11 of the greatest wingers of all time

#1 Garrincha

Garrincha played for the Brazilian national team from 1955 to 1966

They call football the beautiful game and it’s a simple one with 22 people running across the length and breadth of a beautiful rectangular canvas, which the greatest performers of the world use to paint their picture. One of those performers is Manuel Franciso dos Santos, popularly known as Garrincha.

What sets him apart from all the others on this list is his sheer skill with the ball. His birth defects made no difference to the Brazilian, as he played on, toying with defenders game after game.

He is considered to be one of the greatest dribblers with the ball. While most of the players on the list are known for the number of goals they’ve scored, the diminutive winger will be remembered for his sublime dribbling skills.

Garrincha loved having the ball at his feet and in turn, the ball loved being at his feet and together the damage they did to player’s egos and defences was unimaginable. He could do things with the ball that players today do in their dreams and the confidence he had all the while was incredible.

Garrincha played most of his career at Botafogo, but he produced some of his best performances in a Brazil shirt where he made 50 appearances, scoring 12 goals.