The World Cup is football’s biggest prize. Known for its prestige, winning this will cement a player’s legacy and he will be celebrated for eternity. Here are five who have stood out the most.
Pelé
True to his Greatest of All Time (GOAT) status, the Brazilian legend won three times (1958, 1962,1970) in his four tournaments he was called up as a player.
He scored all of his six goals in the knockout stage in his debut in Sweden when he was only 17-years old, becoming the youngest player to lift the World Cup.
Mário Zagallo
He was Pelé’s teammate in their World Cup-winning side in 1958 and 1962. What makes Zagallo’s feat unusual is that he also won the championship as a manager back in 1970.
After another first place medal as assistant to Carlos Alberto Parreira in 1994, Zagallo’s second stint as head coach of Brazil ended in a bridesmaid finish four years later in France, falling at the final hurdle to the victorious hosts.
Franz Beckenbauer
Known for being the pioneer of the sweeper role, “Der Kaiser” lifted the new World Cup trophy in 1974 as captain of the victorious West German squad that hosted the tournament. 16 years later in Italy, he managed Die Mannschaft to their third title.
Apart from that, he was also part of the losing sides in both capacities, doing so in 1966 (to England) as a player and 1986 (to Argentina) as main mentor.
Diego Maradona
Enigmatic and polarizing throughout his life, the diminutive attacker was Argentina’s lynchpin in four World Cups, and none bigger was his impactful performance in 1986.
Wearing the armband, Maradona led La Albiceleste with five goals in Mexico, including a pair of highlight reel goals against England in the quarterfinal. Those, among other exploits, saw him snag the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.
Giuseppe Meazza
The forward was part of the Italian squad that garnered back-to-back World Cups in 1934 and 1938, captaining the latter that won in France. It also brought Vittorio Pozzo the distinction as the lone manager to win the title twice.
Meazza played for both AC and Inter Milan in his career, hence San Siro was officially named in his honor posthumously.
