Iconic Soccer Players Who Changed the Game Forever: Their Legacy and Impact
I still remember the first time I watched Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal from the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals - that moment wasn't just about controversy, it was about how one player could literally change the rules of the game through sheer audacity. Throughout soccer history, we've witnessed these transformative figures who didn't just play the game but reinvented it, much like how a 28-year-old setter evolves from being someone's protégé to commanding the court for a championship franchise. Having followed football religiously for over two decades, I've come to appreciate that true legends aren't just measured by trophies but by how they permanently alter our understanding of what's possible on the pitch.
When we talk about game-changers, Pelé immediately comes to mind - the Brazilian maestro who scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 games, though honestly some historians debate the exact figures. What's undeniable is how he transformed the number 10 role from merely creative to explosively decisive. I've spent countless hours studying his 1958 World Cup performances, and what strikes me isn't just his technical brilliance but how he made the impossible look routine. His bicycle kicks weren't just goals - they were statements that the physics of football could be rewritten. Similarly, Johan Cruyff didn't just play football; he philosophized it. His famous turn in the 1974 World Cup wasn't merely a skill move but a manifesto about spatial awareness that would later birth Barcelona's entire football identity. Having visited Amsterdam multiple times, I've spoken with older fans who still get emotional describing how Cruyff made total football feel like intellectual art.
Then there's Lionel Messi - and yes, I'll admit my bias here, having followed his career since his teenage years at La Masia. His 91 goals in 2012 calendar year might stand as a record, but what truly fascinates me is how he redefined the false nine position. Traditional strikers used to operate on predictable vertical lines, but Messi taught us that creativity thrives in the spaces between positions. I've lost count of how many youth coaches I've seen completely overhaul their training methods after studying Messi's movement patterns. On the opposite spectrum, Cristiano Ronaldo's impact lies in his scientific approach to peak performance - his reported €1.5 million annual investment in his body has revolutionized how athletes approach longevity. The man turned athletic decline from an inevitability into a negotiable concept.
Let's not forget the defenders and goalkeepers who transformed their domains. Franz Beckenbauer didn't just defend; he invented the sweeper role that blended defensive solidity with creative distribution. Having played center-back in university football, I can attest how his philosophy changed how we viewed defensive responsibilities - it wasn't about destruction but about intelligent construction. Similarly, Lev Yashin, with his 270 career clean sheets and 150 penalty saves according to Soviet-era records, transformed goalkeeping from reactive shot-stopping to proactive commanding of the entire defensive third.
What strikes me about these icons is how their influence extends beyond statistics. They're like that setter who grows from protégé to leader - their legacy isn't just in what they achieved but in how they elevated everyone around them. When I coach young players today, I don't just show them highlight reels; I make them understand the contextual revolution each of these players represented. The beautiful game evolves not through gradual improvement but through these seismic shifts in understanding, and honestly, we're privileged to witness them in our lifetime. The next time you watch a match, look beyond the scoreline - you might be witnessing the birth of the next revolution.
We are shifting fundamentally from historically being a take, make and dispose organisation to an avoid, reduce, reuse, and recycle organisation whilst regenerating to reduce our environmental impact. We see significant potential in this space for our operations and for our industry, not only to reduce waste and improve resource use efficiency, but to transform our view of the finite resources in our care.
Looking to the Future
By 2022, we will establish a pilot for circularity at our Goonoo feedlot that builds on our current initiatives in water, manure and local sourcing. We will extend these initiatives to reach our full circularity potential at Goonoo feedlot and then draw on this pilot to light a pathway to integrating circularity across our supply chain.
The quality of our product and ongoing health of our business is intrinsically linked to healthy and functioning ecosystems. We recognise our potential to play our part in reversing the decline in biodiversity, building soil health and protecting key ecosystems in our care. This theme extends on the core initiatives and practices already embedded in our business including our sustainable stocking strategy and our long-standing best practice Rangelands Management program, to a more a holistic approach to our landscape.
We are the custodians of a significant natural asset that extends across 6.4 million hectares in some of the most remote parts of Australia. Building a strong foundation of condition assessment will be fundamental to mapping out a successful pathway to improving the health of the landscape and to drive growth in the value of our Natural Capital.
Our Commitment
We will work with Accounting for Nature to develop a scientifically robust and certifiable framework to measure and report on the condition of natural capital, including biodiversity, across AACo’s assets by 2023. We will apply that framework to baseline priority assets by 2024.
Looking to the Future
By 2030 we will improve landscape and soil health by increasing the percentage of our estate achieving greater than 50% persistent groundcover with regional targets of:
– Savannah and Tropics – 90% of land achieving >50% cover
– Sub-tropics – 80% of land achieving >50% perennial cover
– Grasslands – 80% of land achieving >50% cover
– Desert country – 60% of land achieving >50% cover
