There are few grails in sports as sacred as the FIFA World Cup. The select few to have lifted the golden trophy undergo a metamorphosis, passing from being mere athletes to national heroes, cultural icons and custodians of the sport itself. Looking ahead to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, PLAYERS sits down with a few of these custodians, from Cafu to Kaká to Del Piero, to learn what it felt like to make sports history.