Although it may have admittedly gone down as a decade of pure footballing frustration from the Three Lion’s point of view, the 1970’s nonetheless produced some of the finest players to ever grace the game itself.

Many of today’s very best stars simply owe their entire sporting philosophies to some of the important foundations laid during the 70s.

From the nation of Holland giving birth to the now well-known notion of ‘total football’ on the global scene, to the likes of Italy and West Germany proving as organised as ever right throughout the spine of their respective starting XI’s – it really is no surprise that some of the most legendary characters in world football made a name for themselves across this particularly enticing decade.

As the gentlemanly era of the 1960’s eventually moved on, making way for the introduction of the footballing ‘maverick’ – a player who dazzled fans and players alike with a brand new approach to the game seemingly unheard of before – the sport of football as we know it ultimately took on new meaning in the years that followed.

So then, in light of such a notion surrounding several faded stars of yesteryear, here are 50 of the best ever players from the 1970s…

50. Ray Clemence

49. Hector Chumpitaz

48. Wim Suurbier

47. Manuel Bento

46. Paulo Cezar Caju

45. Gunter Netzer

44. Wlodzimeirz Lubanski

43. Franco Causio

42. Arie Haan

41. Ubaldo Fillol

40. Johnny Rep

39. Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck

38. Romeo Benetti

37. Edu (Jonas Eduardo Americo)

36. Leopoldo Luque

35. Uli Hoeness

34. Wolfgang Overath

33. Trevor Brooking

32. Pat Jennings

31. Ruud Krol

30. Kazimierz Deyna

29. Berti Vogts

28. Osvaldo Ardiles

27. Rob Rensenbrink

26. Gaetano Scirea

25. Marius Tresor

24. Giacinto Facchetti

23. Allan Simonsen

22. Roberto Bettega

21. Oleg Blokhin

20. Paul Breitner

19. Elias Figueroa

18. Hans Krankl

17. Grzegorz Lato

16. Daniel Passarella

15. Teofilo Cubillas

14. Sepp Maier

13. Liam Brady

12. Mario Kempes

11. Dino Zoff

10. Kenny Dalglish

9. Kevin Keegan

8. Johan Neeskens

7. Jairzinho

6. Gerd Muller

5. Carlos Alberto

4. Claudio Gentile

3. Rivellino

2. Franz Beckenbauer

1. Johan Cruyff