#2 Henrik Larsson
Swedish international and forward Henrik Larsson is perhaps one of the most underrated players in world football since the millennium, having spent much of his career playing with Celtic in Scotland.
However, he showed during a two-season stint with Barcelona towards the end of his career than he was far more than a flat-track bully, turning the direction of the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League final in the favour of the Catalans as they were struggling to break down 10-man Arsenal.
Unsurprisingly, he was a vital player on the international scene and when he chose to require after the Swedes were knocked out of World Cup 2002 by Nigeria by a golden goal in the last 16, it was a decision that was greeted with disappointment.
It took some doing, but he was ultimately talked out of his retirement to pair up with Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Sweden at Euro 2004, where he scored three times but suffered further heartbreak as his side were beaten on penalties by the Netherlands.
He continued to play an important role for his nation and led them to the 2006 World Cup, where he netted a vital last-minute equaliser against England, securing a place for his side in the knockout stages, where they were beaten by Germany.
Again Larsson retired, only to be talked out his decision in time for Euro 2008 and ended up amassing 106 caps before definitively calling it quits in the autumn of 2009.