4. Johan Cruyf
The prolific Dutch footballer, still in contention to be considered one of the best of all time, won the Ballon D’Or an astounding three times as a player in the early 1970s, during his years with Ajax and Barcelona, where he became the legend he is considered today. Cruyff became synonymous with “Total Football”, a style of play from the time where a player who moves out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus allowing the team to retain their intended organizational structure. In this fluid system, no footballer is fixed in their intended outfield role. On the field, Cruyff commanded this style of play. As he puts it himself, “football is a game you play with your brain. You have to be in the right place at the right moment, not too early, not too late.” Johan never made a move to England in his career, although I’m sure it would have been something special.
3. Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona was joint FIFA Player of the Century alongside Pele. So between 1900 and 2000, he and Pele were tired for greatest. I think just that in itself speaks volumes about the legend that is Diego Maradona. At only 5’5″, his skill and speed on the ball was completely unmatched. His dribbling, balance and exceptional vision made him a weapon, the perfect number 10, and a huge asset. The only stain on his career was his addiction to cocaine from the mid 80’s until the 2000’s. It began to interfere with his career but caused more serious health problems after he retired. Still he will go down as one of the best ever, comparable today to Lionel Messi, who now only needs to win a World Cup to finally pass Maradona as the greatest ever.
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