Legends of football: Pele, Yashin and other great football players

The modern history of football knows many namesthe legendary masters of the leather ball. Undoubtedly, every fan has its own list of the best sportsmen in the world, which may not coincide with the ratings compiled annually by many mass media. We will turn to the International Federation of Football History and Statistics, which in 2000, through a survey of journalists and veterans of World Sports No. 1, established the best player of the 20th century. According to most of the respondents, he became the legendary Brazilian striker Pele.

Edson Arantis do Nascimento

So completely sound the name and surname of the King of football. Born in 1940 in Tres Coracoins, a small town in eastern Brazil, Edson took the first steps in the sport under the guidance of his father, who himself was the attacker of the local team. Undoubtedly, gifted by nature, the boy possessed enormous diligence and great love for the game itself. Already at the youthful age the future star stood out among its peers with excellent speed, technique of possession of the ball and delivered blows from both legs.

The best footballer of the world made his debut forthe world famous Brazilian club "Santos", when he was not 16 years old. And in the next, in 1958 as part of the Brazilian national team, he becomes the world champion. The team of "yellow-green" of that time shone with such football legends as Garrincha, Didi, Zagalo, but it was Pele who scored the winning goal against Wales in the quarterfinal match. It is possible to enumerate all the titles and awards that Edson received in his career for a long time. It should be noted that he is still the only player in the world who has won the World Cup three times (1958, 1962, 1970).

The best goalkeeper in the world

The best goalkeeper in the world in the 20th century was ourfamous athlete Lev Ivanovich Yashin. Having excellent coordination of movements and fantastic reaction, he is considered to be an innovator of football. It was he who first went outside the penalty area, helping the defenders to destroy the attacks of rivals. And his excellent vision of the field, coupled with an accurate throw in the field with his hand allowed players of the Moscow "Dynamo" and the USSR team to quickly launch counterattacks against the opponent's gate. These techniques goalkeeper many experts and today are called "yashinsky."

Team USSR, which played such legendsfootball, like Igor Netto, Valentin Ivanov, Slava Metreveli, Victor Monday and others, won the first ever European championship in 1960. Lev Yashin was awarded the title of the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Our athlete to this day is the only goalkeeper, who was awarded the "Golden Ball". The cup, which was awarded to the best footballer of Europe every year, was received by Yashin in 1963. During his career, the great athlete spent 817 games, and in 207 of them did not miss the ball into his own net.

Legends of world football

Great football players of the past - German FranzBeckenbauer, Argentinian Diego Maradona, Frenchman Michel Platini - have made their invaluable contribution to the development of the popular game. That attitude to the case, the outrageous spirit and dedication in each match brought them the love and respect of the fans.

Legends of football are involved in many events,devoted to the popularization of the game. Some of them, such as the Romanian defender Razvan Rat or the Argentinean Lionel Messi, have their own charity funds that help children in need.

Legends Cup in Russia

Annually since 2009 in Russia the tournament is held,which is called the "Legends Cup". It is attended by players of national teams not younger than 35 years. In addition to the sports component of the legend of football, they hold master classes for children and charity events in children's institutions.

</ p>>