Not the greatest till you win this!
Like Pele and Maradona, the best of this era need to prove mettle by winning the Cup
It’s not uncommon to hear football fans lament how an excess of club football has led to international tournaments shrinking in stature. However, the excitement that surrounds the World Cup can never be matched by a club game because the tournament has witnessed some of the greatest performers.
Arguably the first such example is Brazil legend Pele, who was an unknown 17-year-old when he played his first tournament at Sweden in 1958.
He found himself on the scoresheet in the semi-final and final, scoring a hattrick and brace respectively as Brazil lifted their maiden World Cup. He only played one game in 1962 while in 1966 Brazil failed to make it to the knockouts, thanks in no small part to Pele getting the worst of excessive fouling from the opposition, so much so that he vowed never to play another World Cup. However, he was back four years later as Brazil won the Cup for the third time.
MARADONA AT HIS BEST
Like Pele, Diego Maradona is remembered as one of the greatest of all time largely due to his World Cup performances. His first bow in
1982 ended in disappointment but all that was forgotten four years later. The 1986 tournament saw him score five goals and make five assists en route to
Argentina’s second
World Cup win. But it was in the quarter-final against England that he cemented his legacy, scoring the controversial
‘Hand of God’ as well as a solo goal that was voted ‘Goal of the Century’ in 2002. Even a failed drugs test in 1994 couldn’t dim his halo.
MESSI-RONALDO DILEMMA
Shattering club records has become almost a routine for Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. However, there are many who believe that neither can truly call themselves the greatest without winning a World Cup.
Whether or not this school of thought is correct, it highlights the importance fans give and will continue to give the World Cup.
MATCHES
GOALS Closest to Diego Maradona in terms of playmaking and scoring acumen, Messi has won it all at club level but the World Cup. Defeats in the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Copa America final forced him to call it quits but he came back eventually. This may be a team game but trust Argentina to again depend on their favourite one-man army. Like Messi, Ronaldo wasn’t able to replicate club-level glory at international level till Portugal became European champions in 2016. The World Cup would literally be the last feather in the cap of the five-time Ballon D’OR winner who is fresh off winning his fifth Champions League title.