The book places Di Stéfano, Pelé, Cruyff, Maradona, Cristiano, and Messi in football's Olympus. Relaño, who was director of the newspaper 'As' for 23 years and currently collaborates with 'Marca' and 'El Mundo', has presented this work that goes beyond statistics, exploring the historical context and human dimension of the sport.
In addition to the six greats, the book includes 20 "demigods" such as Beckenbauer, Puskas, Kubala, Luis Suárez, Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario, or Xavi, followed by 340 "simply extraordinary" players. The work aims to reflect the growing influence of football as a universal language and social phenomenon.
“"Maradona is the player who has had 'God within' the most, so to speak. He had a huge contraindication: he almost never trained."
Relaño also referred to the criticism received from Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez, who called him one of the "intellectuals of the regime". The journalist pointed out that this tension has a long history and commented on the lack of authority in the white team's locker room, comparing the situation to the saying 'when the cat is away, the mice will play'.
Regarding the eternal debate between Maradona and Messi, Relaño believes the Argentine player had exceptional innate talent but regrets his lack of training. He highlights the consistency of Cristiano Ronaldo and the natural talent of Messi, who overcame difficulties to be accepted by the Argentine fans. He also positively assessed players like Lamine Yamal, noting his precocity records.
Concerning the upcoming World Cup in the United States, Relaño expresses reservations about the format and the influence of figures like Trump, while acknowledging the country's organizational capacity. He believes Spain has the potential to perform well if key players are in form.
The journalist also had words for Iago Aspas, whom he considers an extraordinary and perhaps underappreciated player, and positively valued Claudio Giráldez's work as a coach. Regarding the Federation, he opines that Rafael Louzán has reconverted the organization towards peace, despite reservations about refereeing management.
Finally, Relaño reflects on current sports journalism, expressing concern about the lack of rigor, the obsession with "clicks", and the proliferation of "fake news", and states he feels out of place in this era, despite having lived through the best period of journalism in Spain.
