The biggest stage of all

Fabio Cannavaro, centre, the Italy captain, has won many honours as a player, but few as precious as lifting the World Cup.

Saturated media coverage has removed the element of surprise as today's fan knows what to expect from players heading to South Africa. But playing in the World Cup remains the zenith of a career. From Seoul to Seattle, Oslo to Auckland, more than 200 million people are expected to watch the opening match of the World Cup when it kicks off on June 11 in Johannesburg. South Africa, the hosts, take on Mexico in the curtain-raiser and while in tournaments of yesteryear much might not have been known about either side, nowadays, courtesy of modern media, we know Steven Pienaar will wear a vest under his Bafana Bafana jersey that reads "God is Great", we know El Tri striker Javier Hernandez's father was called Chicharo and we know the capacity of the Soccer City stadium in Soweto is 91,141 making it the 19th largest stadium in the world.

There is no denying we are more informed now than ever before, yet, by undergoing an overload of information are we losing our sense of surprise? Is the globalisation of football resulting in the World Cup being less exciting? When Pele made his debut at the 1958 tournament, few people outside Brazil had heard of the 17-year-old, who went on to score a hat-trick in the semi-finals and two more in the final. When he was kicked off the pitch in 1962, even fewer had heard of his replacement Amarildo, who successfully carried the torch for the Brazilians en route to victory.

South American football was not available to fans living outside the continent and so players' reputations were built or broken on the back of their performances in the game's global showpiece. This month, the much-lauded Lionel Messi will have the opportunity to join South American icons Pele and Diego Maradona - widely regarded as the two best players ever. Messi has been in sensational form for domestic side Barcelona, netting 43 goals in 49 games. If he can replicate that form in Africa, few could argue he would deserve a place at the game's top table.

But he will arrive with a burden of expectation. Such is the media saturation surrounding the Argentine, everybody knows Messi's talents and anything less than a starring role will be seen as a failure. The bar has already been set for the 22-year-old, and it is higher than ever before. And it is not only the spectators who will expect Messi to shine; his opponents will pay him special attention and with the likes of Didier Zokora and Emmanuel Eboue, the Ivory Coast duo, facing him yet again this year, their homework will have been done.

Zokora, of Sevilla, faced Barcelona twice in the Primera Liga last season, while it is no mere coincidence that Eboue, the Arsenal defender, came up against the diminutive magician when the London side met Barca in the Champions League quarter-finals, Europe's elite annual competition which is now, some believe, rivalling the quadrennial World Cup for being the greatest football show on Earth. "I've been fortunate to play in it and it's the best competition in the world," says Peter Crouch. The fact the England and Tottenham forward could be talking about either competition proves there is substance to the belief that the Champions League - of which he was indeed referring - is quickly becoming the world's premier competition.

The world's best players strive to play in the Champions League and for the best teams, but a talented player from a small country cannot switch nationalities; his dream of playing in the World Cup hinges on his compatriots. As a result, the majority of the world's best players compete in the European competition, while some - think George Best, Ryan Giggs, George Weah - never had the chance to compete on the global stage. John Barnes, the former England and Liverpool midfielder, however, strongly disagrees, labelling such arguments as Eurocentric and ill-informed.

"It may be more important to the European clubs, but the World Cup will always be the biggest; it is the one every player wants to be involved in," says Barnes. "The Champions League isn't anywhere near. "From a financial aspect, then maybe, but you ask any player which medal they would rather have - Champions League winners' medal or World Cup winners' - and you will see where they stand." "And I don't agree with the argument that everybody gets to watch the best players every week either - the Argentine fans don't see Messi every week. What we are talking about is European fans; there are fans all over the world, not just in Europe.

"But football is a global village, everybody follows it so you will see and know of the Messis and the [Cristiano] Ronaldos, but the World Cup is undoubtedly the biggest and most prestigious tournament in world football." And it would appear the television ratings prove likewise: last year's Champions League final between Manchester United and Barcelona attracted 145.2 million viewers, which, while being 39 million viewers more than the Superbowl, still lags way behind the expected figures for this Friday's World Cup curtain-raiser.

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