The story of Enrique Macaya Marquez is an incredible one. The legendary Argentinian broadcaster is now 91 years old, and yet he plans on being at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Indeed, his presence at the tournament has been confirmed, meaning he will have witnessed, in person, every World Cup since Sweden 1958. That tournament was won by Brazil, and Macaya Marquez has been on hand to watch every competition since.
The 2026 World Cup will see him stretch his record to 18 consecutive FIFA tournaments. The iconic Argentine broadcaster is a truly revived authority on football in his own country and was even invited to Diego Maradona's wedding in 1989, with Macaya Marquez claiming:
“Maradona used to tell me that, when he became a manager, he would take me as his assistant coach."
As a true World Cup expert, who better to name the greatest footballers of all time? Speaking to the Guardian in 2022, he revealed his top five list.
Alfredo Di Stefano balancing a ball on his finger
First up, Macaya Marquez named the one player he felt was the greatest of all time, Alfredo Di Stefano. He explained:
“For me he was the best player of them all. Although I suppose it depends on the era. I saw Johan Cruyff as being like Di Stefano…"
Di Stefano was born in Argentina and actually represented them in the early stages of his career before he later got Spanish citizenship and represented the European nation instead. He also made four appearances for Colombia in non-FIFA-sanctioned internationals in 1951, which meant he was banned from playing at the 1954 World Cup
Ironically, Macaya Marquez names the Real Madrid legend as his greatest footballer of all time, and yet he never got to see Di Stefano at a World Cup. Despite playing for three different countries across his career, the football icon failed to make a single tournament.
Lionel Messi with the World Cup trophy
Lionel Messi with the World Cup trophy
Macaya Marquez then named all the other legends in his top five, saying:
"So, Di Stefano, Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Messi. On that timeline. They are the top five.”
Ballon d'Or Power Rankings Related
Ballon d'Or 2026 Power Rankings
Tracking the leading contenders to win the prestigious Ballon d'Or award in 2026.
It's certainly hard to argue with a list as esteemed as that. For many, Pele is and always has been the best footballer of all time. Even as an Argentine, Macaya Marquez had to include the legendary Brazilian in his top five.
He was on hand when Pele won his first World Cup in 1958 at the age of just 17, scoring twice in the final. Despite that, Macaya Marquez's main memory of the tournament was Argentina's shocking 6-1 loss to Czechoslovakia. He recalled: “I had stopped smoking three years earlier. I started again after that. When the Argentina team got back to the airport in Buenos Aires, they were pelted with coins.”
Pele would win two more tournaments, in 1962 and 1970. Sadly, Johan Cruyff never achieved that success. The Dutchman redefined how football was played during his time at Ajax and Barcelona, winning the Ballon d'Or on three occasions, but fell just short of lifting the World Cup, coming second in 1974 with West Germany winning the final 2-1.
To finish the top five, two Argentines make the cut. It's no shock to see Maradona and Lionel Messi named. After all, both men led their nations to glory on the biggest stage the beautiful game has to offer.
Maradona is the only player to ever register five goals and five assists in one World Cup. Indeed, he was directly involved in 71 per cent of Argentina’s goals during Mexico 1986, as he won the summer tournament.
Messi then went on to deliver more success for Argentina in Qatar 2022. Having lost the final in 2014, the Barcelona legend finally got his hands on the famous trophy eight years later, scoring five goals across the FIFA competition just like Maradona.