19 Appearances – Ronaldo (Brazil), Wolfgang Overath, Berti Vogts, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany)

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Four players, three of them German, one of them Brazilian, and also the top scorer in World Cup History, Ronaldo. Although still active he probably won’t be part of Dunga’s side in South Africa, but who knows. If he’ll be there or not, his place in the history books is safe, with 15 World Cup goals in 19 matches spread over three tournaments (1998, 2002, 2006. He went to the 1994 world cup but didn’t get to play), and above all scoring two goals and securing Brazil’s fifth World Cup victory in 2002, beating Germany 2-0 in the final.

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Wolfgang Overath is the least known player of the four, but was a key member of the West Germany teams in three World Cups (1966, 1970, 1974), achieving a rare 1-2-3 place medals in his World Cup career, which was spent mostly with FC Koln at the club level. He also scored three goals in the World Cup.

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Another West Germany player later turned head coach of the national side is Berti Vogts, who managed Germany to victory in the 1996 European Championships. Vogts hasn’t seen too many good days as manager since then, having unsuccessful stints s with Scotland and Nigeria (currently manages Azerbaijan), but they can’t tarnish his accomplishments of his playing days in the 60’s and 70’s, being part of Borussia Mönchengladbach’s fantastic side and the World Cup winning 1974 West German side. Vogts played in three World Cups (1970, 1974, 1978) and was one of the favorites of the German crowd, earning the nickname “der Terrier” for his tenacity and nonstop effort on defense.

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The final player, and probably most famous of this German group is current Bayern Munich chairman, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the only one in this group without a World Cup trophy. Rummenigge played in three World Cups (1978, 1982, 1986), scoring 9 goals in his 19 World Cup caps, leading the team to the World Cup finals twice – twice finishing as runners up, once to Italy in ‘82 and once to Argentina in ‘86.

20 Appearances – Uwe Seeler (West Germany), Grzegorz Lato (Poland), Cafu (Brazil)

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We begin with the fourth German on the list, another player who played only for West Germany, Uwe Seeler, who got to play in four World Cups, between the two W. Germany wins (1954, 1974), with his best finish with the national team being the final at London in 1966, losing to England 4-2. Seeler, starring for Hamburg during the 50’s and 60’s was the first player to score in four World Cups (beating Pele by a few minutes), scoring nine World Cup goals, the only player to score at least 2 in each of his four World Cup appearances.

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Next is another prolific scorer, Polish Grzegorz Lato, the best scorer of the 1974 World Cup with 7 goals and a total of 10 goals in three World Cups (1974, 1978, 1982). Lato, who played with Stal Mielec (a third division team today, two-time champions in the 70’s), was part of Polish Golden era which included an Olympic gold in 1972 and two third place finishes in the World Cup (1974, 1982).

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Now, a little bit of rest from attacking players, it’s time for some defense, and a bit of a modern taste. Brazilian Cafu played in four World Cups (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006) making three World Cup Finals (only player to do that), winning two World Cups (1994, 2002), the only player on this list with two. After the 2006 World Cup Cafu, 36 at the time, expressed his interest in playing for the fifth time in the WC, but has retired since.

21 Appearances – Wladyslaw Zmuda (Poland), Diego Maradona (Argentina)

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Wladyslaw Zmuda is another player from the Polish Golden age, playing in four World Cups (1974, 1978, 1982, 1986), finishing twice in the third place. He played only once in the 1986 World Cup, the 4-0 round of 16 defeat to Brazil. He won the Best Young Player of the Tournament in the 1974 World Cup.

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Diego Maradona needs no introduction. He played in four World Cups (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994), made it twice to the World Cup finals, and famously led Argentina to their second (and last, so far) World Cup trophy in 1986, beating West Germany 3-2 in the final. Maradona scored 8 goals in his 21 appearances, with his two most famous goals coming in the 1986 quarter final match against England – the first nicknamed “the hand of god” and the second has been voted as the greatest goal ever scored in the World Cup. He finished his WC career in 1994, after failing a drug test, testing positive for Ephedrine. He’ll make his return to the Mondial this summer as Argentina’s head coach.

Paolo Maldini, Italy, 23 Appearances

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Finally, someone who doesn’t have to share his place in history. Maldini played in four World Cups, never winning a trophy with national team he played 126 times for, unlike his success at club level with AC Milan (7 league titles, 5 Champions League trophies). He made the final of the World  Cup in 1994, losing to Brazil after a penalty shootout. He retired from the national team after the 2002 World Cup.

Lothar Matthaus, Germany/West Germany, 25 Appearances

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One of only two players to participate in five World Cups (Mexico’s Antonio Carbajal being the other, and first actually), Matthaus started his WC career in 1982 and finished it in 1998. He made the finals with West Germany three times, winning the World Cup in 1990 after the 1-0 over Argentina in the final, winning the Silver Ball (second best player in the tournament). He scored six goals in his World Cup career, four of them in 1990.

Number 10 – Ray Wilkins, 84 caps

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Squareball Wilkins, now the Assistant Manager at Chelsea, played regularly for England between 1976-1986, playing in two World Cups (1982 and 1986) and one Euro (1980). He scored three goals for the national side, the most memorable of them is the “double-lob” goal against Belgium in the 1980 Euro tournament.

Number 9 – Gary Neville (still active) – 85 caps

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Although he hasn’t played an international match since February 2007, Neville is by far the most capped right back in the history of the English national side, beginning his career with the three lions shirt back in 1985. He has played in two World Cups (1998, 2006) and in three Euro tournaments (1996, 2000, 2004). Despite getting called up in May, currently it seems unlikely Neville will get more caps with the national side, with his recent injury problems and declining form.

Number 8 – Kenny Sansom – 86 caps

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The most capped full back in the history of the English national side and the man Gary Neville will probably never reach, Sansom played for England between 1979-1988. Sansom played in two World Cups (1982, 1986) and two Euro’s (1980, 1988). He was responsible for the Ireland’s famous win over England in the 1988 Euro, making a grave mistake, allowing the goal. He scored one goal in his 86 caps, in 1984 during a World Cup Qualifier.

Number 7 – Michael Owen (still active) – 89 caps

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With 40 goals for the national side, Owen is still hoping he’ll get back to the uniform to play and score enough to make him the number one scorer, surpassing Bobby Charlton’s 49. Owen played his first game for England in February 1998 against Chile, making him the youngest player to wear England’s shirt in the 20th century. Owen played in three World Cups (1998, 2002, 2006) and two Euro’s (2000, 2004). To this date, his most famous goal is the slalom against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup.

Number 6 – Bryan Robson – 90 caps

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Now an unemployed manager, but back in the 1980’s Robson was known as Captain Marvel. He was the heart of Manchester United and of England’s midfield. He made his debut for the national side in 1980, but didn’t feature in the 1980 Euro. In the 1982 World Cup he scored a goal 27 seconds from the start, then the second fastest World Cup goal ever. He played in three World Cups (1982, 1986, 1990) and one Euro, 1988. He scored 26 goals for the national side.

Number 5 – Billy Wright – 105 caps

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Billy Wright, who played his entire club career with Wolves in the 40’s and 50’s was also the captain of England between 1948, two years after his debut for the national side and until his retirement, 90 games and 11 years later. He was the first player in the world to reach 100 international appearances, and hold an impressive achievement for a centre back – never getting sent off once in his career.

Number 4 – Sir Bobby Charlton – 106 caps

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Sir Bobby, hero of the 1966 World Cup, when England won their only World Cup and a Manchester United legend as well, known for ability to score as an attacking midfielder and his ferocious long range shots. Charlton holds the scoring record for the England team, with 49 goals. He hasn’t scored an international goal since 1970, but still remains on top of the list.

Number 3 – Bobby Moore – 108 caps

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Bobby Moore was England’s captain for 97 games in a period stretching across 10 years, but he’ll always be remembered as the captain of the World Cup winning side in 1966. He played for the national side between 1962-1973, scoring two goals.

Number 2 – David Beckham (still active) – 114 caps

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The most capped outfield player in the history of the England national team, David Beckham, despite his move to the United States and obvious declining ability, still gets a few minutes here and there, with Peter Shilton’s record getting closer and closer. Beckham has played with national side since 1996 and served as England’s captain from 2000-2006. Beckham has played in three World Cups (1998, 2002, 2006) and two Euro’s for England (2000, 2004).

Number 1 – Peter Shilton – 125 caps

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Peter Shilton didn’t get to play in a World Cup till he was 32, but managed to play in three of them and alongside Fabian Barthez holds the record of 10 clean sheets in World Cup Games. Shilton began his international career in 1970 and played until 1990, retiring after the 1990 World Cup in Italy. In June 1989 Shilton passed Moore as England’s all time appearance leader.

Number 10 – Paul Scholes – 418 (still active)

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Paul Scholes opens our list at number 10, and is currently after 418 premiership games. He started his career back in July 1993 when he signed his first professional contract with Manchester United, but didn’t get to play until the next season for the first time in league action. He has been with the red devils ever since, and is two goals shy of reaching 100 league goals for United. He has won the premiership title nine times.

Number 9 – Teddy Sheringham – 419

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Number six on the all time Premiership scorers with 147 is number nine in appearances, with 419 between 1992-2007. Sheringham played one more year for Colchester in the Championship and also played 8 years in the pre-premiership days, all in all notching 734 league appearances in England. He has three league titles from his days as a Manchester United player, and has also played for Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, West Ham and Portsmouth in the Premiership.

Number 8 – Gareth Southgate – 426

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Managing of Middlesbrough since he’s hung up his boots, Gareth Southgate notched 426 Premiership appearances as a central defender with Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough and 503 overall, playing 4 seasons in the pre-premiership days with Crystal Palace.

Number 7 – Frank Lampard (still active) – 436

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The best scoring midfielder in the history of the Premiership with 108, 13th all time among all positions, Frank Lampard has developed in the last 4-5 seasons, especially since the Russian revolution at Chlesea into one of the best Midfielders in the world. He has played his entire career for London clubs – West Ham between 1996-2001, and has been with Chelsea since 2001, winning two league titles with the West Londoners. We’ll forget about his short loan stint with Swansea.

Number 6 – Emile Heskey (still active) – 440

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People might not remember, but Heskey has been around since 1994, playing with Leicester City. He has also played for Liverpool, for whom he enjoyed his best season, scoring 14 league goals in 2000-2001, Birmingham, Wigan and currently with Aston Villa. Heskey is 15th on the Premiership’s all time scorers list with 103.

Number 5 – Alan Shearer (still active) – 441

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The Premiership’s all time leading scorer with 260 goals has one or two things in common with Gareth Southgate – both got relegated with a North-Eastern club last season – Shearer did it with Newcastle, although in his defense, he came in and took the job when the patient was already critical. Shearer played with Southampton for five seasons before the Premiership began in 1992, and then he played for only two teams – Blackburn and Newcastle. He won one league title with Blackburn in 1994-1995.

Number 4 – Sol Campbell (still active) – 481

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Sol Campbell is still active, but not in the Premiership. After his contract ended at Portsmouth, he signed with League Two club Notts County, after Sven Goran Eriksson became director of football at the club. Campbell has played with three clubs in the Premiership since 1992 – Tottenham, Arsenal and Portsmouth. His moved from Tottenham to their hated rivals has branded him as “Judas” in the eyes of Spurs fans and every visit of his to White Hart Lane has been met with a hate-filled atmosphere against him. He won two league titles with Arsenal.

Number 3 – Ryan Giggs (still active) – 526

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Ryan Giggs, unlike his teammate and number 10 on this list, Paul Scholes, has been around even in the pre-premiership days, notching up 40 appearances back than for Alex Ferguson and Manchester United, but like Scholes, he has been a one club man. Giggs is two goals short of reaching 100 Premiership goals. He has won nine league titles with United and even though he is getting close to 36 years on the planet and 18 on the soccer pitches, he won the PFA player of the year award last season.

Number 2 – Gary Speed (still active) – 535

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Like Sol Campbell, Speed is still active, but in a lower division. He has downgraded himself to the Championship last season, and is currently playing with Sheffield United. Speed, 40, has been around since 1988 and won the league title with Leeds back in 1992, the last season before the Premiership was formed. He has played for Leeds, Newcastle and Bolton during his Premiership spell. Maybe he’ll be back next season judging by United’s start.

Number 1 – David James (still active) – 551

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The all time leader in the English Premiership in appearances, David James surpassed Gary Speed last season and surprisingly is the only goalkeeper in the top ten, with the closest one to him is Shay Given at 20. James is around since the pre-premiership days, playing for Watford in what is now the Championship. Since his move to Liverpool in 1992 he has stayed in the top flight, playing for Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham, Manchester City and Porstmouth.