greatest players still living in 2004, Brazilian star Romario is a legend of the game and is billed as one of the greatest strikers of all time.
Now a politician in the South American country, Romario starred for Brazil in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, winning the Golden Ball. He was also named the FIFA World Player of the Year that very year.
He joined Vasco da Gama in 2000, after illustrious spells at PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona, and at 34 years, had one of his best seasons as a footballer. At 39 years of age in 2005, he was still scoring and became the Brazilian League’s top scorer for the third time with 22 goals scored.
In 2007, he was appointed as a temporary manager at Vasco, but would surprisingly feature as a player in his first game in charge. The stint would only last a few months, as he would step down from managing but resumed his player role.
He announced his retirement from both coaching and playing in 2008, but made a shock return in 2009, bizarrely claiming that he had never retired.
Sounds like something a politician would do, right?
