2. George Best
“George Best was one of the most talented players of all time and probably the best footballer who never made it to a major world final”
These words are not mine, these are Franz Beckenbauer’s. George Best was just so much than your average footballer – he had so much more to him than his skills on the football pitch. The winger from Belfast played most of his career for Manchester United and was popularly known as the fifth Beatle. His charisma off the football pitch often outgrew his personality on it – Best became more of a pop culture symbol in Britain. He caught the imagination of the world with his on and off field antics, and would never shy away from a memorable quote. His life on the fast lane – featuring alcohol, girls and drugs – deadened his football skills, and one wonders what a player he could have been if football meant as much to him as booze or blondes did.
With Northern Ireland failing to qualify for the World Cup between 1958 and 1982, Best never had the opportunity to play in a World Cup – he was briefly considered by manager Billy Bingham for the showpiece event in Spain in ’82, but his off field distractions had dulled his footballing abilities. It was the misfortune of the world to have missed the chance to see a player of Best’s class in a World Cup.
1. Alfredo Di Stefano
No other footballer’s career comes remotely close to Di Stefano’s for sheer success at the highest level. Fourteen league titles, five European cups and eight times the top goalscorer in the league, Alfredo Di Stefano was undoubtedly the greatest ever player to have never made what is the pinnacle of any footballer’s career. Even a man of Diego Maradona’s ego couldn’t help but admit that Di Stefano was the greatest ever player – whether he would have conceded that if Di Stefano were Brazilian is for another day.
But unfortunately, Di Stefano’s luck never held when it came to the World Cup. He was denied an appearance in football’s greatest competition by a harsh mix of injury, politics and bad luck. His Argentina team refused to compete in the competition in 1950, while he was ruled out for the 1954 finals by FIFA after he had represented Columbia. He acquired Spanish citizenship in 1956, but La Roja failed to qualify for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, finishing a point behind Scotland in a three nation qualifying group.
Di Stefano carried Spain to the 1962 finals, but a hamstring injury prior to the competition completed the greatest injustice in football folklore. For a player as good as Di Stefano, it was a real shame.