AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Liverpool hero Fernando Torres and Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta were named by FourFourTwo among the 100 best players in 2001.
Both Ibrahimovic and Iniesta, who is currently captain of J1 League side Vissel Kobe, are still active and have enjoyed trophy-laden careers.
Considered one of the best strikers of all time, Ibrahimovic left Ajax in 2004 and went on to play for the likes of Barcelona, Inter Milan and Manchester United.
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The 41-year-old Sweden striker has won an impressive 34 trophies at club level, but the Champions League trophy eluded him in his illustrious playing career.
Meanwhile, Iniesta has played the majority of his club career at Barcelona and hoovered up trophies for the La Liga outfit and the Spain national team.
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The legendary 38-year-old Spanish midfielder lifted 35 trophies with Barcelona and the 2010 World Cup and 2008 and 2012 European Championship titles with Spain.
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Other notable names featured in FourFourTwo’s rankings include Kaka, who went on to win the Ballon d’Or at AC Milan and later played for Real Madrid.
Posted below are the top 100 young players in 2001, according to FourFourTwo.
100. Alexander Hleb (VfB Stuttgart)
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99. David Prutton (Nottingham Forest)
98. Erdal Kilicaslan (Bayern Munich)
97. Daniyel Cimen (Eintracht Frankfurt)
96. Benjamin Auer (Borussia Monchengladbach)
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95. Kaka (Sao Paulo)
94. Azar Karadas (SK Brann)
93. Shaun Maloney (Celtic)
92. Leonardo Santiago (Feyenoord)
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91. Kieran Richardson (Manchester United)
90. Aldo Jara (Cerro Porteno)
89. Keith Kelly (Paris Saint-Germain)
88. Christoph Preuss (Eintracht Frankfurt)
87. Ramon Calliste (Manchester United)
86. Mika Vayrynen (Jokerit)
85. Michael Zepek (Bayer Leverkusen)
84. Labinot Harbuzi (Malmo)
83. Thijs Houwing (Twente)
82. Dimitar Berbatov (Bayer Leverkusen)
81. Tuomas Aho (Myllykosken Pallo −47)
80. Candido Costa (Porto)
79. Andres Oliveira (Perth Glory)
78. Michael Essien (Bastia)
77. Fernando Macedo Nano (Barcelona)
76. Dulee Johnson (BK Hacken)
75. Mauro Rosales (Newell’s Old Boys)
74. Derek Boateng (Panathinaikos)
73. Theo Janssen (Vitesse)
72. Hassan Ahamada (Nantes)
71. Cherno Samba (Millwall)
70. Matteo Brighi (Juventus)
69. Bojan Djordjic (Manchester United)
68. Andreas Hinkel (VfB Stuttgart)
67. Santino Quaranta (DC United)
66. Jhon van Beukering (Vitesse)
65. Eddie Johnson (FC Dallas)
64. Michael Chopra (Newcastle United)
63. Rubinho (Corinthians)
62. Mark Fotheringham (Celtic)
61. Johnnier Montano (Parma/Hellas Verona)
60. Serhat Akin (Fenerbahce)
59. Carlos Martins (Sporting CP)
58. Filip Trojan (Schalke 04)
57. Ricardo Costa (Porto)
56. Landon Donovan (San Jose Earthquakes)
55. Alexander Ludwig (Werder Bremen)
54. Lourenco da Silva (Sporting CP)
53. Francesco Tarantino (Athletic Bilbao)
52. Jeremie Aliadiere (Arsenal)
51. Gatti Ribeiro (Blooming)
50. Massimo Donati (AC Milan)
49. Francesco Lodi (Empoli/Parma)
48. Gael Givet (Monaco)
47. Ewerthon (Borussia Dortmund)
46. Christian Petereit (Schalke 04)
45. Niko Kranjcar (Dinamo Zagreb)
44. Jay Lucas (Southampton)
43. Diego Ribas (Santos)
42. Joaquin Sanchez (Real Betis)
41. Ahmed ‘Mido’ Hossam (Ajax)
40. Helder Postiga (Porto)
39. Emiliano Dudar (Velez Sarsfield)
38. Chris Kirkland (Liverpool)
37. Ednilson (Benfica)
36. Dean Ashton (Crewe Alexandra)
35. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Ajax)
34. Leandro Romagnoli (San Lorenzo)
33. Hassan Yebda (Auxerre)
32. Marat Izmailov (Lokomotiv Moscow)
31. Gareth Barry (Aston Villa)
30. Jermain Defoe (West Ham United)
29. Gregory Vignal (Liverpool)
28. Julio Colombo (Montpellier)
27. Arjen Robben (Groningen/PSV Eindhoven)
26. Hugo Viana (Sporting CP)
25. Maicon (Cruzeiro)
24. Ricardo Quaresma (Sporting CP)
23. Fabricio Coloccini (AC Milan/Alaves)
22. Marius Niculae (Sporting CP)
21. Milan Baros (Liverpool)
20. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)
19. Baldo di Gregorio (Eintracht Frankfurt)
18. Juan Andreu Melli (Real Betis)
17. Johnny Heitinga (Ajax)
16. Philippe Mexes (Auxerre)
15. Kim Kallstrom (BK Hacken)
14. John Welsh (Liverpool)
13. Darren Fletcher (Manchester United)
12. David Odonkor (Borussia Dortmund)
11. Pedro Mantorras (Benfica)
10. Mourad Meghni (Bologna)
9. Anthony Le Tallec (Le Havre/Liverpool)
8. Piotr Trochowski (Bayern Munich)
7. Florent Sinama-Pongolle (Le Havre/Liverpool)
6. Rafael van der Vaart (Ajax)
5. Jermaine Pennant (Arsenal)
4. Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid)
3. Leandro Bonfim (Vitoria/PSV Eindhoven)
2. Andres D'Alessandro (River Plate)
1. Djibril Cisse (AJ Auxerre)
Topics: Football
Adnan Riaz