The Top 10 Players Of Spain 82

Jonathan Wilson runs through the stars that made Spain 82 so memorable

10 - 9 8 - 7 6 - 5 4 - 3 2 - 1

10. PAUL BREITNER West Germany

Only three men have ever scored in two World Cup finals: the Brazilians Vava and Pele, and the unlikely figure of Paul Breitner, the bushy-haired West Germany left-back or midfielder who once professed leanings to Maoism.

His goal this time, swept in with seven minutes remaining to cut the deficit to 3-1, was of rather less consequence than the one he scored in 1974, but at least confirmed him as West Germany’s best player in what for them was generally a shameful tournament.

His most significant contribution, perhaps, was to negate the threat of Steve Coppell as West Germany held England to a 0-0 draw in the second phase.

9. ZBIGNIEW BONIEK, Poland

Has there ever been a better World Cup hat-trick than Boniek’s against Belgium in the second phase?

The first was a 20-yard drive lashed in from Grzegorz Lato’s cut-back, the second a clever looping header, and the third a spin and skip round the goalkeeper. All were superb finishes and all followed intelligent build-up.

Yet Boniek had begun the tournament slowly in a deep role, suddenly bursting into life as he was redeployed at centre-forward in the 5-1 win over Peru in the final first-phase match. Booked needlessly in the 0-0 draw against the USSR that saw Poland through to the last four, Boniek was suspended and badly missed against Italy.