In collaboration with High Life: Living the Good Life, VOICE OF ASIA is proud to present timeless articles from the archives, reproduced digitally for your reading pleasure. Originally published in High Life Volume 2 in 2014, we highlight the players who carved their names into football’s hall of fame.
Though football is a team game, the World Cup is where individual legends are made, and the very best carve their name in football lore. Here is our pick of the players who have become synonymous for delivering when it matters on football’s greatest stage.
STAR PLAYERS
Diego Maradona
During his playing career, Maradona was the hottest ticket in town – you simply had to watch him, to see just what the unpredictable talented star would do. Hot-headed, strong willed and tenacious, he snapped at the heels of defenders, and scored many individually brilliant goals. Diego hit the high notes during back-to-back World Cup Finals in 1990 and 1986, with Argentina winning the latter. Controversial, emotionally charged and supremely talented – even now as a manager – he is idolised in his South American homeland and emulated by Argentineans to this day, as living proof that it is not about physical stature, but about the size of your heart.
Pelé
Brazil’s ‘Number 10’ is considered the best player of all time – though the appeal of football is that the debate will never be conclusively settled. In terms of success, Pelé’s statistics do not lie: 1,281 career goals (including 12 goals and 10 assists in 14 World Cup games). Edson Arantes do Nascimento – to give his full name – lifted the trophy 3 times, the first when he was just 16, and he is the all-time leading scorer for Brazil. What made him so special was his talent. He could score from anywhere, at any time. Defenders could not take their eye of him for a second… but give him too much attention and one of his talented team-mates would undoubtedly score. Deadly.
Cristiano Ronaldo
A cheeky inclusion by HIGH Life in the ‘Legends’ category, Ronaldo has performed well on the world stage and, if he fulfils his potential, could shatter the ceiling of stardom. 2014 looks to be his year. The Portuguese talisman simply could not stop scoring for both club and country in the 2013/14 season, and though he enjoyed relative success at the previous two World Cups, all eyes will be on Ronaldo to deliver at the highest level come June. He was voted the best player in Europe in January 2014, and can take his already revered status to entirely new levels with a sparkling and successful campaign in Brazil.
Johan Cruyff
The Dutch maestro was dubbed ‘Pythagoras in boots’ for the complexity and precision of his angled passes, and acclaimed sportswriter David Miller once wrote about him, “Few have been able to exact, both physically and mentally, such mesmeric control on a match from one penalty area to another.” Cruyff was a member of the ‘Total Football’ Holland team that was defeated in the 1974 Final, and though his team never won football’s highest honour, his name is written among the greats for individual play that was ahead of its time, in terms of spacing, ability and finesse.
Brazil 2014: Tournament Quick Facts
12 Host Cities
Rio De Janeiro
Brasilia
Sao Paolo
Fortaleza
Porto Alegre
Recife
Curitiba
Natal
Manaus
Cuiaba
Salvador
Belo Horizonte
Gianluigi Buffon
It is not only outfield players that shine, and goalkeepers are just as essential to a team’s success as a top-goalscorer or resolute defender. Buffon is among the very best, and en-route to Italy’s 2006 win conceded just twice, registering 5 games without allowing a goal (including a 453 consecutive minute stretch); all World Cup records. He showed nerves of steel in character-testing penalty shootouts, and is a vocal shot-stopper who leads by example; passionate, dedicated and above all else, a winner.
Zinedine Zidane
A genius, mercurial and headstrong, Zidane’s international career went from the sublime to the ridiculous. 1998 represented his apex, when in the Stade de France he inspired France to World Cup victory, with two bullet headers in a 3-0 demolition of red-hot favourites Brazil. At Germany 2006, Zidane was meant to sign-off his career in style, yet had a total meltdown when goaded by Italian defender Marco Materazzi, head-butting his opponent in the chest. His portfolio speaks for itself however, and this was a minor footnote in a glittering career. ‘Zizou’ was the quintessential playmaker, creating chances, scoring goals and leading the charge in a golden age for French football.
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