New Delhi: It was that kind of day; the kind when you start thinking of the greats. Of Garrincha, Ferenc Puskas, Pele, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Michel Platini, Diego Maradona, Marco Van Basten, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo (the OG), Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The list isn’t exhaustive. It isn’t even close. But as the Argentina vs Algeria game ended on Wednesday, it was hard not to fall into a dream state.
The trigger, of course, was Lionel Messi’s hat-trick. He’s 38 but the touch hasn’t deserted him, nor has the goal-scoring instinct. Exactly 20 years after he scored his first goal at the FIFA World Cup on June 16, 2006, he scored another three. We could say a lot but perhaps Erling Haaland’s words on Snapchat said it best: “Messi is a madman.”
A “madman”… yes. But is he the maddest of them all? Pele could run circles around the opposition and when he was injured in the 1962 World Cup, Garrincha showed that he could do the same too. Cruyff’s style was legendary and he even gave birth to a move (the Cruyff turn) that still bears his name. Beckenbauer made the sweeper the coolest position in the game. In terms of sheer madness (not just the footballing kind), no one will ever quite match up to Maradona — from the ‘Hand of God’ to the ‘Goal of the century’, to being banned for doping during the 1994 World Cup — he did it all.
So then who is the G.O.A.T (Greatest of all Time)? And why do we root for who we do? Is it even a rational debate? Few arguments in sports are louder, messier, or more addictive than the GOAT debate.
This is a very modern debate (Rapper LL Cool J coined the acronym in his eponymous 2000 album, which debuted at the top of the US Billboard 200) but its roots are old. After all, many have staked a claim on the title of greatest. Boxing legend Muhammad Ali had once famously declared, “I am the greatest. I said that even before I knew I was.”
The others of this era perhaps are a bit more modest. But the fans aren’t. The Messi vs Ronaldo debate has almost raged for two decades and even now, there’s no clear answer in the minds of many. Now, Mbappe is staking a claim of his own. That is what makes it fun. That is what makes it a joy.
But what should the GOAT debate truly be about? Can you compare athletes at their peak? Do you look at longevity? Is it skill? Is it power? Is it charisma? Is it a combination? Is it when and at what point of their careers we watched them?
Comparing players across eras is risky business and statisticians have tried to devise ways to bridge the gap. But it never works that way. Greatness should be appreciated regardless of the era for it doesn’t last forever. Careers are short, ask van Basten and he’ll tell you that. An ankle injury saw him play his final professional match at the age of 28. He had it all — the pace, the vision, the intelligence, he could shoot with right and left — but sport can be cruel.
The GOAT debate is nothing more than an appreciation of the privilege of watching them at their finest and the joy that act gave us. We fight for our era; for our star but through it, we bring other greats alive and that is what makes it important. So much is being forgotten in this age of information overload where we are connected but stuck in our own silos.
It is storytelling in its own way and the winner doesn’t matter. The old-timers with their eyes twinkling bring out the legends laced with nostalgia and hyperbole. The pre-internet Millennials talk about genius that shone through their community TV screens. While the internet generation will find a highlight reel to make their point.
Greatness was on display, we watched it and shining a light on that moment is a joy. This gets fans to dig deep; to fight for their heroes and that, in its own way, makes sport special. So, long live the GOAT debate and may this World Cup allow us to enter a few more players into the fray.
