Who said the beautiful game

Ajax emerged as dark horses in the Champions League when they defeated giants and competition favourites Real Madrid and Juventus in the knockout rounds. Even in the Premier League, surprises are always in store. Relegation-threatened Watford handed league leaders Liverpool a shocking first defeat of the season, and Wolves recorded a double over defending English champions Manchester City.

Nothing is ever guaranteed in football, no matter how rich or lucrative a football club might be, or however superior on paper. The way football manages to unite international fans from all walks of life across the world is also what makes the sport so beautiful. The passion from supporters is what makes football so great - and how a singular team can have dedicated fans from all over the world, hundreds and thousands of miles away from the stadium.

Pele personified it. He played the game with heart, honour, and joy. He felt that he owed the game, not that the game owed him. He was a key part in making football the global phenomenon it now is. But what makes football the biggest and most exciting game in the world? Is it the unpredictability? You never know what will happen in a game of football. A red card, an own goal, or a wonder goal from yards out.

It keeps the teams, players, and fans constantly on their toes. Here he captures the helplessness and exasperation of losing football matches beautifully.

A prolific goalscorer for Middlesbrough and Sunderland before injury cut his career short, Clough is remembered as the best manager England never had.

His forte was taking unfashionable clubs to the pinnacle of the English game and beyond. A league champion with Derby County, he repeated the feat with Nottingham Forest, before guiding them to consecutive European Cup final victories. To some players, success seems to come easily but even those whose talent seems to be a gift from God, must work hard. Pele, the greatest of them all, also preaches humility.

At heart, he was just a Belfast lad who loved to kick a ball. And he did so with incredible balance and skill; a mercurial dribbler; everything about the Northern Irishman mesmerising; from his twinkle toes to dazzling eyes.

The words capture jogo bonito. Socrates, captain of arguably the finest Brazil team since , led his team at the World Cup. They brought the beautiful game to life, with exquisite passing and movement to a samba beat.