A player all fans love and respect?

DaveyGem

Nedved, model proffesional may be a wee bit passed it now though.

I love him for pro ev 4 and pro ev 08 :pac::pac::pac:

Raul? never

vincenzo1975

Paulo Di Canio, Legend

staker

Anybody agree with Zizou?
I know he fvked up royally and his temper let him down more than once.
But purely for his skill levels,ball control,awareness,positioning,and sheer all round brilliance,he still commands my respect.
It still hurts to think that he tainted his name by overreacting in the WC final and messed up his legacy when he's a player that I really admired all down through his career.

Thanx 4 The Fish

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

Paulo Di Canio, Legend

Is it for his racism that he is a legend or for assaulting a referee or is there something else that I forgot ?

colly10

PHB wrote: »

You'd figure that wouldn't you, but whenever anyone in the game talks about him, they all seem to forgive him, its weird When commentators talk about Scholes, when any footballer talks about Scholes, if they are talking about his tackling, its pretty much a joke that after 20 years he still hasn't learn to tackle

+1 - He's not dirty, just can't tackle and even as a pool fan I have respect for scholes, a good pro

dannydiamond wrote: »

Can't be arsed to read through the whole thread but in case he hasn't been mentioned...Alan Shearer.

Wouldn't be a fan of him at all. If I had name one player id say messi

Tomthepost

Present day has to be Messi! Great to watch, full of tricks, always trying to beat players, scores spectular goals, NEVER DIVES, NEVER MAKES MORE OF A TACKLE THAN IT IS
Closer to home I dont think I have ever heard a bad word said about Paul McGrath (sorry got those claret and blue thinted glasses on I guess)
When Euesbio walks onto the field at Lansdowne Rd and asks for your jersey it certainly says something!

eagle eye

Bryan Robson
Ossie Ardiles
Steve Perryman
Pat Jennings
Ray Clemence
Peter Shilton
Alex Stepney
Peter Cech
Thierry Henry
Colin Hendry
Denis Irwin
Stuart Pearce
Steve Heighway
Emlyn Hughes
John Toshack
Ian Rush
Alan Hansen
Sammy McIlroy
Martin Buchan
Mike Duxbury
Viv Anderson
John Wark
Terry Butcher
Arnold Muhren
Cyrille Regis
Garry McAllister
John Salako

I'm fed up now. Enough.

mayordenis

staker wrote: »

Anybody agree with Zizou?
I know he fvked up royally and his temper let him down more than once.

I think most will agree on Zizou total legend, but I don't think his temper takes away from this I think the materazzi headbutt defiantely adds to his status.

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote: »

Is it for his racism that he is a legend or for assaulting a referee or is there something else that I forgot ?

you forgot the wondergoal

ironingbored

vincenzo1975 wrote: »

Paulo Di Canio, Legend

:eek: What? Fascist-saluting thug? I dont think so.

Alessandro Del Piero
Pavel Nedved
Ronaldinho (not many Barca get a standing ovation at the Bernabeu)
Franco Baresi
Gianfranco Zola

eirebhoy

newballsplease wrote: »

i doubt rangers fans love and respect him.....

The only bad thing Rangers fans would have to say about Larsson is that he was a Celtic player. Pretty good going after spending so long there.

ironingbored

Xavi6 wrote: »

Never liked him. He's a crap footballer who's made a career out of snapping at people's heels. A guaranteed booking in most games and useless on the ball.

yeah, he's ****e. Only has two CL medals, serie A titles and a world cup medal.

Not loved by Inter fans I'd imagine.

ironingbored

elshambo wrote: »

88 is a well known fascist symbol/number in Italy

Love quoting myself:D

That was revealed to be absolute horlicks.

ironingbored

kryogen wrote: »

how did it mean that to him? curious here!

i know in right wing circles t shirts with the 88 on them are a nod to hitler,

88 = HH

bit off topic i guess, i still dont think it will be possible to find a universally loved player, or respected........some group will have a reason to dislike every player

Should it not be 18 as in Combat 18, i.e. 1=A 8=H Adolf Hitler?

Charlie

ironingbored wrote: »

Should it not be 18 as in Combat 18, i.e. 1=A 8=H Adolf Hitler?

88= Heil Hitler

Reganio 2

A football thread about what players we love and respect turns into a discussion about Hitler? Only on boards .

Players I love and respect
1. Jimmy Bullard
2. Zindine Zidane
3. Stephen Ireland (Legend)
4. Paolo Di Canio
5. Roy Keane

Also shout out to JC as well (No not Jesus although he may as well be... Jamie Carragher.)

mayordenis

Reganio 2 wrote: »

A football thread about what players we love and respect turns into a discussion about Hitler? Only on boards :rolleyes:

fixed

Melion

Good shout about Terry Henry. Absolute model pro, never in a referee's face and always plays the game with a smile on his face. Never gives out about a decision that goes against him, just gives a little wag of the finger.

Reganio 2

Never liked Henry, always hated him... Maybe its my hatred for Arsenal I don't know but I never liked him. He wasn't a model professional he was a sly fecker.

Xavi6

eagle eye wrote: »

Bryan Robson

You must be joking. I doubt may Boro, Sheffield United and Bradford fans hold him close to their hearts.

Xavi6

ironingbored wrote: »

yeah, he's ****e. Only has two CL medals, serie A titles and a world cup medal.

Average player in a good team tbh. He does a job but he's far from a good 'footballer'.

leninbenjamin

Reganio 2 wrote: »

Never liked Henry, always hated him... Maybe its my hatred for Arsenal I don't know but I never liked him. He wasn't a model professional he was a sly fecker.

funnily enough he wrecked my head too. in his latter years at Arsenal he always seemed far too critical of his team mates on the park, he was never happy with anything unless it resulted in him getting a goal. players like Cesc and Ade seemed afraid to play their natural game because of him. another one of those players who became to big for the club imo.

eagle eye

It becomes clear that not too many are aware of the other players on the list. Only two picked out.
Xavi, about Bryan Robson, what would the fans of the clubs you mentioned have against him? Is is that he worked with them and did not succeed where others had failed before him. And he spent 7 years with Middlesboro iirc and won something with them. I don't ever remember them winning anything before or since in my lifetime.

I think you just felt you had to say something because he spent so many years with Manchester United but in fairness I have never heard anyone not even City or Leeds fans say a bad word about him.
Another man came to mind as well, but for some weird reason it seems a lot of people have something against him so I did not include him on the list and thats former City Manager Kevin Keegan who I always thought was another great player and very popular as a player. He has had stints in Management that have not worked but I don't see why he is not respected by some people. He changed football when he first managed Newcastle, they were known as the entertainers in his day and he made attacking football popular in the English league again. The game had become very drab before his Newcastle team arrived on the scene.
Just on the subject there is another one that just came to me now, and that is the present City Manager Mark Hughes.

bohsman

Good call on Sparky, Ill add Choccy McClair in aswell along with Gary Lineker and Franco Baresi.

Nalz

Xavi6 wrote: »

You must be joking. I doubt may Boro, Sheffield United and Bradford fans hold him close to their hearts.

Aye but as a player though
"A player all fans love and respect?"

Davidth88

Zola, I have not heard anyone ever say a bad word about him

( I may be biased because I am a Chelsea fan ) I met him once , he was truly a nice guy,

I had to laugh at

Peter Beardsley. Fantastic player, always playing with a smile on his face,

There was nothing wrong with Peter as a footballer, it was the smile on his face bit, a face only a mother could love I think !

TripleAce

Roberto Baggio.

gixerfixer

Emlyn Hughes.

patmac

gixerfixer wrote: »

Emlyn Hughes.

lol not even his team mates could stand him.

Met Aldo top bloke and he's 50 today had a lot of respect all round.

Xavi6

eagle eye wrote: »

Xavi, about Bryan Robson, what would the fans of the clubs you mentioned have against him? Is is that he worked with them and did not succeed where others had failed before him. And he spent 7 years with Middlesboro iirc and won something with them. I don't ever remember them winning anything before or since in my lifetime.

I think you just felt you had to say something because he spent so many years with Manchester United but in fairness I have never heard anyone not even City or Leeds fans say a bad word about him.

It's nothing to do with his United connections. He was before my time as player so I don't really care for him. Fair enough as a player he might be liked and that's the topic.

Just on the subject there is another one that just came to me now, and that is the present City Manager Mark Hughes.

There's a LOT of City fans who still can't accept him as manager. They support the team but not the manager. Plus he was a dirty bastard as a player, especially with his elbows.

applehunter

From a league of ireland perspective, i think liam coyle was admired by most fans. For a big guy he had very quick feet and always did one piece of magic during a game.

Mr Alan

gixerfixer wrote: »

Emlyn Hughes.

not sure about that. popular with fans alright, but meant to be not a very nice person supposedly. the vast majority of his team mates couldnt stand him.

meditraitor

Paolo Maldini or Alessandro Nesta both deserve respect and are not hated by anyone but Inter fans.

Peter Beardsley get an honorable mention

Maldini
Roberto Baggio (dino was a **** )
Zola
Romario
Figo
David James (as much as a mess of a person he is, he's a lovely guy haha)
Peter Beardsley

dannydiamond

dannydiamond wrote: »

Can't be arsed to read through the whole thread but in case he hasn't been mentioned...Alan Shearer.

Yea he's the darling of Man United fans!!



John Terry
Cristiano Ronaldo
Gary Neville
Steven Gerrard
Jamie Carragher
Emmanuel Eboue
Ashley Cole!!




Id say Jimmy Bullard, Allesandro Del Piero, Solksjaer, Maldini

pickarooney

meditraitor wrote: »

Paolo Maldini or Alessandro Nesta both deserve respect and are not hated by anyone but Inter fans.

Peter Beardsley get an honorable mention

I'm not an Inter fan but I loathe Nesta. It's not something that I can explain.
Nedved would be a good call but he's a woejus diver.
Pele is a cock, to be honest, I doubt I'm alone in thinking that.
Zidane has a long history of stamping, head-butting and generally the kind of thing Bergkamp has been vilified for, from way before WC2006.
Koeman is a laughable suggestion. Ask the fans of any teams he's 'managed'.

Roberto Baggio is the closest I can come to finding one. I would say Batistuta, but I'm sure there are a load of Brazilians who hate him (and Fiorentina fans who hate Baggio)...

Mr Alan

I think its between Solskjear and Torres tbh

Nalz

Mr Alan wrote: »

I think its between Solskjear and Torres tbh

and Kevin Hunt!

kronsington

david seaman was a really top bloke when i met him, as was gary mcallister who bought me a couple of pints in portugal.

two top players in their day also.

Pepe LeFrits

Melion wrote: »

Good shout about Terry Henry. Absolute model pro, never in a referee's face and always plays the game with a smile on his face. Never gives out about a decision that goes against him, just gives a little wag of the finger.

A smile? He hardly ever smiled (at least later on in his career). The 'Henry pout'.

As for Messi never diving... get out of town.

There is never going to be a player who is loved or respected by all. People are far too parochial and tribal for that. The best you'll get is loved and respected by most. In that regard, there are a lot of good mentions here.

For example, rival players I have a lot of time for would be Giggs (his hands-on-hips moan posture is forgiven) Scholes, Drogba, Alonso, Torres (he's won me over with his flowing golden locks and boyish charm), Dunne, Hutton and so on.

Mr Alan

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

For example, rival players I have a lot of time for would be Drogba

!?!?!? seriously??!?!?!? :eek:

Torres (he's won me over with his flowing golden locks and boyish charm)

back the **** away! :mad:

Pepe LeFrits

Mr Alan wrote: »

!?!?!? seriously??!?!?!? :eek:

Yeah. Obviously the diving and general antics are annoying but he comes from a different culture with regards to that and I don't see it as a stain on his character. I've read quite a few articles about the guy and he seems like a really decent person; he is a massive hero in the Ivory Coast and does a lot of good there.

jank

I would have thought drogba to be very unpopular with fans in general. Even yer one who is a chelsea fan triza something that writes in the Examiner on wednesday doesnt have great time for him. Then again she is a complete tool! If you read her columns you will agree.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishexaminer/pages/story.aspx-qqqg=sections-qqqm=arena-qqqa=sport-qqqid=71329-qqqx=1.asp

Pepe LeFrits

I dunno. His diving typically makes me laugh more than anything these days. Remember his incident with Lehmann a few seasons back? Comedy gold.

Terrific player too.

Mr Alan

SHE writes a football section?! :rolleyes:

Charlie

This bloke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUqT2zlnZGs

eagle eye

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

A smile? He hardly ever smiled (at least later on in his career). The 'Henry pout'.

As for Messi never diving... get out of town.

There is never going to be a player who is loved or respected by all. People are far too parochial and tribal for that. The best you'll get is loved and respected by most. In that regard, there are a lot of good mentions here.

For example, rival players I have a lot of time for would be Giggs (his hands-on-hips moan posture is forgiven) Scholes, Drogba, Alonso, Torres (he's won me over with his flowing golden locks and boyish charm), Dunne, Hutton and so on.

What about the list I put up? There are a lot of players on there who would be respected by all.

TripleAce

Alessandro Del Piero
Gianluigi Buffon
Gaetano Scirea
Antonio Cabrini
Marco Tardelli
Michel Platini
Roberto Baggio
Toto' Schillaci

I could go on forever....just pick any random Juve player