Messi,
Di Stefano and the rest: Players who did (do) not need World Cup glory to be
remembered
It
has been generally assumed that for a player to make his mark in Football
History, he should have excelled in the Finals of an International Tournament
(World Cup, European Championship, etc).
However,
in the History of the game there have been excellent and even legendary players
who for various reasons did not perform well in Tournaments or did not
participate at all.
In
the current era, experts have for many years suggested that Lionel Messi must
not only win the World Cup, but also dominate it in a significant fashion, to
be considered as one of the greatest ever players of the game.
So
far he has participated in three World Cups and two Copa Americas without
winning in any. He did win the Gold Medal with the Argentinean Olympic squad in
2008, however, that Tournament is not regarded as a Major Tournament.
He
was awarded the ‘Player of the World Cup’ award in the last World Cup, but many
observers and even Diego Maradona himself were baffled by the decision.
Despite
these International setbacks, his place in the History books seems secure due
to his exploits with his club Barcelona.
 |
Photo
From: Placar, Issue 1318, May 2008
(Lionel Messi) |
So,
is it possible to be considered a Legend of the game with a glittering club
career but without an impressive International one?
Certainly
there have been many examples. In fact
one can go as far back as the 1930s to see glaring examples of some of the
World’s best that did not participate in any World Cups.
The
British Nations’ exit from FIFA membership deprived them of participation for
all the World Cups of that decade.
As
a result, English Internationals such as Everton’s goal scoring machine Dixie
Dean and the likes of Wolverhampton’s Stan Cullis were deprived of World Cup
glory.
More
importantly members of Arsenal’s glorious 1930s squad were also ruled out,
these included Edris Hapgood, Ted Drake, Cliff Bastin, not to mention Scottish
International Alex James.
 |
Photo
From: England, Player by player, Author: Graham Betts
(Dixie Dean) |
Alex
James’ ‘Wembley Wizard’ teammate, Hughie Gallacher of Newcastle was likewise a
casualty of the Home Nations’ policy of FIFA exclusion.
 |
Photo
From: Scotland, The Team, Author: Andrew Ward
(Hughie Gallacher) |
 |
Photo
From: England, Player by player, Author: Graham Betts
(Edris Hapgood) |
George Best, 1960s Northern Ireland International, was
probably one of the most talented British Player of his Generation. However,
his bad luck was playing for a Nation with a virtually non-existent
International pedigree. He will always be remembered for his achievements with
Manchester United.
 |
Photo
From: Placar, Issue 1, March 20, 1970
(George Best) |
The
modern British equivalent to this is the Welshman Ryan Giggs who despite
serving Manchester United for over two decades was never even able to qualify
for the Finals of any Major Tournament (much like his older contemporaries, Ian
Rush and Mark Hughes).
Time
will tell if Gareth Bale is destined to live a similar fate.
 |
Photo
From: The Game, August 1995
(Ryan Giggs) |
Republic
of Ireland midfielder Liam Brady was one of the rare British players of the
1970s and 80s to be successful abroad. He served Arsenal and then had
successful spells in Italy with Juventus, Sampdoria and Internazionale
Milano.
However,
in the prime of his career, the Irish National Team itself was not strong
enough to qualify for Tournaments. Their ascension under Jackie Charlton
occurred during Brady’s decline and eventual retirement.
Scottish
Legend Kenny Dalglish never shone in the World Cup, despite playing in three.
Celtic Glasgow and Liverpool were beneficiaries of his best displays, with
League Titles and European Cups as rewards.
Some
of England’s best players from the 1970s did not even play in any World Cup or
had very limited time due to England’s non-qualification for the World Cups of
1974 and 1978.
England
Superstar Kevin Keegan and West Ham United stalwart Trevor Brooking’s entire
World Cup experience consists of 27 minutes during the 1982 World Cup during
England’s last match there.
It
is almost unbelievable when one thinks that Kevin Keegan won ‘France Football’
’s Ballon D’Or Award in 1978 without even participating in that Year’s World
Cup. The only such occurrence in the Award’s history.
He
owed his election due to his impressive displays for his club SV Hamburg.
 |
Photo
From: Mondial, old series, issue 26, January 1979
(Kevin Keegan) |
His
predecessor as Ballon D’Or winner in 1977, Denmark’s Allan Simonsen also owed his
status due to his exploits with his West German club Borussia Moenchengladbach,
since for most of his playing career Denmark were not a force Internationally.
As a veteran he appeared once as a substitute during the 1986 World Cup as a
sentimental gesture by his manager Sepp Piontek.
1960s
and 70s Polish striker Wlodzimierz Lubanski was considered the most talented
player of his nation and participated in Poland’s 1972 Olympics winning
campaign. However, a very bad injury in a World Cup Qualifier vs. England in
June 1973, sidelined him for two years and deprived him of the 1974 World Cup
where an impressive Polish squad finished Third.
He
did make the 1978 World Cup squad, however, by then he was in the veteran stage
of his career and had an uneventful Tournament.
Mali’s
Salif Keita was a trailblazer for African players making it in Europe, when he
starred for French Club Saint Etienne in the 1960s. Unfortunately for him, the
odds were always going to be against him in an era when Africa was only allocated
a single representative in the World Cup.
 |
Photo
From: France Footbal , November 25, 1969
(Salif
Keita)
|
Liberian
George Weah is another example of a great player playing for a nation not
strong enough to qualify for a Major Tournament. He starred in the French
league with AS Monaco and Paris St. Germain before becoming a star in the
Italian Serie A with AC Milan.
1980s
and 90s Ghana’s talented duo of Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah were perhaps unlucky
to be born a bit too soon and missed to be a part of the successive generation
of more talented Ghanaians who managed to qualify for World Cups with greater
ease.
 |
Photo
From: France Football, Issue 2492, January 11, 1994
(Abedi Pele) |
Alfredo
Di Stefano will always be remembered for Real Madrid’s domination of the 1950s.
His only World Cup experience was as an ageing player on Spain’s 1962 World Cup
squad, where injury prevented him from playing in a single match. He is often
regarded as THE greatest player of all time only eclipsed by Pele and Maradona,
yet he never played in the World Cup.
 |
Photo
From: World Soccer, June 2005
(Alfredo Di Stefano) |
His
contemporary, the Hungarian-born Ladisalo Kubala of rivals Barcelona never
played in a World Cup. Due to political reasons, he was forced to flee his
native Hungary; otherwise he surely would have been a member of the glorious
‘Mighty Magyars’ squad of 1954. Afterwards as a naturalized Spaniard, just like
Di Stefano, club excellence eclipsed any national team performance and Spain as
a national team was simply not a force to be reckoned with despite their
presence.
 |
Photo
From: Football Magazine, August 1961
(Ladislao Kubala) |
1940s
and 50s Swedish striker Gunnar Nordahl missed World Cup participation mostly
due to World War II. After starring in the 1948 Olympics, he was snapped up by
AC Milan, which effectively ended his International career, in an era when
foreign players were rarely released by their clubs.
His
avenue in earning honors was in Italian Serie A football, where he scored over
200 goals for AC Milan.
French
Stars Eric Cantona, Jean-Pierre Papin and David Ginola were part of France’s
Lost Generation that came on the scene following Michel Platini’s retirement.
While
a youthful Papin appeared briefly in the 1986 World Cup, Cantona and Ginola
never played in a World Cup.
Talented
West German midfielder Bernd Schuster also never appeared in a World Cup,
although in his case his omission was self-inflicted as he was always at odds
with the Management and hierarchy of German Football.
He
preferred to concentrate on his club career and spent over a decade in Spain
and played for all three big clubs (Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico
Madrid). His class and precision passing (not to mention, his free kicks) would
have been a welcome addition to West Germany’s squads of 1982 and 1986.
Generally
regarded as one of the most talented Italian players of his generation,
Gianfranco Zola’s World Cup experience amounted to less than 15 minutes.
He
was controversially sent off in his only appearance during the 1994 World Cup
vs. Nigeria, shortly after coming on as a substitute. This is a player who had
no bigger fan than Maradona himself during his time at Napoli and was even more
impressive during his spell at Parma and Chelsea.
One
can also include Italy and Sampdoria teammates Gianluca Vialli and Roberto
Mancini, as players who had glittering club careers, without much success in
the World Cup (Mancini did not even play a single minute in his only World Cup,
at home in 1990).
Paulo
Futre, who was Portugal’s biggest star post-Eusebio era (before the emergence
of Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo), also appeared briefly during the 1986 World
Cup. He is mostly remembered for his club success with Porto and specially
Atletico Madrid.
Real
Madrid Superstar Raul was routinely criticized for not delivering in the
International stage despite playing in many World Cups and European
Championships. At club level, he could do no wrong, breaking into the Real
Madrid first team as a teenager and winning three Champions Leagues along the
way.
1980s
Spartak Moscow midfielder Fyodor Cherenkov is considered as one of the greatest
talents of Soviet Football never to appear in a Major Tournament. A victim of
Dinamo Kiev’s domination on the field as well as presence of their Manager
(Valeri Lobanovsky) on the bench who seemed to rely heavily on his own
players. USSR legend Oleg Blokhin made
the USSR World Cup squads of 1982 and 1986; however, those were near the tail
end of his career and were largely unimpressive. One can only wonder if he
would have made an impression, if USSR had qualified for the World Cup during
his heyday in the 1970s when he was starring with Dinamo Kiev.
 |
Photo
From: World Soccer, March 1999
(Oleg Blokhin) |
It
is safe to say that Messi’s place in the History books is secure, even if he
never wins any International titles, but this tag of Club Legend but
International no-show will be part of his career narrative.
