No.1 Diego Maradona Magic (Mexico, 1986) “I sometimes think I preferred the one with my hand. It was a bit like stealing the wallet of the English” In 1986, Diego Maradona was the finest footballer on the planet. The man dubbed El Diez was a phenomenon. Totally and utterly incomparable to any other player in […]

No.2 Paolo Rossi’s Remarkable Renaissance (Spain, 1982) Of all the unlikely heroes that we’ve covered in this feature so far, the story Paolo Rossi is perhaps the most astounding and unpredictable of them all. Rossi had initially impressed at Vicenza early in his career, and the Italian national team boss Enzo Bearzot called him up […]

No.3: Majestic Brazil Sweep Italy Aside (Mexico, 1970) We’ve covered some wonderful sides in this feature. But none quite measure up to the Brazil team that won the World Cup in 1970. The men that donned the famous strip during the tournament 44 years ago are looked back upon with bristling nostalgia. They captured the […]

No.4: Geoff Hurst’s Final Hat-trick (England, 1966) You don’t envy managers ahead of a World Cup final. For the players in the squad, it’s set to be the biggest occasion of their entire life. But the boss can only pick 11 players and ahead of such a vital game, big decisions have to be made. […]

No.5: The Miracle of Bern (Switzerland, 1954) The wonderful Hungarian team of the 1950’s are one of the most commonly forgotten when it comes to the greatest soccer sides of all time. They played with a class, a quality and a swagger that made them a truly formidable outfit and on the cusp of the […]

No.6: A 17-year-old Pele Fires Brazil To Glory (Sweden, 1958) Making an impression as a young player is never easy. So it’s understandable that when we explore the history of the World Cup—the highest profile, most important soccer competition there is—that there is a scarcity of occasions in which a young player has inspired his […]

No.7: Ronaldo Gets His Redemption (Japan & South Korea, 2002) The World Cup has peculiar patent for impinging both delight and despair on a host of the games most iconic figures. Men that like Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane have all endured a combination of heartache and glory in this tournament. But the contrast […]

No.8: Jorge Burruchaga, Argentina’s Unlikely Hero (Mexico, 1986) It’s difficult to quantify a moment. So far in this series we’ve had instances that last a few seconds, classic games played over 90 minutes at least and even staggering runs that have lasted almost an entire competition. But for a soccer player, the absolute pinnacle—the zenith […]

No.9: Andres Iniesta Wins It For Spain (South Africa, 2010) Spain lost their opening game of the 2010 World Cup against Switzerland. There were stratospherically high hopes for Vincent Del Bosque’s side after their win in the European Championships had coincided with the blossoming of world class talents like Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Fernando Torres. […]

No.10: Zinedine Zidane The Man For France, Mystery Surrounds Ronaldo (France, 1998) As a soccer player, can anything possibly top winning a World Cup in front of your supporters? Having dealt with the pressure, the expectation and the hyperbole that grips a host nation, to actually sample glory at the end must be an enormously […]

No.11: Toni Schumacher Flattens Patrick Battiston (Spain, 1982) Sometimes no matter how encapsulating a contest is, an unsavoury moment can overshadow it. In the 1982 World Cup, the semi-final between France and West Germany was an absolute classic. One of the finest matches in World Cup history. But if you ask people to recount their […]