The 30 best players in World Cup history
By James Dudko
1. Pele, Brazil
Pele is the World Cup. The World Cup is Pele.
He played in four tournaments and was a winner in three (although a central figure in only two). Yet no player has created as many enduring images in the competition as Brazil’s peerless No. 10.
There’s his outrageous dummy to fool Uruguay in the 1970 semifinal, as well as THAT pass to Carlos Alberto for the clinching goal in the final of the same tournament.
Nobody will forget the brazen skill he unleashed on unsuspecting audiences in 1958, including his masterpiece of a goal in the final against Sweden. There’s also the sight of him being carried off against Portugal in 1966 after being subjected to brutal physical punishment by Portugal.
Pele’s greatness is stamped all over the World Cup and its history.
He began adding to said history in ’58. An upstart 17-year-old, Pele scored six times to help Brazil claim a maiden trophy.
In the modern era, a talented teenager need only score a spectacular league goal to be heralded for greatness (hello, Rooney). Pele announced himself on the grandest stage in the sport and in the biggest matches.
He scored the winner against Wales in the last eight, before outscoring Fontaine and France by netting a hat-trick in the semifinal. The winner against Wales was a marvel as the teen took the ball with his back to goal and mischievously flicked around his marker before rolling in the finish.
Pele then bagged a brace in the final, including the famous chest touch, followed by a flick up and over a defender before volleying in. Talk about belying your tender years.
Injury meant Pele was denied the chance to seize co-ownership, along with Garrincha, of the ’62 finals. It was a similar sad story four years on when cynicism strangled the art and joy of the game in its original setting.
Thankfully, Pele returned for 1970, where he was the creative spark for the best front four in history. His performances in the company of Tostao, Rivelino and Jairzinho justified the game’s existence.
Although he took on a slightly more withdrawn role, Pele was arguably never better than he was on Mexican shores for a few months in 1970.
He crammed a career’s worth of iconic moments into one tournament. Aside from the dummy and the slide-rule pass for Alberto, Pele re-defined the free-kick with his outside-of-the-foot goal against Romania.
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He also was narrowly wide of chipping the Czechoslovakia goalkeeper from his own half. Every true fan knows these moments.
In the 1-0 win over England, one of the best World Cup matches ever, Pele produced two flourishes which still take the breath away. His effortlessly slid pass for Jairzinho’s winner was the equal of the ball for Alberto.
Meanwhile, his powerful, downward header drew the great Gordon Banks into the best save the tournament has ever seen. Again, try finding a true fan who won’t be prompted to smile when asked about these moments.
Aside from his assist in the final, Pele opened the scoring in the 4-1 defeat of Italy. He did it with a crashing header made possible by a leap and mid-air hang Cristiano Ronaldo dreams of matching.
Pele embodied the pure joy of the sport in its biggest arena. There’s been nobody better since.