Since the establishment of 'modern football' in the 1860s, evolution has been a perpetual theme.
The sport is pretty unrecognisable from when England faced Scotland in the first international match recognised by FIFA in 1872.
Sure, there were similarities to the contemporary stuff with a spherical-shape object being kicked around by 22 players, 11 on each team, but the idea of a 'midfielder' operating between the goal-getters and stoppers hadn't yet come to fruition. The 22 players performing in Partick that day were split into goalkeepers, backs, half-backs and forwards.
Half-backs were the closest thing the Victorians had to the modern-day midfielder, but their function was pretty primitive and focused on serving the more talented stars ahead of them.
The 'midfielder' concept has taken on many forms during the sport's evolution, with players being slotted into sub-categories based on their profile. Some are defensive, others are box-to-box, while the more glamorous are regarded as attacking midfielders - perhaps not quite a 'number ten'. The likes of Johan Cruyff and Diego Maradona have been excluded from this ranking as a result.
Here are 90min's greatest midfielders of all time.
Tigana was part of the French 'Magic Square' / Jean-Yves Ruszniewski/GettyImages
Netzer was West Germany's swashbuckling playmaker in the 70s / Keystone/GettyImages
Lampard is the highest-scoring midfielder in Premier League history / Shaun Botterill/GettyImages
There were few better all-rounders than Vieira / Stuart Franklin/GettyImages
N'Golo Kante had a remarkable impact in the Premier League / Shaun Botterill/GettyImages
Gerrard inspired Liverpool's miraculous comeback in the 2005 Champions League final / TARIK TINAZAY/GettyImages
Pirlo dazzled during his twilight at Juventus / Claudio Villa/GettyImages
"Watch Busquets, you see the whole game." / Alex Caparros/GettyImages
Rijkaard was an integral piece of Arrigo Sacchi's Milan / Alessandro Sabattini/GettyImages
Kaka was a Ballon d'Or winner at Milan / ANDREW YATES/GettyImages
Neeskens worked in glorious tandem with Johan Cruyff / VI-Images/GettyImages
De Bruyne is a modern-day great / Michael Regan/GettyImages
Laudrup is the greatest Danish footballer ever / Shaun Botterill/GettyImages
Kroos was a staple of an all-conquering Real Madrid outfit / Yasser Bakhsh/GettyImages
Xavi was one part of a magical midfield triumvirate at Barcelona / Denis Doyle/GettyImages
More than a mere philosopher / Alessandro Sabattini/GettyImages
No, not that Luis Suarez / Central Press/GettyImages
Iniesta struck the winner in the 2010 World Cup final / Jamie McDonald/GettyImages
Modric broke the Lionel Messi/Cristiano Ronaldo Ballon d'Or duopoly in 2018 / David Ramos/GettyImages
The larger than life Gullit was impossible to slow down / Getty Images/GettyImages
A Brazilian icon / Alessandro Sabattini/GettyImages
