Here is the ranking of the 10 best teams in history, clubs and national teams alike. Feel free to leave a comment if you have a different opinion.

France won their first and only World Cup trophy at home in the late 1990’s. Zinedine Zidane and Emmanuel Petit scored the goals in a 3-0 victory over Brazil in the final that year.

10. France 1998

France won their first and only World Cup trophy at home in the late 1990’s. Zinedine Zidane and Emmanuel Petit scored the goals in a 3-0 victory over Brazil in the final that year. Laurent Blanc, Fabien Barthez, Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, Youri Djorkaeff, Didier Deschamps, Marcel Desailly ,Lillian Thuram and Patrick Vieira to only name a few worked together beautifully to make a new European legendary team  under the management of Aimé Jacquet . They would go onto beat Italy in the Euro 2000, only Spain have managed such a feat since.

9. Hungary 1954

They were largely tipped to win the 1954 World Cup as they had remained unbeaten for the previous 32 matches in the run-up to the tournament. Ferenc Puskas featured in the 8-3 thrashing of West Germany, whom they would meet in the final but suffered an ankle injury. Without him they beat the two sides who contested the previous World Cup final – Brazil and Uruguay. Puskas would score in the final but Germany overturned a two-goal deficit to win the match, as underdogs. They still hold the record for the number of goals scored  in the tournament which is 27.

8. Arsenal 2004

The Arsenal of Arsene Wenger went the whole season unbeaten in the very competitive English Premier league. Henry, Ljungberg and Pires and Vieira were the big names with Marc Overmars

The Arsenal of Arsene Wenger went the whole season unbeaten in the very competitive English Premier league.  Henry, Ljungberg and Pires  and Vieira were the big names with Marc Overmars.  They enjoyed 49 matches unbeaten in the Premier League, before having it ended at Old Trafford in 2004.

7. Brazil 1982

Compared to the team of  1958, 1962 and 1970. They wouldn’t add a fourth World Cup in 1982 despite being one of the favourites at the tournament and with the likes of Zico, Socrates and Falcao they lost at the second round where they lost to eventual winners Italy thanks to a Paolo Rossi hat-trick.

 6. Holland 1970’s

In spite of being arguably the best team in the seventies, Holland did not win the World Cup. Johan Cruyff and co brought to the world flawless performances. Total football.. They reached two successive finals only to lose to the respective host nations in Argentina and West Germany.

5. Barcelona 2010’s

Barcelona, especially under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, have shone thanks to Lionel Messi who recently picked up a third Ballon d’Or and is a strong candidate to his own succession, making the Argentinian the third person to achieve such an exploit.

Barcelona, especially under the guidance of Pep Guardiola, have shone thanks to Lionel Messi who recently picked up a third Ballon d’Or and is a strong candidate to his own succession, making the Argentinian the third person to achieve such an exploit. Xavi, Andres Iniesta, David Villa, Gerard Pique and Victor Valdes have all hit their peak at the same time. Arguably the club team of the decade.

4. Liverpool 1980’s

Bob Paisley and Bill Shankly led Liverpool to their brightest days yet. Bob Paisley was key in gaining three European cups along with six league titles in his nine-year spell. The likes of Alan Hansen, Mark Lawrenson, John Barnes, Jan Molby, Bruce Grobbelar, Ian Rush and John Aldridge were blossoming into true greats of the game and they soon won another European Cup in 1984.

3. Manchester United 1999

Liverpool side of the 1980’s were the first team to achieve the treble but Ferguson’s 1999 side beat Arsenal to the Premier League by a point before defeating Newcastle United and Bayern Munich, all within ten days of each other to obtain a glorious treble. The midfield is now legendary with Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, David Beckham and Roy Keane. Yorke and Cole’s partnership up front was extremely effective and their replacements  Sheringham and Solskjaer just amazing players.

2. Brazil 1970

Many great Brazilian teams have since competed but none like the one of Pele, Rivelino and Jairzinho who all scored in the 4-1 victory over Italy.

This team won pretty much everything– 3 World Cup’s and arguably the best player to ever play the game in Pele guided them from the age of 17 to his older age, destroying  Italy in the 1970 final. Many great Brazilian teams have since competed but none like the one of Pele, Rivelino and Jairzinho who all scored in the 4-1 victory over  Italy.

1. Spain 2012

The Spanish side or La Roja ‘The Red’, are the reigning World and European champions, having won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012

The Spanish side or La Roja (“The Red”),  are the reigning World and European champions, having won the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012. The national team are currently ranked number 1 in both the FIFA World Ranking and the World Football Elo Ratings. The Spanish national football team’s triumph in Euro 2008, in addition to the aforementioned cup victories, makes them the only national team in history to win three major tournaments consecutively. These achievements have led many commentators, experts and former players to consider the current Spanish side the best ever in world football. Between November 2006 and June 2009 Spain went undefeated for a record-equaling 35 consecutive matches before their loss to the United States, a record shared with Brazil, including a record 15-game winning streak and thus earning third place in the Confederations Cup. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup Spain became the first European team to lift the World Cup trophy outside of Europe and along with Argentina and Brazil are the only national teams to have won the FIFA World Cup outside of their continents.

Such was the scale and artistry of their 4-0 win against Italy that they can be considered to be the greatest international team in history. Brazil’s legendary World Cup-winning side in Mexico in 1970 is a great contender, it was built around legends like Pele, Tostao, Jairzinho, Rivelinho and Gerson – and many more besides in a marriage of team work and individual brilliance but has anyone ever dominated the game like Spain?

They have now been untouchable in three major competitions and already few would go against them in South America when the World Cup goes to Brazil in 2014.

They are the ultimate team, the full expression of total football, they are even redefining and rewriting the game at every appearance. Creators, artists, they reinvent the game and like painters, stroke after stroke, paint a beautiful picture of how the game should be played.