World cup Legends

WORLD CUP LEGENDS
Eusébio wowed
the crowds during
the 1966 World Cup
in England
EUSÉBIO
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England may have won the World Cup in 1966, but Eusébio won hearts across the
world. Playing for Portugal, he was awarded the Golden Boot for his nine goals while
showcasing superb dribbling skills, athleticism and speed.
Famed for his right foot and nicknamed ‘the Black Panther’, 1966 turned out to be Eusébio’s
only World Cup, and he certainly made the most of it. When Portugal fell behind by three goals
against North Korea, he fought hard to score in the 27th, 43rd, 56th and 59th minutes, putting
his country ahead before José Augusto de Almeida grabbed the ifth.
There was an uneasy feeling that he would do the same to England in the semi-inal when he
got a penalty in the 82nd minute to make it 2-1. He didn’t. Instead, Portugal got knocked out, but
Eusébio opened the scoring in a 2-1 defeat of the Soviet Union to give Portugal their best-ever
placing of third.
PAOLO MALDINI
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Maldini is perhaps one of the
unluckiest of World Cup players.
He made 23 appearances for Italy in 1990,
1994, 1998 and 2002, but failed to win
in any of those tournaments. Given his
success domestically with AC Milan, it
was perhaps diicult to take. But he can
be proud of his achievements. In 1990, he
helped keep ive consecutive clean sheets,
going 518 minutes without conceding.
Maldini’s inluence at left-back saw him
captain Italy in 1994, and he was named
in the Team of the Tournament that
summer. But although proving strong in
so many games, Italy just kept falling short
no matter how versatile the two-footed
Maldini was. He will always be admired
for his skills at crossing the ball and for his
sliding tackles, however, and his place in
World Cup folklore is secure.
JAIRZINHO
42
So many
Brazilian players
from 1970 deserve to
be named footballing
icons, but none of them
scored in every match
that summer – except
for Jairzinho, that is. He scored against
Czechoslovakia, England and Romania
in the group stages, grabbed the inal
goal against Peru in the quarters, helped
Brazil to a 3-1 win in the semis, and
popped up in the 71st minute of the
inal against Italy. He could have had
two against England, if not for a crucial
interception by Bobby Moore.
Jairzinho’s performances earned the
forward the nickname ‘The Hurricane’, and
crowds rarely failed to gasp when he got up
speed and pumped a lethal shot into the
net. What’s more, his success came despite
him breaking his right leg twice.
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