Every footballer dreams of representing his nation and win laurels with the national team. Many eminent footballers have got the opportunity to represent their respective national teams. A number of greats have won numerous trophies and accolades with the national team while some haven’t. Many footballers have gone on to represent their national teams till the age of 40 but there have been a number of footballing greats who hung their boots with the national team when they were quite young and at the peak of their careers.
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Here’s a list of five such footballers who ended their international careers prematurely.
1) Pele
Pele made his international debut in 1957 and was selected to play in the 1958 World Cup where he played a pivotal role in Brazil’s first World Cup win in 1958 as he scored six goals including two in the final and was subsequently named the Best Young Player of the Tournament.
The 1962 World Cup which Brazil eventually won, was expected to be Pele’s World Cup but didn’t turn out to be so as Pele injured himself in the team’s group game against Czechoslovakia but not before a brilliant performance against Mexico, scoring a goal and providing an assist. The 1966 World Cup was a better outing for Pele as he was persistently fouled during the tournament and ended Brazil’s final group game limping on the pitch.
Although Pele vowed not to play in a World Cup after 1966, he returned to play in the 1970 World Cup where he helped Brazil to a third World Cup triumph. Pele scored four goals and was awarded the Golden Ball as the Best Player of the Tournament. However, this would be the last of Pele at the World Cup as he retired from the national team, aged only 30.
2) Ferenc Puskas
During the 1950s, Hungary was regarded to be one of the greatest teams in world football and Ferenc Puskas was the captain of this great team called The Mighty Magyars for 32 successive games. He led the Hungarian team to the gold medal at the 1952 Olympics at Helsinki where he scored four goals.
However, Puskas’ finest hour with the national team came two years later when he led Hungary to the final of the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland. Puskas suffered a hairline fracture in the ankle which sidelined him for both the quarter-final and semi-final. However, he played in the final against West Germany at Bern and scored the team’s opening goal after only six minutes.
West Germany won the match 3-2 but Puskas was named as the Best Player of the Tournament. Due to the Hungarian Revolution in 1956, Puskas retired from the national team with 84 goals in 85 appearances for the national team.
He was only 29. He later immigrated to Spain where he was the nucleus of a Rea Madrid side which was regarded as one of the best in European Football. He even represented the Spanish national team at the 1962 World Cup but his international career was well over in 1956.
3) Johan Cruyff
The greatest Dutch footballer of all-time, Johan Cruyff played some dazzling football during his playing days as he epitomized the concept of Total Football proposed by the then Netherlands coach Rinus Michels. Cruyff brought Netherlands back on the map in World Football as they qualified for the 1974 World Cup, their first since 1938.
Cruyff led his team to the final of the 1974 World Cup where he won the penalty that gave the Netherlands the lead in an eventual 2-1 defeat to hosts West Germany. Cruyff scored three goals and was awarded the Golden Ball for his performances.
After leading Netherlands to third place at Euro 1976 and helping them qualify for the 1978 World Cup, Cruyff retired from the national team in 1977, aged only 30, stating later that the subjection of himself and his family to a kidnap attempt in Barcelona led him to retire from international football.
4) Ronaldo
Popularly called The Phenomenon, Ronaldo has had a career which any footballer could ask for as he excelled for both club and country throughout his career. Aged 17, Ronaldo was an unused substitute in Brazil’s victorious 1994 World Cup campaign. He soon established himself as one of the best footballers in the world and was awarded the Golden Ball at the 1998 World Cup where Brazil made it to the final. He helped Brazil win the 1997 and 1999 Copa Americas alongside the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup where he was the highest scorer.
However, Ronaldo’s finest hour with the national team came at the 2002 World Cup where he scored eight goals, including two in the final against Germany as Brazil won a fifth World Cup. Ronaldo was awarded the Golden Boot as the top scorer of the tournament.
Ronaldo scored another three goals at the 2006 World Cup in Germany where he broke Gerd Muller’s record of the most number of goals scored in the World Cup; a record which would later be broken by Miroslav Klose eight years later. After Brazil’s quarter-final defeat to France, Ronaldo retired from the national team aged only 30. However, he would have a testimonial match against Romania in 2011 where he played 15 minutes of the game.
5) Lionel Messi
And our latest example is none other than Leo Messi. Often regarded as the best player in the world, Messi has been having a terrific stint with Barcelona for more than a decade now. However, his international career hasn’t been as successful as his club career; something which eventually led Messi to call it quits for Argentina.
Having made his international debut in 2005, Messi played his first major tournament at the 2006 World Cup in Germany where he scored a goal against Serbia and Montenegro. He helped Argentina to an Olympic gold at Beijing in 2008 and soon became their talisman.
Messi did not score during the 2010 World Cup but set up a number of goals for Argentina. After a disappointing Copa America in 2011, Messi became the captain of the side and led La Albiceleste to the final of the 2014 World Cup which they lost to Germany. Messi scored four goals in the tournament and was awarded the Golden Ball.
He also led Argentina to the final of the 2015 Copa America where they lost to Chile. Messi was awarded the Most Valuable Player of the tournament but he refused the honour.
A year later, Messi led Argentina to the final of the Copa America Centenario which they lost to Chile. After a fourth final defeat in Messi’s career, Argentina’s skipper retired from the national team at the age of 29.
