Best Men’s Players of World Soccer

Best Men’s Players of World Soccer — page 1

Best Men’s Players of World Soccer — page 2 — TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 EARLY STARS 4 CHAPTER 2 ADVANCING THE 14 GAME CHAPTER 3 A NEW CENTURY 24 CHAPTER 4 MODERN LEGENDS 34 GLOSSARY 46 INDEX 47 ABOUT THE AUTHOR 47

Best Men’s Players of World Soccer — page 3 — 1 4 EARLY STARS The first World Cup tournament in 1930 featured 13 men’s teams Italy was not one of them But four years later the European nation hosted the tournament Giuseppe Meazza played center forward for Italy Though he lacked in size Meazza made up for it with skilled footwork and an accurate Chapter

Best Men’s Players of World Soccer — page 4 — Giuseppe Meazza left shakes hands with Hungary captain Gyorgi Sarosi before the teams met at the 1938 World Cup shot Il Balilla or the Little Boy scored two goals in five games despite battling an injury during the tournament After Italy beat Czechoslovakia 2 1 in the final Meazza was named the tournament’s best player Four years later Meazza captained Italy to a second straight World Cup title When he wasn’t playing for the national team Meazza starred for Inter Milan which was establishing itself as one of the country’s best clubs In 1980 the stadium Inter shares with rival AC Milan was renamed after Meazza MASTERS OF MADRID For years men’s European club teams played only against other clubs from their country That changed in 1955 56 with the creation of the European Cup The tournament which was renamed the Champions League in 1992 93 features the best teams from each European country One club dominated its early years Led by Alfredo Di Stéfano Real Madrid won the first three European Cup titles A natural scorer as a forward Di Stéfano was also known for his defensive effort and versatility And Di Stéfano saved his best for big matches He scored in each of those three finals Real Madrid gave Di Stéfano a lethal strike partner in 1958 Ferenc Puskás was recognized as the game’s best goal scorer of 5

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