Your favourite player ever...

Fromvert

Would have to players from when I was a kid. Used to love watching football Italia to see George Weah at Milan.

But he'd fall behind Ronaldo and Zidane in my favourites list.

irishguitarlad

For me it was gianfranco zola, he was incredibly skillful and I know drogba scored all the goals but i remember watching zola when i was around 9 or 10 and seeing his back heeled goal against norwich, my mind was blown. I like as well in his last season how he was absolutely unreal at free kicks.

Chancer3001

Arne_Saknussem wrote: »

Apart from pace to burn, the strength of an ox, being excellent with his back to goal, a clinical finisher, a canon of a right foot and brilliant in the air.

He defibitely wasnr fast

He wasnt very strong. Half the strikers in the league had a better physique. Compare shearers soze and strength to somebody like jason Roberts or drogba.

Good at facing away from goals...usually not a goalscorers forte.

Isnt every good striker a good finisher?

Good in the air despite the attribute of being tall.

Footoo

Fernando Redondo

The most stylish and elegant midfielder I've ever seen. Chose his hair over his national team. Stopped taking wages from Milan when he got injured. And that flick and assist at Old Trafford. What a man.

Arne_Saknussem

Chancer3001 wrote: »

He defibitely wasnr fast

He wasnt very strong. Half the strikers in the league had a better physique. Compare shearers soze and strength to somebody like jason Roberts or drogba.

Good at facing away from goals...usually not a goalscorers forte.

Isnt every good striker a good finisher?

Good in the air despite the attribute of being tall.

Had quite a bit of pace pre the injuries he suffered at Newcastle.

Shearer was extremely strong, could mix it with every defender in the league.

Being able to hold the ball up and play with your back to goal and bring others into play was needed as the time especially in the Blackburn team he played in, again he was excellent.

He was an excellent finisher, again an attribute.

He was 6ft tall, not exceptionally tall but he was an exceptional header of the ball.

So, despite being excellent at a wide variety of facets of forward play you're saying he had no attributes. :pac:

You also seem to think that the Shearer that finished his career at Newcastle was the same player that banged in the those goals for Blackburn etc, to say that he had 'no attributes' is to be ignorant of the game or of Shearers career.

eagle eye

Arne_Saknussem wrote: »

Had quite a bit of pace pre the injuries he suffered at Newcastle.

Shearer was extremely strong, could mix it with every defender in the league.

Being able to hold the ball up and play with your back to goal and bring others into play was needed as the time especially in the Blackburn team he played in, again he was excellent.

He was an excellent finisher, again an attribute.

He was 6ft tall, not exceptionally tall but he was an exceptional header of the ball.

So, despite being excellent at a wide variety of facets of forward play you're saying he had no attributes. :pac:

You also seem to think that the Shearer that finished his career at Newcastle was the same player that banged in the those goals for Blackburn etc, to say that he had 'no attributes' is to be ignorant of the game or of Shearers career.

Well he might be undervaluing Shearer's attributes but you are talking pure and utter garbage. As somebody that seen the man play live on many occasions I can tell you he never had blinding pace or anything close to it.

He was exceptional off the mark over the first five years for sure and that is something you can train yourself to be.

I'd say all his success came from incredible dedication to his profession and hard work. He really didn't have the attributes that many have but he made the absolute maximum out of everything he did have.

He wasn't always an exceptional finisher but by the time he got to Blackburn he was an incredibly consistent one. I'd be of the opinion that his finishing came from hard work and it's not an attribute. Drogba was an average finisher when he got to Chelsea but he became a great one, again hard work and good coaching.

Arne_Saknussem

eagle eye wrote: »

Well he might be undervaluing Shearer's attributes but you are talking pure and utter garbage. As somebody that seen the man play live on many occasions I can tell you he never had blinding pace or anything close to it.

He was exceptional off the mark over the first five years for sure and that is something you can train yourself to be.

I'd say all his success came from incredible dedication to his profession and hard work. He really didn't have the attributes that many have but he made the absolute maximum out of everything he did have.

He wasn't always an exceptional finisher but by the time he got to Blackburn he was an incredibly consistent one. I'd be of the opinion that his finishing came from hard work and it's not an attribute. Drogba was an average finisher when he got to Chelsea but he became a great one, again hard work and good coaching.

Wherever his finishing came from, hard work or natural gift, it's still an attribute. Look up the meaning of the word attribute before you claim other people are talking ****e. :pac:

And he was quite pacy in his early twenties.

eagle eye

Arne_Saknussem wrote: »

Wherever his finishing came from, hard work or natural gift, it's still an attribute. Look up the meaning of the word attribute before you claim other people are talking ****e. :pac:

And he was quite pacy in his early twenties.

I'm taking the work attribute on as you describe it which seems to suggest a god given talent.

Now if you want to revise your statement and say that it's because of hard work then fine but that makes the post where you quote Chancer a load of rubbish.

He was never 'pacy', he was quick over five yards alright and I suppose he wasn't slow but he was never a guy that was breaking away from defenders with pace.

Arne_Saknussem

eagle eye wrote: »

I'm taking the work attribute on as you describe it which seems to suggest a god given talent.

Now if you want to revise your statement and say that it's because of hard work then fine but that makes the post where you quote Chancer a load of rubbish.

He was never 'pacy', he was quick over five yards alright and I suppose he wasn't slow but he was never a guy that was breaking away from defenders with pace.

"attribute' - a quality or feature regarded as a characteristic

No when you're trying to redefine words it means you're the one talking rubbish. To claim that Shearer had no attributes needed to be a top striker is also talking rubbish.

Chancer3001

Its always nice when somebody with sense comes along.

Were talking outstanding attributes. Not normal attributes. Somebody 5 10 still has height as an attribute . But its not outstanding. 6 foot is not outstandingly tall.

Playing with your back to goal is not an attribute of a goalscorer.

He wasnt that fast. Im a blackburn supporter. Hes my favourite player. Ive watched him more than most. Henry Ronaldo, Cristiano would all murder him for pace.

He wasnt tall. He wasnt amazingly strong like a drogba.

But he still scored the most goals ever through less traditional attributes . Less outstanding goalscorer attributes. honesty, bravery, leadership, timing and dedication.

kfallon

Always liked Beppe Signori too, that Lazio team were very entertaining!

Arne_Saknussem

kfallon wrote: »

Always liked Beppe Signori too, that Lazio team were very entertaining!

Excellent player, almost forgotten.

Dolph Starbeam

Ronaldo - largely because his move to Inter happened when Channel 4's Football Italia covered Italian football, I was at an age where I started to appreciate football more than ever, "The Phenomenon".

Zidane, Iniesta, Ronaldinho, Riquelme and Rosicky are up there also, because they were so good, but at the same time made it look so easy.

POKERKING

Richard Dunne cos im a sad miserable old Irish Man City Fan.

Frank Lampard prob my non city(i know i know) fave player.

As a kid i imagined myself to be Kinkladze or Ronaldo(real) so shoutout to them too.

Wichita Lineman

Liverpool - Kenny Dalglish by a country mile. I just loved watching him turn it on for the reds. King Kenny, always.

Ireland - For certain he wasn't the best player we ever had but I always loved watching him play for us as he gave 120% every time - Richard Dunne.

Honourable mentions - Ronnie Whelan, Steve McMahon, Damien Duff, Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi oh and
Giuseppe Signori (Lazio) back in the day when C4 had Italian football this guy was an amazing striker.

Comic Book Guy

Don't think he has been mentioned anywhere in the thread yet but loved Roberto Baggio.

8-10

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Its always nice when somebody with sense comes along.

Were talking outstanding attributes. Not normal attributes. Somebody 5 10 still has height as an attribute . But its not outstanding. 6 foot is not outstandingly tall.

Playing with your back to goal is not an attribute of a goalscorer.

He wasnt that fast. Im a blackburn supporter. Hes my favourite player. Ive watched him more than most. Henry Ronaldo, Cristiano would all murder him for pace.

He wasnt tall. He wasnt amazingly strong like a drogba.

But he still scored the most goals ever through less traditional attributes . Less outstanding goalscorer attributes. honesty, bravery, leadership, timing and dedication.

Robbie Fowler is another like that, not the biggest, fastest or strongest by any means, but what a goalscorer. Could literally score out of anything and was wonderful to watch in the mid 90's

Arghus

Chancer3001 wrote: »

He defibitely wasnr fast

He wasnt very strong. Half the strikers in the league had a better physique. Compare shearers soze and strength to somebody like jason Roberts or drogba.

Good at facing away from goals...usually not a goalscorers forte.

Isnt every good striker a good finisher?

Good in the air despite the attribute of being tall.

Not neccessarily - Giroud isn't a good finisher. Tends to need a few misses before he'll put one anyway, often misses the easy chances and scores the hard ones. Aside from Giroud I can think of... Well, I'm sure there's loads.... There has to be... Can't think of any right now...

What I'm saying is Giroud isn't a good finisher.

Favourite player. Woah. That is a tough one. Probably, I dunno, Bergkamp. The guy was class.

bullvine

Drogba - Greatest Big game player in history - unstoppable when on his game

Skylinehead

bullvine wrote: »

Drogba - Greatest Big game player in history -

I think Iniesta has that one sewn up.

eh i dunno

Haven't read the whole thread but two players I loved to watch were kinkladze and matthaus.

Chancer3001

Just a random thought.

Did we love these players more because maybe we say limited coverage of them.

Eg we only saw the Italian league highlughts, so every time you saw a player you saw him doing something amazing or scoring a goal?

Watching a player week in week out for 90minutes kind of takes the mystique away. Because 25% of even the very best players is mistakes.

Kerrydude1981

Chancer3001 wrote: »

Just a random thought.

Did we love these players more because maybe we say limited coverage of them.

Eg we only saw the Italian league highlughts, so every time you saw a player you saw him doing something amazing or scoring a goal?

Watching a player week in week out for 90minutes kind of takes the mystique away. Because 25% of even the very best players is mistakes.

I think you have hit the nail on the head there,

The Italian League was the bees knees back then,we didnt have Channel 4 so the highlights show by RTE on a Monday night was the only coverage I got to see of it,

Same with La Liga,used see none of it until TG4 started showing highlights of matches.

Checking the papers on a Monday for results and the tables

GreNoLi

George Weah.

Ulysses Gaze

Maradona. A genius.

Cienciano

Robert Baggio for me.
Think a lot of it is who was big when you started to watch football.

https://youtu.be/3klDnEJx5MQ

Paul McGrath right up there

JamboMac

George Best, but wasted so much. Imagine an all time irish 11 north and south we could actually have a lethal team, pity either side only gets about one outstanding player every 5/10 years.

garra

Arne_Saknussem wrote: »

Had quite a bit of pace pre the injuries he suffered at Newcastle.

Shearer was extremely strong, could mix it with every defender in the league.

Being able to hold the ball up and play with your back to goal and bring others into play was needed as the time especially in the Blackburn team he played in, again he was excellent.

He was an excellent finisher, again an attribute.

He was 6ft tall, not exceptionally tall but he was an exceptional header of the ball.

So, despite being excellent at a wide variety of facets of forward play you're saying he had no attributes. :pac:

You also seem to think that the Shearer that finished his career at Newcastle was the same player that banged in the those goals for Blackburn etc, to say that he had 'no attributes' is to be ignorant of the game or of Shearers career.

None of those attributes mean anything without describing the man. Whatever you say about him now, he had that reckless need to win that drove him on. Cant just analyse facets, he was a winner on the pitch and a leader. Some of the goals he scored were sensational and he played for his own club's glory when he could have taken the money elsewhere. Not a bad resume in footballing terms.

kfallon

Kerrydude1981 wrote: »

The Italian League was the bees knees back then,we didnt have Channel 4 so the highlights show by RTE on a Monday night was the only coverage I got to see of it,

Same with La Liga,used see none of it until TG4 started showing highlights of matches.

Sgorio on S4C showed both La Liga and Serie A goals on a Monday night, great vieiwing. At one stage I could count to 5 in Welsh :P

SEANoftheDEAD

Favorite ever player? It changes from era to era for me.

During the 90's... Growing up it was Cantona and Roberto Baggio. As a child, these two men inspired and made me absolutely love football! There was something so special about the way they played the game.

After that I went through a Beckham phase which brought me up to the millennium. Then the fun really began as my understanding of football got better and players like Nedved, Zidane, Ballack, Scholes and The real Ronaldo, but the next player to really capture my imagination was Ronaldinho. My god he was a special talent. Them two goals in El Classico were the Madrid fans applauded him off the pitch... F'n goosebumps!

I'm a sucker for flair players so honorable mentions have to go to Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi.

Robbie and Roy Keane for my favourite Irish players. Robbie is the man and Keane's desire to win would make me follow him to hell. Legends that deserve statues outside Landsdowne Road.

Now after racking back through the years I think I can I chalk up all the years watching football and pick an out and out winner.... I'm basing it on the best player on his day.

It's gotta be Ronaldinho!

Stoner

gheorghe hagi
Followed by
McGrath

Irish_rat

Pavel Nedved is my idol, used to follow Juve and the Czech Republic like crazy back then.

What a player he was, the Euro 2004 loss and CL semi final yellow card broke my heart at the time as a young lad.

Also he stayed with The Old Lady through thick and thin, left everything on the pitch , a living legend, is now vice president of Juve. I think the club are going places in terms of searching for that elusive CL trophy.

Higuain may have been expensive but Pjanic and Alves also on the books, this season in Europe could be very memoral.

HalloweenJack

Said it many times over the years in these threads and it's still the same: Gianfranco Zola.

Such a talented player, had an ability to produce magic out of nothing, combative for his size, endless energy and always played with a smile on his face.

He was one of the key players at Chelsea in the 90s that pushed them onto another level before Abramovich's billions completely warped the financial landscape.

He also ended his career by going back to his hometown and getting his boyhood side promoted back to Serie A. A fairytale ending to an incredible career.

ciaran76

Matthias Sammer and Lothar Matthäus.
2 players I liked watching playing football.

They seemed to be ahead of the game everytime.

Not saying they were my favourite but I really admired them.

Flint Fredstone

Le Tissier for me. You just won't get a player like that anymore. He looked like he should be down the pub watching the game but he was there, making fools of defenders and goalkeepers.

A shout out for Mata too. Nothing to do with footballing ability, even though he's not short in that department, I just like nice people. In a world of self obsessed, arrogant stars at big clubs, he is a breath of fresh air.

inforfun

Willem Van Hanegem.

Mr. FoggPatches

Super-Rush wrote: »

Peter Beardsley.

Ugly as sin but he was a genius. Probably the most underrated English player ever.

My favourite player ever. Would beguile the opposition with his skills on the pitch and then the post match interviewer with whatever language he spoke after the game.

Balmed Out

I'm sticking with Maldini but another player I loved to watch was Bebeto. Low key and from my memory in Romarios shadow but had the unusual attributes of being creative and selfless.

R00ster

Ronaldinho. Such a rarity to see someone at the top level who seems to be playing purely for enjoyment, and with a smile on his face.

Joey N'do also for similar reasons, and because I was able watch him in the flesh on a weekly basis.

Guy:Incognito

Kerrydude1981 wrote: »

Checking the papers on a Monday for results and the tables

was your teletext button broken ?

gitzy16v

Thierry handball Henry,but after his antics he's relegated to just below Gabriel Batistuta,dint know why I just loved seeing him play,maybe it was Channel 4 on Saturday morning Italian football back in the early nineties

Dirty Dingus McGee

gitzy16v wrote: »

Thierry handball Henry,but after his antics he's relegated to just below Gabriel Batistuta,dint know why I just loved seeing him play,maybe it was Channel 4 on Saturday morning Italian football back in the early nineties

Batistutas goal for Fiorentina against Man Utd in the champions league where you can see the ball wobble because he hits it so hard is one of my favourite goals.

Kerrydude1981

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

was your teletext button broken ?

Left Back on the Bench

Dirty Dingus McGee wrote:

Batistutas goal for Fiorentina against Man Utd in the champions league where you can see the ball wobble because he hits it so hard is one of my favourite goals.

The 1 he scores against arsenal too where he beat seaman at the near post was some goal too. Just lashed it

Left Back on the Bench

Henrik Larsson for me. Saw him at his peak for Celtic. Signed everything anybody had outside Celtic park too. Luka modric too. Just seems so easy for him.

Potential Underachiever

Luis Suarez, phenomenal player, relentless, incredible desire and will to win, heart of a lion, only longevity stops him being best ever PL player imo.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Another 2 for me would be Tony Yeboah and Mark Viduka.

Yeboah was a ****ing animal, strong as a bull and one of the most vicious shots in the game.His volleyed goal against Liverpool is the best goal in premier league history in my opinion as it took incredible technique to hit the ball so hard and keep it down at the same time as it didn't sit up perfectly for him and he had to adjust his run and body to get the right connection on the ball.

Mark Viduka was pure class, really lazy player but a genius who would have been an all time great if he'd actually put the effort in .His 4 goal performance against Liverpool is one the great performances of the premier league era and he had great touch for a big man and was a great finisher.

cj maxx

HalloweenJack wrote: »

Said it many times over the years in these threads and it's still the same: Gianfranco Zola.

Such a talented player, had an ability to produce magic out of nothing, combative for his size, endless energy and always played with a smile on his face.

He was one of the key players at Chelsea in the 90s that pushed them onto another level before Abramovich's billions completely warped the financial landscape.

He also ended his career by going back to his hometown and getting his boyhood side promoted back to Serie A. A fairytale ending to an incredible career.

I loved Zola. Used to watch the Parma games on ch4 and he was a joy to watch.

Dempsey

Hate picking just one player as there is so many players I admire for different reasons but Ronaldo was an unbelievable player and what he did in 2002 will always rate as one of the greatest seasons by any player, ever.