Five Greatest Players Who Never Won a World Cup

Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo, Zidane.  Winning the World Cup is an instant path to soccer immortality.  However, uncontrollable factors, such as fortune, timing and a supporting cast play a pivotal role in World Cup success.  Some of the game’s immortal talents never get a chance.  Here are the five greatest soccer players of all-time who never won the World Cup.

Johan Cruyff (Netherlands): Cruyff is arguably the best player in European History. He was the Dutch John Lennon and the personification of “total football” for Ajax and Barcelona in the 1970’s. A versatile striker, Cruyff won three European Cups and was awarded three Ballon D’or trophies. He was the Golden Ball winner for the Dutch at the 1974 World Cup, leading the Clockwork Orange to the final where they lost to West Germany. He retired from the national team abruptly before the 1978 World Cup. It was later revealed to be because his family was involved in a horrifying kidnapping attempt.

Michel Platini (France): The current UEFA president was a magnificent goal-scoring midfielder and set-piece specialist. During a five-year stretch in the mid 1980’s, he won two Serie A titles and a European Cup with Juventus. He scored nine of France’s 14 goals to win the European Championship in 1984. He also led France to World Cup semifinals in 1982 and 1986. He won three consecutive Ballon D’Or awards.

Ferenc Puskas (Hungary): He was an entirely left-footed player, but what a foot. Playing at top-level until he was 39, the Hungarian scored 509 goals in 523 career league appearances. He won five straight La Liga titles at Real Madrid and went to five European Cup Finals in eight years. He was the iconic player for Hungary’s “Magical Magyars” of the early 1950s, scoring 84 goals in 85 appearances. Hungary crushed England 6-3 at Wembley in 1953. They rolled all the way to the final in 1954 before being upset shockingly by West Germany, a team they beat 8-3 during the Group Stage. Puskas’ international career was cut short after he defected in 1956 when his club team was stranded during the Hungarian Revolution.

Paolo Maldini (Italy): Maldini made his debut for AC Milan at age 16, and was a fixture of their defense for the next 24 seasons, only retiring last year. He won seven Serie A titles and five Champions Leagues with A.C. Milan. He was named the Champions League’s best defender in 2007, at age 39. Maldini is Italy’s most capped player, with 126 caps from 1988 to 2002. He captained at five major tournaments, beginning with the 1994 World Cup. Italy lost the 1994 final to Brazil on penalties, and the Euro 2000 final to France in extra time.

Zico (Brazil): Brazilians revere Zico as one of their greatest players. Known for his free kicks and dribbilng skills, he scored more than 500 goals for Brazilian club Flamengo. Moving to Serie A as a 30-year-old, he scored 19 goals in 24 appearances for Udinese before a knee injury slowed him the next season. He scored 52 times in 72 appearances for Brazil, playing in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cup teams. The 1982 team is regarded as one of the most beautiful playing teams ever, though, fittingly, they were eliminated by Italy in the second group stage. Zico was also the MVP for Brazil at the 1995 Beach Soccer Championships, scoring 12 goals.

Source: TheBigLead.com