List your top 5 individual performance in WC history, as the tile says : Mine : 1. Maradona 1986 2. Pele 1970 3. Cruyff 1974 4. Garrincha 1962 5. Jairzinho 1970
Garrincha was not the be-all end-all of Brazil through the entire tournament. He took the weight of the team on his shoulders after Pele's injury and particularly in the quarters and the semifinal. While not as mesmerizing as Garrincha in those 2 games, Pele had a significantly more consistent tournament.
1. Maradona 1986 2. Cruyff 1974 3. Jairzinho 1970 4. Puskas 1954 5. Baggio 1994 Honorable mention... Pele 1970 Muller 1974 Zidane 1998 Garrincha 1962 Milla 1990 Kahn 2002
1. Diego Maradona (WC 86) - carried Argentina to an unlikely second World cup win. The greatest 2. Garrincha (WC 62) - a phenomenal display by the Brazilian wing wizard known as "the Little Bird". He owned that right-wing thanks to his blistering pace and unpredictable dribbling 3. Paolo Rossi (WC 82) - even though he played very poorly in the first four matches, he played great in the next three. Bearzot was relying on him for goals and he delivered when it mattered. He was already a star at Argentina 78 but he topped that with a hat-trick against Santana's Brazil, a double against Poland and scoring the first against West Germany in the Final 4. Just Fontaine (WC 58) - 13 goals in one World Cup. Kopa should get some credit but you can't argue with the record that Fontaine holds 5. Roberto Baggio (WC 94) - despite having a great team, Italy didn't play like one due to Sacchi's tactics. The team usually struggled to find goals but Baggio's individual brilliance brought Italy to the Final. A shame that he wasn't 100 per cent fit in the Final and that he missed that infamous penalty An honourable mention to Gerd Muller and his display at Mexico 70. He scored 10 goals and if the West Germans had beaten Italy in the semi-finals, I'm sure he would have scored a few more against that weak Brazilian defence. West Germany's wingers would have tested Felix and his poor anticipation of crosses and Muller would have likely had a field day.
What has Puskas done in 1954 to be considered in top 5 ??? How could Zidane in 1998 be put on par with Pele 1970 or Garrincha 1962 ? Zidane was ordinary until the final, while Pele had at least one goal or one assist in every game he played.
Nothing - Kocsis was the key for Hungary in 54. While Puskas missed the quarter and semi finals, Kocsis scored twice in each game.
While not wanting to diminish his overall performances, 4 goals came against a largely reserve German side in the 3rd place play off. 9 meaningful goals is still impressive though.
1. Diego Maradona in Mexico 1986 2. Garrincha in Chile 1962 3. Johan Cruyff in Germany 1974 4. Pelé in Brazil 1970 5. Franz Beckenbauer in Germany 1974 Honourable mention: - Leónidas in France 1938 - Sándor Kocsis in Switzerland 1954 - Didí in Sweden 1958 - Eusébio in England 1966 - Gerd Müller in Brazil 1970 - Michel Platini in Spain 1982 - Franco Baresi in Italy 1990 - Roberto Baggio in United States 1994 - Romário in United States 1994 - Zinedine Zidane in France 1998 - Fabio Cannavaro in Germany 2006 - Zinedine Zidane in Germany 2006
True but despite the lack of meaning of the final match, he still has the 13 goals. If the World Cup was like the Euro, then he wouldn't have that tally of 13 goals and I might have considered Kocsis' 1954 or Muller's 1970 instead.
Eh..you boys show no love for the man between the sticks? Dino Zoff (1982): For all the glory piled on Rossi, Zoff was very good, and his composure during the 2nd half of the Brasil match was vital. Berazot summed it up: And he was 40 years old, lets not forget. Olvier Kahn (2002): If you see him walking with a bit of hunch, it's due to him still feeling the aches of carrying Germany to the final. Don't hold the final against him-this was one of the great WC performances. If they had beaten Brasil...you would have a case to put him in the top 5-especially considering the makeup of that German side.
Muller's performances in 1970 need way more praise. Two hatricks in the group stage, as well as a lone goal against Morocco, preceded further goals in the latter stages, including one in the quarter final against England and a brace in the semi against Italy. Perfection. Diego's is still the best though.
Both displays were great. From WC 2002, I do feel Rustu's displays for Turkey were great but I wouldn't rate it in the Top Five performances ever. For me, if one performance by a GK was worthy of a Top Five placing, it would be Sergio Goycoechea from Argentina and his exploits at Italia 90. After the Argentines lost to Cameroon and Pumpido broke his leg against the Soviets, Goycoechea stepped up making a plethora of saves. His performance against Brazil stands out and he was phenomenal in the PK shoot-outs. That Argentina team didn't deserve to reach that final at all and Maradona wasn't fully fit but Goycoechea kept saving Bilardo's team.
What makes El Vasco's 1990 performance more amazing is that imho throughout his career he was at best an average keeper.
garrincha 62 maradona 86...are way above anyone else's performanes in terms of offensive players.garrincha simply dribbled an dribbled an took everyone to the cleaners. tremendous performances by both how about zoff 82,der kaiser 74 and ronaldo's goals in 02.wonderful comeback from injury
Not only that, I don't think he had been playing for a club in six months. Millionarios in Colombia had cancelled his contract or it had expired.
- Maradona 86 (obviously...not only for the goals) - Garrincha 62 (he almost carried the team on his shoulders after Pelé´s injury...) - Paolo Rossi 82 (after a shameful group stage, an astonishing raise to glory started with the crucial hat trick against Brazil...) - Romário 94 (The same as for Garrincha. IMO, he was decisive when needed...since qualifying!!!) - Pelé 58 (can you imagine a 17 y.o. doing what he did???)
Gentile in 1982 and Stiles in 1966-two hard men who were standouts. Football isn't just about putting the ball in the goal, it's also about keeping it out Vogts on Cryuff, 1974, Gentile on Maradona in 1982, and Stiles on Eusebio in 1966. Three top man-marking performances in the WC. Purists may get in a huff about the style, but as Gentile said, it aint a game for ballerinas.
Ok, I'll be the first 'purist' to answer... First, I remember C.A. Parreira when he once said that "the goal is just a detail"...and what a detail... Second, it's a matter of point of view... So, the joy of the game is that all matches end tied in 0-0, is it??? Do you really think it would be exciting???? Maybe the best scores should be 11-11 in broken legs or teeth spread all over the pitch... I'm sorry, but IMO this is an anti-football thought, but I'm just a fantasy and magic football lover... I think you're on the wrong side, you should see rugby...
It ain't a game for thugs either. Vogts was a great example of class defending, as was Gamarra for Paraguay in '98 (managed to shut down Spain, Bulgaria and eventual champions France for 90 minutes without comitting a single foul the entire cup.) The Gentiles, Materazzis and Moraises got away with their antics due more to horrible officiating than anything else.
I said it's, "also" about keeping the ball out. Didn't say it was only about keeping the ball out. Big difference. With re: to Gentile, that's perhaps a bit unfair in that you have look at him with Scirea-they are almost a unit; they fed off of each others strengths. And in this context they were a historic pair of defenders. To see him only as a thug or a hardman...I don't buy that. And he was outstanding in the '82 final as well. So IMO, he's deserving of being on the list of outstanding WC performances.
Bah humbug! I was just about to bring this guy up but you beat me to it. For 1990 I'd say the top performers were... Lothar Matteus, Goycoechea, Roger Milla. It wasn't a great tournament but those 3 really stood out... In 1994, Romario, Baggio & Preudheume carried their teams but I think it was Hristo Stoichcov who gets my vote - he carried his unheralded Bulgaria side all the way to the semis... 1998 - Zidane, Thuram & the entire French backline were awesome. Edgar Davids was a workhorse for Holland. Suker was Croatias star. 2002 - It was the 3 Rs... Ronaldo, Rivaldo & Ronaldinho who all must be included but Khan & Ballack were excellent for Germany too. Donavan & El Hadji Diouf deserve notable mention as well as the men in black for the co-hosts. 2006 - Cannavaro for Itlay but this was, much like France in 98 an excellent all-round team effort. Zidane was great for France.