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8. Reinhard Libuda
Nicknamed 'Stan' after the late inaugural Balon d'Or winner Sir Stanley Matthews, Reinhard Libuda is arguably the one of the greatest talents to come out of the Schalke Academy during the last century. The winger joined the miners in 1954 at the age of 11 and rose through the Academy before making his debut seven years later in 1961.
Libuda spent four seasons with Schalke before making a controversial move to join arch-rivals Borussia Dortmund. Three years later he was back with the miners after once again crossing the Ruhr river to join his boyhood club. Four years later, Libuda made one more move away from the Royal Blues to join RC Strasbourg before rejoining the club and calling it a day in 1976.
Blessed with tremendous pace and exceptional dribbling skills, Libuda was one of the stars of the German national team during the 1960s. A lifetime ban in 1972 for bribery, which was later cleared, saw his career fall apart and drive him to retirement four years later.
Reinhard Libuda died in 1996 after being diagnosed with throat cancer.
7. Benedikt Howedes
Signed at the age of 13, young Howedes spent six years in the Academy before making his first-team debut in 2007. A versatile and reliable defender, Howedes spent 10 seasons at the Veltkins-Arena before moving to Juventus on loan during the 2017-18 season.
A move to Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow followed for the defender at the end of the 2017/18 season after Howedes ran his contract down. At 31, Howedes is past his prime but still remains in contention for a callup to the German national side despite making his last appearance way back in 2017.
During his stay at the Gelsenkirchen side, the defender made 335 appearances and scored 23 times. He was also part of the German side that won the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
