At last the football world cup caught up with me.
If I have to name one favourite team its Germany with Oliver Kahn(Goalkeeper) & Oliver Bierhoff(Striker) being my favourite players.
But my all-time favourites are goalkeeping greats & respective captains Jose Luiz Gonzalez Chilavert of Paraguay & Peter Schmeichel of Denmark.
These are not just great players but also they singlehandedly & carishmatically took their respective quite mediocre teams to great heights.
Chilavert was not just a goalie but he was a goalscorer too & so was Schmeichel. But the real maverick & daringly inspirational leader was Chilavert the 'bulldog' who used to leave his goalpost to attack the opposition goalpost..! I'm very fortunate to have watched them.
They were not just giants in the game but literally towered on field too. Chilavert was almost 6'2" & 105 KGs weighing Schmeichel was nearly 6'4"!
Chilavert's Paraguay lost in pre-quarters in 1998 to France(eventual champion) by a golden goal & in 2002 pre-quarters to Germany(subsequently runners up) by single goal in dying minutes. He was included in the 1998 FIFA All Star Team.
Schmeichel led the Danes to European Championship victory in 1992. Schmeichel's Denmark lost in 1998 quarterfinals to ultimate runners up Brazil by 3-2 margin.
I've been lucky to watch all their WC matches.
Paraguay,in particular, was a craze in our hostel/college thanks to the 'bulldog'..!
In a way both were unlucky to be born in mediocre footballing nations or else they would have become champions too like Casillas. Or at least got the fame of greats like Lev Yashin, Peter Shilton, Dino Zoff & Gordon Banks.
P.S.- I've a soft corner for underdogs & admiration for goalkeepers.
N.B.- People above a certain age will particularly relate to this post.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Schmeichel
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Luis_Chilavert
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup_awards#All-Star_Team
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