The great and good of the game were asked to choose their best XI in the history of football – and have found no room for Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo.
The team, put together by World Soccer magazine after votes from journalists, managers and former players from across the globe, did, however, find space for the unsettled Ronaldo’s biggest rival – Barcelona’s Lionel Messi – who takes his place up front alongside Argentinian compatriot Diego Maradona and Brazilian legend Pele.
The voters were asked to pick a team in a 4-4-2 formation and a team filled with sublime talent – and notable absentees including Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Eusebio and George Best – emerged.
England have one representative in the XI, with the country’s only World Cup-winning captain, Bobby Moore, partnering Franz Beckenbauer in the centre of a star-studded defence that boasts Brazil’s Cafu at right-back and five-time European Cup winner Paulo Maldini at left- back.
In goal, former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel and Italian great Dino Zoff are both overlooked in favour of Lev Yashin of the Soviet Union, who won the Ballon d’Or in 1963 and is believed to have saved over 150 penalties in his career.
The midfield is packed with breathtaking, attacking talent. Former Real Madrid idols Zinedine Zidane and Alfredo Di Stefano are joined by Dutch master Johan Cruyff, with Maradona making up the tantalising quartet. There is little thought of a holding midfielder to keep the balance in there – but you can’t imagine this XI allowing another team a sniff at the ball.
Up front, the two players widely considered as the most gifted in the game’s illustrious history – Messi and Pele – who have over 1000 career goals between them, were voted in!
The Greatest XI
Lev Yashin – USSR – goalkeeper
The only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d’Or, Yashin was a one-club man for Dynamo Moscow but it was on the international scene that his reputation was made.
The Soviet stopper, nicknamed the “Black Spider”, is rumoured to have made over 150 penalty saves and kept over 270 clean sheets in a career spanning 22 seasons. He starred at three World Cups, and won an Olympic Gold medal in 1956 followed by the European Championships in 1960 with the USSR.
Cafu – Brazil – defender
This whippet of a full-back was wonderfully Brazilian, combining pace and tenacity with unrivalled technical ability. Twice a World Cup winner – in 1994 and 2002 – Cafu is Brazil’s most-capped player, making 142 appearances for the national team. He achieved success in Europe with Roma and AC Milan, including a Champions League triumph with the Milanese side in 2007.
Bobby Moore – England – defender
The only England captain to lift the World Cup but the West Ham legend’s talents were appreciated across the globe. Pele refers to Moore as the toughest defender he has played against. Franz Beckenbauer ranks him the “best defender in the history of the game”. Jock Stein joked: “There should be a law against him. He knows what’s happening 20 minutes before everyone else.” And what of those who played alongside him? Bobby Charlton says: ‘‘It was beautiful to look at him when he played. Nobody tackled him. He just oozed class.”
Franz Beckenbauer – Germany – defender
“Der Kaiser” is widely regarded as the greatest German to have graced the game. The only man to have won the World Cup as both a player and a manager – for West Germany in 1974 and 1990 – Beckenbauer re-invented the sweeper role, capable of pulling the strings from deep or surging out of defence. Oh, and his club record wasn’t too shabby – notching up four Bundesliga titles and three European Cups with Bayern Munich in the 1970s.
Paolo Maldini – Italy – defender
In more than 900 appearances for AC Milan, the defender can count five European Cups and seven Serie A titles among the 26 trophies he won in a 25-year career at his only club. He competed at four World Cups and made 126 appearances for Italy before retiring from international duty in 2002. In 2007, Sir Alex Ferguson described Maldini as his favourite player of recent times.
Alfredo Di Stefano – Real Madrid – complete footballer
His true impact came with the brilliant Real Madrid team of the 1950s, scoring 307 goals for the club and winning five consecutive European Cups between 1956 and 1960. The history books tell us he was a forward but many regard Di Stefano as the most complete player in the history of the game. The player himself said: “We are all footballers, and as such should be able to perform competently in all 11 positions.'
Johan Cruyff – Holland – midfielder
A three-time winner of the Ballon d’Or – 1971, 1973 and 1974 – Cruyff was appreciated as one of the key innovators of Total Football. He won a host of league titles and European Cups with Ajax and Barcelona, but was unable to guide Holland to glory in the World Cup or European Championship. His legacy lives on, with children across the globe attempting to recreate his exciting brand of football and of course, the Cruyff turn.
Zinedine Zidane – France – midfielder
Skilful and powerful, Zidane won all there is to win in the game, with league titles at Juventus and Real Madrid while the Frenchman scored the goal that won Madrid the Champions League in 2002 with an exquisite volley against Bayer Leverkusen. Zidane’s star also shone in the international arena as he led his country to glory at France ’98 and Euro 2000. His career would end in shame, though, when he was sent off in his final game, the World Cup final, for a head-butt on Italy’s Marco Materazzi.
Diego Maradona – Argentina – forward
The Argentine was technically outstanding and a small but physical build meant that he was unstoppable when dribbling with the ball. His stunning, solo goal against England at the 1986 World Cup embodied all that was good about Maradona, and he singlehandedly led Argentina to World Cup success in 1986. He dazzled, too, at Napoli and Barcelona but failed a drugs test and was banned for 15 months in 1991. After that, his career petered out a little and he was sent home from the 1994 World Cup in the US after another doping controversy. Good with his hands, too!
Pele – Brazil – forward
The world’s greatest player and you will be hard pushed to look past the first Samba superstar, Pele. The Brazilian played for Santos for 18 years, scoring an extraordinary 619 league goals and more than 1000 in his career. His worldwide prominence, though, was achieved through his scintillating performances at World Cups, with Pele central to the Brazilian success in 1958,1962 and 1970. Sir Bobby Charlton said football was “invented for this magical player” and Johan Cruyff claimed that “Pele was the only footballer who surpassed the boundaries of logic”.
Lionel Messi – Argentina – forward
The only current footballer to make the team, Barcelona’s magnificent forward has shattered all records in the last few years. At the age of 26 – when ordinarily most players would just be entering their prime – Messi has already won six La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues with Barca. On a personal level, he has won three consecutive Ballon d’Or awards and became the Catalan side’s leading goalscorer. The genius also broke the record for the most goals scored in a calendar year, sailing past Gerd Muller’s record to score 91 goals in 2012. Despite being Argentina’s second-highest goalscorer, passing Maradona’s 34-goal haul earlier this year, his critics claim that he has yet to have a real impact on a World Cup. Gate-crashing Brazil’s party in 2014 would be one way to put an end to those accusations. – Daily Mail