FOOTBALLING GOD: Whenever one hears the name Diego Armando Maradona, we think of his mind-blowing goal against England in the 1986 World Cup. Maradona, returning to the World Cup as coach of Argentina, will be looking to emulate Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer as the only ones to have won the World Cup as player and coach. Photo: AP
NUMERO UNO: Luis Ronaldo celebrates after scoring against Germany in the World Cup final in 2002. After dominating the headlines for the wrong reasons in the final of the 1998 World Cup, Ronaldo came back very strongly to win the 2002 World Cup for Brazil. Scoring a brace in the finals, he helped Brazil to a record fifth title.
ICONOCLASTIC: West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer holds aloft the World Cup trophy in 1974 after it beat the Netherlands. Beckenbauer was the perfect embodiment of the German spirit. Playing on with a dislocated shoulder against Italy in the semifinal of the 1970 edition, he refused to give up even lost causes.
TOTAL FOOTBALL'S BRAINCHILD: The Netherlands' Johann Cruyff (left) gets past a Swede in the 1974 World Cup. He was voted as the player of the tournament in the 1974 edition. Cruyff, the architect of "Total Football", is arguably the greatest player to have not won the World Cup. File Photo: AP
LEGEND MEETS LEGEND: Pele (right) and Sir Bobby Charlton. Charlton played a crucial role in England's lone World Cup triumph of 1966 scoring three goals in the campaign. Pele: The youngest ever player then to play in a World Cup, Pele was the upstart which the football world loved to talk about. The only player to win three World Cups, Pele has gone down as one of the most decorated players in football.
HEART-BREAKING END: This was one of the most defining images of Zinedine Zidane's World Cup career. A sending-off in the finals against Italy in 2006 notwithstanding, Zizou inspired Les Blues countless times. A world Cup winner in 1998, he scored a brace against Brazil in the final. Zidane is one of the most identifiable football faces of the 21st century. File Photo: AP
SAMBA MAGICIAN: If someone epitomised the hedonist yet all-round displays of the double-winning Brazilian side of 1958 and 1962, it was Garrincha. After Pele was ruled out with an injury in the 1962 World Cup, Garrincha came into his own in the latter stages scoring braces against England and Chile. He is also widely acknowledged as the greatest ever dribbler. File Photo: AP