the reality is that in a more egalitarian era with less globalization, the World Cup easily was the best tournament. in the pre-Champions League era, big clubs were largely composed of domestic players. Even in England, teams were mainly made up of Englishmen, a couple of Scots and some Irish stars. Thus, when a national team was composed, it was almost certain to be better than any single club team in its league. And this would be true for most national teams. Thus, the World Cup really was the height of football.
In this awful post Champions League reality, however, this is not the case. The concentration of talent at 6 or 7 clubs means that these teams are far superior what any national team can produce naturally. In this era, it's about what you can do in the big leagues and the Champions League over many more games than what transpires in a summer World Cup. Holding onto the notion that the World Cup is the pinnacle is nothing more than romance.
