Lionel Messi Not the Greatest Of All Time
Lionel Messi has
ascended at last to football's celestial rostrum, his elevation authenticated
in the most scintillating of all World Cup Finals.
Amid the
heart-stopping euphoria of Sunday night in Qatar, the emotional outpouring to
acclaim him as the Greatest Of All Time was inevitable.
As the sands
of that eye-scorching desert storm settle on Doha, time to calibrate the exact
position the little maestro now occupies in that divine triumvirate. The
crystal reality, for this genius of his generation, is third in history.
One behind
his iconic Argentine brother in golden boots Diego Maradona, who adorned
similar artistry to Messi with dynamic after-burners of physical power and
electrifying pace over long as well as short distances.
Still
standing supreme over all is Pele.
The three
World Cups – against one - and the thousand goals pre-eminent beyond rational
dispute. Beyond that the god of the beautiful game, first Christened Edson
Arantes do Nascimento, was the ultimate.
Just as
magical as Messi on the ball, unstoppable strike force reinforced by raw
courage, totally two-footed, phenomenal in the air, MENSA intelligence. In
short, the complete footballer. Alone in his absolute perfection. The GOAT.
That
judgement may sit easier on Messi now he has seen off beyond sensible argument
the challenge of Cristiano Ronaldo as the finest player on the planet today.
As with the
selection of all-time world and England teams, as well as the cataloguing of
most exceptional Finals, these assessments are divined from more than half a century
of reporting World Cups, Euros, European-Cups-cum-Champions Leagues and
thousands upon thousands of FA Cup Finals and League games.
The
magnificent elevens require some defensive balance along with finding
For younger
readers, herewith a few insights into some of the other immortal names.
Garrincha is
regarded by millions of Brazilians as even greater than Pele and his mesmeric
conjuring of a football did have the more direct impact on most of their World
Cups.
Alfredo Di
Stefano, the third almighty Argentine, orchestrated from midfield the greatest
of all club teams. That first incarnation of Real Madrid. Scoring goals by the
bundles into his brilliance.
Johan Cruyff
was the embodiment of the Total Football played by Holland's golden generation.
John Charles
was a colossus, as majestic at centre-forward as he was monumental at
centre-half.
I was
honoured by a close up view of his magnificence when playing with him in a
testimonial match one wet night at Reading FC.
Towards the
end Rod Stewart – yes, that Rod Stewart - went haring down the right wing. As
his long, high cross came looping over I found myself in space at the far post,
expecting the ball to clear the melee in the penalty area and fall to me as a
chance at goal.
Through the
gloom this giant figure soared above the crossbar and that anvil of a forehead
thundered in the third goal of his hat-trick.
As he landed
Big John turned, patted me on the head and said: 'Sorry, boyo. I couldn't
resist it.'
No more than
opponents of Wales, Leeds and Juventus – where he was deified in Italy - could
resist him.
George Best,
the fifth Beatle of the Beatle age, was poetry in motion. Courageous to the
point of luring the most fearsome defenders into lunges which he eluded as he
darted away to take and make goals.
No slouch
defensively, either. After he ran riot at Anfield one Saturday afternoon
legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly ruminated: 'Aye, wee Georgie. All that
and the deepest tackler in the game.'
Ferenc
Puskas, check the near-goal-a-game career record. Di Stefano's henchman at Real
Madrid. Leader of the first foreign storming of Fortress Wembley - 6-3 for
Hungary's mighty Magyars – followed by a 7-1 slaughter of England six months
later in Budapest.
Greatest Of
All Time List
1) Pele
2) Diego
Maradona
3) Lionel
Messi
4) Garrincha
5) Alfredo
Di Stefans
6) Johan
Cruyff
7) John
Charles
8) George
Best
9) Cristiano
Ronald
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