The international soccer expert Julio Maldonado ‘Maldini’ was present at the Sports Weekend Brand in Malaga, and one of the topics to be discussed was the Top 5 best players in the history of soccer. This is how his presentation began: “Before starting I want to point out that they are players who make history, not the best. The best are usually the last. I want to specify that. I’m not saying, for example, that Di Stéfano is better than Cristiano, but more important”.
“He was not exactly the first modern player, but he was the first emblematic player of modern football. For me, modern football begins in 1974. It had a change of pace and leadership and is the emblem of the first great modern team, the Netherlands in 1974. If I had to put the label of the first contemporary soccer player, for soccer to rise to the category of art, it is Johan Cruyff.
“I consider him the first all-rounder in history. There aren’t that many complete games of his and the first time I saw him was a Madrid-Nice, I called Relaño and told him “everything you’ve told me has fallen short.” I had not seen a player be so important in so many areas of the field. Madrid won 5 European Cups in a row and Di Stéfano was by far the best on the team. He was the leader of a team in which everyone was very good and next to him they seemed worse than they really were..
“He is the first completely complete player that I have ever seen. He controlled both legs, at the age of 17 he dominated a World Cup by himself. He not only had enormous physical power. The very evolution of football makes it easier for the footballer to play, these players played in real potatoes. He had power, he braked, he dribbled, he finished off with a header. If you made the prototype of the perfect footballer, you would take several characteristics of Pelé.
“I understand who puts him as number 1. We are talking about very short margins. He is the player that I have seen with the longest life at the highest level. I have not seen a player who has made a difference for so many years. He is the perfect footballer. Xavi wants to convince me, he says that he is the prototype of the perfect footballer. He is a smart leader. The first Messi is a rather individualistic wide-band player, little by little he became a 10 and became Xavi + Messi, capable of changing the face of a game with the intelligence he has. Relentless goalscorer, exquisite technique, he has it all. If I wanted a player for my team, I would take Messi, not Maradona, because I guarantee more years at a higher level.
“Here I admit that maybe I am subjective, I grew up with Maradona and that made me admire him even more. You have childhood memories that are imborn. If we set a bar, Maradona would have 9.99 less time, and 9, 97 Messi would have it longer. It was everything, the reading of the game, the left foot, the speed, the change of pace, the talent. I have met him and you realize the intelligence he had for everything that was related to football”.
