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#2 Sir Stanley Matthews
Sir Stanley Matthews was one of the best players to have ever graced the English game. The former Stoke City wide-forward enjoyed a glittering 33-year playing career for both club and country, which saw him gather plenty of praise from football enthusiasts and got him nicknames such as “The Wizard of the Dribble” and “The Magician”.
A Stoke City youth product, Stan made his debut for the club in 1932. He established himself as a first-team starter from the 1933-34 season onwards, although things changed for him from 1939 onwards. For six years, his professional career was disrupted by his service to the Royal Air Force in Blackpool. He rose up the ladder at the air force to become a corporal despite being a lenient character and left in 1945 after the war ended. During this time, the Englishman made 69 appearances in Wartime League and Cup games for Stoke and played a handful of games for many other sides.
Matthews has 697 career appearances to his name and 71 goals and is the first player to have won both Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year and European Footballer of the Year awards. He is also the oldest player to have represented the England National Team and the oldest to have ever played in England’s top divison, playing his final game for Stoke in 1965 at the age of 50. He attributes his longevity to a vegetarian diet he adopted after consistently picking up injuries during the latter half of his career.
