Greatest Soccer Legends

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. In Europe soccer is one of the biggest businesses and it’s a part of daily life. The popularity of soccer is partly due to some of greatest soccer legends who played this sport like no one else before them. They have forever left their mark on the sport and on millions of fans who consider them role models. In the paragraphs below I have decided to name who I think the greatest soccer players of all time are:

1. Diego Armando Maradona: Many consider him as the greatest football player of all time along with the Brazilian Pele. Maradona made his reputation especially from the games he played for his national team, Argentina. In 1986, Maradona almost single-handedly won the second World Cup in Argentina’s history. He scored five goals, one of which is considered to be the greatest goal in the history of the competition. In the game against England he took the ball from his own half, and didn’t stop until the ball was in the net, dribbling half of the English players, along with the goalkeeper. In the same game against England, Maradona scored the most controversial goal in World Cup history after jumping for the ball with the English goalkeeper, and hitting it with his hand. The referee didn’t see the hand ball and the goal was validated and was later dubbed as “the hand of God”. He led the Argentine national team to the next final in 1990, but they lost against the Germans. At the next World Cup in 1994 Maradona was discovered positive for drug abuse, and after this episode retired. Argentina went on to be eliminated by Romania after the group stage in that World Cup. At club level Maradona played for Boca Juniors in his native country, after which at 21 years of age he was transferred to Barcelona for a then record breaking fee of five million pounds. He helped the team win the league and a cup, and after two years he went on to be transferred by the Italian team Napoli for a new record of almost seven million pounds. There he reached his peak and helped the team win their only two league titles in history, along with a UEFA cup, and an Italian Cup. After his suspension for cocaine abuse he played for a short period for Seville, and after returned to Argentina where he finished his carrier at Boca Juniors. Maradona is without a doubt one of the world’s greatest soccer legends.

2. Pele: Pele is considered by most experts as the greatest soccer player of all time. His greatest achievements revolve around the national team of Brazil for whom he was the star of in their golden period when they won three World Cups, in 1958, 1962, and 1970, out of four tournaments. For his national team he managed to score a total of 77 goals, in a period where international games weren’t as often as today, playing 92 games. His club carrier was marked by one team Santos for which he played for almost all his carrier. At 35 years of age, Pele came out of semi-retirement, after not playing for two years, to join the New York Cosmos, in order to popularize soccer in the USA. This was a real image boost for the newly formed North American Soccer league. Pele is definitely one of the world’s greatest soccer legends.

3. Johann Cruyff: Along with Pele and Maradona, Cruyff is one of the world’s greatest soccer legends. His carrier was marked by two major European teams, Ajax and Barcelona, for which he played the longest period of time. He started football at Ajax, and is considered the club’s greatest product. He was the star of the most offensive soccer team in history, the Netherland national team at the World Cup in 1974. They were beaten in the final by the hosts, West Germany, but the Netherland team is still remembered for their so called “total football”. Cruyff’s carrier was marked also by acts of indiscipline, not only by his immense talent, being the first player to receive a red card in the history of the Netherland national team. He received a one year suspension for this act by the Dutch federation. Regardless of his behavior, Cruyff was one of the greatest talents in the history of the sport being named Footballer of the year for a record three times.

Many players have played this sport with great skill and determination, but these three are for me the greatest soccer legends of all time. Even though both Maradona and to some extent Cruyff as well were anything but a role model in the way they acted outside the pitch, during a game they held the fascination of fans of all ages, because of their incredible skill and immense talent.

Greatest Soccer Legends

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