International Federation of Football History & Statistics
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football.[2][3][4] It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig.[2] The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for some time but, in 2010, relocated to Bonn, Germany, and then in 2014 to Zürich.[5]
| Formation | 1984 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Zürich, Switzerland |
Official language | English, French, Spanish, German |
President | Saleh Irfan Bahwini[1] |
| Website | iffhs |
From its early stages to 2002, the IFFHS concentrated on publishing the quarterly magazines Fußball-Weltzeitschrift, Libero spezial deutsch and Libero international.[6] When these had to be discontinued for reasons which were not officially told, the organisation published its material in a series of multi-lingual books in co-operation with sponsors.[7] The statistical organisation has now confined its publishing activities to its website. IFFHS has no affiliation with FIFA,[8] but FIFA has cited awards and records conducted by IFFHS on their website.[9][10][11][12]
In 2008, Karl Lennartz, a sports historian and professor at the University of Cologne, Germany, called the organisation "obscure", describing it as a one-man show of its founder Alfredo Pöge.[13] IFFHS rankings and their significance have been a matter of criticism and the largest German news agency, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, refuse to publish them.[13] Furthermore, German die Tageszeitung stated that the IFFHS rankings serves merely for publicity,[13] although Bild,[14] Deutsche Welle,[15] Kicker-Sportmagazin,[16] German Football Association (DFB),[17] and former president of the Association of West German Sports Journalists (German: Verbandes Westdeutscher Sportjournalisten — VWS) Heribert Faßbender have referenced IFFHS.[18]
The World's Best Club edit
Since 1991, the entity has produced a monthly Club World Ranking.
The ranking takes into consideration the results of twelve months of continental and intercontinental competitions, national league matches (including play-offs) and the most important national cup (excluding points won before the round of 16).
All countries are rated at four levels based upon the national league performance—clubs in the highest level leagues receive 4 points for each match won, 2 for a draw and 0 for a defeat. Level 2 is assigned 3 pts. (win), 1.5 (draw) and 0 (lost), and so on with the next lower levels.
In continental competitions, all clubs receive the same number of points at all stages regardless of the performance level of their leagues. However, the UEFA Champions League and the Copa Libertadores yield more points than UEFA Europa League and Copa Sudamericana, respectively. The point assignment system is still lower for the AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and OFC continental tournaments. Competitions between two continents are evaluated depending upon their importance. Competitions not organised by a continental confederation, or any intercontinental events not recognized by FIFA, are not taken into consideration.
Men's winners edit
| Club | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | 5 | 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 |
| Real Madrid | 4 | 2000, 2002, 2014, 2017 |
| Liverpool | 3 | 2001, 2005, 2019 |
| Juventus | 2 | 1993, 1996 |
| Milan | 1995, 2003 | |
| Sevilla | 2006, 2007 | |
| Manchester United | 1999, 2008 | |
| Inter Milan | 1998, 2010 | |
| Bayern Munich | 2013, 2020 | |
| Chelsea | 2 | 2012, 2021 |
| Roma | 1 | 1991 |
| Ajax | 1 | 1992 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | 1 | 1994 |
| Atlético Nacional | 1 | 2016 |
| Atlético Madrid | 1 | 2018 |
| Palmeiras | 1 | 2021 |
| Flamengo | 1 | 2022 |
| Manchester City | 1 | 2023 |
Continental Men's Clubs of the Century (1901–2000) edit
In 2009, the IFFHS released the results of a statistical study series which determined the best continental clubs of the 20th century.[20] The ranking did not consider the performance of the teams in national football tournaments (except in the Oceania's club ranking due to limited editions held under OFC club competitions), the performance in the intercontinental or worldwide club competitions or those submitted in the IFFHS Club World Ranking, available since 1991.[21]
Based on this study, which assigned a weighted score criteria applied for each competition analysed, the below six clubs were named as "continental clubs of the century" by the IFFHS between 10 September and 13 October 2009. These clubs were awarded with a golden trophy and a certificate during the World Football Gala celebrated at Fulham, London, on 11 May 2010.[22][23][24]
| Continent | Club |
|---|---|
| Europe | Real Madrid |
| South America | Peñarol |
| Africa | Asante Kotoko |
| Asia | Al-Hilal |
| CONCACAF | Saprissa |
| Oceania | South Melbourne |
The Best Men's Club of the Decade edit
In 2012, the IFFHS recognised Barcelona as the World's Best Club Team of the Decade for the first decade of the 21st century (2001–2010).[25] In 2021, Barcelona were recognised as the world's best club also for the second decade (2011–2020).
| Decade | World | Europe | South America | CONCACAF | Africa | Asia | Oceania |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–2010 | Barcelona[25] | Barcelona[26] | Boca Juniors[27] | América[28] | Al Ahly[29] | Al-Hilal[30] | Auckland City[31] |
| 2011–2020 | Barcelona[32] | Barcelona[33] | Grêmio[34] | UANL[35] | Espérance de Tunis[36] | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors[37] | Auckland City[38] |
Women's winners edit
| Club | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Lyon | 7 | 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| Barcelona | 3 | 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 2 | 2013, 2014 |
The World's Strongest National League edit
Men's league edit
| League | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | 13 | 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 |
| Italy | 12 | 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2006, 2020, 2023 |
| England | 5 | 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2019 |
| Brazil | 2 | 2021, 2022 |
The Strongest National League of the Decade edit
| Decade | World | Europe | South America | CONCACAF | Africa | Asia | Oceania |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–2010 | England[41] | England[41] | Brazil[41] | Mexico[41] | Egypt[41] | Japan[41] | New Zealand[41] |
| 2011–2020 | Spain[42] | Spain[43] | Brazil[43] | Mexico[43] | Tunisia[43] | South Korea[43] | New Zealand[43] |
Women's league edit
The World's Best Player edit
Men's winners edit
From 1991 until 2009, FIFA continued this distinction named "FIFA World Player of the Year"; this award was later replaced by the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010, and The Best FIFA Men's Player in 2016. The award was reinstated in 2020.
| Player | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Marco van Basten[48][49] | 2 | 1988, 1989 |
| Robert Lewandowski[50][51] | 2020, 2021 | |
| Lothar Matthäus[52] | 1 | 1990 |
| Lionel Messi[53] | 2022 | |
| Erling Haaland[54] | 2023 |
Women's winners edit
| Year | Winner | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Pernille Harder[55] | VfL Wolfsburg Chelsea |
| 2021 | Alexia Putellas[56] | Barcelona |
| 2022 | Alexia Putellas[57] | Barcelona |
| 2023 | Aitana Bonmatí[58] | Barcelona |
The World's Best Man Player of the Century (1901–2000) edit
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pelé | Brazil | 1705 |
| 2 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | 1303 |
| 3 | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | 1228 |
| 4 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Argentina | 1215 |
| 5 | Diego Maradona | Argentina | 1214 |
| 6 | Ferenc Puskás | Hungary | 810 |
| 7 | Michel Platini | France | 722 |
| 8 | Garrincha | Brazil | 624 |
| 9 | Eusébio | Portugal | 544 |
| 10 | Bobby Charlton | England | 508 |
The World's Best Woman Player of the Century (1901–2000) edit
IFFHS gave out an award decided by votes which was conducted with the participation of journalists and former players (no further details given).[60]
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mia Hamm | United States | 442 |
| 2 | Michelle Akers | United States | 411 |
| 3 | Heidi Mohr | Germany | 250 |
| 4 | Carolina Morace | Italy | 230 |
| 5 | Sissi | Brazil | 212 |
| 6 | Linda Medalen | Norway | 181 |
| 7 | Liu Ailing | China | 165 |
| 8 | Kristine Lilly | United States | 160 |
| 9 | Heidi Støre | Norway | 141 |
| 10 | Pia Sundhage | Sweden | 129 |
The World's Best Youth (U20) Player edit
The award was introduced in 2021.
Men's winners edit
| Year | Winner | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Pedri[62] | Barcelona |
| 2022 | Jude Bellingham[63] | Borussia Dortmund |
| 2023 | Jude Bellingham[64] | Borussia Dortmund Real Madrid |
Women's winners edit
| Year | Winner | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Hanna Bennison[65] | FC Rosengård Everton |
| 2022 | Linda Caicedo[66] | Deportivo Cali |
| 2023 | Salma Paralluelo[67] | Barcelona |
The World's Best Playmaker edit
Men's winners edit
The IFFHS World's Best Playmaker is a footballing award which, since 2006, is given annually to the best playmaker of the year, as chosen by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).[69]
The award is awarded at the end of the year at the World Football Gala: the winning playmaker is awarded a gold trophy. Argentina's Lionel Messi has won the award a record five times. Spain's Xavi won the award four times, all consecutively, while Belgian Kevin De Bruyne won the award three times.Barcelona is the club with the most wins, with ten in total.
Lionel Messi was named the Best Playmaker since 2006 and the Best Playmaker of the Decade 2011–2020.[70][71]
| Year | Winner | Club(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Zinedine Zidane | Real Madrid | |
| 2007 | Kaká | Milan | |
| 2008 | Xavi | Barcelona | |
| 2009 | Xavi | Barcelona | |
| 2010 | Xavi | Barcelona | |
| 2011 | Xavi | Barcelona | |
| 2012 | Andrés Iniesta | Barcelona | |
| 2013 | Andrés Iniesta | Barcelona | |
| 2014 | Toni Kroos | Bayern Munich Real Madrid | |
| 2015 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | |
| 2016 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | |
| 2017 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | |
| 2018 | Luka Modrić | Real Madrid | |
| 2019 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | |
| 2020 | Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City | |
| 2021 | Kevin De Bruyne | Manchester City | |
| 2022 | Lionel Messi[72] | Paris Saint-Germain | |
| 2023 | Kevin De Bruyne[73] | Manchester City | |
| Source:[74] | |||
| Player | Wins | Years | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lionel Messi | 5 | 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 | |
| Xavi | 4 | 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 | |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 3 | 2020, 2021, 2023 | |
| Andrés Iniesta | 2 | 2012, 2013 | |
| Source:[74] | |||
Women's winners edit
Dzsenifer Marozsán was named the Best Playmaker since 2006 and the Best Playmaker of the Decade 2011–2020.[75][76]
| Year | Winner | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Marta[77] | Tyresö FF |
| 2013 | Lena Goeßling[78] | VfL Wolfsburg |
| 2014 | Nadine Keßler[79] | VfL Wolfsburg |
| 2015 | Carli Lloyd[80] | Houston Dash |
| 2016 | Dzsenifer Marozsán[81] | Lyon |
| 2017 | Lieke Martens[82] | FC Rosengård Barcelona |
| 2018 | Dzsenifer Marozsán[83] | Lyon |
| 2019 | Megan Rapinoe[84] | Reign FC |
| 2020 | Dzsenifer Marozsán[85] | Lyon |
| 2021 | Alexia Putellas[86] | Barcelona |
| 2022 | Alexia Putellas[87] | Barcelona |
| 2023 | Aitana Bonmatí[88] | Barcelona |
The World's Best Goalkeeper edit
Men's winners edit
| Player | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Iker Casillas | 5 | 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 |
| Gianluigi Buffon | 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2017 | |
| Manuel Neuer | 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020 | |
| Walter Zenga | 3 | 1989, 1990, 1991 |
| José Luis Chilavert | 1995, 1997, 1998 | |
| Oliver Kahn | 1999, 2001, 2002 | |
| Peter Schmeichel | 2 | 1992, 1993 |
| Thibaut Courtois | 2018, 2022 |
Women's winners edit
| Player | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Hope Solo | 4 | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 |
| Sarah Bouhaddi | 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 | |
| Christiane Endler | 2 | 2021, 2022 |
The World's Best Top Goal Scorer edit
This award is given annually since 2020, and retroactively from 2011 to 2019, to the world's top goalscorer in the calendar year.
Men's winners edit
| Player | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 5 | 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2023 |
| Lionel Messi | 2 | 2012, 2016 |
| Robert Lewandowski | 2020, 2021 |
All-time World's Best Goal Scorer ranking edit
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 890 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | 832 |
| 3 | Pelé | 762 |
| 4 | Romário | 755 |
| 5 | Ferenc Puskás | 724 |
| 6 | Josef Bican | 722 |
| 7 | Jimmy Jones | 648 |
| 8 | Gerd Müller | 634 |
| 9 | Joe Bambrick | 629 |
| 10 | Abe Lenstra | 624 |
Women's winners edit
The women's award was introduced in 2021.
| Year | Winner | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Jennifer Hermoso[95] | Barcelona | 48 |
| 2022 | Fenna Kalma[96] | Twente | 45 |
| 2023 | Temwa Chawinga[97] | Wuhan Jianghan | 63 |
The World's Best International Goal Scorer edit
This award is given annually since 1991 to the world's top international goalscorer in the calendar year.
Men's winners edit
| Player | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 5 | 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 |
| Lionel Messi | 3 | 2011, 2012, 2022 |
| Ali Daei | 2 | 1996, 2004 |
| Robert Lewandowski | 2015, 2021 | |
| Romelu Lukaku | 2020, 2023 |
Women's winners edit
The women's award was introduced in 2021.
| Year | Winner | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Ellen White[99] | Manchester City | 21 |
| 2022 | Sam Kerr[100] | Chelsea | 17 |
| 2023 | Barbra Banda[101] | Shanghai Shengli | 15 |
The World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer edit
This award is given annually since 1997 to the player who scores the most goals in a league season (in a calendar year since 2020) in any of the top 60 leagues in the world (as ranked by IFFHS for that given year).
Men's winners edit
| Player | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Lionel Messi | 4 | 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018 (shared) |
| Luis Suárez | 3 | 2010, 2014 (shared), 2016 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 2014 (shared), 2015, 2020 | |
| Mário Jardel | 2 | 1999, 2000 |
All-time World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer ranking edit
| Rank | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 527 |
| 2 | Ferenc Puskás | 514 |
| 3 | Lionel Messi | 496 |
| 4 | Imre Schlosser | 417 |
| 5 | Gyula Zsengellér | 416 |
| 6 | Jimmy McGrory | 410 |
| 7 | Gerd Müller | 405 |
| Roger Milla | ||
| 9 | Hugo Sánchez | 400 |
| 10 | Luis Suárez | 393 |
The World's Best Top Division Goal Scorer of the Second Decade (2011–2020) edit
The final list includes the 36 players who scored 150 or more goals in top-tier national leagues in the period of time from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2020.
The results were posted on the IFFHS' official website on 6 January 2021.[108]
| Rank | Player | Nation | Goals | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 346 | Barcelona (2011–20) |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 332 | Real Madrid (2011–18) Juventus (2018–20) |
| 3 | Robert Lewandowski | Poland | 248 | Borussia Dortmund (2011–14) Bayern Munich (2014–20) |
| 4 | Zlatan Ibrahimović | Sweden | 236 | Milan (2011–12; 2019–20) Paris Saint-Germain (2012–16) Manchester United (2016–18) LA Galaxy (2018–19) |
| 5 | Luis Suárez | Uruguay | 224 | Liverpool (2011–14) Barcelona (2014–20) Atlético Madrid (2020) |
| 6 | Carlos Saucedo | Bolivia | 213 | San José (2012–13; 2017–19) Saprissa (2014) Oriente Petrolero (2015) Blooming (2015–16) Real Potosí (2016) Guabirá (2017) Royal Pari (2020) |
| 7 | Edinson Cavani | Uruguay | 209 | Napoli (2011–13) Paris Saint-Germain (2013–20) Manchester United (2020) |
Women's winners edit
The women's award was introduced in 2021.
| Year | Winner | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Lucie Martínková[109] | Sparta Prague | 38 |
| 2022 | Mia Fishel[110] | UANL | 33 |
| 2023 | Charlyn Corral[111] | Pachuca | 34 |
The World's Most Effective Top Division Goal Scorer edit
This award was given annually from 1997 to 2004 to the player with the best goal ratio (goals/matches played) in a league season in any of the top 60 leagues in the world (as ranked by IFFHS for that given year).
Men's winners edit
| Year | Winner | Club | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Hakan Şükür[112] | Galatasaray | 1.188 |
| 1998 | Masashi Nakayama[113] | Júbilo Iwata | 1.276 |
| 1999 | Mário Jardel[114] | Porto | 1.125 |
| 2000 | Hamzah Idris[115] | Al Ittihad | 1.320 |
| 2001 | Romário[116] | Vasco da Gama | 1.167 |
| 2002 | Mário Jardel[117] | Sporting CP | 1.400 |
| 2003 | José Cardozo[118] | Toluca | 1.381 |
| 2004 | Shuhrat Mirkholdirshoev[119] | Navbahor Namangan | 1.192 |
The World Team edit
Men's winners edit
In 2017, IFFHS started to nominate a world team of the year.[120]
| Player | Apps | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Lionel Messi | 7 | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 6 | 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 5 | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
| Sergio Ramos | 4 | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| Kylian Mbappé | 4 | 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Alphonso Davies | 4 | 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Luka Modrić | 3 | 2017, 2018, 2022 |
| Marcelo | 2 | 2017, 2018 |
| Trent Alexander-Arnold | 2 | 2019, 2020 |
| Virgil van Dijk | 2 | 2019, 2020 |
| Leonardo Bonucci | 2 | 2017, 2021 |
| Robert Lewandowski | 2 | 2020, 2021 |
| Thibaut Courtois | 2 | 2018, 2022 |
| Achraf Hakimi | 2 | 2021, 2022 |
| Rúben Dias | 2 | 2021, 2023 |
| Erling Haaland | 2 | 2022, 2023 |
All-time Men's Dream Team (2021) edit
Women's winners edit
In 2017, IFFHS started to nominate a world team of the year.[129]