They are, quite simply, the two greatest footballers of all time. So it only seems right to wish them both a happy birthday.
On Saturday, Pele celebrates his 70th and exactly a week later Diego Maradona turns 50. Between them they have won four of the last 14 World Cups and taken part in another four, and in the process they have not only helped to redefine the boundaries of their sport, but they have become a part of all of our lives.
A day after Real Madrid and AC Milan meet in the salubrious surrounds of the Santiago Bernabeu, one of the Spanish giants' favourite sons will don his Champions League boots for the 133rd time. But rather than turning out in the brilliant white of Real, this time he will be wearing another team's colours.
When Germans they will be relying on the legendary figure of Raul Gonzalez Blanco, the tournament's record appearance-maker and goalscorer (66) to kick-start their so far sluggish season.
For Raul, playing in a struggling side is not something he is accustomed to; this, after all, is a man who can lay claim to one of the most glittering CVs in club football. Since winning La Liga in his first season in the Real team in 1994-95, he has added six more league titles, three Champions Leagues, two Intercontinental Cups, one European Super Cup and two Pichichi awards for top scorer in La Liga.
When Fabio Capello and his team walk out at Wembley on Tuesday for their latest Euro 2012 qualifying tie against Montenegro, they will come up against a name only too familiar to those associated with English football.
Taking his place in the opposition's dugout will be Zlatko Kranjcar, - arguably the greatest threat to England's chances of reaching the finals in Poland and the Ukraine.
Under the shrewd leadership of the much-travelled Kranjcar, who took over in February, to their campaign to qualify for a first tournament as an independent nation since splitting from Serbia in 2006, winning all three games against Wales, Bulgaria and Switzerland 1-0 to top Group G.
Jump to more content from this blog
Hi, I'm Jonathan Stevenson, but you might know me as Stevo from the live texts. I love football more than life itself, which is probably quite a lot to do with a Brian Clough-inspired upbringing. I even met him in his son's newsagents once. You can follow me on to boot.
For the latest updates across ±«Óãtv blogs,
visit the Blogs homepage.
You can stay up to date with Jonathan Stevenson via these feeds.
Jonathan Stevenson Feed(ATOM)
If you aren't sure what RSS is you'll find useful.
Visit our football page
Visit the ±«Óãtv Sport website
±«Óãtv © 2014 The ±«Óãtv is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
