Best Men’s Players of World Soccer

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

Best Men’s Players of World Soccer — page 5 — the 1950s He had already helped make his native Hungary an international force Puskás scored most of his 83 international goals with his lethal left foot Now with Puskás lining up alongside Di Stéfano Real Madrid was almost impossible to stop The club ran its European Cup streak to five straight The 1960 final might have been the finest hour for both Di Stéfano and Puskás Real Madrid smashed German side Eintracht Frankfurt 7 3 Di Stéfano scored three goals and Puskás added the other four Alfredo Di Stéfano bottom row center and Ferenc Puskás bottom row second from right led a powerful Real Madrid team in the late 1950s and early 1960s 6

Best Men’s Players of World Soccer — page 6 — THE BEAUTIFUL GAME While Real Madrid dominated European club soccer in the late 1950s and early 1960s Brazil was emerging as the newest international power The South American country was stacked with talent However no player stood out more than Pelé Soccer elevated from a sport to an art when Pelé graced the field While it is disputed who first called soccer the beautiful game it was Pelé who popularized the term He dazzled fans with his dribbling flair And he personified Brazil’s fast-paced style At only 17 Pelé was the youngest player at the 1958 World Cup He scored a hat trick in the semifinals against France JUST FONTAINE Just Fontaine had one of the greatest showings in World Cup history in 1958 The French striker scored 13 goals in six matches More than six decades later no player has scored more goals at a single World Cup 7

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