'%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)
When it comes to the beautiful game, putting respectable numbers on the board is only a part of the story. The remaining bit is one that cannot be statistically quantified - Flair. It is the aspect that makes the game whole, and makes it memorable and exciting for on-lookers.
Flair in football is not something one acquires; it is something one inherently possesses. Flair is the ability to stand out; it is taking something ordinary and turning it into a piece of art. Some footballers — the ones we will be focusing on today — have not only defined the word but have also used their innate ability to entertain to win invaluable accolades.
Today, we will be taking a look at the 5 greatest players in the world who turned the sport into art, mesmerizing fans and rivals alike. Now, without further ado, let us take a look at
5 players who have rewritten the laws of football with their flair
Special mention
A mere list of 5 or 10 is not enough to define football’s greatest artists; it is not fair to those who are left out. Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Garrincha are three of many such close exclusions from this list that we have to live with.
Despite being the leading goalscorer of this era, Cristiano Ronaldo has always been a great dribbler and trickster. His peak in terms of flair came at Manchester United, but Real Madrid, too, got a taste of his effortlessness.
Neymar’s skills and bag of tricks do not need an introduction. He has managed to keep the kid from Santos alive in his football, and we are hoping to see more from him in the coming years.
Garrincha was one of the best dribblers of his era and could take on any defense in the world. He had explosive pace, an arsenal of tricks, and the ability to outsmart even the toughest opponents.
#5 Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi, who recently joined Paris Saint-Germain, is arguably the best dribbler in the world right now. His little body feints, nutmegs, and gliding movement are up there with the very best, and he regularly uses his skills to make a positive impact.
Messi has a knack for scoring outrageous goals. He beat five defenders to score past Real Madrid in the 2010-11 UEFA Champions League. He also forced Kevin Prince Boateng to famously lose his footing when he went up against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League in 2015. On both occasions, Barcelona were crowned the victors of the tournament.
#4 Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff is one of the greatest philosophers the world of football has ever seen. The instigator of Total Football, the three-time Ballon d’Or winner urged his teams to focus on esthetics and not play only for the results.
Cruyff was a magician on the ball and effortlessly slid into little pockets of space to torment opponents. He also invented the ‘Cruyff Turn,’ which has proven to be an excellent escape technique in modern-day football. In the 1974 FIFA World Cup, Cruyff found himself cornered by Sweden international Jan Olsson. Instead of panicking, he dummied a pass, pulled the ball back behind his planted foot with the other foot, turned 180 degrees towards the ball and fled the scene.
His iconic maneuver remains one of the most talked about events to this day.
#3 Zinedine Zidane
Football has seen some fantastic midfielders over the years, but only a chosen few have defined flair as perfectly as Zinedine Zidane did. The Frenchman won the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid and the FIFA World Cup with France. He always used his mesmerizing movement, inch-perfect passes, and out-of-the-world ball control to take charge of the midfield, and the antidote was nowhere to be found.
Zidane produced many excellent performances over his illustrious career. However, if we had to pinpoint the one that showcased his unmatched flair, we would have to go with his man-of-the-match performance against Brazil in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final. On that occasion, he single-handedly took on the famous Brazil side that had the likes of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, and more. The 34-year-old’s passing, first-touches, long balls and roulettes turned Brazil inside out and helped France to a comfortable 2-0 win.
#2 Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona was the golden boy of Argentina, the prince that promised and delivered the biggest silverware. His short stature, insane dribbling, and venomous left-foot defined an era of football, making him one of the greatest players — if not the greatest — the game has ever seen.
Maradona’s short stature made life difficult for him, as opposing defenders were always looking to break his ankles. They were successful on a couple of occasions, as well, but the World Cup hero never gave them the satisfaction of stopping him.
His peak came in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, where he single-handedly helped Argentina to their biggest international trophy, scoring the “Goal of the Century” and the “Hand of God” against England in the quarter-finals. Maradona won the Golden Ball for his heroics at the end of the tournament.
#1 Ronaldinho
Seeing a Brazilian at the top of this list is hardly a surprise, as the country has always been the most potent producer of football-artists. Ronaldinho, who was an excellent Futsal player in his teens, brought the artistry and fun-quotient of the sport to its more professional-looking sibling: football.
Ronaldinho was excellent at getting out of tight spaces, at changing the direction of his runs using “Elasticos,” and at converting the chances he carved out with his bag of tricks. Ronaldinho won every major trophy in football, both collectively and individually, and he always did so with a smile on his face.
He was one of the very few players to be applauded by Real Madrid fans during his time with Barcelona, which goes on to demonstrate the sheer joy and excitement his football brought to the world.
Also Check Out: World Cup's best players
