The Big Question: Where is the next football god?
In this new series, The Straits Times takes a deep dive into the hottest sports topic or debate of the hour. From Lamine Yamal’s status as the next big thing to the burgeoning popularity of pickleball, we’ll ask The Big Question that will set you thinking, and talking.
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The players who have enthralled the football world are (from left) Pele, Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario, Ronaldinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Lamine Yamal.
ST ILLUSTRATION: LEE YU HUI
Follow topic:
- Football legends like Pele, Maradona, Messi, and Ronaldo set high standards with consistent performance and character.
- Factors beyond goals and trophies, such as "joie de vivre" and rivalry, influence a player's legendary status, as seen with great players like Pele.
- Potential successors like Mbappe, Haaland, and especially Lamine Yamal are emerging, but consistency and team success are crucial for legendary status.
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SINGAPORE – A shiny Ballon d’Or trophy now sits in Ousmane Dembele’s collection
Over the last few decades, football fans have been spoilt by the likes of Pele, Diego Maradona and, more recently, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Three-time Ballon d’Or winner Michel Platini described Pele’s play as god-like, shrines have been built to worship Maradona, while Ronaldo and Messi have also attained similarly rarefied status.
But as the current greats enter the twilight of their careers, it begs the question: Where is the next football god? Where is the next bona fide star who can drag his team across the line to victory, and drag fans out of bed at night to catch his wizardry?
If we start in the 1960s, there was the seamless transition from one legend to the next – Pele was succeeded by Johan Cruyff in the 1970s, Maradona in the 1980s, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario and Ronaldinho in the 1990s to the 2000s, then Ronaldo and Messi in the 2000s to the 2020s.
But is there a worthy successor now?
What makes a player great?
James Walton, sports business group leader of Deloitte Asia Pacific and South-east Asia, noted that what sets the greats apart from cult heroes is they must have a “consistent body of work and a certain character about them”, which makes them impossible to ignore.
He told The Straits Times: “Cult figures like George Best, Salvatore Schillaci, Eric Cantona, Fabrizio Ravanelli, Paul Gascoigne and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are mavericks who came and did something spectacular for a moment or relatively short period of time.
“Most people don’t know Roger Milla outside of scoring and dancing at a couple of World Cups and Rene Higuita will be remembered for his scorpion-kick save but not the clubs he played for.
“But to reach the Messi-Ronaldo level of conversation, there has to be a consistent body of work, to make the extraordinary look easy in almost every game.”
Astounding saves may elicit gasps and well-timed, bone-crunching tackles induce winces, but these cannot rival the anticipation and outpouring of emotions when a great goal is scored and a championship is won.
Possibly football’s first global superstar, Pele was an all-rounded attacker who was physically strong, could score with both feet, had remarkable “hang time” to leap high and stay suspended in the air to head the ball, and an eye for a pass.
He scored more than 1,200 goals in over 1,300 games and remains the only footballer to win three World Cups in 1958, 1962 and 1970.
Cruyff was not a World Cup winner nor as prolific as Pele, but the three-time Ballon d’Or winner was the face of Total Football, in which any outfield player can fill in any position as required by the team.
He was the orchestrator who could play as the centre forward, winger or playmaker to score goals or confuse opponents by dropping deep.
He led Ajax Amsterdam to eight Dutch titles and three European Cups, Barcelona to the La Liga crown in 1974, and the Netherlands to the 1974 World Cup final.
Twelve years later in Mexico, Maradona the maestro did not just conjure what is regarded as one of the greatest goal of all time – he slalomed past five opponents from the halfway line to score against England – he led an ordinary Argentina side to win the World Cup.
With Italy’s Napoli, he did the same as he lifted a provincial side to their first two Serie A titles, the Coppa Italia and their only Uefa Cup.
Yet, goals and trophies do not guarantee a footballer a place among the gods. It is why the likes of Gerd Muller, Ian Rush, Harry Kane and Neymar are not mentioned in the same breath as Pele or Messi.
Walton said: “Fans are also looking for that person who has joie de vivre, the sense that they are so in love with football, they end up transcending the game.”
This was why Real Madrid fans gave Ronaldinho a rare standing ovation at Santiago Bernabeu after he scored two brilliant solo goals for their archrivals Barcelona in 2005.
His elastic flip-flaps, Ronaldo Nazario’s stepovers and Zidane’s pirouettes were seemingly immune to club affiliations in their day, and today their moves are still attempted on pitches, playgrounds and streets worldwide.
But, in terms of sheer audacity, longevity and productivity, Ronaldo, who has 946 goals and five Ballons d’Or, and Messi, with 884 and eight Ballons d’Or, have surpassed them all.
Former Singapore international R. Sasikumar noted how the duo captured the public imagination in vastly different ways – Ronaldo with his incredible self-discipline to stay in optimum physical shape to perform, and Messi with his God-given talents to produce the unexpected and change the game in an instant. Both became wildly successful, despite having a great rival to contend with.
He said: “It’s like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in tennis, or Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei in badminton. Such rivalry, especially in this age of social media machinery, can lift the legend of athletes to another level.”
He added: “And winning things does matter. I guess this was where Neymar fell off the discussion as he plateaued at PSG and never quite inspired Brazil to win the World Cup or Copa America, whereas Messi ultimately added the World Cup and Ronaldo the European Championship and Nations League trophies to their overflowing trophy cabinet.”
Who is worthy?
Former Belgium technical director Michel Sablon, who was credited with nurturing his country’s golden generation in the 2010s – including Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku – said that it has become more difficult to pick a standout as football has evolved from revolving around a star player into a more team-based game.
He told ST: “During Pele and Cruyff’s time, they were the hub of their respective team and they were decisive in the most crucial moments.
“But, in recent years, the individual performance has become subordinate to the team performance.
“Also, the individual development of young talented players has improved dramatically, which means the initially small group of excellent players at the top is getting bigger, which makes the anointing of a best player increasingly difficult.”
With more information and highlights in this internet and social media age, G.O.A.T debates can turn into popularity contests.
Walton suggested that jet-heeled World Cup winner Kylian Mbappe has not quite reached the Messi-Ronaldo realm because of how he tried to force his way out of PSG before signing for Real.
Sasikumar feels that Norwegian goal machine Erling Haaland “does his primary job of scoring very well, but may not actually be involved as much in his team’s build-up plays”.
But both analysts agreed that these generational talents still have the time and ability to get themselves back into the reckoning among the all-time greats if they continue performing at a high level.
Sasikumar said: “Mbappe is having a fantastic season so far, and if he can deliver repeated Champions League success for Real Madrid, then he must be considered.
“And with no disrespect to Manchester City, I feel Haaland has to move to Real Madrid or Barcelona and deliver trophies with his truckloads of goals to join in.”
Is Yamal the answer?
Another candidate the experts unanimously agreed on is 18-year-old Spanish starlet Lamine Yamal, already a European Championship winner and two-time La Liga champion with Barcelona.
Many also feel he was robbed of the Ballon d’Or award because of his tender age.
Will he surpass Messi? On Olympics.com, a fascinating comparison of the teenager and the Argentinian at age 17 shows Yamal’s superiority in terms of club appearances (105-9), goals (25-1), assists (34-0) and major trophies (5-1).
Beyond the statistics, he has shown remarkable maturity and football intelligence to pick the right moments to showcase his incredible dribbling, or make the necessary and effective simple pass.
With equal panache, he is able to create and clinically finish with refined technique beyond his years.
Flamengo sporting director Jose Boto, who was formerly Benfica’s chief scout and Shakhtar Donetsk’s head of recruitment, said: “I don’t see him as just a promising player for the future.
“Despite his age, he is already elite... his game is already extremely developed and mature.
“The big question, moving forward, is about consistency. If he continues to maintain this level of performance, season after season, he can really consolidate his position as one of the game’s top stars – and create a legacy.”
Galatasaray director of scouting Emre Utkucan added: “Yamal is an extraordinary player... He has outstanding technical ability but also vision and flair – things we don’t encounter much at all in most modern footballers. He has fun on the pitch.
“Despite his age, he demonstrates a remarkable understanding of the game, as well as composure, creativity and enormous dribbling ability. Fantastic! It is pure joy to watch him play.”
Former French star Thierry Henry certainly thinks Yamal belongs among them. “One thing that amazes me in football is you always think that there is nobody better than Ronaldo and Messi, (Ruud) Gullit, Maradona, a lot of people, and then Lamine Yamal arrives,” he said.
*Who do you think can be the next bona fide football great? Let us know on our Instagram page @straits_times_sport
