Some of the greatest ever players suffered defeat in their first World Cup final. For others, like Johan Neeskens, they fared no better second time around.
Here are the five best players who, like Lionel Messi, got another chance in a World Cup final after losing their first…
Franz Beckenbauer
Der Kaiser appeared in his first World Cup in 1966, aged 20, when he played every game while helping West Germany reach the final, where they were beaten by England. With four goals in the tournament, the centre-back finished as third-highest scorer.
Beckenbauer helped West Germany semi-avenge that defeat to England by knocking them out in the 1970 World Cup. He dislocated his shoulder in the semi-final but played on, only for Italy to triumph 4-3 after extra-time.
But it all came right on home soil in 1974 for Beckenbauer, the skipper of the victorious West Germany side. He was the first captain to lift the current iteration of the trophy after beating Johan Cruyff’s Netherlands.
Not content with that, Beckenbauer became the first man to captain and coach a nation to World Cup glory, with Mario Zagallo and Didier Deschamps later replicating the achievement.
Johan Neeskens
Neeskens was on the losing side when Beckenbauer lifted the World Cup in 1974 at the expense of Cruyff and the Netherlands’ Total Football.
Neeskens scored five in the tournament, including a second-minute penalty in the final before a West Germany player had touched the ball in Munich. But the hosts equalised with a penalty of their own before Gerd Muller scored the winner.
Netherlands were back in the final four years later, minus Cruyff, but the outcome was the same. Neeskens was one of eight players to play in both finals, this one lost to another host, Argentina, 3-1 after extra-time.
“One-nil” “One-nothing”
Neeskens’ penalty, 1974 World Cup final
David Coleman on the BBC overlaid with Hugh Johns on ITV
Two iconic catchphrases uttered in the same moment. A great spot by @JohnWilson0812 pic.twitter.com/6ZsXORfSCq
— Bryan’s Gunn (@bryansgunn) June 19, 2022
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Rummenigge had no more joy than Neeskens or the Dutch. He played in two World Cup finals, 1982 and 1986, losing both of them.
A knee injury stopped the reigning European Player of the Year from playing to his full potential but Rummenigge still rattled in a hat-trick against Chile in the group stage was he scored a crucial goal to see off France in the semi-final. But a tired West Germany…
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