In 2013, during a visit to Pope Francis, legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon touched Lionel Messi’s face and said: “I wanted to make sure he was human like us.
For me, Lionel Messi is an alien who is dedicated to playing with humans.
High praise from one of the best goalkeepers in football. And yes, Lionel Messi is human, but this year in Qatar he has joined a very elite duo in the history of the sport to become immortal.
Skin
As long as there is football, all the players will measure themselves against Pelé to assess their greatness. He lifted his first World Cup trophy at the age of 17 and then lifted it twice more in his international career.
At the club level, Pelé spent 19 seasons at Santos, where he won 6 Brazilian championships; the Copa Libertadores twice; two Intercontinental Cups; and 10 Paulista Championship titles, a championship in which he was top scorer 11 times.
His subsequent move to the United States to play for the New York Cosmos added another dimension to the legend that was Pelé.
Without a doubt, there were other great players who wowed the public during the 50s and 60s. There were Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Raymond Kopa, Eusebio, Bobby Charlton, Gianni Rivera and many others.
But as great as these individuals were, Pele was special. Something better than “great.” A level of skill we wouldn’t see for another 20 years or so. Until a young Argentine appeared on the scene.
Diego Armando Maradona had not yet been born when Pelé lifted his first World Cup trophy. He was 10 years old when Pelé raised his third from him.
At the tender age of 16, Maradona made his senior debut with local side Argentinos Juniors in 1976 before a brief stint with Argentine giants Boca Juniors, where he also finished his career.
A career that took him from Argentina to Europe with stages in Barcelona, Napoli and Seville. Maradona made his World Cup debut in 1982 in Spain, where Argentina were knocked out in the second round.
But in the following 1986 World Cup in Mexico it was where the comparisons with Pelé for Maradona were justified. In the subsequent World Cup in 1990, Argentina made it all the way to the final before being beaten by West Germany.
Maradona, unlike Pelé, was fortunate to play on the world stage at the same time that television coverage was going global. Literally billions around the world were lucky enough to see the magic Maradona created on the pitch.
Like Pelé, he was certainly compared to many others who graced soccer fields around the world and could be considered “greats” of their time. Names like Michel Platini, Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten and Lother Matheus come to mind.
But once again, like Pelé, there was “something” that elevated Maradona above all others. A level of skill that made everything being compared seem “ordinary.” It would be another 20 years before we were honored with another “phenomenon.”
It’s 2022 and we finally have a “holy trinity.” Just as Maradona was not yet born when his predecessor lifted his first World Cup trophy, Leo Messi was not yet born when Maradona lifted his World Cup trophy.
We are all well aware of Messi’s club-level achievements. With Barcelona, where he made his debut in the senior category at age 16 (just like Maradona), he played 520 games in which he scored 474 goals.
He lifted 10 La Liga trophies; 4 UEFA Champions League titles; 3 UEFA Super Cups and 3 Club World Cup titles. Incredible numbers, but in the cruel world that football could be, nothing would matter without the World Cup trophy.
It’s a crowning achievement for any player, but to be considered with the likes of Pelé and Maradona, Messi needed to go all the way in Qatar.
Much later in his playing career compared to Pelé or Maradona, Messi has finally put aside any doubts the public might have had about his greatness. The name of Messi deserves to be spoken at the same time as Pelé and Maradona.
The future
If history teaches us anything, it is that it tends to repeat itself. History tells us that in the coming months/years a child will be born who will be talked about at the same time as Pelé, Maradona and Messi.
History tells us that the child will probably be born in South America. But that, of course, is not a certainty. He could be born in Africa, Asia, Europe and even North America.
That child may already have been born and may even already be kicking a soccer ball somewhere in the world. I hope so. It’s hard to wait 20 years or so to be blessed to witness greatness on a football field.
In the meantime, there are certainly plenty of players out there who will entertain us and open up debates about whether they deserve to join the holy trinity.
Most importantly, knowing how rare that “alien” talent, as Gianluca Buffon says, is given to us, let us cherish the moment and be grateful to have been here to witness something more than “great”.
Something that makes the greats look like mere mortals.
Photo credit: IMAGO / Bildbyran
World Cup 2022 Guide
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