Lionel Messi

Age: 23

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Baby-face Messi made his debut for Barcelona in 2004 (at 17 years and 114 days), becoming the youngest club player in La Liga.

His fluid feet dribbled him to stardom when he scored a hat-trick in El Clásico (Real-Barca face-off) in March 2007. He mirrored Maradona’s Goal of the Century a month later against Getafe CF — he ran about the same distance (62 metres), beat the same number of players (six, including goalie), scored from a similar position, and ran towards the corner flag just as Maradona had done in Mexico 1986. Hail, “Messidona”.

At 23, he has won the Fifa Player of the Year (2009 & 2010) and the Ballon d’Or (2009 & 2010), the Champions League twice, La Liga four times, the Under-20 World Cup and an Olympic gold medal.

The one missing chapter in Messi’s book of greatness? “If he doesn’t win a World Cup, as team leader, he will never get to Maradona’s level,” sums up Carlos Bilardo, Argentina’s Cup-winning manager.

Did you know?

Messi started playing at age five for Grandoli, a local club coached by his father in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. At 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. Barcelona offered to pay for the treatment, and so he moved with his family to Europe.

“I just play the way it comes out. I don’t think about it. I try to do well, enjoy myself and make a good contribution to my team.” That is how Messi describes his game.

 

 

Diego Maradona

Age: 50

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He was part of four World Cup squads — from 1982 to 1994, with a trophy in 1986 and second place in 1990. He captained Team Argentina 16 times, a Cup record.

Scored the Goal of the Century and the Hand of God goal in the quarter-final against England in 1986. Argentina won 2-1. Went on to lead Argentina to triumph — never before or after has one player dominated a World Cup like Maradona did in 1986.

Country apart, he led clubs Boca Juniors, Napoli and Barcelona to glory. Attained sainthood status in Napoli.

He was voted the Fifa Player of the Century in an Internet poll in 2000. Fifa later nominated an experts’ panel that voted for Pele. The two players finally shared the award.

Did you know?

The genius got hooked on cocaine during his Napoli days. This led to a heart attack in 2004.

He has Fidel Castro tattooed on his left leg and Che Guevara on his right arm. About Che, he said, “I carry him around tattooed on my skin and deeper still in my heart. He was a rebel. So am I.”

Argentina has a Church of Maradona, in which he is god. Christmas is celebrated on his birthday, October 30. Maradona’s 43rd birthday marked the start of the Year 43 DD — “Después de Diego” or After Diego.

 

 

Pele

Age: 70

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If football is a religion, Pele is its god. No one has been able to match his impact on the game. Yet. The King scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 games, with a fiver in six games, four goals in 30 matches and a record 92 hat-tricks. Phew!

He was marked a prodigy from the beginning of his career and was taken on board by Brazilian club Santos when he was just 15. He played for Brazil at 16 and won his first World Cup (1958) at 17. The only footballer to be a part of three World Cup-winning squads (1958, ’62, ’70).

In 1999, he was voted the Football Player of the Century by the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics).

Did you know?

Pele came from such a poor family that as a child, he could not afford a ball and would play with newspapers stuffed inside socks.

When Pele saw his father, a footballer, crying after Brazil lost the 1950 World Cup to Uruguay, he said: “Don’t worry. One day I’ll win it.”

The Brazilian government declared him an “official national treasure” to prevent him from being bought by wealthy European clubs.

The two sides involved in the Nigerian civil war agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire in 1967 so that they could watch Pele at an exhibition match in Lagos.

 

 

Johan Cruyff

Age: 64

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The man who played Total Football and invented the180-degree swivel called Cruyff Turn. He helped Dutch club Ajax win three consecutive European Cups, from 1971 to 1973.

With Cruyff as captain, The Netherlands coasted to the 1974 finals, defeating Argentina 4-0, East Germany 2-0 and defending champions Brazil 2-0. They lost to Beckenbauer’s West Germany 2-1 in the heart-break final.

Did you know?

Cruyff retired from international football in 1977. Years later, he claimed that he and his family were victims of a kidnap bid, which led to his retirement.

He has been called “Pythagoras in boots”.

 

 

Zinedine Zidane

Age: 38

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The Algerian-born, famous for his monk-like demeanour, was the best player of his generation and three-time winner of Fifa Player of the Year (1998, 2000, 2003). Hallmark? Balance on the ball, balletic feet and supreme vision.

Led France to World Cup triumph in 1998, scoring a brace in the final. Followed by Euro 2000, with Zizou as player of the tournament.

In the 2006 World Cup final, scored a goal — the fourth player in history to score in two Cup finals — but was later sent off for head-butting Marco Materazzi. France went on to lose to Italy on penalties.

Did you know?

After the World Cup victory, Zidane’s image was projected on the iconic Arch of Triumph in Paris.

In November 2006, Zidane toured Bangladesh as the guest of Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus.

 

 

Franz Beckenbauer

Age: 65

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Called Der Kaiser (The Emperor) by fans (and some teammates), Beckenbauer helped Bayern Munich to a Bundesliga hat-trick (1972-74).

With the 1974 World Cup win, West Germany became the first team to hold the Euro and World Cup trophies together. Beckenbauer was the team’s heart and soul.

Did you know?

He was so popular that he became a character in Monty Python’s sketch The Philosophers’ Football Match.

He played the 1970 World Cup match against Italy with his arm in a sling, following a fracture. For Team Germany, he was irreplaceable.

 

George Best

Died in 2005 at age 59

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Best would dance through the tackles, his balance something that had to be seen to be believed. He’d nutmeg one, skip past another, swivel past a third, dip his shoulder, beat another man and bend the ball between the posts... (Manchester United: The Biography)

He was the master of dribbling and scoring with both feet. Took Manchester United to great heights in 1966-69. Was crowned European Footballer of the Year and Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year in 1968.

Did you know?

Best was called the “fifth Beatle” for his flamboyant lifestyle. He owned nightclubs and boutiques. Drink drove him to death.

In Northern Ireland, the love for him is captured in the popular saying: Maradona good, Pele better, George ‘best’.