According to Pantheon, specificspecific individuals rank high as the top ten legendary New Zealand soccer players of all time. Who are they? Consider the following:
Wynton Rufer: Wynton Rufer is the most renowned New Zealander soccer player, with an HPI of 61.53. His life story has been translated into 50 different languages. Wynton, a remarkably gifted soccer player, was born in December 1962. He's now a retired New Zealand footballer. For more than a decade of his professional career, Rufer stayed in Switzerland and Germany. Werder Bremen turned out to be his most successful club; he won four major trophies here and was top scorer in the UEFA Champions League in 1993–94. He also played for New Zealand in the country's first FIFA World Cup participation in 1982. The Oceania Football Confederation honored him with the Oceania Footballer of the Century award.
Archie Thompson: Archie Thompson is the second most renowned New Zealander soccer player, with an HPI of 51.65. His autobiography has been translated into 29 languages. Archie is a former professional footballer from Australia. He is also a club ambassador for Melbourne Victory FC. He was born in New Zealand and played youth football at the New South Wales Institute of Sport before moving on to play in the National Soccer League and the A-League for several seasons.
In 2016, he left Melbourne Victory after eleven seasons to play for Heidelberg United. Thompson additionally played for Lierse in the Belgian Pro League and PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie. Thompson has appeared in almost 50 international games for Australia, scoring 28 goals. He played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, 2001 & 2005 FIFA Confederations Cups, 2007 AFC Asian Cup, the 2008 Summer Olympics, and the triumphant 2004 OFC Nations Cup. He holds the all-time goal scoring record for a single international match, with 13 goals in a 31–0 win over American Samoa in 2001.
Ricki Herbert: Ricki Herbert is the third most renowned New Zealander soccer player, with an HPI of 49.97. His autobiography has been translated into 24 languages. Ricki was (born in April 1961; he's a former footballer and manager from New Zealand. He is now Cambridge FC's technical director. Herbert was previously the head coach of the New Zealand national team, but stepped down after the squad failed to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Herbert played for his country in the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain and managed the New Zealand national team in the 2010 World Cup, where he memorably led them to an undefeated finish. His most recent international coaching position was as head coach of the Maldives national football team.
Ivan Vicelich: Ivan Vicelich is the fourth most renowned New Zealander soccer player, with an HPI of 49.75. His autobiography has been translated into 28 languages. Ivan is a former New Zealand professional footballer who now works as an assistant coach for Auckland City FC in the ASB Premiership. With 88 caps between 1995 and 2013, he is his country's and Oceania's most-capped international of all time, and he played in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Chris Wood: Chris Wood is the fifth most renowned New Zealander soccer player, with an HPI of 47.51. His autobiography has been translated into 34 languages. Christopher was born in December 1991; he's a New Zealand professional footballer who plays for Premier League side Newcastle United as well as the New Zealand national team. Wood was born in Auckland and began his professional career with Cambridge FC, Waikato FC, and Hamilton Wanderers before transferring to England to play for West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League.
Following a loan move with Ipswich Town in 2015, he joined Championship club Leeds United; he was the top scorer here in the 2016–17 season. He subsequently joined Burnley for a club-record sum, and he became a prolific Premier League striker for them, scoring 49 goals in 144 outings over four and a half seasons. Wood has 65 New Zealand national team caps and 33 goals, thus the country's top goal scorer, surpassing former holder Vaughan Coveny. He represented the country in the 2010 FIFA World Cup and was a member of the side that won the 2016 OFC Nations Cup.