In football, left-footers are in the minority. The majority of players prefer to use their right foot. There are also a lot of players who can play with both feet. It’s safe to say that being left-footed makes a player a little unconventional.
For the same reason, they can be difficult for defenders to deal with. As a result, teams require left-footed players because they have a distinct advantage on the football field.
Combining world-class left-footed players with others has frequently proven to be a lethal combination that can keep defenders guessing all the time. We could spend all day going through history and picking out the greatest players ever to play the game. But this article will look at four of the greatest left-footed players of all time.
Number 4: Alfredo Di Stefano
In the 1950s, Alfredo Di Stefano was Real Madrid’s most dominant football player. He was a force of nature on the football field, capable of playing in any position in midfield and up front, but he was mostly used on the left flank.
In his Real Madrid career, Di Stefano scored 246 goals in 302 appearances. He represented three different countries: Argentina, Colombia, and Spain. But it was in Spain that he had the most success, scoring 23 goals in 31 appearances.
Di Stefano, regarded as one of the complete footballers of all time, won eight La Liga titles and five European Cups with Real Madrid. He also received the Ballon d’Or twice and the Pichichi Award five times.
Number 3: Ferenc Puskas
Ferenc Puskas is regarded as one of the best strikers of all time. He was a fantastic goalscorer, scoring 84 times in 85 appearances for the Hungarian national team. Puskas was a left-footer who rarely used his right foot to get a shot off.
After 13 years at Budapest Honved between 1943 and 1956, the Hungarian international went on to join Real Madrid. He’d become part of one of the greatest attacking trios of all time at the Santiago Bernabeu, alongside Alfredo Di Stefano and Paco Gento.
Puskas scored 199 goals in 226 games for Real Madrid, winning five La Liga titles and three European Cups. He also led Hungary to the World Cup final in 1954 and Olympic Gold in 1952.
Number 2: Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona didn’t do much with his right foot other than move around. Maradona, one of the greatest footballers of all time, had the ball glued to his left foot at all times, and at the time, it was the best left foot to have graced the game.
The Argentine was a fantastic dribbler. Maradona used to run rings around his opponent’s back when refereeing was much more lenient, and players could get away with bulldozing them.
Of course, his heels were constantly snapped against, and his knees and shins would have dents from being crashed into and kicked around during that time. But Maradona was a magician on the football field, unlike any other player the game had seen up to that point.
In 1986, Maradona almost single-handedly led Argentina to a World Cup victory. His famous ‘Hand of God’ goal and the ‘Goal of the Century came in the tournament’s semi-final against England.
He scored 258 goals in 492 appearances during his illustrious club career. He began his career at Argentinos Juniors before transferring to Boca Juniors. Maradona would later play for Barcelona, but it was at Napoli that he found his true home.
Maradona led Napoli to the Serie A title for the first time in their history in the 1986-87 season. The late footballer is still regarded as a cultural icon in Naples.
Number 1: Messi
Lionel Messi is widely regarded as the greatest footballer of all time. When he was a teenager, he was compared to the great Diego Maradona. Then, Messi went on to fulfill that promise and then some. Messi, like Maradona, was a diminutive forward with incredible dribbling abilities.
He easily navigated cul-de-sacs and displayed a level of technical proficiency that is still unrivaled today. Messi’s ability complemented his vision on the field, and he appears to have answers for almost any situation.
He lacks only a few skills in his arsenal, and he is one of the complete footballers of all time. The Argentine has a record six Ballon d’Or victories and is widely expected to win it for the seventh time this year.
This summer, he led Argentina to the Copa America title, where he was named Best Player and also won the Golden Boot. Messi’s achievements are self-evident.
With Barcelona, he won ten La Liga titles, four Champions League titles, seven Copa Del Reys, eight Supercopa de Espanas, three FIFA Club World Cups, and three UEFA Super Cups. He also helped Argentina reach the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, where Germany defeated them by a single goal.