The world cup is here, and we couldn’t be more excited. History will be made, tears will be shed, chants will be roared, the world will unite, and in the end, one team will attain glory. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about that. It’s the biggest festival in the world and has the richest history behind it. All the great players from Pele to Lionel Messi have played in this wonderful tournament, but only a few have etched their name onto its history. Here we look back to some of the greatest players who have stepped foot in this tournament.
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Gerd Muller (Germany)
Nicknamed the “Der Bomber”, Gerd Muller is arguably one of the greatest players to ever play in the world cup. He’s won the world cup once, in the year 1974. In 1970, he scored 10 goals making him the recipient of the golden boot. He has appeared in 13 world cup final games and has scored an impressive 14 goals. His ability to be in the right place at the right time made him extremely dangerous and made him the ultimate poacher of the ball.
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Bobby Moore (England)
Often described as the ‘greatest defender ever’, Bobby Moore is undeniably England’s greatest player in its long history of participating in the world cup finals. He won the world cup in the year 1966 and his so called ‘perfect tackle’ on Jairzinho in the year 1970 remains to be one of the most widely viewed football clips to this date. A true legend and a master of the game, Bobby Moore has earned his place among the pantheon of the world cup legends.
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Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany)
Franz Beckenbauer played a unique role in the 1974 world cup winning team of Germany. He started out as a midfielder and then moved to defence and ultimately created the sweeper role for which he was rightly nicknamed as “Der Kaiser”. And no one to this day has been able to emulate the quality Beckenbauer displayed during his world cup appearances.
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Ronaldo (Brazil)
Perhaps the greatest player that Brazil has ever created, Ronaldo was a magician when it came to football. He once held the title of the all-time top scorer in world cup finals, scoring a staggering 15 goals, but eventually lost the title to Miroslav Klose 4 years ago. He has made appearances in 4 different world cup tournaments and has won the world cup playing for Brazil in the year 2002.
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Pele (Brazil)
The G.O.A.T. The only player to win the world cup on 3 separate occasions. Once in 1958, once in 1962 and lastly in 1970. He has scored 12 goals in 14 appearances and has made sure that his opponents never forget his face. There are no words to describe this man, for he will forever be remembered as the greatest player to ever play in the FIFA world cup finals.
