Greatest Footballer Ever?

No, not American Football. I meant the REAL football, or what the Yanks called, true to their isolationist fashion, soccer. The beautiful game. The most popular sport in the world. Or in a less saccharine term, opined by one British Lord, a gentlemen's game played by thugs.

The reason I ask the aforementioned question is that I just came to realization that the 2006 World Cup in Germany is a mere eighteen months away and I've been thinking a lot about football since. Watching the World Cup tournament is definitely one of the highlights of my existence and four years cannot come soon enough.

My memory of the World Cup goes all the way back to 1982 when I vividly remember the amazing semifinal match between West Germany and France when Paul Breitner scored the equalizing goal, after the Germans were trailing by two goals in overtime, and took the game to penalty shootout, where Germany won 5-4; it also made Paolo Rossi, the young Italian striker, a household name, who later won the highly-coveted Golden Boot for most goals. Rossi's goal against Brazil in the quarterfinal was simply classic when he deftly beat the ill-timed Brazilian offside trap to face the goalkeeper one-on-one before tucking the ball behind the net. Italy ended up winning the tournament and I got a size 5 replica Espana '82 Tango ball for my birthday.

The 1982 tournament did not see much of Maradona in action; he was booted out of the match against Brazil in the second round for kicking his marker in the guts. Maradona was widely hyped to be the best player in the tournament, but rather, it was Rossi who shined through. Four years later, Maradona came back with a vengence.

The year was 1986 in Mexico and Argentina was playing like a juggernaut, laid waste to every team that stood in its way, with Maradona acted as the maestro at its helm. It was the quarterfinal match between my beloved England and Argentina that broke my heart to pieces.

The match also gained notoriety for being the first international match between both countries right after the Falkland War. Argentina's first goal was the infamous "Hand of God" goal when Maradona shamelessly punched the ball into the net under a badly disguised header after an ill-advised backpass from Chris Hodge. But it was his mesmerizing second goal that left every football fan worldwide agape and shaking with disbelief. Maradona picked up the ball in midfield, beat three England defenders, and ultimately slid the ball past the hapless Peter Shilton. Gary Lineker scored for England late in the game but it came too late.

From then on, the match between these two countries would always be marred with controversies (David Beckham's sending-off in WC 1998 in France after ostentatiously kicking the bad Argentinian thespian cum soccer player, Diego Simeone) and occasional brilliance (young Michael Owen's breathtaking goal and England's valiant defense in the same game.) Argentina went on to win the 1986 World Cup by beating West Germany--I was rooting hard for the Germans--and though he didn't score any goals, Maradona did make a stupendous pass that led to a goal by Jorge Burruchaga.

Anyway, my favorite German players like Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Pierre Littbarski, Lothar Matthäus, Rudi Völler and others finally got what they long deserved when they won the 1990 World Cup in a less-than-spectacular fashion, by beating the same Argentina team they faced four years earlier 1-0, through a penalty kick.

I was too busy reminiscing about the glorious past of the World Cup that I forgot to answer the question I put forth earlier. Who is the best footballer ever? Depending on who you ask, the answer pretty much runs the gamut and is usually drawn along the national line: A Brit might vote for Sir Bobby Charlton or Bobby Moore or Geoff Hurst (all from the England 1966 World Cup winning squad) or Sir Alf Ramsey; a German might go for Gerd Müller or Franz Beckenbauer or Rummenigge or Lothar Matthäus; an Argentinian might choose the genius Diego Armando Maradona or Osvaldo "Ossie" Ardiles or Daniel Pasarella; an Italian might be partial to Franco Baresi (arguably the best defender ever) or ageless goalkeeper Dino Zoff; and finally, a Brazilian will definitely opt for the legendary Pele. I'd also like to throw the name of the great Portugese player that has ever played this game, Eusebio, into the mix. Lest I'm accused of being partially selective, there are definitely other supremely talented players that had ever graced the football pitch: Oleg Blokhin and Alexei Yashin of the old Soviet Union; Ferenc Puskas of Hungary; Just Fontaine, Michel Platini and Jean Tigana of France; Johann Cruyff, Marco van Basten, and Ruud Gullit of the Netherlands; Poland's Lato; and not to forget, other Brazilian football gods, like Zico, Socrates, Careca, Tostão, and Garrincha. And a Malaysian might be partial to Ghani Minhat, M. Chandran, Mokhtar Dahari, Soh Chin Aun, Santokh Singh, V. Arumugam, Khalid Ali, Zainal Abidin Hassan and others. I also like to include other great SE Asian footballers like the super-talented Singaporean, Fandi Ahmad, who is also one of my favorite players of all time (bro, you should have migrated to Malaysia and we would have welcomed you with open arms!), and the Thai magician, Piyapong Pue-on.

For me, the choices will ultimately boil down to two players: Maradona and Pele. Yes, the intractable age-old football dispute. I try to be diplomatic whenever somebody force me to take a pick. Here's my stock answer: In terms of pure skills and talent--and nothing else matters--Maradona is the best player, but if all is taken into account--on and off the field--Pele is far and away the best player that ever live. I'm not, in any conceivable way, saying that Pele's skills and talent are inferior to that of Maradona--nothing could be further from the truth. Who, in his/her right mind, can forget the brilliant goal that 17-year old Pele scored in his debut against Sweden in the 1958 World Cup? Flip the ball over his head, swivel around the defender, and shoot the ball before it touches the ground. Executed with the grace of a ballerina and the accuracy of an assassin. Only Pele--and me, after a million tries--can carry out the move to perfection--under the crushing pressure of the tournament, nonetheless.

So, there's my answer. It might border on equivocation but it's the best I can give for now until a better player than both of them comes along. Freddie Adu, maybe?