Ok so basically I was pondering life and football while I was brewing my coffee, as one does. While the coffee smell filled the air I for some reason began to think about Socrates, which led me to think about past world cups. Which led me to attempt to put together a World Cup XI. What I realised is that a World Cup XI, although it will have many of the same players, is always subjective. So maybe it will make for some interesting pondering for you as well.
Rules are simple. Must have played in a World Cup (obviously), and you should be able to write a line or two as to why you chose this player. Formation is free for all.
My Pick:
Gordon Banks
Lillian Thuram -- Beckenbauer -- Baresi -- Maldini
Lothar Matthäus -- Marco Tardelli
Garrincha -- Maradona -- Socrates
Eusebio
I realise the majority of these players are fairly "modern", but that's because I'm young and the few world cups I've watched matches of in their entirety on video have been "special" ones (86, 82, 70, 66).
Why I chose them:
Gordon Banks - That save against Pelé. Well not only that, but how can you exclude the best save ever made in a world cup? Banks was solid throughout the world cup though and saved England against Portugal on numerous occasions. He may have had a world class defence ahead of him, possibly the best in the world at the time, but when it came down to it they could always rely on Banks. Against the best striker a world cup has ever seen (Eusebio) he stood firm, except for that penalty that is.
Lillian Thuram - I honestly had trouble picking a right back. There are plenty og Brazilians that have done well in this position, probably most notably Carlos Alberto. But I've always prefered my fullback to be a defender first and foremost, and that's what Thuram was. In the 98 world cup he was as important as Zinedine Zidane, playing both at right back and in the centre, and providing a sturdy defence to France's impressive attacking prowess.
Franz Bekcenbauer - Although it might be more fair to stick him a little further up the pitch. He was quite frankly sensational. Whenever W.Germany were defending he'd drop behind the defence and ensure that no one ran behind them to take the goalkeeper by surprise, he defended like an Italian, ensuring that teams didn't break though and that is high praise indeed. However his "magic" actually came from the times W.Germany were on the attack. In the '66 World Cup they would pass the ball back to the defense when they got it, and "der Kaiser" would begin the attack. He'd go from defending bravely, to orchestrating and setting up W.Germany's attacks in the blink of an eye. Charging out from his defensive position behind the defence he'd receive the ball, play it on, get it back, and set up a goal/score a goal/start an attack. Pure magic to watch.
Franco Baresi - As I've noted I'm quite keen on Italian defenders. They have a certain tactical ability that other defenders lack, and Baresi is no exception. Considering Franz is likely to go forward A LOT, I wanted a defender that could hold his own against anyone, and Baresi is that man. Although his achievements in the WC never quite lived up to a couple of others it was rarely his fault that Italy lost a match.
Paolo Maldini - He could play on the left, he could play in the centre, he could pass, he could cross, he could head. The man had it all. Only bad luck stood in his way of a world cup title, particulary a penalty shoot out against Brazil in 1994, in a match where he had been instrumental in keeping Romario quiet. His defensive ability makes him the perfect man to hang back causing this team to defend with 3 while "der Kaiser" does his thing.
Lothar Matthäus - I actually thought about sticking Falcao there, cause I like him a lot more than Matthãus, but even I with my slight anti-german bias had to admit that Matthäus was one hell of a player. If you have someone like Franz running up and down all the time, it's fairly useful to have a defensive midfielder in your ranks that can stop nearly any attack before it begins. I am still convinced that England would have gone through to the final in 1990, if it hadn't been for Matthäus. He was a rock in that midfield.
Marco Tardelli - Next to Matthäus I've chosen another defensive rock. Italy's Marco Tardelli. Although he was largely a defensive midfielder who would hassle the opponnent into submission, he did have a tendency to pop out of nowhere and score some vital goals. Didn't have the best of times against Brazil, but he was one of the main proponents to why Italy won the tournament that year, playing a blinder in the final and scoring an all important 2nd goal that slightly deflated the West Germans.
Garrincha - In terms of attacking I wanted flair, passing ability, and simple genius. Garrincha fits the bill perfectly. Easily one of the main reasons why Pelé did as well as he did in his career, he was a fantastic dribbler with technique that reminds you of Ronaldinho at his best, and could find space in the attack as few others. Rivaldo and Zico were argueably "better" players, but for Garrincha's entertaining technique and superb movement I have to go with him.
Diego Maradona - The best individual performance in a World Cup. He may have started slow in 1986, although he was still very good, but he really picked it up in the later stages of the tournament to give us a world cup display we probably never will see replicated ever again. His ability on the ball, his dribbling, his playmaking, his goalscoring.
Lionel Messi might be fantastic for Barcelona, in fact I might argue he's currently a better player on club leve than Maradona, but imagine him doing what he does there every week during one glorious tournament. That's what Maradona did in the world cup of 1986. Although Argentina had a good squad and he certainly wasn't "alone". There was simply no contest, there was no "Argentina", there was only Diego Maradona.
His game against England is still refered to as the match of "heaven and hell". Refering to one of the greatest goals to ever be scored, representing heaven, and a handball goal, representing hell.
Sócrates - Sócrates might be the least obvious choice on this list really. He never won the world cup, and he never achieved much at all with Brazil. What he did though was to bring "art" to a new level in football. A type of artistic football that you couldn't help to smile at. He had a vision, a philosophy of how to play football that made even the dutch look slightly cynical. Play football for the beauty of the game, not to win, not to beat the opposition, but for entertainment. If only in an attempt to bring his vision into my team I'd want him with me.
Eusebio - For me he is the best striker the world has seen. In 1966 he made Pelé look like a second rate striker, and that is no small achievment. The 1966 world cup was in many ways the opposite of the 1982 world cup. A lot of "ugly" football, bad challenges and rather terrible refeering marred the tournament. Eusebio, with all his strength, pace and ability was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise "dark" tournament. Playing for a very solid and physically strong Portugal side, he dominated up front. Sometimes winning matches relatively on his own. I would contend that if Eusebio had been Brazilian, he would have won more world cups than Pelé.
Rules are simple. Must have played in a World Cup (obviously), and you should be able to write a line or two as to why you chose this player. Formation is free for all.
My Pick:
Gordon Banks
Lillian Thuram -- Beckenbauer -- Baresi -- Maldini
Lothar Matthäus -- Marco Tardelli
Garrincha -- Maradona -- Socrates
Eusebio
I realise the majority of these players are fairly "modern", but that's because I'm young and the few world cups I've watched matches of in their entirety on video have been "special" ones (86, 82, 70, 66).
Why I chose them:
Gordon Banks - That save against Pelé. Well not only that, but how can you exclude the best save ever made in a world cup? Banks was solid throughout the world cup though and saved England against Portugal on numerous occasions. He may have had a world class defence ahead of him, possibly the best in the world at the time, but when it came down to it they could always rely on Banks. Against the best striker a world cup has ever seen (Eusebio) he stood firm, except for that penalty that is.
Lillian Thuram - I honestly had trouble picking a right back. There are plenty og Brazilians that have done well in this position, probably most notably Carlos Alberto. But I've always prefered my fullback to be a defender first and foremost, and that's what Thuram was. In the 98 world cup he was as important as Zinedine Zidane, playing both at right back and in the centre, and providing a sturdy defence to France's impressive attacking prowess.
Franz Bekcenbauer - Although it might be more fair to stick him a little further up the pitch. He was quite frankly sensational. Whenever W.Germany were defending he'd drop behind the defence and ensure that no one ran behind them to take the goalkeeper by surprise, he defended like an Italian, ensuring that teams didn't break though and that is high praise indeed. However his "magic" actually came from the times W.Germany were on the attack. In the '66 World Cup they would pass the ball back to the defense when they got it, and "der Kaiser" would begin the attack. He'd go from defending bravely, to orchestrating and setting up W.Germany's attacks in the blink of an eye. Charging out from his defensive position behind the defence he'd receive the ball, play it on, get it back, and set up a goal/score a goal/start an attack. Pure magic to watch.
Franco Baresi - As I've noted I'm quite keen on Italian defenders. They have a certain tactical ability that other defenders lack, and Baresi is no exception. Considering Franz is likely to go forward A LOT, I wanted a defender that could hold his own against anyone, and Baresi is that man. Although his achievements in the WC never quite lived up to a couple of others it was rarely his fault that Italy lost a match.
Paolo Maldini - He could play on the left, he could play in the centre, he could pass, he could cross, he could head. The man had it all. Only bad luck stood in his way of a world cup title, particulary a penalty shoot out against Brazil in 1994, in a match where he had been instrumental in keeping Romario quiet. His defensive ability makes him the perfect man to hang back causing this team to defend with 3 while "der Kaiser" does his thing.
Lothar Matthäus - I actually thought about sticking Falcao there, cause I like him a lot more than Matthãus, but even I with my slight anti-german bias had to admit that Matthäus was one hell of a player. If you have someone like Franz running up and down all the time, it's fairly useful to have a defensive midfielder in your ranks that can stop nearly any attack before it begins. I am still convinced that England would have gone through to the final in 1990, if it hadn't been for Matthäus. He was a rock in that midfield.
Marco Tardelli - Next to Matthäus I've chosen another defensive rock. Italy's Marco Tardelli. Although he was largely a defensive midfielder who would hassle the opponnent into submission, he did have a tendency to pop out of nowhere and score some vital goals. Didn't have the best of times against Brazil, but he was one of the main proponents to why Italy won the tournament that year, playing a blinder in the final and scoring an all important 2nd goal that slightly deflated the West Germans.
Garrincha - In terms of attacking I wanted flair, passing ability, and simple genius. Garrincha fits the bill perfectly. Easily one of the main reasons why Pelé did as well as he did in his career, he was a fantastic dribbler with technique that reminds you of Ronaldinho at his best, and could find space in the attack as few others. Rivaldo and Zico were argueably "better" players, but for Garrincha's entertaining technique and superb movement I have to go with him.
Diego Maradona - The best individual performance in a World Cup. He may have started slow in 1986, although he was still very good, but he really picked it up in the later stages of the tournament to give us a world cup display we probably never will see replicated ever again. His ability on the ball, his dribbling, his playmaking, his goalscoring.
Lionel Messi might be fantastic for Barcelona, in fact I might argue he's currently a better player on club leve than Maradona, but imagine him doing what he does there every week during one glorious tournament. That's what Maradona did in the world cup of 1986. Although Argentina had a good squad and he certainly wasn't "alone". There was simply no contest, there was no "Argentina", there was only Diego Maradona.
His game against England is still refered to as the match of "heaven and hell". Refering to one of the greatest goals to ever be scored, representing heaven, and a handball goal, representing hell.
Sócrates - Sócrates might be the least obvious choice on this list really. He never won the world cup, and he never achieved much at all with Brazil. What he did though was to bring "art" to a new level in football. A type of artistic football that you couldn't help to smile at. He had a vision, a philosophy of how to play football that made even the dutch look slightly cynical. Play football for the beauty of the game, not to win, not to beat the opposition, but for entertainment. If only in an attempt to bring his vision into my team I'd want him with me.
Eusebio - For me he is the best striker the world has seen. In 1966 he made Pelé look like a second rate striker, and that is no small achievment. The 1966 world cup was in many ways the opposite of the 1982 world cup. A lot of "ugly" football, bad challenges and rather terrible refeering marred the tournament. Eusebio, with all his strength, pace and ability was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise "dark" tournament. Playing for a very solid and physically strong Portugal side, he dominated up front. Sometimes winning matches relatively on his own. I would contend that if Eusebio had been Brazilian, he would have won more world cups than Pelé.
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. He captained Italy during the 2002 World Cup at 33 and was probably one of their best players, Italy, like Spain, were knocked out controversially against South Korea but already in the round of 16.
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Socrates, Zico and the Brazil team of 1982