Elevate January 2021 | Air Serbia

SPORT / SPORTS

veću konkurenciju. Tada smo mogli da ih gledamo po ceo dan, vraćamo golove, analiziramo, pa i zame- rimo dosta toga. U modernoj eri fudbala dominiraju dvojica – Leo Mesi i Kristijano Ronaldo. Oni su Pele i Maradona 21. veka. Nema dana da se fudbalska javnost ne pita – ko je bolji? Mesija je stvorila priroda, dok Ronaldo za neverovatnu karijeru može da se zahvali napor- nom radu i želji da bude GOAT. Portugalac to ne krije. I posle mnogo decenija možemo da nastavimo da otkrivamo ko je najviše promenio lice fudbala. To je lepota ovog sporta i zasluga igrača koji su definisa- li cele generacije. Ipak, ima nešto emotivno, dirlji- vo, nostalgično u tim vremenima kada smo se deli- li na one koji više vole Pelea ili Maradonu. Jedno je sigurno – obojica su zvezde koje će zauvek sijati na fudbalskom nebu. Ili na onom drugom. Kao što re- če Pele opraštajući se od Maradone: – Svakako ćemo jednog dana zajedno šutirati lop- tu na nebu…

Pele je bio najmlađi igrač koji je postigao het-trik na SP i najmlađi je strelac ikada u finalu Pelé was the youngest player ever to score a hat-trick in the World Cup and the youngest ever scorer in a final

only during world cups that anyone could say: ‘This one is really good!’ Though it happened that someone could shine at a world cup only to subsequently disappear. The first player that we can say marked a period was Alfredo di Stéfano, back in the 1950s. Like Mara- dona, Di Stéfano was born in Argentina, but he played for Boca Juniors’ eternal rival – the River Plate club. It was at the age of 27 that he arrived at Real Madrid, where he went on to win eight Spanish championships and five European Champions Cup trophies with the club. Alfredo, who was of Italian origin, was banned by Argentina from playing for its national team, so he opted to represent Spain. A similar career path was traversed by legendary Hungarian Ferenc Puskás, who ended his career with more goals scored (530) than matches played (512). Puskás was Di Stéfano’s club teammate and also wore the shirt of Spain’s national team. However, the mo- ment marking the start of calculations about who was the G.O.A.T. occurred at the 1958 World Cup in Swe- den. It was then that the planet remembered a name that many today still find difficult to pronounce cor- rectly: Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Or, for short- ness and precision, Pelé. This seventeen-year-old won- der kid from Brazil emerged on the stage in spectacular fashion and immediately held the attention of the en- tire globe. He was the youngest player ever to score a hat-trick in the World Cup and the youngest ever scor- er in a final. Goals, records and trophies continued to mount, and many claim that Pelé is the only player to have scored more than a thousand goals. Pelé be- came an icon without a shadow of a doubt; the man who defined the period from the late ‘50s all the way

Johan Krojf je bio mađioničar koji je mogao sve. Imao je tehniku, mentalitet i taktičku disciplinu Johan Cruyff was a magician who could do anything. He had the right technical ability, mentality and tactical discipline

U modernoj eri fudbala dominiraju dvojica – Leo Mesi i Kristijano Ronaldo Two players have dominated football in the modern era - Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

108 | Sport » Sports

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