Josef Masopust, the king of slalom and one of the best footballer of the decade of the 60

“I was surprised how full it was as a player. Luis [Of the sun] It was one of our best midfielders when disrupt enemy attacks, Suarez was a genius ball, and Paco [people] It was fantastic facing the opposing defenses. But Masopust could do all that at once: retrieve the ball, market, dribble and break into the area. He was a player outside series”. The definition corresponds to Ferenc Puskas. Man Talking, as you can imagine Josef Masopust, the best Czechoslovak player in history, chosen by the Czech Federation itself.

And it is to talk about this name, is talking about a living legend. Born in 1931 in the town of Strimice, Masopust represents that Checoloslovaquia that touched the sky reaching the World Cup final 62 in Chile. That country surprised the world with a flag player that left no one indifferent, even rivals. “You can not be born in Europe. With these cuts as explosives, I had to be Brazilian!”, Pele he sentenced, one day, and knowing how bad it was to have a rival.

“No matter the opponent, always stood”, He had Pluskal. “He never lost the ball, walls made short passes or until a gap opened and then taking off ... leaving behind one, of, three opponents with breakneck speed, sorteándolos first on one side, then the other, as if they were flags on a training camp. It was just an incredible player”. Yes, rarely peers definitions are as successful as Masopust. It was one of his SUVs midfielders who could wash dishes or fiddling, but always with the best attitude, always with the best note.

Czechoslovak first player to win a Ballon d'Or 1962 (the other is Pavel Nevdev in 2003) and second best player in the World Cup in Chile after Garrincha, if history will reserve a place to Masopust it is the huge legacy left. He started playing in Teplice, but soon the Dukla Prague took him to their ranks, where he was 16 years of service playing over 386 matches in which scored 73 goals. He did before going to Belgium and become the first Czechoslovak national to leave outside its borders to go to another club sign.

They were hard times, where the Dukla was dominated by the army and where Masopust was the real engine of the team. passes, goals, arrival, work, virtually nothing was missing from this todocampista rise even reached four Czechoslovak league and third in the European Championship 1960.

And is that if something gave fame, It was his choice, that with which managed to score a goal in the final against Brazil 1962. That in which was unveiled half a world and allowed him to be proclaimed an honorary citizen of Prague, and that in which he initialed on Masopust SLALOM, a series of turns in string to make clear to all that went clear to step. Era Josef Masopust, simply, the best Czechoslovak player in history.