From the Brazilian “king” Pelé, the only player to win 3 World Cups, to the French Zinedine Zidane, happy and sad in the final, the matches of the FIFA World Cup have become legends whose name has been written in the history of the game.
And the French news agency reviewed the ideal squad (from retirees) throughout the history of the World Cup, which included stars who made history in the world’s first football tournament.
That’s why the squad didn’t include Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who haven’t retired yet.
The ideal training:
Gordon Banks, Cafu, Franz Beckenbauer, Fabio Cannavaro, Roberto Carlos, Zinedine Zidane, Andres Iniesta, Diego Maradona, Pele, Miroslav Klose, Ronaldo.
Gordon Banks (England)
Although a goalkeeper for modest clubs (Leicester City and Stoke City), this Englishman was crowned world champion in the 1966 World Cup, and was famous for his “miraculous” save against Pele in 1970. The Brazilian said about it : “I scored a goal today, but Banks blocked it.”
Cafu and Roberto Carlos (Brazil)
These two Brazilians revolutionized the full-back position by greatly improving his attacking role, and Cafu scored the “richest” in the World Cup by winning the 1994 and 2002 World Cups, while Roberto Carlos settled for the 2002 title when Cafu he was the captain of the national team, and together they lost the 1998 World Cup final against France (nil-3).
Franz Beckenbauer (Germany)
The “inventor” of the Libero Center, the “Cesare” left one of the immortal images of the World Cup after finishing the “match of the century” that Germany lost against Italy (3-4 after extension) at the 1970 World Cup semifinals with bandaged hand.
After 4 years, he managed to lift the World Cup at home when the “realism” of “De Manshaft” managed to destroy the love between the Dutch national team and Johan Cruyff (2-1).
Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)
The perfect example of an Italian defender, always perfectly positioned, always focused and ‘bad’ when needed. The captain of the “Azzurri”, 2006 championship against France and Zidane (5-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw).
Zinedine Zidane (France)
He made history thanks to a brace, and came away with a red card. Zizou shares two records: the number of goals in the finals (3), equal to the English Geoff Hurst and the Brazilians Fava and Pelé, and the goals scored in two finals.
Two headers against Brazil in the 1998 final and a penalty kick in the “Panenka” way in the 2006 final against the Italian Gianluigi Buffon. He is also the only player with the Cameroonian Rigobert Song to have been sent off twice at the World Cup: in 1998 against Saudi Arabia and in the 2006 final after he “broke through” the Italian Marco Materazzi.
Iniesta (Spain)
The Barcelona player has raised the bar on simplifying football, as he is a living example of the ‘tiki-taka’ of his former club Barcelona. He scored the winning goal for his country in the 2010 World Cup final against the Netherlands (1-0) before the end of extra time.
Diego Maradona (Argentina)
He established his dominance at the 1986 World Cup where he led his country to the title. At the peak of his football in Mexico, he led “Albiceleste” to the final and victory over West Germany (3-2), and almost repeated the same scenario after 4 years, but this time he bowed to “Die Mannschaft” ( 0-1).
Maradona remains immortal in the history of football, as he scored the most terrible and beautiful goal of the World Cup in 4 minutes, surprisingly among the English defense in the quarterfinals.
Pele (Brazil)
The only winner of the World Cup 3 times, from the 1958 World Cup when he was 17, to the masterpiece of the offensive game in 1970. He also won the 1962 World Cup, although he was injured at the beginning of this tournament.
He is still considered the best of all time. He left a flood of images, from his brace and adolescent tears for winning the Scudetto in 1958, to his “blind” pass to Carlos Alberto in the final against Italy (4-1) in 1970, up to his feint against the Uruguay goalkeeper and the long lob against Czechoslovakia.
Miroslav Klose (Germany)
Miroslav Klose may not be the most accomplished striker, but he holds the all-time record for goals in finals (16 between 2002 and 2014). And he is the only one who has played 4 times in the semifinals, and managed to win the 2014 World Cup, knowing that he alone holds the goal record at the expense of the Brazilian Ronaldo (15).
Ronaldo Nasrid (Brazil)
The “Phenomeno” (the phenomenon) knew everything at the World Cup, having been crowned without playing at the age of 17 in 1994, and was unlucky in the final 4 years later when he fell ill just hours before the final match. Ronaldo made it to the final, but was a fantasy of the brash talent he was known for.
The best striker of his era, he took his revenge in 2002 after dominating the tournament, and was crowned top scorer with a brace in the final match against Germany (2-0).
