Greatest player of all time?

iloveireland

I can only comment From the late 80s onwards but I still think Ronaldo at his best was better than Pele and Maradona. I think Ronaldo was World Player of the year at the ages of 19 and 20. If he wasnt so unlucky with his injuries I have no dout he would have been the best player to have ever played the game by quite a distance. Zidane and Ronaldinho were the most Skillful of my generation but this guy at his best was simply unstoppable. When he played for Barcelona he was the best player I had ever seen. Pity he is spending most of his time now, eating Big Macs and Riding females with big cocks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAPBnbpArF4&eurl=http://www.letsbet.ie/forum/showthread.php?t=3605 - RONALDO

Who would you pick as the greatest player of all time?

I would like to know the view of someone who has been around since Pele and Maradonas generation!


Here are videos for most of the contenders!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QEmnP48PEc - PELE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYUtKKbBTkw - ZIDANE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBpu-M6kXCk - MARADONA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_CtDbZJHpo - ROMARIO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3bHpUMdXlo&feature=related - RIVALDO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAaNUVKWBmM&feature=related - GEORGE BEST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE6fIA8BMa0 - EUSEBIO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOQvuUNaauI&feature=related - FIGO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAPBnbpArF4&eurl=http://www.letsbet.ie/forum/showthread.php?t=3605 - RONALDO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKSjZEp02Q4 - HENRY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVjWAyFdpbM - RONALDINHO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfAxRE7PJ14 - PLATINI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvPgUkuzjPA - BECKENBAUER

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_V6y5P050M - GARRINCHA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr1VWSntqRg - CRUYFF

Am I leaving out anyone?

Apart from this guy but I dont know his name http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X68cGIol04U

leninbenjamin

Cesc

:cool:

kwestfan08

Greatest player of all time, tough one. I suppose its hard to look beyond the obvious choices being Pele and Maradona. If I had to pick, I'd pick Pele.

eZe^

On Second Thoughts: Rivaldo
He is in danger of being remembered as a cheat, but Brazil's leggy genius was the most unstoppable footballer since Maradona


A common, if slightly cringeworthy, observation of pundits in this country is that, if you could marry British will with continental skill, you would have the perfect footballer. Such a mixed recipe was thrillingly in evidence in Diego Maradona. Since then, however, perhaps only Rivaldo has fused the two qualities. Yet when we discuss soccer's AM (After Maradona) greats, Zinedine Zidane invariably comes out on top, with Rivaldo well back among the pack. While it would be dubious to argue that Rivaldo was a better technician than Zidane, it is arguable that, if you took everyone playing at the absolute peak of their game, Rivaldo was the best and most unstoppable footballer since Maradona.

Yet despite his bona fide, bandy-legged genius, he is to some extent forgotten, still ploughing on with the Greek travesty that is the lingering death of a genuinely great career at clubs as irrelevant to the bigger picture as Olympiakos and AEK Athens. It is potentially anomalous to argue that a former World Player of the Year was underrated, yet even at his peak Rivaldo often played under a cloud. He was frequently abused while playing for Brazil, whose fans believed he spared his best for Barcelona and who had never forgiven him for a crucial mistake in the 1996 Olympics; at club level he inspired both awe and loathing on La Rambla, and his departure on a free transfer in 2002 was mourned by few, even though he had just starred in Brazil's World Cup win.

That summer, the Spanish football expert John Carlin wrote that Rivaldo "combines to dazzling effect the two essential qualities of the ideal footballer: artistry and efficiency". The same could not necessarily be said of Zidane. Sir Alex Ferguson once observed that Zidane didn't really "hurt" teams and, while it sounded sacrilegious, there was a degree of truth in it. In terms of ball retention he was probably the greatest player of all time, blessed with such grace and supernatural awareness that he could play a game of real-life Pac-Man and never be caught, but to some extent his work was done in less dangerous areas. He needed good players alongside him.

A team of 11 Zidanes would kill you time and time again, because you'd never get the ball, but a team of 10 Nevilles and a Rivaldo could on occasion do the same. Zidane was an avant-garde footballer, as rich in subtext as it is possible for a sportsman to be, whereas Rivaldo was a rudimentary blockbuster. Yet the suspicion remains that some appreciate Zidane without knowing exactly what they're appreciating; that they are perpetuating a discourse for fear of being seen as a philistine. Nobody wants to admit that they thought Citizen Kane was crap.

The cerebral genius of Zidane, nonetheless, makes him the ultimate fantasy footballer, whereas Rivaldo was the ultimate Fantasy Footballer: he dealt relentlessly in the hard currency of goals (86 in 159 games for Barcelona and 34 in 74 for Brazil, outstanding for a player who invariably played on the left) and assists. And if there were another category by which we judged players - coronaries induced in opposing fans when they get the ball within 30 yards of goal - he would surely be top. When he was on one, he was utterly terrifying.

Apart from a right foot, Rivaldo had everything. His wiry strength allowed him to bounce off defenders, he was a outstanding dribbler, and he had a left foot that was both educated and thuggish, subtle and a sledgehammer. He could larrup the ball in, arrow a daisy-cutter a few centimetres inside the far post (the winner against Denmark in the 1998 World Cup quarter-final is the best example, but there were so many), coax a free-kick high or low, left or right, and also pass the ball in (my colleague Mike Adamson pointed out how underrated the precision of his finish against England in 2002 remains). And his control - best exemplified by a stunning, über-Le Tissier assist against Deportivo in 2002 (after 5.00 of this video) - was sensational.

Most of all, however, he had bronca, the word used repeatedly in Diego Maradona's autobiography to refer to "anger, fury, hatred, resentment, bitter discontent ... [it was] his motivator, his fuel, his driving force". Zidane had rage blackouts, but he was rarely in a high state of bronca: for the most part, as we saw in his movie, he was a wonderfully still footballer, whose game existed in a vacuum of technical perfection, such as the volley in the 2002 Champions League final. But he could not win a game on his own by imposing his personality all over it. Rivaldo could.

Rivaldo often looked apathetic and sullen - his smile was so rare that, when it came, it broke a thousand mirrors, and at times he seemed to dither like a posh boy pretending to have commitment issues - but when the mood took him and he fancied the challenge, he pursued it with the remorseless will and purpose of Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men. "You know how this is gonna turn out, don't you?"

Three examples spring to mind. There was his coconut-shy at an inspired Paul Robinson in a Champions League group game against Leeds in 2000, when Rivaldo finally equalised in the last minute to (temporarily) postpone Barcelona's exit; an astonishing tour de force against Manchester United in 1998 when, in a game Barcelona had to win to avoid elimination, he equalised twice before creaming an unbelievable shot off the bar and ingeniously creating another gilt-edged chance for Giovanni; but best of all there was the greatest hat-trick of all time, against Valencia on June 17, 2001, a midsummer night's dream of a performance that deserves a book, a film and even a Tim Lovejoy tribute all of its own.

In a straight shoot-out for the final Champions League place, which was worth tens of millions and even more in terms of pride, Barcelona needed a win and Valencia a draw. Twice Rivaldo screamed Barcelona ahead from long range, the second hit with such fury that it knocked him off his feet; twice Ruben Baraja equalised. Then, in the 89th minute, he scored with an overhead kick from outside the box so perfectly executed that it even swerved away from the dive of Santiago Canizares. Even now, it beggars belief.

Rivaldo also scored eight goals in two World Cups - including five in consecutive games in 2002 - and two in a Copa America final (in 1999, when he was voted Player of the Tournament). So why is he not in the pantheon? The slow fade of his career does not help: he has been in Greece since 2004 (although he has scored some majestic goals there), and almost ended up at Bolton. Nor does a disastrous 18 months at Milan, during which he was even voted Serie A's worst player. Or the fact that he seemed to be the mardiest of bums.

He doesn't win on longevity, either: for most his peak lasted the five years he was at the Nou Camp, even if he played superbly for three years at Palmeiras and Deportivo before that. And he was rarely involved in the latter stages of the Champions League, but that was mainly the fault of a typical Louis van Gaal defence. Rivaldo was absolutely beyond reproach in the early exits in 1998 and 2000 in particular.

Yet much of the enmity towards him stems from his pitiful cheating at the 2002 World Cup, when he got Turkey's Hakan Unsal sent off. It was shocking stuff - described by Richard Williams in this paper as "an act so despicable that it deserves to rank alongside Toni Schumacher's assault on Patrick Battiston in 1982 and even the Hand of God itself in the tournament's gallery of infamous moments" - but, as Slaven Bilic could tell you in four languages, disgracing oneself in a World Cup match is not a barrier to widespread popularity.

Yet with Rivaldo, the deception seemed to reflect a personality defect so prevalent that one Spanish writer said he had "a kind of autism". He had the hapless air of a noir patsy, and seemed forever hit by ill-fortune. Those two awesome performances against the Uniteds of Leeds and Manchester meant bugger all in the end. When he was enduring the worst time of his life in Milan, his wife Rose left him. If he had a family pet, you just know he'd have reversed over it.

He was essentially clueless: whereas Zidane's headbutt on Marco Materazzi was impossibly cool, Rivaldo's act of World Cup skulduggery was hideously ham-fisted. For that he was reviled as a typical continental (even though, in reality, British players dive as much as anyone), but with the ball at his feet not even the most nationalistic stereotyper would deny that he gave us the best of all worlds.

Fantastic article. I don't know if he was the greatest since Maradona but he is still a true legend. Ronaldinho has been getting all the hype in recent years but IMO Rivaldo was the better player. He single handedly took Barca on his shoulders and created magic, including imo the greatest hat trick of all time..

By the way, this is not my article, I just thought it was a nice and interesting read...

allybhoy

hmm.... toughie....
Its probably easier to try pick the best player of your time in any given position rather than overall, as I would say Maldini would probably be the best CH of my time.

Best Midfielder without doubt is Zidane, the man was and is an absolute legend.

Best striker (IMO) would be between Maradonna Ronaldo and Henry. Although I fecking loved watching Gianfranco zola when I was younger.

iloveireland

eZe^ wrote: »

Fantastic article. I don't know if he was the greatest since Maradona but he is still a true legend. Ronaldinho has been getting all the hype in recent years but IMO Rivaldo was the better player. He single handedly took Barca on his shoulders and created magic, including imo the greatest hat trick of all time..

By the way, this is not my article, I just thought it was a nice and interesting read...

Here's a Rivaldo video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3bHpUMdXlo&feature=related

eZe^

iloveireland wrote: »

Here's a Rivaldo video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3bHpUMdXlo&feature=related

'No one in the world scored more beautiful goals, more often, than Rivaldo.'

allybhoy

Here is another Rivaldo video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40xpRK_d9u4

iloveireland

eZe^ wrote: »

'No one in the world scored more beautiful goals, more often, than Rivaldo.'

Aye, he is pure class but I still think Ronaldo for Barcrlona was more effective.

Bounty Hunter

did Pele have any major Flaw/vice? (edit:excluding erectile disfuntion )

Maradona had his drugs, Zidane his temper, Ronaldo his weight and men of the night, Ronaldiniho his clubbing etc, Best his Booze and women, Rivaldo his cheating... and so on

kinaldo

Personally I think Ronaldo is the best of his generation but Maradona was better. Michael Laudrup should be a contender. I didn't see much of him but when I did he was unreal. I mostly remember his performance and how annoyed the Madrid fans were when he was substituted in their 1st leg cl quarter final win over Juve from 95/96, which they eventually lost in Turin. Youtube him.

His most prominent run of football came with Spanish club FC Barcelona, with whom he won four straight La Liga championships. He famously moved to arch rivals Real Madrid in 1994, with whom he won his fifth La Liga title in a row.

In 1989, he joined FC Barcelona of Spain where he enjoyed tremendous success, with former Dutch national team captain Johan Cruijff the coach. Michael Laudrup was one of the restricted three foreign players allowed in the team, alongside Dutch defender Ronald Koeman and Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoichkov, who were the pillars of Barça coach Johan Cruijff's Dream Team. The team won four consecutive La Liga championships from 1991 to 1994, as well as the 1992 European Cup, and Laudrup was twice elected the best player of the year in Spain during his Barcelona years. When Barça hired a fourth foreign star player, Brazilian striker Romário, in 1994 it meant the four foreigners would rotate as the three foreign players allowed in each match, and when Laudrup wasn't selected for the 1994 European Cup final 0-4 loss to AC Milan, his time at Barcelona was over.

In 1994 he completed a controversial move from Barça to Real Madrid after he fell out with Johan Cruijff. Laudrup went on to guide Real Madrid in a championship winning season that would end the Barça stranglehold, making Laudrup the only player ever to win the Spanish league five times in a row playing for two different clubs. After the initial success at Real, a lacklustre season would be in store for club, as well as country, and the Euro 1996 would leave no positives for him. Despite only playing two seasons at Real Madrid, Laudrup was voted the 12th best player in Real history in an internet survey by Spanish newspaper Marca when the club celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2002.

He scored 37 goals in a total of 104 appearances for the Denmark national football team, which is only topped by Peter Schmeichel's 129 games and Thomas Helveg's 108 games. From November 1994, he captained his country for a total of 28 matches[1] before his retirement in June 1998.

In 1999 he was voted the Best Foreign Player in Spanish Football over the previous 25-year period

A play-making midfielder, Laudrup was known as one of the most effective passers, as well as one of the most skillful and elegant players of the game and is still popular amongst fans. Laudrup has been the most technically accomplished football player ever to emerge from the Nordic countries. He was ranked amongst the best players in Europe, and his talent was exceptional, with the French three time European footballer of the year award winner Michel Platini describing him as one of the most talented players ever, only lamenting his lack of selfishness causing him to score too few goals.[7] His team mate in Real Madrid, Raúl has in an interview in April 2006 called Laudrup the best player he has ever played with.[8] His team mate in Barcelona, Romário has stated the same and added that Laudrup in his opinion is the fifth best player in the history of the game as he was able to create and score goals almost at will (behind Pelé, Maradona, himself and Zinedine Zidane)[9]. Laudrup was known as a gentleman on the field and never received a red card.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Laudrup

He also has the distinction of starring in two 5-0 'el clasico' wins, one with Real and one with Barca, in successive seasons.

rossie1977

there are only two contenders in truth pele and maradona

i wasn't old enough to see pele play but i don't think it would have mattered because for me between 1985 and 1989 there was no-one who could touch maradona, he single handed won the world cup for a very average argentina team and single handed won the uefa and italian league for a very average napoli team. pele, cruyff, beckenbauer etc had great players around them and they thrived on this at both club and country; maradona had a bunch of journeymen and still ruled the world, the true sign of greatness imo

Xavi6

Zidane for me. The man is a God.

Jesus Wept

Djimi Traore

allybhoy

Yeh i love maradonna aswell just wish I was old enough to have seen him properly in 86, I was only 4! He stars in my favourite football picture of all time. I love the faces on the belgians, they're like Gazelle's being stalked by a Cheetah or something


A mate of mine bought his signed jersey recently for 200euro's off ebay, might be an astute investment seeing as though he hasnt been well lately.

kinaldo

It's funny how most of the contenders somehow ended up at Barca, with the fans usually not too unhappy to see them leave.

Ronaldo, Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Romario, Maradona, Cruyff, Laudrup, Henry... and now Xavi! Also Messi the way he is going.

Zidane would be one of the few exceptions.

redcrew

Zidane is the greatest player I've had the pleasure to watch properly (too young for Maradona in '86 as well)

Have a major thing for Dennis Bergkamp as well though...I'd have sold my soul to see him at Liverpool in his prime. Don't think he's been mentioned thus far but I'd put him up there with Henry, Ronaldo, Rivaldo...he just lit up a football pitch

Charlie

It wuld have to be Zidane for me as well.

I think had Gascoigne moved from Newcastle to Man Utd and not Spuds, we may well be mentioning his name in this conversation. I think he sums up the type of player I love to see play.

iloveireland

redcrew wrote: »

Zidane is the greatest player I've had the pleasure to watch properly (too young for Maradona in '86 as well)

Have a major thing for Dennis Bergkamp as well though...I'd have sold my soul to see him at Liverpool in his prime. Don't think he's been mentioned thus far but I'd put him up there with Henry, Ronaldo, Rivaldo...he just lit up a football pitch

Nope. Bergkamp wouldnt be a contender at all. Not a chance. He was a magic player but you cant compare him to any of the lads I have on my list. Bergkamp had his moments but he wouldnt win a premiership or World Cup single handly like most of these could.

redcrew

Wiki - [had to look at exactly what he won]

"Bergkamp's former strike partner Thierry Henry praised the Dutchman after his last game for the club:

"Dennis is the best player I have ever played with as a partner. It is a dream for a striker to have him in the team with you."[8]

Arsenal Legend Ian Wright said of Bergkamp:

"He's the messiah. We told him to get us into Europe when he joined and that's exactly what he did."[9]

In April 2006, Simon Kuper wrote in the Financial Times:

"One night last year some legends of Dutch football gathered for dinner in an Amsterdam house. Around midnight conversation turned to an old question: who was the best Dutch footballer ever? Dutchmen have been voted European Footballer of the Year seven times, more than any other nationality except Germans. Yet Jan Mulder, a great centre-forward turned writer, chose a player who had never even threatened to win the award nor, at the time, a Champions League: 'Bergkamp. He had the finest technique', said Mulder. Guus Hiddink, the great Dutch manager, nodded, and so the matter was settled.""

...look at Barca this year...if Henry could do it on his own wouldn't he have done it there? he needs quality around him too. Maldini could never have won a game on his own doe he not count either as a possibility?

carlop

I'm too young to have properly seen him play but I'd also have to go for Maradona. As someone said above, he took an average, unfashionable Napoli to a team that twice won serie A. I also dont think any player has been so influential in a team's world cup win than he was in 1986.

iloveireland

redcrew wrote: »

Wiki - [had to look at exactly what he won]

"Bergkamp's former strike partner Thierry Henry praised the Dutchman after his last game for the club:

"Dennis is the best player I have ever played with as a partner. It is a dream for a striker to have him in the team with you."[8]

Arsenal Legend Ian Wright said of Bergkamp:

"He's the messiah. We told him to get us into Europe when he joined and that's exactly what he did."[9]

In April 2006, Simon Kuper wrote in the Financial Times:

"One night last year some legends of Dutch football gathered for dinner in an Amsterdam house. Around midnight conversation turned to an old question: who was the best Dutch footballer ever? Dutchmen have been voted European Footballer of the Year seven times, more than any other nationality except Germans. Yet Jan Mulder, a great centre-forward turned writer, chose a player who had never even threatened to win the award nor, at the time, a Champions League: 'Bergkamp. He had the finest technique', said Mulder. Guus Hiddink, the great Dutch manager, nodded, and so the matter was settled.""

...look at Barca this year...if Henry could do it on his own wouldn't he have done it there? he needs quality around him too. Maldini could never have won a game on his own doe he not count either as a possibility?

You said Bergkamp was in the same catagory as these two. Are you actually having a laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAPBn...ead.php?t=3605 - RONALDO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3bHp...eature=related - RIVALDO

Bergkamp wouldnt win you a premiership or World Cup single handidly. These guys could. Thats the difference. Bergkamp might be better at certain things but overall as a player and effectivness Ronaldo and the likes are miles ahead of him.

allybhoy

iloveireland wrote: »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAPBn...ead.php?t=3605 - RONALDO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3bHp...eature=related - RIVALDO

Fail

iloveireland

allybhoy wrote: »

Fail

You can see the videos on my first post on this thread!

redcrew

Hardly a far comparison considering they had each other in the Brazil team (hardly devoid of talent in other areas) to depend on and didn't need to do things on their own! I'm just saying he's a contender...same as Maldini - a point you completely glossed over btw.


Bergkamp:

4 league titles (3 Arsenal, 1 Ajax)
2 Uefa cups (Inter & Ajax)
1 Cup Winners Cup (Ajax)
6 Domestic cups (4 Arsenal, 2 Ajax)
1 runner up Uefa (Arsenal)
1 runner up Champions League (Arsenal)

Ronaldo:
2 league titles (Real)
1 Cup Winners Cup (Barcelona)
2 domestic cups (Barcelona & Real)
1 Uefa Cup (Inter)

Rivaldo:
1 Champions League (Milan)
6 league titles (2 Barcelona & 1 Palmerias - 3 Olympiacos)
4 domestic cups ( 1 Barcelona, 1 Milan, 2 Olympiacos)


I've discounted Super cups and other such trivial cups to be played for and given the weakness of the Greek league I don't think those league wins rate as highly as Spain, England, Italy or even Holland

also obviously discounted is internationals where as I've pointed out they had each other... Bergkamp doesn't shape up too bad does he?

Reganio 2

Stephen Ireland. End of discussion.

iloveireland

redcrew wrote: »

Hardly a far comparison considering they had each other in the Brazil team (hardly devoid of talent in other areas) to depend on and didn't need to do things on their own! I'm just saying he's a contender...same as Maldini - a point you completely glossed over btw.


Bergkamp:

4 league titles (3 Arsenal, 1 Ajax)
2 Uefa cups (Inter & Ajax)
1 Cup Winners Cup (Ajax)
6 Domestic cups (4 Arsenal, 2 Ajax)
1 runner up Uefa (Arsenal)
1 runner up Champions League (Arsenal)

Ronaldo:
2 league titles (Real)
1 Cup Winners Cup (Barcelona)
2 domestic cups (Barcelona & Real)
1 Uefa Cup (Inter)

Rivaldo:
1 Champions League (Milan)
6 league titles (2 Barcelona & 1 Palmerias - 3 Olympiacos)
4 domestic cups ( 1 Barcelona, 1 Milan, 2 Olympiacos)


I've discounted Super cups and other such trivial cups to be played for and given the weakness of the Greek league I don't think those league wins rate as highly as Spain, England, Italy or even Holland

also obviously discounted is internationals where as I've pointed out they had each other... Bergkamp doesn't shape up too bad does he?

I would give Maldini a better shout than Bergkamp. Im an Arsenal fan myself and Love Bergkamp but it is just a rediculous comment to put him with the likes of Ronaldo. He has never even got player of the season in the premier league. How can you say he is one of the best players to have ever played.

redcrew

well I'm a Liverpool fan and I'd rank him up there... according to wiki again! he was PFA and Writers player of the year in 1998...

also doesn't not getting recognised just show how undervalued he was?

iloveireland

redcrew wrote: »

well I'm a Liverpool fan and I'd rank him up there... according to wiki again! he was PFA and Writers player of the year in 1998...

also doesn't not getting recognised just show how undervalued he was?

Sorry, he was pfa player of the year once. But there is not a hope in hell he was even a contender for World Player of the year at any stage in his career. Bergkamp would be compared to giggs or Scholes, not Ronaldinho, Rivaldo or Ronaldo.

Bounty Hunter

Bergkamp would probably lead the way among the second tier along with players like R.Baggio and G.Weah. I also feel bad for Maldini in conversations like this as it is almost impossible for a defender to be considerd the greatest as like was said previously such a title would usually go to a player who could win games/throphies almost single handed and although Maldini could maybe stop a team from losing like this he isnt likely to win the games for Milan/Italy, a true legend of the game none the less.

Personally although I was too young to see his peak id have to say Maradona... I have high hopes for Messi.

redcrew

We'll have to agree to disagree. I think the evidence of what they have won domestically should be proof enough and he was an integral part of all those teams. Doubt they would've won without him! I think Giggs is only underrated because he never moved club and therefore Spain, Italy etc never got exposed to him.

Also you said Ronaldo and Rivaldo could win you a Champions League on their own...obviously not if Ronaldo's never won one! Rivaldo has only won one - Bergkamp did make a final and from what I can see Ronaldo hasn't even played in one.

allybhoy

Lads in fairness there isnt a right or wrong answer to this question so whats the point in arguing. If somebody thinks Bergkamp or Giggs or whoever is the best player in the world then hunky dory.

For me the best player in the world is the feeling you get when your watching a match that your fav player is playing in, even though ya couldnt give a feck about the result etc just because you want to see him touch the ball or do a bit of magic etc. Thats why for me it will be Zidane and could never be Maradonna\Best\Pele etc because I simply havnt seen them play, they werent of my era. BTW did you ever see the indoor game were ZiZou just turned up at an indoor match with a load of kids and joined in? Watch it till the end, its class

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm4zSGWEXRs

LuckyLloyd

Puskas? Roy Keane? Boniek? Should they be in the discussion?

ditpoker

Alfredo di Stefano - wiki

Club

* Argentina River Plate
o Primera División Argentina: 1945, 1947
o Runner-up South American Championship Clubs : 1948
* Colombia Millonarios
o Colombian Championship: 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953
o Colombian Cup: 1953
o Copa Bodas de Oro del Real Madrid: 1952
* Real Madrid
o La Liga: 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964
o Copa del Rey: 1962
o European Cup: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960
o Intercontinental Cup: 1960
o Pequeña Copa del Mundo de Clubes: 1953, 1956
o Latin Cup: 1955, 1957

Country

* Argentina
o Copa América: 1947

allybhoy

Yes Di Stefano was meant to have been class, but never seen him in action as he was a little before my time. Also I heard a bit of trivia before not sure if its true maybe you could confirm it, is De Stefano the only player to represent 3 national teams at senior level?? Argentina,Spain and somebody else.

ROCKMAN

rossie1977 wrote: »

there are only two contenders in truth pele and maradona

i wasn't old enough to see pele play but i don't think it would have mattered because for me between 1985 and 1989 there was no-one who could touch maradona, he single handed won the world cup for a very average argentina team and single handed won the uefa and italian league for a very average napoli team. pele, cruyff, beckenbauer etc had great players around them and they thrived on this at both club and country; maradona had a bunch of journeymen and still ruled the world, the true sign of greatness imo

About sums it up for me,
However would loved to have seen George Best play in a Major International Finals.

Chong

For me, but these are my 3 favourite players of all time in no particular order:

Maradona
Zidane
Cruijff

Zidane for me haands down. Saw him play for juve once and he ran the show. The man was an absolute genius. The great players make their mark on Finals:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoKcSR2Js5s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVavSb4Yt2k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paBAc9ZB3Gk

One of the best goals Ive ever seen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClPNFZtgP6M

and eh?! :pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAjWi663kXc

Loomis

iloveireland wrote: »

I can only comment From the late 80s onwards but I still think Ronaldo at his best was better than Pele and Maradona. Pity he is spending most of his time now, eating Big Macs and Riding females with big cocks!

It's really infuriating the see time and time again people slagging him off when they don't have a clue what they're talking about. Ronaldo's weight problem was down to an undiagnosed underactive thyroid gland. Not what he ate. For someone so informed on the player to place him ahead of players like Maradonna and Pele you come across fairly ignorant for that comment.


It's very difficult to separate some players in history so coming up with one name is almost impossible.
I'd go with Ferenc Puskas for his era http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU7LzHoCspU

Pele for his http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icbntQJ351k - this is amazing. It's 10 mins long but if you have the time you should really watch it

And Ronaldo for our generation. The similarity with this clip and Pele's is quite striking. Both very powerful, fast, skillfull, all types of goals... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TY2aYBzgJU8 Again that's long but worth it. And just cause it was an amazing season here's the year he had with Barcelona part 1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bffUNX3qX3s and part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVxT-cPFNJw Some of these goals are ridiculous - the one where he barges through two Valencia players with strapping on his leg carrying and injury. Insane.

Other players worth noting are Alfredo Di Stefano and Sandor Kocsis. If I had to go with one I'd say Pele because he had everything and was way ahead of his time. Other than that I'd go for Ronaldo. His power, pace and skill are absolutely scary when he was at his peak, which sadly was early in his career and never got back to that due to injuries which I think broke his spirit. He never played with that same zest again in my opinion.

Like I said I think it's almost impossible to single one player out. But how you can identify the contenders is when they retire the hole they leave in the game. I was genuinely sad and still miss Zidane now that he retired. I'd also be gutted if Ronaldo has to retire due to his latest injury.

_blank_

My favourite player to watch videos of is Cruyff, without a doubt, I rank him in the top five players of all time, and he'll never fall out of that, imo.

Jaysis, best player is really subjective, and impossible to answer.

Daemonic

allybhoy wrote: »

Yes Di Stefano was meant to have been class, but never seen him in action as he was a little before my time. Also I heard a bit of trivia before not sure if its true maybe you could confirm it, is De Stefano the only player to represent 3 national teams at senior level?? Argentina,Spain and somebody else.

Not sure about the only player but he did play for those 2 and Colombia.

gixerfixer

Pele

eZe^

ditpoker wrote: »

Alfredo di Stefano - wiki

Club

* Argentina River Plate
o Primera División Argentina: 1945, 1947
o Runner-up South American Championship Clubs : 1948
* Colombia Millonarios
o Colombian Championship: 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953
o Colombian Cup: 1953
o Copa Bodas de Oro del Real Madrid: 1952
* Real Madrid
o La Liga: 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964
o Copa del Rey: 1962
o European Cup: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960
o Intercontinental Cup: 1960
o Pequeña Copa del Mundo de Clubes: 1953, 1956
o Latin Cup: 1955, 1957

Country

* Argentina
o Copa América: 1947

Can't believe it took 3 pages for Di Stefano to be mentioned...


216 goals in 282 appearances for Madrid...
337 goals in 521 appearances at club level...

Puskas' goal scoring record is the most phenomenal I've ever seen...

514 goals in 529 club appearances..
84 goals in 85 appearances for his national side Hungary...

eZe^

eZe^ wrote: »

Can't believe it took 3 pages for Di Stefano to be mentioned...


216 goals in 282 appearances for Madrid...
337 goals in 521 appearances at club level...

Puskas' goal scoring record is the most phenomenal I've ever seen...

514 goals in 529 club appearances..
84 goals in 85 appearances for his national side Hungary...

Its not that suprising seeing as most of us will pick players we've seen play. I have seen so little footage of diStefano that I cant possibly say he's the best when I watched Zizou, van Basten, Maradona etc play on many many occasions.


Its really all about who we've seen so guys like Puskas, diStefano etc will not be mentioned as much.

eZe^

Deleted User wrote: »

Its not that suprising seeing as most of us will pick players we've seen play. I have seen so little footage of diStefano that I cant possibly say he's the best when I watched Zizou, van Basten, Maradona etc play on many many occasions.


Its really all about who we've seen so guys like Puskas, diStefano etc will not be mentioned as much.

But if there's the likes of Eusebio and Pele being mentioned, it's surprising that the Kubalas, Stefanos and Puskas' are being forgotten...

eZe^

eZe^ wrote: »

But if there's the likes of Eusebio and Pele being mentioned, it's surprising that the Kubalas, Stefanos and Puskas' are being forgotten...

I agree but I feel Pele and Eusebio have been given that "aura" where people now say they were unreal everytime this comes uop despite not having seen them play.


All Ive ever seen of pele, Eusebio etc were their goals, which were awesome btu I never got to see them dictate a game the way Zidane did. My Dad saw Pwele play at Dalymount park and says hes the best ever with Cruyff and Zidane tied at 2nd.

TripleAce

Maradona. He won a WC playing on his own...he is the #1 of all times. Roby Baggio close second

shanel23

Maradona by a country mile

Mr. Presentable

redcrew wrote: »

Hardly a far comparison considering they had each other in the Brazil team (hardly devoid of talent in other areas) to depend on and didn't need to do things on their own! I'm just saying he's a contender...same as Maldini - a point you completely glossed over btw.


Bergkamp:

4 league titles (3 Arsenal, 1 Ajax)
2 Uefa cups (Inter & Ajax)
1 Cup Winners Cup (Ajax)
6 Domestic cups (4 Arsenal, 2 Ajax)
1 runner up Uefa (Arsenal)
1 runner up Champions League (Arsenal)

Ronaldo:
2 league titles (Real)
1 Cup Winners Cup (Barcelona)
2 domestic cups (Barcelona & Real)
1 Uefa Cup (Inter)

Rivaldo:
1 Champions League (Milan)
6 league titles (2 Barcelona & 1 Palmerias - 3 Olympiacos)
4 domestic cups ( 1 Barcelona, 1 Milan, 2 Olympiacos)


I've discounted Super cups and other such trivial cups to be played for and given the weakness of the Greek league I don't think those league wins rate as highly as Spain, England, Italy or even Holland

also obviously discounted is internationals where as I've pointed out they had each other... Bergkamp doesn't shape up too bad does he?

That's a very spurious argument. At your benchmark Deschamp must be the greatest of all time :rolleyes:

Predhead

Maradona or Pele are the only contenders. The rest are simply to add weight to the argument.

I'd personally pick El Diego. The man practically single-handidly dragged Napoli out of the gutter and led them to six honours. Not to mention his performance in the 1986 world cup.

Maradona was the most naturally gifted player. With the ball at his feet he was so fluid, like it was part of his foot. His control was second to none.

Predhead

Deleted User wrote: »

Cruyff and Zidane tied at 2nd.

No chance. I think some people just want a different opinion.