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The beautiful game has evolved a lot over the course of history but some of the traditional aspects have remained intact because of their effectiveness. The phrase 'if it isn't broken, don't fix it' rings true when it comes to attacking tridents.
Managers often try to build their teams and style of play around their most talented players on the pitch. But what happens when you have plenty of outstanding individuals? Well, you build your team around that.
The greatest players in the history of the game were able to shine because they had an excellent supporting cast around them. This is true of even modern-day legends like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. They played alongside some legendary players who helped them realize their potential.
On that note, let's take a look at five of the greatest attacking trios in the history of football.
#5 Johan Cruyff, Sjaak Swart, Piet Keizer (Ajax)
Ajax of the 60s and 70s influenced modern football in a way no other team has done in the history of the game. The 'total football' philosophy took its wings around that time and Johan Cruyff is viewed as a central figure in the transformation of the game.
Teaming up with wingers Sjaak Swart and Piet Keizer, Johan Cruyff formed one of the most entertaining and effective attacking trios of all time. Together, the three of them were unstoppable and they transformed Ajax into the strongest team in Europe at the time.
They laid out the blueprint for several of the attacking tridents in football. Cruyff was a forward and Swart and Keizer played on either flank. They led Ajax to six Eredivisie titles, four Domestic Cups and three consecutive European Cups from 1971 to 1973.
#4 Lionel Messi, Neymar and Suarez (Barcelona)
The most recognizable of attacking trios to the younger generation, there is no doubt that the MSN belongs up there with the greatest attacking trios of all time. By 2014, Lionel Messi had grown into a creative figure for Barcelona. So it was the perfect time for them to have roped in Luis Suarez, a lethal striker, from Liverpool.
The tricky Brazilian winger Neymar had joined from Santos a year earlier. Putting them together and letting them have their way on the football pitch was not rocket science. The trio went on to do things on the ground that stunned everyone.
They complemented each other perfectly as all three had flair, incredible vision and an insatiable appetite for goals. All three were at the peak of their powers and they steamrollered oppositions routinely.
The MSN scored 364 goals between them for Barcelona in 450 games across all competitions. They helped Barcelona win the continental treble in the 2014-15 season. Unfortunately for Barcelona fans and spectators around the world, the trio broke up quite soon as Neymar left Camp Nou to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.
#3 Ferenc Puskas, Sandor Kocsis, Nandor Hidegkuti (Hungary)
Following their absence from the 1950 FIFA World Cup, Hungary took the world by storm as they knocked their oppositions black and blue on their way to the final at the 1954 edition. A free-scoring Hungarian side catapulted their way into being favourites to win the World Cup but their dream run was quelled by West Germany in the finals.
But no team in the history of the World Cup has had as dominant a run-in to the final as Hungary did in the 1954 World Cup. That was in large part thanks to the incredibly talented attacking trio of Ferenc Puskas, Sandor Kocsis and Nandor Hidegkuti.
Nicknamed the 'Magical Magyars', Hidegkuti was the playmaking mastermind of the trident. Puskas was an exemplary finisher while Kocsis stunned everyone with his technique and dribbling ability. Hungary scored 27 goals in just five games thanks to the ruthlessness of their attackers.
Kocsis scored 11 of those and was the highest scorer in the tournament, while Puskas and Hidegkuti scored four each. Puskas, Kocsis and Hidegkuti will go down in history as one of the most feared attacking trios in the history of the game. They were the complete package and it's a pity that they couldn't follow through on their World Cup dream.
#2 Pele, Pepe, Coutinho (Santos)
Santos was unstoppable in Brazil in the 1950s and 60s and the trio of Pele, Pepe and Coutinho had a huge role to play in their dominance. Pele's record of 643 official goals for a single club at Santos was only recently broken by Lionel Messi. He was the most elite goalscorer in the world for close to five decades.
Of course, he couldn't have done it without his distinguished partners in crime, Pepe and Coutinho. Pele was partnered up front with Antônio Wilson Vieira Honório, nicknamed Coutinho. The duo were ably supported by Jose Macia, nicknamed Pepe, one of the best left-wingers in the history of the game.
While Pele scored 643 goals for Santos, Pepe scored 405 and Coutinho scored 368. All three had won the World Cup together in 1962. They have won numerous other major trophies with Santos as well and in terms of sheer goalscoring at least, they are the greatest attacking trio the world has seen.
#1 Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Francisco Gento (Real Madrid)
They were the trio that helped establish Real Madrid as the biggest footballing powerhouse in Europe. Somebody as great as Ferenc Puskas was going to thrive in any setup he was going to play in and that's why he features twice on the list.
By the time Puskas joined Real Madrid in 1958, Alfredo di Stefano and Francisco Gento had guided them to three consecutive European Cup triumphs. With his addition, they became unstoppable. Puskas scored as many as four hat-tricks in his first season in La Liga.
He struck up a wonderful partnership with Di Stefano, who is also one of the greatest strikers of all time. On the left-wing, they had Francisco Gento, who was an extremely pacy winger. He had the technical ability and the vision to provide great support to the incredibly talented Di Stefano and Puskas.
The trio plundered their way through Europe and together they won two European Cups and four La Liga titles in six years. Arguably the greatest attacking trio of all time, they laid the foundations on which Real Madrid built their legacy.
