'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
#4 Ferenc Puskas, Sandor Kocsis, Nandor Hidegkuti (Hungary)
At a time when England, West Germany, and Sweden were vying for supremacy on football's intriguing European stage, Hungary upset the odds relentlessly and made the world take notice.
Dubbed the 'Magical Magyars' for their baffling ability on the pitch, Hungary were known for their ruthlessness on the pitch. The country miraculously produced three of the best forwards in history in Ferenc Puskas, Sandor Kocsis, and Nandor Hidegkuti and the trio came together to send shivers down their oppositions' spines.
With Kocsis and Puskas at their lethal best in the penalty area, the understated Nandor Hidegkuti quietly pulled the strings as Hungary wreaked havoc in the 1954 World Cup. The 'Magical Magyars' may have shockingly lost the World Cup final to West Germany that year but Puskas, Kocsis, and Hidegkuti wrote themselves into football's history books with their stunning exploits.
#3 Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo (Brazil)
Brazil predictably have more than one entry on this list and Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho find themselves in the highest echelons of football history for the sheer joy that their exploits brought to the beautiful game. The three Brazilian superstars made football look like a cakewalk as they dribbled their way past the best defences of their era and took Brazil to World Cup glory.
The trio first came into the fore in the Copa America tournament in 1999. Ronaldo and Rivaldo helped a young Ronaldinho navigate the challenges of the first team and the trident scored 11 goals in six games to win the trophy.
The fearsome trident achieved the most coveted feat in world football in 2002 and scored 15 goals in only seven games in the Selecao's successful World Cup campaign.
#2 Pele, Pepe, Coutinho (Santos)
Santos may not be the talk of the football world anymore but the landscape of Brazilian football in the 1960s was extraordinarily different from what it is today. Pele scored an incredible 643 official goals with Santos but may not have reached the impeccable heights he managed without his prodigious partners in crime.
Former Santos forwards Pepe and Coutinho do not dominate popular discourse to the extent that Pele does but were legendary figures in their own right. Pepe's 405 goals and Coutinho's 370 goals may have been overshadowed by Pele's otherworldly statistics but all three Brazilians were involved in Santos' incredible domination of South American football.
The trio's goal tally is scarcely believable. Over a period of nearly 15 years, the trio scored an astonishing 1418 goals in 1800 appearances and are arguably the most lethal attacking trident in Brazilian history.
#1 Alfredo Di Stefano, Ferenc Puskas, Francisco Gento (Real Madrid)
Ferenc Puskas and Alfredo Di Stefano empowered Real Madrid in the 1950s and joined forces with Los Blancos legend Francisco 'Paco' Gento to form the most potent attacking trident in the history of football. The three visionaries turned Real Madrid into the most formidable club European football has ever seen.
The trio led Real Madrid to five consecutive UEFA Champions League victories and dominated the competition in its early years. Real Madrid's crowning moment of the Puskas-Gento-Di Stefano era came in 1960 when Los Blancos thrashed Eintracht Frankfurt by a 7-3 margin in the European Cup final.
Ferenc Puskas put in his best performance in a Real Madrid shirt with four goals while Di Stefano scored a hat-trick of his own. Paco Gento went on to become the most successful Real Madrid player in football history and completed an attacking trident whose achievements are unlikely to be surpassed in the near future.
Honourable Mentions:
Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl, Nils Liedholm (Sweden)
Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry (Barcelona)
Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Dennis Bergkamp (Arsenal)
Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez (Manchester United)
Also Read: 10 Greatest Football Managers of all time
