craig 5,199 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Alfredo di Stefano is a good shout but it's the one and only Alexei Mikhailichenko for me followed of course by a certain Mr Hemdani. Seriously has to be Messi, no other player mentioned is faced with packed defences week in week out and still scores record numbers of goals. I don't think I have seen anyone (professional) do something I saw Messi do on a compilation.... he received a pass, shimmied his body without touching the ball, ball was still on it's original trajectory, and he somehow convinced the defender to go in a completely different direction simply by a simple hip movement. Very difficult to describe what he did, looked so easy when he did it but the defender had no idea what was going on. What he can do, the foot speed and how he times almost perfectly the tackle make him a phenomenon in my mind. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barristan Selmy 222 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Nobody comes close to Messi. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barristan Selmy 222 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 (edited) I also think Zidane is still ahead of Messi as he also won the WC, Euro Champs, CL.....) Messi is on course to win his fourth CL this season and is the all time greatest scorer despite being only 27. I don't think international football is that significant anymore but he still almost won the WC, with a squad that wasn't that great. He can't win the Euros. Edited May 7, 2015 by Ser Barristan Selmy 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Messi is on course to win his fourth CL this season and is the all time greatest scorer despite being only 27. I don't think international football is that significant anymore but he still almost won the WC, with a squad that wasn't that great. He can't win the Euros. He can win the Copa America though I agree though, I don't think ANY player should be judged on international competition. In fact, in this day and age it is also difficult to judge players based on domestic competition with how money controls pretty much who plays where. I think you need to look at the player on his own individual talents, regardless of teams he has played in. What Messi does with a ball is far superior to what Ronaldo does with a ball IMHO. There is so much more creativity to Messi than Ronaldo. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barristan Selmy 222 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 (edited) He can win the Copa America though I agree though, I don't think ANY player should be judged on international competition. In fact, in this day and age it is also difficult to judge players based on domestic competition with how money controls pretty much who plays where. I think you need to look at the player on his own individual talents, regardless of teams he has played in. What Messi does with a ball is far superior to what Ronaldo does with a ball IMHO. There is so much more creativity to Messi than Ronaldo. I don't think the gap between Messi and Ronaldo is even that close. Messi to me contributes far more because everything goes through him and he drops much deeper than Ronaldo does. Messi plays a complete free role, you seem him regularly in his own half picking the ball up. Ronaldo for me is more just a straight up attacker. Ronaldo also seems to regular disappear in big games, whereas Messi very rarely ever does that. Essentially I see Ronaldo as an attacker and Messi as someone who dictates the complete flow of a football match. Edited May 7, 2015 by Ser Barristan Selmy 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 I don't think the gap between Messi and Ronaldo is even that close. Messi to me contributes far more because everything goes through him and he drops much deeper than Ronaldo does. Messi plays a complete free role, you seem him regularly in his own half picking the ball up. Ronaldo for me is more just a straight up attacker. Ronaldo also seems to regular disappear in big games, whereas Messi very rarely ever does that. Essentially I see Ronaldo as an attacker and Messi as someone who dictates the complete flow of a football match. I don't disagree. I don't think that Ronaldo is nearly as talented as Messi. Messi scores as many as Ronaldo but contributes far more in general play as well as the multitude of assists he provides. And that doesn't even touch on the number of indirect assists he provides by being double-teamed in terms of marking. I find it amazing that people still try to compare the two, I don't think there is any debate on the better player. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Eck1956 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 1. Pele 2. Maradona 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laudbertz 0 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 I don't think Zidane deserves to be in the top 3. I think there have been a number of better players than Zidane, though wouldn't dispute him being world class Agree with that. Zidane is world class, beat other world class players and was a game changer, but I wouldnt put him in a top 3. He didnt have a lasting impression on me that others couldnt do better. Well, nutting Materazzi's chest was a fairly unique thing to do that I havent seen others do. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 He can win the Copa America though I agree though, I don't think ANY player should be judged on international competition. In fact, in this day and age it is also difficult to judge players based on domestic competition with how money controls pretty much who plays where. I think you need to look at the player on his own individual talents, regardless of teams he has played in. What Messi does with a ball is far superior to what Ronaldo does with a ball IMHO. There is so much more creativity to Messi than Ronaldo. I do think international football holds weight. More so pre-2000 as the CL has probably surpassed it now but in 1960-2000 international was still the peak especially pre CL group format. When you mentioned what Best and Giggs did at international level - they have to be given the chance first. Messi has had 3 WC's and barely shown up at any of them, and Ronaldo. Where as the fat ROnaldo and Zidane did it at both levels. Therefore as club football is at the peak, could Messi and Ronaldo shine in say the Seville team and win them the league? Possibly but unlikely. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 743 Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 I agree with categorising it especially for goalkeepers Best Goalkeeper Best Defender Best Midfielder Best forward 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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