I was half-joking because I tend to judge players by the height of their peak, so I actually am willing to stick Best in the top tier (in principle at least because I haven’t seen that much of him) along with a few other wildcards like Baggio or Ronaldinho.
But in terms of accomplishments he doesn’t belong with those three at all. If anyone does, it’s Zidane.
Agree with this, it gets a bit tricky a bit quickly. For example, Garrincha has been missed out and, well, he's a bit contemporary with Pele, plus, to a lot of people, he sort of Maradonaed 1962.
We draw the lines in a very fuzzy wobbly manner.
Now, I would agree with a Pele, Cruyff, Maradona thing at the top, but a lot of that, to me, is the creation of a legend status that has an independence from anything absolutely provable.
With Pele, for example, 17yrs old, Brazil's first win, then 12 years later, 3rd win, and that Brazil performance in the final, the colour of that tournament on tv, and those Brazil shirts, I was just too young to see it, but you grew up with the images. It was what the World Cup was meant to be. I suppose it is the modern day equivalent of religious iconography. And those players, Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, are possibly the 3, to me, who have been the most portrayed in that manner.
Zidane is a good shout, too, and maybe Brazilian Ronaldo.
Yet somehow Di Stefano and Puskas get consistently missed.
And Messi.
Maybe it is 'the story' that really lifts a player's status right up to a god-like level.
And perhaps in 20 years people won't be comparing Best, Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, but perhaps Messi, Zidane, Ronaldo and someone else.
Maybe we'll all still be discussing it.
