And the joy of a World Cup is, like nature, we abhor a vacuum, Mary Louise. And this will probably be their last World Cup. And Ronaldo - really the Borg to his McEnroe, the Fischer to his Spassky, a Adonis, a petulant show pony, a man who we wrote about in the book who looks like a robot who's been programmed to score goal after goal solely solely that he can take off his shirt and reveal his abs to an adoring world. Lionel Messi plays as if it were stuck inside this sock. Eduardo Galeano, the Uruguayan poet, said about him that Maradona may have played as if the ball was glued to his shoe. In a world in which we love our athletes - almost be demigods - Messi looks like he's just wandered out of your local Supercuts, 5-foot-6, squat, scruffy. The only two from the book who are going to be there, but what a pair - and Messi, that normal guy. This would be Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.īENNETT: That is true.
KELLY: Only two of the players - only two of the male players who made the cut for your list are actually going to be playing in the World Cup next month. But we also argued about - and I hope that in reading the book, young readers will revel in these arguments about the more obscure but equally as remarkable - Matthias Sindelar, a pre-war Austrian great who was rumored to have been murdered by the Nazis because of his friendship with Austrian Jews Briana Scurry, who rose from Minnesota, playing as the only African American woman on white teams to become the first African American woman in the National Soccer Hall of Fame and players like Garrincha, oft-forgotten Brazilian great who won two World Cups, the greatest dribbler that's ever played the game, even though one of his legs was six centimeters shorter than the other.īENNETT: These are the tales, the truly great and the ones that we pulled out of obscurity and shone a light on, that make up the book. You have your Maradonas, whose career was like the last scene of "Scarface" lived out on a football field. KELLY: So how did you pick? What's the methodology here?īENNETT: You have your Peles. So we wanted to stake out our position to tell 100 incredible stories that are told with joy and wonder and reverence, stories of endurance, of tenacity, of glory, and then defend that position with the heat of a thousand suns. There's a football manager, Jurgen Klopp, who says football is the world's most important, least important thing. KELLY: I do love that you acknowledge right up at the front - I think it's the first page - this is your quote - "some folks are going to foam and fume at our idiocy, which can be the only plausible explanation as to why your favorite player is not included." You're acknowledging people are going to argue about this and that's going to be part of the fun.īENNETT: Yeah, and that it's ridiculous. ROGER BENNETT: Oh, Mary Louise Kelly, it is a joy to be with you. He is also co-author of a new book called "Gods Of Soccer," which catalogues the game's 100 greatest players ever, men and women. And here to get us in the mood for the World Cup is "Men In Blazers" host Roger Bennett.
It's quite a departure from the usual summertime event. This year's tournament kicks off next month in Qatar. Funeral arrangements are pending.Soccer lovers - you know who you are - get ready. He leaves behind his wife (Debbie), their children (Chelsea and Jordan) and father (Doug).
he was a contributing editor to Singing News, writing "Midnight Meditations." His writing talent was not limited to just songs, however. Many of his songs appeared on the recordings of the Cathedrals, Legacy Five and many others. Songwriting was another forte' of Roger Bennett. He received the Singing News Fan Award for Favorite Southern Gospel pianist 14 years in row (1993-2006).
In 2004, he fulfilled another dream (having his own successful quartet) when readers of Singing News voted Legacy Five as the Favorite Traditional Male Quartet.Īlthough an excellent singer, Bennett is best remembered as pianist - and often a comedian - for the Cathedrals and Legacy Five. Though he would leave the group for two years (1987-1989) to serve as the president of Journey Records, he was the group's pianist at the time of the quartet's retirement in 1999.įollowing the retirement of the Cathedrals, Bennett and fellow Cathedrals member Scott Fowler launched Legacy Five.
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