Famous football rivalries in the same era before Messi-Ronaldo surely existed, but they might be forgotten today.
Football rivalry has always been exciting in any era, especially if it involves players from the arch rival teams. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been the faces of the rivalry in the 2000s to late 2010s. Their race for records after records even still carries on up to this date. However, both are already heading the end of their careers, and their rivalry is no longer with the same intensity as it used to be.
Recently, the Portuguese skipper has just made a prediction about who would be taking his place and Messi’s in the next rivalry. The global star, whose nickname is CR7, believed that four famous figures today, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, and Lamine Yamal, might be in a race for winning the Ballon d’Or in the future. Time will eventually tell if they will fill the void left.
Prior to Messi-Ronaldo, there were at least two famous football rivalries, since it involved the two football stars from the same era but belonged to two opposition sides. The likes of Brazilian Ronaldo-Zinedine Zidane rivalry does not really count as both were playing together at the club level. Here are those famous rivals in football.
Johan Cruyff vs Franz Beckenbauer in the 1970s
They were the two masterminds in the rise of Ajax Amsterdam and Bayern Munich plus the Netherlands and West Germany in the 1970s. Both played a crucial role in their success at the club and the international level.
Unlike Messi-Ronaldo, Cruyff-Beckenbauer’s rivalry was all about their performance on the pitch, but they were considered ‘brothers’ off the pitch. Both were the key man and the captain but played in a different position. The Dutch legend was the versatile attacking midfielder, whereas Der Kaizer was known as the best libero and defensive midfielder during his playing years.
Throughout their career, they faced off only five times. Their first encounter was the quarterfinal in the 1973 European Cup. It was considered a rather early final as Ajax was the reigning champion and Bayern was one of the favourites. De Godenzonen cruised on a 5-2 victory on aggregate (4-0;1-2) to ease past Die Roten.
Beckenbauer finally avenged his side’s loss in the more prestigious game, the 1974 FIFA World Cup final. Despite conceding first through Johan Neskeens’ penalty, he led his nation to quickly turn things around before the interval from Paul Breitner’s penalty and Gerd Müller’s goal. West Germany eventually clinched their second World Cup title.
Meanwhile, their last two meetings did not take place at the top level but somewhere far across the Atlantic Ocean since both were not part of the squad when the Netherlands and West Germany met again in the second group stage of the 1978 FIFA World Cup.
Cryuff and Beckenbauer plied their trade to the USA by joining NASL (North American Soccer League) sides, the Los Angeles Aztecs and the New York Cosmos, respectively. They squared off twice in 1979 and 1980, when the former Barcelona and boss moved to the Washington Diplomats.
Diego Maradona vs Lothar Matthäus (Mid-1980s to Early 1990s)
Another rivalry slowly began to emerge in the 1986 FIFA World Cup final. The Argentine star and skipper, Diego Maradona, was able to be contained and man-marked almost throughout the game, including by the defensive midfielder, Lothar Matthäus, except for one moment when he provided an assist to Burruchaga’s winning goal. It was a tough match, and Maradona was praised for his German’s counterpart’s performance. He even persuaded him to join Napoli, but the German midfielder refused the offer.
Interestingly, he moved to Italian Serie A in summer 1988 by joining Inter Milan instead and brought them to win the league trophy in his first season, while Maradona’s Napoli finished second. In the following season, the table was turning as I Partenopei clinched their second Serie A title, with Nerrazzurri entailed on the second in the final standings.
Their last encounter on the pitch appeared to be the 1990 FIFA World Cup final. In Olimpico Roma stadium, the fate was more in favour of Matthäus, as he was awarded the Golden Ball and avenged their loss in Mexico in 1986, whereas El Diego was even scoreless.
Both were still actively playing afterwards and featured in USA 1994. Yet neither had an impressive campaign. Maradona was even sent home after the second game of the group stage against Nigeria due to his drug test failure. The Lanus-born legend eventually hangs his boots in 1997 after a two-year stint in Boca Juniors, whereas the former Bayern man went on playing in two major tournaments, the 1998 FIFA World Cup and EURO 2000, before calling on his retirement.