The FIFA World Cup has been a part of building and exhibiting exceptional football talents since time immemorial. Even though the Argentine and the Portuguese are often touted as the best players of our time, choosing the best player in World Cup history is a different matter and one that has to be contextualized. To answer the question of who warrants this honor, one needs to evaluate the contributions of the great footballers in question throughout the various periods of the event and their significance to the tournament and their respective teams.
This 17-year-old active player, in 1958, tore onto the scene as one of the football players making an entrance during the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, marking a long and ascendant success journey that earned him three World Cup victories, namely in 1958, 1962, and 1970. His impressive ability to adapt to all sorts of pressures associated with the game, evidenced by registering a hat-trick in the semifinal match against France and scoring two more in the final game against Sweden, brought him fame and glory. Pele also went beyond the sport and transcended into making football a global culture, like how, nowadays, football fans are drawn into the culture of sports betting. The fact that, around the world, MelBet online site integrates its activities with sports adds to fans’ activation efforts by making sports betting readily available. His legacy, therefore, is not only the records that he achieved but also how he made the game of football a language spoken in every corner of the world.
The name Diego Maradona will always be associated with the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. His individual performance at the tournament is often rated as one of the best, if not the best, in the history of football World Cup tournaments. After all, Maradona’s technique and instincts were on full display, especially in the quarterfinal against England. He scored not just the most controversial of ‘Hand of God’ goals but also what is termed as the historic ‘Goal of the Century.’ It was due to his leadership and extraordinary play on the field that Argentina lifted their second World Cup title and cemented his position among the legends in the game of football.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who captured a global audience in recent decades, are the two players who have enjoyed record-breaking careers in club competitions. Relatively, their successes at the World Cup have been quite elusive. Messi came the closest in 2014 when Argentina advanced to the final against Germany but lost. Ronaldo has never made it past the Portuguese quarterfinals. There is no denying the fact that both players have managed to create some highlights, yet they have not been able to replicate the level of achievements of the likes of Pele and Diego Maradona.
Zinedine Zidane’s association with the World Cup is either a source of glory or agony. The French midfielder became the main man who envisioned the French National Team lifting the World Cup for the very first time in the 1998 World Cup, where he netted two goals in the final against Brazil. Unfortunately for Zidane, he also had his own dark hour when, in the final against Italy in 2006, he was red-carded after headbutting Marco Materazzi. However, this does not take away Zidane’s place in the history of the World Cup.
Statistics play an essential role in determining the best player in the history of World Cups. The table below illustrates the World Cup records of some of the greatest players:
When attached to a compilation of goal statistics, Pele and Messi seem prominent, with 12 and 13 goals, respectively. However, not many pay attention to Miroslav Klose, who owns the historical record for most goals, with a total of 16 in four World Cups, even if he does not reach the level of those two. This statement also stresses not only the need to participate in many tournaments but also the need to deliver by scoring consistently.
Goals are important, but they definitely are not the only criteria to gauge the greatness of a player. A player’s assists and general contribution to the game are also significant. We have Maradona with eight assists and Zidane mastering the game as examples of how these players excelled beyond scoring. Their playmaking capabilities and vision were crucial to the success of their teams, thereby proving that the greatest players in the World Cup were the most well-rounded players.
A single shining star is significant, but the contribution a player makes to the team is equally significant. Pele, for example, played in a strong Brazilian team, even though it was his leadership that earned them the glory. In the same way, the presence of Maradona saw Argentina emerge victorious in the 1986 event.
Below is a summary of all the players one shall find referred to as the galactic players who dragged their various teams to win the World Cup.
These players showed great individual performance and helped other players perform better.
It is a difficult task to define a winner of the rating of the best player in the history of the World Cups as it depends on numerous factors: talent, team performance, consistency, and the impact left on football. Messi and Ronaldo are some of the best footballers ever lived, but their World Cup records are also good, though not better than Pele and Maradona’s.
The IFFHS often ranks Pele as the best World Cup player because the Brazilian has won three titles and has influenced the competition a lot. The genius of Maradona also conveys his individual performances during the 1986 Soccer World Cup, and he is one of the best.
Finally, we will always have Messi and Ronaldo’s names on our lips, but Pele and Maradona will forever be etched in the World Cup. The World Cup is not about an individual hero. It is about raising a team, a country, and sometimes even the footballing world. In this regard, let it be said that there will never be any other player in the history of World Cup football who will be compared to Pele and Maradona.
