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#3 Linda Medalen - Norway
Linda Medalen began her career as a striker, making her debut for Norway in 1987. She won the unofficial Women's Football World Cup in 1988 and the European Championships in 1993. She was Norway's leading scorer at the 1991 World Cup, netting six goals as the team finished second. The Norwegian was a five-time league champion and three-time cup winner for the Norwegian team Asker SKK.
Medalen shifted to defense as her career progressed, and her aerial skills and hard tackling helped Norway win the 1995 World Cup. They conceded only one goal in six games in that tournament. She competed in the 1999 competition but was unable to compete in the 2000 Olympics due to a knee injury.
Medalen also worked as a police officer and became a politician after retiring from football. She was also openly lesbian and her presence in football in the late 20th century sent a strong message against homophobia.
#2 Birgit Prinz - Germany
Birgit Prinz, Germany's top female footballer, is a towering center-forward who is as strong on the ground as in the air. She won the Women's Bundesliga, the German Cup, and the first UEFA Women's Cup with FFC Frankfurt in 2002.
Prinz subsequently relocated to the United States to play for the Carolina Courage. She scored 12 goals in 15 games to help her team win the WUSA championship. The German has won three European Championships, and in 2003, she scored seven goals to help her country win the World Cup. She also won the Golden Boot in that tournament.
Prinz was named FIFA World Women's Footballer of the Year in the same year, which she kept in 2004.
#1 Mia Hamm - USA
When talking about women's football, people mention the likes of Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe as the greatest in the sport. However, the honor of greatest women's footballer has to go to Mia Hamm.
Ronaldo and Messi are mentioned in the same breath in a discussion about the greatest men's player. However, no name is great enough to be taken in the same breath as Hamm's when it comes to women's football.
She had a partial club foot from birth that required plaster casts to set right and went on to become the world's finest female footballer. When Hamm made her debut against China at the age of 15, she was the youngest player in the US women's football team's history. She was also the youngest member of the US squad that won the 1991 World Cup.
The Alabama native went on to compete in three more World Cups, capturing two gold and one silver medal at the Olympics. She was the leading scorer in the history of women's football internationally for a very long time.
Hamm is a great all-round player with an icy-cool finish. She was also a founding member of the WUSA, having joined the Washington Freedom in 2001.
