The World Cup is on its way, and there’s a lot of news and speculation about the players that should lead their nations to victory. There are many differences between players today and a couple of decades ago. The whole game was different, with many goals and tolerance for fouls.
People still remember players like Zidane, Garrincha, Cafu, Beckenbauer, Ronaldo, and others who changed the game in their way. This info might not be very valuable regarding World Cup predictions, but you can know how a certain player can change the game’s outcome.
Zinedine Zidane – France
France had some amazing players in the past, and after winning the World Cup in 2018, they proved to be one of the favorites in the upcoming years. Mbappe is one of the players who can be compared to Zidane because he’s the one who turns the game around. But, if something Zidane is famous for, it’s the dramatic situation he was in against Italy in 2006.
This was one of the anticipated matches those years because it was the last game of his career, and he decided at one point that no one could verbally assault him. This decision made him hit an Italian player with his head, which resulted in a direct red card, leaving the field forever as a professional player.
Ronaldo – Brazil
One of Brazil’s best players is Ronaldo, famous for his strong shooting. An interesting thing about him is that in 94′ he didn’t play a single minute in the World Cup, and four years later, he became the best player in the world.
Besides being the best player, he loved doing crazy things like the haircut he had during the qualifications in Asia. He left only a small amount of hair while cutting everything off.
Even if he was a fun guy, his free kicks were out of the world. His most popular free kick was against France, where he curved the ball so much that many people thought it wasn’t impossible.
Diego Maradona
For many fans, Maradona and Pele were the best players ever, even if most people didn’t have the opportunity to watch Pele play. Most of the stories are told from one person to another, and you can find only a small number of films about Pele. On the other hand, Maradona was born 20 years later, during the era when soccer had become even more popular.
He became popular during the 60s’, but he had a huge problem with drugs. No one knew that he would take it during the games to increase his adrenalin, resulting in some amazing performances. He said he wasn’t using it for his whole career except for a short period during the highest points.
Pele – Brazil
Most talented players come from Brazil because they have a unique approach to soccer, where dribbling the ball is the game’s main point. Nowadays, people focus more on tactics instead of showing their skills with the ball. Pele was one of the youngest players who became popular during the World Cup. He was only 17 in 1958 when he played his first national game.
He had an injury after the first Cup, but it was an amazing performance from a 17-year-old. Scoring a hat-trick in the semi-finals and scoring again in the finals was everything a Brazilian fan wanted.
After he returned to the field and played the World Cup again in 1970, he proved that he was the best player of that time by scoring amazing goals and writing history. Other great players, including Miroslav Klose, Franz Beckenbauer, Cafu, and others, should be on the list.
