THE DATES HAVE been checked, the stars consulted and the players rated.
Now, for the first time, TheScore.ie can reveal that the best footballing star sign is Cancer.
We have consulted footballing bibles, official sites of organisational bodies, asked Pelé to chip in with his opinion and sprinkled with a few Irish players to come up with a definitive list on your behalf.
Birthdays of 182 of football’s greatest stars were compiled and Cancer, with 22 players falling under that star sign, had the greatest representation.
Footballing cancerians include Lionel Messi, Carlos Alberto, Mario Kempes, Raul and Paolo Maldini. Gareth Bale, who is on course for his second PFA Player of the Year award, is also a Cancer.
The next best is Scorpio on 20 [including Gerd Muller, Alessandro del Piero and Peter Schmeichel], with four star signs, Libra, Pisces, Aquarius and Taurus, on 18.
Libra perhaps boasts the greatest footballing royalty with Diego Maradona, Pelé, Bobby Charlton and Zlatan Ibrahimovic celebrating birthdays between 24 September and 23 October.
The poorest return for a star sign is Sagittarius with just six players, although Ireland’s Paul McGrath is a notable inclusion.
Raul and Messi: Just a couple of cancerians, hanging out. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)
From an Irish perspective, Robbie Keane is one of the select group of footballers that check out ‘Cancer’ when reading their horoscopes while John Giles is a Scorpio and Roy Keane is a Leo.
Star signs league table and selection of footballers:
Cancer [22]: Alfredo di Stefano, Mario Kempes, Carlos Alberto, Patrick Vieira, Zinedine Zidane, Paolo Maldini, Hugo Sanchez, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Emilio Butragueno, Raul, Leo Messi, Gareth Bale, Robbie Keane.
Libra [18]: Diego Maradona, Pelé, Bobby Charlton, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Francesco Totti, Frank Rijkaard, Andriy Shevchenko, Lev Yashin, Ian Rush, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Tony Adams.
Aquarius [18]: Cristiano Ronaldo, Liam Brady, Gabriel Battistuta, Romario, Socrates, Xavi, Roberto Baggio, Gianluigi Buffon, Eusebio, Stanley Matthews, Luis Suarez.
Age of Aquarius: Xavi and Ronaldo. (AP Photo/Felice Calabro)
Taurus [18]: Iniesta, Ronnie Whelan, Roger Milla, David Beckham, Franco Baresi, Dennis Bergkamp, Johan Cruyff, Luis Enrique, Iker Casillas, Andrea Pirlo.
Pisces [18]: Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law, Sepp Maier, Alessandro Nesta, Dino Zoff, Didier Drogba, Dino Zoff, Bruno Conti, Jimmy Greaves, Toni Schumacher
Aries [14]: Ronaldinho, Lothar Matthaus, Ferenc Puskas, Clarence Seedorf, Rudi Voller, Ronald Koeman, Bobby Moore, Franck Ribery, Carles Puyol, Shay Given
Virgo [12]: Ronaldo (BRA), Ruud Gullit, Pavel Nedved, Marcel Desailly, Franz Beckenbauer, Paul Breitner, Paolo Rossi, Rene van de Kerkhof, Johan Neeskens, Fabio Cannavaro.
Gemini [11]: Michael Laudrup, Eric Cantona, Michel Platini, Oliver Kahn, George Best, Rinat Dassyev, Paul Gascoigne, Pat Jennings, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard.
Capricorn [10]: Rivelino, Davor Suker, Gordon Banks, Lillian Thuram, Guiseppe Bergomi, George Weah, John Charles.
Leo [9]: Javier Zanetti, Alan Shearer, Just Fontaine, Thierry Henry, Jurgen Klinsmann, Roy Keane, Gigi Riva, Robin van Persie, Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Sagittarius [6]: Jean-Marie Pfaff, Gary Lineker, Ryan Giggs, Paul McGrath.
