Definition:

beau-ti-ful-gam-er

n. A footballer, soccer player who plays football/soccer and lives life in the spirit of "the beautiful game".

v., -gaming, gamed

Pele popularized the term "the beautiful game" as a means of setting soccer/football apart from all other sports. A beautifulgamer then is set apart from mere footballers.

Usage: "Yesterday the little beautifulgamer took his ball to the school yard and joyfully kicked it against the wall for a few hours..."

Assumptions: a beautifulgamer plays the game with joy, passion, integirty and skill ... and lives his life according to same criteria. This category of player is therefore higher than that of the
" beautiful player ", since the focus is on both the game and life...on playing and living combined...


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The Beautifulgamers:



Baggio, Roberto

"was the Divine Ponytail of Italian calcio. In his storied career, he only missed one penalty kick for Italy,and his legacy should not be defined by that famous incident." > source


Best, Georgie

for giving himself completely over to the beauty of the game and life...


Camus, Albert

The great French-Algerian writer who turned to the power of words when his body would no longer permit him to play goalkeeper...

"Plotinus can give us an answer in his admirable theme: the Beautiful, an Idea among Ideas, cannot be attained except by the person who contains the Beauty in himself. It cannot be attained by anyone whose eyes are obstructed by 'the yellow mucus of vice'." --From p.116 Youthful Writings


Cantona, Eric

for his eccentricity, his wonderous goal scoring and leadership abilities and for not allowing badly behaved fans to get away with things....

"Eric Cantona swaggered into English football as a strutting artist-hero, despising the lesser beings who attempted to play without art in their souls. He put his art into every kick, whether relishing the paradox of the backheel or savouring the feel of boot against spectator." > source


Clough, Brian

The legendary manager who led Nottingham Forrest to two consecutive European Cups.

“Style mattered, and Clough fell into the category of high-minded aesthetician. It wasn’t enough to win—he wanted to win playing beautiful football.”

Source >



Cruyff, Johann

sublime skill; beautiful philosophical mind...

When he joined FCBarcelona in 1973 he "told the European press he chose Barça over Real Madrid because he could not play for a club associated with Franco." > source


Galeano, Eduardo

for capturing the whimsy and the passion with his book Soccer in Sun and Shadow...


Henry, Thierry

for his style, his speed, his goals, his leadership, his words, his humanity...

"It was definitely one of the things I considered when I left. With all due respect to other clubs who believe winning is everything, for me it's also how you win." The beautiful game? ''You can call it that. I'd just call it playing. I'm not saying it's the only way, because it's been shown on paper that you don't always win that way. But for me Arsenal and Barcelona are the two best teams in the world in terms of their approach to the game." > source


Liedholm, Nils

He promoted the way of the beautiful game as both a player and coach.

"A world-class footballer during his playing days at Milan, Liedholm famously went two seasons without misplacing a pass. When he finally did give the ball away the San Siro crowd offered him a five minute standing ovation...The Swede is also remembered for his humour and irony..." More >


Lieholm was also a big ally to the beautiful game as a manager. For instance he offered a rare view of defending when he spoke of the modern player: "The only trouble is they do not do much to avoid fouling players...It is too easy to stop a player by fouling him. Proper training teaches you how to win the ball without committing a foul, which is much more difficult. I learned that as a youngster and that was why I was rarely booked or suspended." More >

Known as "The Baron" for having married into the Italian nobility, Liedholm had a successful career outside of football as a winemaker. More >


Platini, Michel

whose grace and determination was at the heart of a legendary French team and Euro champions Juventus...


Ronaldinho

for his magic, his joy and of course his championships...


Santana, Tele

for daring to coach differently and creating the greatest team that never won...

"I'd rather lose the game than tell my team to foul, kick the opponents or win with an illegitimate goal...Football is art, it's enjoyment and it's not about hoofing the ball upfield." > source


Socrates

a Brazilian who possessed unusual beauty on the pitch and continues to create beauty with his life, his ideas, his actions...


Wenger, Arsene

the Arsenal manager is the Premiership's protector of the Beautiful Game


Zidane

for exemplary skill, leadership and use of force in defense of the beautiful game when FIFA wouldn't do it...


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