10 most magically gifted players of all time

#4 Garrincha

As he single-handedly won Brazil the 1962 World Cup, a Chilean newspaper – El Mercurio – carried the headline “What planet is Garrincha from?”. At his best, the bow-legged magician was an other-worldly presence on the pitch who made you go – “what in the... how in the... whaaa...hoo....” *splutter* *splutter*.

And he was fully aware of his capabilities. Once on tour with Brazil, he was playing a friendly against Fiorentina in 1958 as a wee 17-year-old. Having beaten five players in one go on one of his trademark mazy dribbles, he took the ball around the goalkeeper and waited on the goal line. When a defender came charging at him, he nutmegged the poor sod, rounded him for the second time in a matter of seconds before rolling the ball into the net.

This audacity wasn’t reserved for friendlies, either. Playing Spain in the group stages of the ‘62 Cup, Garrincha raced down the right, beating one defender and then paused – when the defender he had beaten charged back to correct his mistake, he beat him again and then delivered a pin point cross for Amarildo to score the winner.

Nobody toyed with defenders quite like he did.

---

#3 Lionel Messi

What is there to write about the little Argentine that hasn’t been already? How many times do we extol his dribbling ability, his ludicrous ball control and that insane ability to decelerate from 100 to 0 in a heartbeat? How much can we sing paeans to his ability to find any corner of the net from anywhere or his unmatched vision on the ball – which makes the eye of the needle about as big as a barn door?

Enough with that then, pop open a can of whatever it is that gets your juices flowing, and enjoy –