Mbappe will have to thrive in gilded cage of greatness
The greatest gift you get from victory isn’t the trophy, it’s the relief
IN THE afterglow of Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick in Barcelona this week came references to a handing over of the baton in the Nou Camp. Time to move over Lionel Messi, there’s a new kid in town.
The goal Messi, below, scored in La Liga last weekend showed he is not quite done yet but Mbappe is at his heels. He is only 22 but already a World Cup winner and the scorer of 154 goals in 252 games.
Strength, balance, touch, ease of movement, awareness of space... Mbappe has it all. And that paintstripping acceleration. If he isn’t the No1 footballer in the world already, he soon will be.
It is all he would ever have wanted and the rewards and adulation that come with the title will be enormous, but icon status comes with strings attached too.
A new film ‘Pele’ was released yesterday by Netflix. It is an enriching look back at the greatest footballer of them all and his golden career, centring on its crowning moment – the 1970World Cup.
It opens with a sad image of a diminished figure, shuffling along on his walking frame, painstakingly slowly, before taking a seat in an empty room. It is a melancholic picture of an old man alone with his memories. But what memories.
He recalls, as a 10-year-old, seeing his father in tears after Brazil had lost the final of a home World Cup to Uruguay in 1950 and consoling him with the promise: “Don’t worry, I’ll win aWorld Cup for you.”
He undersold himself. He remains the only player with three World Cup winners’ medals.
The ride seemed joyous from the outside. Millions in advertising endorsements, a glamorous woman in every port, the rich and famous clambering to share time and space with him. And then there were the goals
– 757 officially, 1,283 if you round up, as the biopic does, to include friendlies and tour matches with Santos.
Even the misses were glorious. The shot from his own half against Czechoslovakia at the
1970 World Cup and the dummy in the final against Italy were sumptuous. It all looked so carefree, but the pressure of being the best consumed him, as he reveals in the film.
He broke down in tears on the team bus on the way to the final and could not stop; he breaks down again retelling the story.
1970 remains the finest final, an extravagant Brazilian carnival, but for Pele it was almost too much. There was no pleasure in winning thatWorld Cup.
“The greatest gift you get from victory isn’t the trophy, it’s the relief,” he admits.
Pele carried the hopes and dreams of millions and felt that weight. There was the added burden of being a propaganda tool for a ruthless military junta. Mbappe is unlikely to experience the latter but the gilded cage of greatness in the most global of sports is oppressive. Diego Maradona had his demons but they were exacerbated by the constant scrutiny.There is no hiding place for the No1.
In an era when mobile phones and social media make escape even more difficult, Messi’s staying power at the top has been extraordinary. Maybe he has been helped by sharing the stage with his lifelong rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
For Mbappe, when he ascends to the throne, the expectation and the demands will be huge. Quick as he is on the football field, there are no guarantees he will last the pace.
There will be injuries and distractions; maybe his simple love for football will wane. But just suppose he enjoys a following wind, holds it all together and maximises his potential. In 10 years’ time we will be looking back at a
very special career.