Over his years playing football, Fabio Capello has had the opportunity to witness some of the best players in history up close. The Italian veteran has witnessed it all, whether he was guiding them from the dugout or putting on his boots to play against the greatest of the game.
When asked to choose the greatest football players in history, the former England manager responded four names right away. He also dismissed Cristiano Ronaldo, who some people believe to be the greatest of all time, as not being as good as his favourites.
It’s difficult to dispute with Capello’s choices, choosing two players who had already hung up their boots long before the twenty-first century arrived and another pair who the younger generation of fans will be more familiar with.
Pele
He began by mentioning Pele, the best player in Brazil’s history. It’s hard to argue with a man who has won three World Cups. Even Capello faced the incredibly gifted goal striker. The third-highest goal scorer in history (762 goals) is always mentioned when discussing the greatest players to ever put on boots.
“Pele. I once faced him in a game.
Diego Maradona follows Pele wherever he goes. No one could match the two superstars who transformed football and went beyond it in many ways prior to the early 2000s. In addition to being able to do miracles with a ball at his feet, the Argentine was a legendary figure who will live on in history.
Maradona was mentioned by Capello as being a member of the most gifted three he has ever seen play football. He will have witnessed Maradona’s genius up close as a coach in the Italian top division during his peak playing days at Napoli.
Lionel Messi
Of course, Lionel Messi is the other football player Capello ranks in the top category. There are fewer and fewer people who still reject the former Barcelona star’s status as the greatest player of all time. “These three players, they have extra imagination,” Capello said, praising the trio he selected as the best he had seen. They create something that is incomprehensible to you.
He has previously waxed poetic over the incredibly gifted trifecta in an interview from 2019, so this isn’t the first time he’s done so. While emphasising that Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t on the same level as them, Capello called them all “geniuses”:
“Pele, Maradona, and Messi are the three football greats. For a period. [Cristiano] Messi is a genius and something different, but Ronaldo is really strong because he lets you win everything.”
Ronaldo Nazario
Capello argued that Ronaldo Nazario, a player he managed during his lengthy and illustrious career in the dugout, is only a step below Pele, Maradona, and Messi. The 78-year-old minimised his namesake’s standing among the real greats while acknowledging that there isn’t much in it and placing R9 in his own bracket:
“Ronaldo is only a little bit behind. Ronaldo is Brazilian. Not Cristiano. Although not at this level, Cristiano is a good player.
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