Best Ever Player in World Cup Football

Striker: Pele, Brazil (1958*, 1962*, 1966, 1970*)

The 17-year-old Pele would declare himself at the World Cup by scoring six goals in his first campaign in 1958 – finishing second in the scoring charts after Just Fontaine’s remarkable 13-goal record tally – and spearheading Brazil to the World Cup. The only player in history to have won three World Cup winner’s medals, Pele was the finest player of a Brazilian team that is measured by various to be the greatest the sport has ever seen. However, he was not as victorious in the forthcoming two editions as he was injured for most of the 1962 campaign and Brazil were knocked out in the group stages in 1966 as Pele was roughed up by Bulgarian and Portuguese defenders, but not before he became the first player to score in three successive World Cups. Individual achievement would return as Pele scored four in 1970 to claim the Golden Ball along with his third World Cup winner’s award.

Striker: Diego Maradona, Argentina (1982, 1986*, 1990, 1994) 

The iconic five-minute spell of the England vs Argentina quarter final in 1986 summed up Maradona absolutely as both his brilliance and his desire for argument came to the front. In the 51st minute, Maradona guided the ball past Peter Shilton with a obvious handball that was someway missed by the officials. Four minutes later, Maradona skipped past half the England team, carrying the ball from within his own half, to score a goal that would later be selected as the goal of the century. Argentina would go on to win the World Cup and captain Maradona would obtain the Golden Ball for his exploits. He came close to captaining his side to a second successive final but would ultimately lose 1-0 in the final to West Germany as Mathaus fruitfully marshalled him throughout the game. He experienced positive for a drug test in 1994 and was sent home after only two matches and his goal against Greece in the top corner would be his last role in a World Cup as a player.

GK: Dino Zoff, Italy (1970, 1974, 1978, 1982*)

The 112-capped Zoff is measured by many to be the best goalkeeper at international level. Zoff is the oldest player to have won the World Cup, when he lifted the cup at the age of forty years and 133 days. Having conceded only 17 goals in the four World Cups that he played in, at an average of a goal every game, Zoff was possibly the safest goalkeeper that the world has ever seen. He also holds the proof of having gone the highest time without conceding an international goal – a significant 1,142 minutes.

Right Back: Cafu, Brazil (1994*, 1998, 2002*, 2006)

Cafu was part of the Brazil team that won the World Cup in 1994, but the 1998 edition was his first as a regular. In spite of spending most of his time in the opponents half, Cafu is regarded as one of the best defenders to have played in the World Cup. He won the World Cup once more in 2002, this time as the skipper of the side. In the four World Cups that Cafu played in, he was only knocked out twice; both times by motivated Zinidine Zidane performances.

Right Centre-Back: Bobby Moore, England (1962, 1966*, 1970)

If ever England had a natural boss then it was Moore. The skipper of their victorious 1966 home tournament wore the armband for 90 of his 108 international caps. Like all superior leaders, Moore often led from the frontage and it was his swiftly taken free-kick that led to the English equalizer in the 1966 final. Moore was considered as the best defender of his time by players such as Franz Beckenbaur and Pele. In the last minutes his long field pass found Geoff Hurst, who finished his hat-trick to make it 4-2, earning Moore his second assist of the night and successfully finishing off the competition. Even in his final World Cup in 1970, Moore was the prominent player in an English side that was knocked out by Brazil.

Left Centre-Back: Franz Beckenbauer, West Germany (1966, 1970, 1974*)

Formally a far-reaching centre-back, Beckenbauer was so talented on the ball that he was often the creative fulcrum of the West Germany side and was also useful with the goals, finishing with a return of five goals in 18 World Cup matches. Add that to his renowned man-marking and understanding of the game and it is no surprise that Beckenbauer is the best defender after Paolo Maldini. Beckenbauer was ever present in all the three World Cups that he played in, finishing second in the first one and third in the second, before finally captaining his side to World Cup achievement in 1974, becoming the first player to raise the new World Cup trophy. Interestingly, Beckenbauer is the only man to have won the World Cup as a player and as a coach, and also the only man to have lost in a final as both.

Left Back: Paolo Maldini, Italy (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002)

Simply the best player to never have won the World Cup, Paolo Maldini is generally measured to be the supreme defender of all time. Just as relaxed at centre-back as he was at left-back, in spite of being right-footed, Maldini revolutionized defending in the 90s. Holding the record of the most number of World Cup minutes played – 2,217 – Maldini’s Italy were never knocked out in regular time as he faced penalty shootout despondency in 1990, 1994 and 1998 and bowed out to South Korea after additional time in 2002 in tremendously contentious conditions. Even though several attempts, Marcello Lippi was incapable to encourage Maldini to come out of retirement for the 2006 World Cup, which would have handed Maldini the only award that he failed to win in a career that spanned 25 years.

Attacking Midfield: Johan Cruyff, Holland (1974)

Johan Cruyff was the key planner behind the total-football played by the great Dutch team of the 1970s. Even though he played only one World Cup and never won the cup, losing to West Germany in the final, Cruyff was the prominent player of the match and earned himself the Golden Ball honor as he scored three goals in seven matches. Even though Cruyff was a centre-forward on paper, he often dropped deep to organize attacks, usually ending up playing as an superior offensive midfielder in the hole behind the striker.

Central Midfield: Lothar Mathaus, Germany / West Germany (1982, 1986, 1990*, 1994, 1998)

Having tasted defeat in the final in his first two World Cups against a Paolo Rossi-inspired Italy and a Diego Maradona-inspired Argentina, Mathaus lastly captained West Germany to conquest in 1990 in a recur of the 1986 final. Mathaus’ man-marking, positional intelligence, tackling and power were imperative as he defended the back four, while his passing range and vicious shot also helped the team in attack. Regarded as one of the best midfield generals, the most-capped German also holds the record for most number of World Cup matches played – 25 – and is also the only  outfield player to have played in five World Cups.

Striker: Ronaldo, Brazil (1994*, 1998, 2002*, 2006)

The incident was easily the most overwhelming attacker since Diego Maradona and his tally of 15 goals in World Cups is the highest by any player. His first participation in a World Cup was getting a winner’s medal at the age of 17 when he was chosen for the Brazil team but did not play. At 21, he was the dynamic strength behind the 1998 Brazil squad, but lost 3-0 to hosts France in the final. Ronaldo’s name was mysteriously not on the primary team sheet, which sparked wide spread rumors that he had died. However, he played as an amended team sheet followed, but looked out of sorts and so did the rest of the team. In 2002, Ronaldo won his second World Cup, scoring eight goals as he led the line for the Selecao. He went on to score his record-breaking 15th goal in 2006 when he rounded Ghana’s Richard Kingson in the fifth minute to slot into an empty net.

Central Midfield: Zinidine Zidane, France (1998*, 2002, 2006)

A modern great if ever there was one, Zidane was as idle and arrogant on the ball as he was humble off the field. France had been struggling to score goals at home in the 1998 World Cup, with their only three goals in the knockout stages all being scored by centre-backs, and faced defending champions Brazil in the final. Always a man for the big event, Zidane’s headed brace in the final made up for his red card against Saudi Arabia in the group stages, which had made him the first French player to be sent off in a World Cup, helping France to a 3-0 victory. Having crashed out in the group stages in 2002, Zidane dragged France to the 2006 World Cup finals almost single-handedly; his performance against Brazil going down as one of the finest by a midfielder in World Cup history. However, his renowned head butt on Marco Materazzi was unluckily his last ever role on the international stage as Italy lifted the trophy on penalties.