The four horsemen of the football apocalypse… (Opinion by Jorge Barraza, Último tango)

It is more complicated to play against organized, well-prepared teams with 100% of players who play in European leagues than to face certain formations of Asia, Africa, Oceania, Concacaf or even some B scale South Americans.

Kylian had already raised dust in May 2022 by pointing out that, “when we arrived at the world Cup, we are ready. Instead, Argentina and Brazil They don’t have that. They don’t play high-level matches to reach the World Cup. In South America, football is not as advanced as in Europe, that is why in the last World Cups, if you look, it is always the Europeans who win.” Placing yourself above Argentina and Brazil as a Frenchman does not seem very wise: between them they have 8 world titles and were finalists 13 times. As an addition, South America He has 6 titles and 8 Olympic runners-up. And they also gave the most extraordinary footballers to the international concert. In fact, after having stated that, France lost the final against Argentina.

“Here all the teams know each other, we play with each other all the time. “Tactically it is a very similar football,” added the new star of the real Madrid. This is not the case: France does not regularly face Germany, England, Spain, Italy, Holland or Portugal. In Qualifiers they are always in different groups and do not cross paths. The Uefa It just organizes the qualifying into ten groups and divides a great into each one, so that everyone can qualify without major problems. And in the Euro Cup they only see each other if they reach decisive stages.

The Uefa has 55 members, seven of them have powerful teams, those named Germany, Italy, Spain, France, England, Holland and Portugal. Then comes a second stratum of considerable strength: Belgium, Denmark, Croatia, Sweden, Serbia, Switzerland, Poland, Scotland, Russia, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary. In a third lot we would place Norway, Romania, Greece, Ukraine, Ireland, Turkey, Iceland, Slovenia, Slovakia, North Macedonia, Wales. And behind them are crowded around twenty formations that we could define as friendly or enthusiastic, such as Gibraltar, San Marino, Cyprus, Malta, Luxembourg, Lichtenstein, Faroe Islands, Andorra, Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo, Estonia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Latvia , Lithuania, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Belarus.

Not all that glitters is gold. Yeah Messi If he had faced these teams in his 19 years of selection, he would surely have 200 more goals. But it must frequently clash with Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Ecuador… and against them it is not so simple. Also, playing at altitude, in the heat, in the humidity.

Apart from this, it should be remembered that, in the last World Cup, France lost to Tunisia, Japan beat them Germany and Spain, Australia defeated Denmark, South Korea defeated Portugal, Morocco defeated Spain and Portugal… There are many examples of how “Third World” teams can overthrow the Europeans. These are strong, not invincible.

Without boasting or comparing it with the Euro Cup (both skills are very attractive), has the America Cup an exclusive honor: it is the only championship that hosted the four greatest soccer stars in history: Di Stéfano, Pelé, Maradona and Messi. Of the four, only Di Stéfano played in the European Cup, in 1960, due to having dual nationality. They are the four horsemen of the football Apocalypse.

The Spanish League managed to reunite the three Argentines, although not to Pele. The World Cups enjoyed three of them, they were missing Di Stefano (He was with Spain in Chile 1962, but could not play due to a stomach condition). Alfredo and Messi They were, of the four, those who achieved the American title, in Ecuador 1947 the first, in Brazil 2021 the second. Di Stéfano had arrived as a substitute in Guayaquil, but in the second game René Pontoni was injured, La Saeta came on and, in addition to being champion, scored 6 goals. He was twenty-one years old. He did not compete in the Cup again because Argentina only returned to the competition in 1955 and he was already in Spain. He was not summoned.

Pele He only competed in the 1959 edition in Buenos Aires, at nineteen, and came second; However, he left his mark: he was the tournament’s top scorer with 8 goals and he graced every game. Since then, Brazil he did not take his main team to the tournament again until 1975; Pelé was already in the Cosmos.

Maradona He intervened in 1979, 1987 and 1989. He was left in debt because he could not crown or stand out. However, with a single maneuver she aroused admiration. In a dull action right in the center of the field, about 50 or 55 meters from the rival goal, he saw the Uruguayan goalkeeper ahead of him. Zeoli and he finished with a shot, the ball surpassed the goal and, when it seemed like a goal, it bounced off the crossbar and returned to the field. It was a great comeback and the stadium Maracana, in its entirety, exploded into applause. The genius showed why. His injuries, suspensions or extra-football problems prevented him from playing more.

Messi He is the one with the most attachment to the tournament, he played it 6 times: 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2021, achieving the title in the last attempt, being runner-up three times and third in Brazil 2019. He scored 13 times and gave 17 assists. A fascinating player with sensational matches and goals in the competition, but immersed in a difficult time in Argentine football. In twelve years of selection he never found a partner to play with or a coach to enhance his game, until the arrival of Scaloni in 2018 and the formation of a competitive group as it was in 2021.

Whenever the topic of the best in history comes up, someone tries to sneak in someone of their choice, it’s natural, it happens to all of us. Cruyff usually appears on those lists. He was very great, yes, but he rounded off his image as a player with that of the coach, that of the oracle.

In strictly football terms we place him in the second platoon along with Beckenbauer, Puskas, Zidane, Bobby Charlton, Eusebio, Zico, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho.
At the central table of the story this chronicler only sees four chair
s. and they are sitting Di Stéfano, Pelé, Maradona and Messi. However, the America Cup can boast of having been disputed by other phenomena such as those named Zico, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. We talk about Garrincha, Romario, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos, Elías Figueroa, Arturo Vidal, Salas, Kempes, Valderrama, Falcao garcia, Francescoli, Suárez, Forlán, Cavani, now Luis Diaz and so many more.

Likewise, the most coveted soccer players for skill and talent were always in South America. Seriously, it would be fantastic to see what a power like France would do in a America Cup. South America has reigned in soccer since 1924, when Uruguay was crowned Olympic champion.

France She is new to this thing of being great. It started in 1984 with the great generation of Platini, Lacombe, Genghini, Bossis, Battiston, Giresse, Six, Tigana, Amorós… But it won its first World Cup in 1998.

That Mbappe Seeing the European Championship as more difficult than the World Cup is your opinion, respectable, although not necessarily correct.
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Last tango
JORGE BARRAZA
For the time
@JorgeBarrazaOK