Our presentation of the 25 greatest post-War World Cup footballers continues, in ascending order:
17. Didi: Most players can curl free kicks nowadays. In the days of laced-up footballs that went sodden and heavy in wet conditions, very few could.
Didi, the midfielder who guided Brazil to its first World Cup title in 1958, was a master of the ‘falling leaf' free kick, which would dip unpredictably in flight, flummoxing the best goalkeepers. In 1954, he had scored two goals in Brazil's run to the quarterfinals, where Hungary won a bitter, violent game 4-2, and came into the 1958 tournament as Brazil's main playmaker.
Didi was irrepressible, setting up Vava's opener against the USSR, and then played the final pass to set up Pele's first World Cup goal, in the quarterfinal against Wales. His last act in Brazil's triumph was another assist, this time in the final against Sweden, a beautifully flighted cross that Pele leapt at and looped lightly over the keeper and into the far corner.
16. Lothar Matthaus: Like Franz Beckenbauer before him, Lothar Matthaus began his career as a midfielder and ended it essaying the sweeper role. But unlike the Kaiser, Matthaus is better remembered for his days as a box-to-box marauder.
Blessed with a massive engine, Matthaus could run all day, closing down opponents and winning the ball spectacularly in midfield. He was equally adept when in possession, a visionary passer with the capacity to surprise opponents with sudden bursts through midfield.
In the 1986 final, he was assigned the job of marking Diego Maradona, and while restricting the Argentinean's slaloming runs effectively, he couldn't prevent a 3-2 defeat. In 1990, Matthaus was in his pomp, scoring four goals from midfield as Germany marched to its third title.
15. Socrates: Gaunt, bearded, and possessing a degree in medicine, Socrates was at the heart of the Brazil team that lit up the 1982 World Cup with its jogo bonito. The most cerebral of an expressive midfield quintet (far removed from five-man midfields assigned the task of disrupting opponents' attacks) whose other members were Cerezo, Falcao, Eder, and Zico, Socrates scored two superb goals in the tournament.
Against the USSR, he strode nimbly past two opponents in midfield and fired home the equaliser in a 2-1 win, and then, in the doomed 3-2 second group stage loss to Italy, combined with Zico in a one-two spanning more or less the entire length of the pitch before slotting coolly past Dino Zoff.
Socrates scored two more goals in the 1986 World Cup, before missing his kick in the shoot out in the quarterfinal defeat by France. He retired three years later to study for a doctorate in philosophy.
14. Paolo Rossi: It is Italy's misfortune that its World Cup win of 1982 is associated with cynical defensive play. Free-flowing Brazil, say the romantics, should have won the Cup. These easy stereotypes do an injustice to Italy's players, particularly to the striker Paolo Rossi, who scored a hat-trick in a pulsating 3-2 win that knocked Brazil out in the second group stage, and then scored Italy's next three goals — two in the semifinal against Poland and the first of Italy's three goals in the final against Germany.
Rossi, a slight, unimposing figure, relied on subtlety and off-the-ball movement to get him into goal scoring positions, and had remarkable composure in one-on-one situations. His Golden Boot-winning performance in 1982 was remarkable, considering he came into the tournament after completing a two-year ban for his involvement in a betting scandal.
13. Eusebio: Africa's first football hero, Eusebio was born in Mozambique, then a Portuguese colony, and represented Portugal with great success. The Black Pearl was a supremely gifted athlete with sure touch and agility, capable of turning and accelerating past opponents in a flash. By the time the 1966 World Cup came around, he was already a superstar, holder of the Ballon d'Or and European Cup winner with Benfica.
Eusebio won the Golden Boot at the World Cup, netting nine goals in all, including four in Portugal's 5-3 win over North Korea, a game in which his team came back from 3-0 down.
In the semifinal against England, he was kept quiet by the shadowy presence of Nobby Stiles, but got on the score-sheet with an 82nd minute penalty in a 2-1 defeat.
12. Gordon Banks: Pele scored four times in the 1970 World Cup, but his three misses in the tournament will remain etched in memory longer than his goals. One was from the halfway line, another slid just wide after he'd dummied the keeper, and the third was an astonishing save from Gordon Banks, the undisputed ‘save of the century.'
Right winger Jairzinho had looped a cross over the England penalty area, and Banks was momentarily caught at the near post. Pele's header was firm, and directed downwards, to the opposite corner from Banks. Just as he wheeled away in celebration, Pele saw a ghostly figure move across his field of vision, a quick step to the right followed by a giant dive, and tip the ball, on the bounce, over the crossbar.
Banks was, of course, one of the stars of England's 1966 victory, and was the greatest goalkeeper of his time. Just over six feet tall, he wasn't particularly massive by goalkeeping standards. But he was extremely agile, and had lightning reflexes. What set him apart more than anything else was his anticipation — he divined what strikers would do, an instant before it happened.
11. Bobby Moore: England's legendary centre back and captain Bobby Moore was at the heart of its sole title triumph, in 1966. The elegant Moore, alongside the less refined, harder-tackling Jack Charlton, formed a formidable partnership in the centre of England's defence in the tournament. Moore also played a critical role going forward, evidenced by his quick free kick to set up Geoff Hurst's equaliser in the final against Germany.
10. Lev Yashin: Lev Yashin was Russia's first international footballing superstar, a goalkeeper acknowledged by everyone to be the best in the world. Goalkeepers don't win too many accolades in the normal course of events, and so Yashin winning the 1963 Ballon d'Or testified to his unrivalled skills.
Yashin was a pioneer — he was the first keeper to come off his line routinely to pluck crosses out of the air, and the first to act as a sweeper. The distinctive black-clad figure rendered goalmouths impenetrable in three World Cups, and was the primary cause for the USSR's quarter-final appearances in 1958 and 1962, and a semi-final entry in 1966.
To be continued
Photos: AFP
