The number 10 has become an elusive creature, one perilously close to extinction. Where is our next star playmaker coming from?
and researching my favourite 18 players from various eras, a few elements came to light. One was that allied to their unbelievable skill was hard work. Platini, Zidane, Zico, Pelé, they all worked so much at their game. You would think if they were born with such natural skill they wouldn’t have to do anything. Those who did not work on their game, like Ronaldinho for example, let the standards slide as they got older.
When Zico was a kid he famously placed his tracksuit top over the crossbar and refused to go home until he hit it from a free-kick ten times in a row. He could be there for hours. As a player and coach, he compared the technique of passing, heading and free-kicks to muscle memory, a mechanical thing, like brushing your teeth.
Pelé’s dad Dondinho was a professional player who was badly injured. He and former Brazil star Waldemar de Brito coached him. Every aspect of Pelé’s game, from running properly with the ball, dribbling with the left and right foot, how to leap high and head the ball correctly to chesting, volleying and overhead kicks were all taught to him. Both the technical and mental side, sportsmanship, courage, honesty, self-discipline, fitness and preparation.
One of my personal favourites was the story of Marta. Her life from poverty to stardom began with a long three-day bus journey for a trial in Rio de Janiero and is a story of epic proportions worthy of a Hollywood movie. I included Günter Netzer because as a kid I thought he and Cruyff were just the bee’s knees. Unfortunately Cruyff was famous for wearing 14 most of his career or he would have been included too.
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