Is every football (soccer) player unique?
Website design By BotEap.comComparison 1960’s – 2011 (Pele)
Website design By BotEap.comThere is no doubt that Brazilian striker Pelé was the greatest player of the 1960s. Pelé and Maradona are the two players who are always mentioned when the common question is asked, “Who was the greatest player that ever lived?” Pele will often be the answer. So what was Pelé like? Pelé was a natural goalscorer, the Santos striker was incredibly athletic and his combination of dribbling and balance was unstoppable for defenders. His ability to get past defenders at such speed and maintain such balance lent credence to many scoring opportunities, which Pele would most likely score emphatically. Pelé had technique, the passing ability of a central midfield master, the engine of a marathon runner and the power of a steam train. His statistics are sensational, 1,281 goals in 1,363 games.
Website design By BotEap.comNo one can live up to the Pele name; George Best of Manchester United in the 1970s was a similar type of player to Pelé, but he was more of a winger than a striker. In the modern era, few have been compared to Pelé, but none have lived up to the reputation that the Brazilian Pelé possessed. AC Milan’s Alexandre Pato was hailed as the Pele of this era, but he has yet to show phenomenal form to even label him as one of the greatest strikers of today let alone history. Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney is the closest this decade we have compared to Pele. Rooney has the same power and physicality as Pele, the same ability to select a 70-yard cross ball and the same vision and technique. England striker Rooney just doesn’t have the same amount of pace that Pele had, which is compounded by the fact that Rooney doesn’t particularly outplay players with skill and flair.
Website design By BotEap.comWayne Rooney has scored goals you wouldn’t think were possible with the impressive volley against Newcastle and the recent potential goal of the season against Manchester City. Pelé scored impressive goals in the 1960s and 1970s for Santos and Brazil, a goal ‘almost’ that would have been one of the greatest goals of all time. His play against Uruguay that left the goalkeeper for dead when the ball went to one side and Pelé turned around on the other, but his unbalanced shot at a tight angle went wide.
Website design By BotEap.comComparison years 70 – 2011 (Johann Cruyff)
Website design By BotEap.comJohann Cruyff was part of the Ajax team that inherited the ‘total football’ philosophy introduced by Dutch coach Rinul Michels. Former Barcelona and Ajax leader Johann Cruyff’s style of play was influenced by the total football approach that led to his game. His natural position was center forward, but due to the tactical way the Ajax team played, he wandered around and ended up playing on the wing and in midfield most of the time. The Dutch striker spent the mid-1970s at Rinus Michels’ Barcelona, where he was crowned European Footballer of the Year in his spell at Barcelona in consecutive years.
Website design By BotEap.comCruyff was nicknamed the ‘Pythagoras in boots’ due to his ability to select passes from seemingly impossible angles. Not only did he have an eye for the pass, but he also had tremendous speed and his ability to accelerate away from defenders, which was aided by the ‘Cruyff spin’ named after the Dutch maestro and still associated with football. 40 years later.
Website design By BotEap.comI don’t think any striker can harness Cruyff’s ability to play multiple positions to maximum effect, so I chose a playmaker and speed trader who would harness Cruyff’s technical and physical attributes in his game, Ryan Giggs. Both players in their prime had the ability to outplay players with style and tremendous pace creating scoring opportunities. Giggs is not as prolific as Cruyff as a finisher, but Giggs certainly lives up to the playing skills that Cruyff possessed. Ryan Giggs at his best was sprinting 5-10 yards and could keep up such a terrifying 40-50 yard pace that he shared with Cruyff.
Website design By BotEap.comHowever, as football has changed a lot over the years since Cruyff’s successful days at Ajax and Barcelona, the style of play has changed and there aren’t many similar types of players of Cruyff’s caliber. that they can naturally play up front and go further and further back. be extremely effective.
Website design By BotEap.comComparison years 80 – 2011 (Diego Maradona)
Website design By BotEap.comMaradona or Messi? There is no doubt that in today’s game, Lionel Messi is the closest candidate, if not the potential, to surpass Maradona’s ability as a footballer. Former Barcelona striker Diego Maradona, along with Pele, is one of the greatest players to ever grace this planet. He wasn’t as clinical as Pelé, but without taking anything away from Maradona, he still had a very good scoring record for club and country. The style of play with the ball of Maradona and Messi is identical. Both dribble with extreme pace and a very low center of gravity; both possess extreme dribbling skills with the ability to have 5-10 touches in the space of seconds to make it impossible for defenders to tackle. Many have questioned whether Lionel Messi could do what Maradona did at Napoli. Maradona won what is now the Italian ‘serie A’ with Napoli with a very average team, Maradona being the fundamental part of the Napoli team and certainly would not have been a title winner if Maradona had not been on his books. Could Messi make a similar fate at Blackburn of the English Premiership, Udinese of the Italian Serie A? Many doubt that Messi can.
Website design By BotEap.comIn contrast, Messi has achieved much more than Maradona at this age, having won the Spanish League 4 times and the Champions League 2 times. Messi is only 23 years old, Maradona at 23 won the treble with Barcelona in 1983 and an Argentine title with Boca Juniors in 1981 but that was it. So so far Messi has had a better career in silver success, but Maradona’s achievements at Napoli and in the international arena set him apart from Messi. Infamously, Maradona also has a World Cup named after him in 1986 which Maradona named after him.
Website design By BotEap.comThere’s no doubt that Barcelona winger Messi scores goals from all kinds of angles and all kinds of brilliant runs, but Maradona’s second goal against England in the 1986 World Cup has been hailed as the goal of the century by many. . Maradona carried the ball 60 meters and faced six English players in the process, going around England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and scoring from a tight angle to beat England 2-1 in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals that won. The former Napoli striker also scored the controversial ‘hand of God’ goal in the same match that has been talked about ever since. Messi hasn’t really shone on the international stage and if he does, it could be what takes him beyond his childhood hero status.
Website design By BotEap.comComparison 1990’s – 2011 (Ronaldo)
Website design By BotEap.comHe was a natural goalscorer of his time and by far the best striker of his generation simply for scoring goal after goal. Ronaldo played at the highest level during the 1990s and early 2000s, representing PSV, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and AC Milan in an illustrious career cut short by serious knee injuries.
Website design By BotEap.comBrazilian striker Ronaldo was a born goalscorer, he had the ability to outplay players with his skill and power, but his challenging threat was in the box. He scored 62 goals in just under 100 appearances for Brazil and has been voted Brazil’s best striker since Pele by numerous judging panels. Former Real Madrid striker Ronaldo was indestructible, if he entered the box it was inevitable that he would score.
Website design By BotEap.comAs Ronaldo has been playing until very recently, it hasn’t taken long for someone to potentially replace Ronaldo’s prowess by being a known goalscorer. However, there are some players who this season in world football have started to build their reputation. Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez is a striker who could have the potential to match Ronaldo’s skills in front of goal. He already has 16 goals for Manchester United in his first season and is a predator in the box just like Ronaldo. It is doubtful that Mexican striker Hernandez will have the impact that Ronaldo had on world football, but the Mexican is a striker very similar to what Ronaldo was in his prime.
Website design By BotEap.comBarcelona’s David Villa is another striker known for his potential in the box. Spanish hit man David Villa won his job at Valencia for several years and finally sealed his transfer to Barcelona, where he already has 21 goals. Villa has also lived up to Ronaldo’s international reputation, as he won the European Championship in 2008 and the World Cup in 2010, with Spain being a key member of the winning team in both tournaments with his goal contribution.
Website design By BotEap.comComparison 2000 – 2011 (Zidane)
Website design By BotEap.comOne of the most gifted players of this century was the French midfielder and former Juventus/Bordeaux midfielder Zidane. One of the most natural players in the game, Zidane slid through the game in a nonchalant manner that made him one of the most composed soccer players to ever appear in the game. As a central midfielder, Zidane possessed an ability to score goals from midfield and also the ability to create magic in midfield to launch attacks for his team.
Website design By BotEap.comZidane joined Real Madrid from Juventus in 2001 for a world record fee at the time of around £50m. Zidane enjoyed success at Real Madrid, winning the Champions League and the Spanish League in his 6 years at the club. Not to mention becoming World Cup winner with France in 1998 and runner-up in 2006. Zidane was a tall, strong midfielder at 6’1, no fool defending and not afraid to challenge an aerial battle, but Zidane came alive in the attacking half and his skillful touches on the ball and seemed to have eyes in the back of his head at times with his awareness of the space around him.
Website design By BotEap.comNot many footballers have composure as a skill in their game due to the extreme amounts of pressure footballers are put under and now with all the money on the line. However, Manchester United’s Dimitar Berbatov is one of the few players to possess excellent composition on the ball, which is a very elegant skill. Bulgarian striker Berbatov and French midfielder Zidane also share the same style of control and first touch, and Berbatov has some of the best technique in the world today, similar to Zidane in his prime. Although former Tottenham striker Berbatov is an outright striker and Zidane has never played up front, the skills they both have are very similar. Even their mental approaches are very similar, they are both very quiet and particularly don’t talk much when competing competitively. They both have tremendous ball control, they both have the ability to outplay players with skill on the ball rather than speed or strength.
Website design By BotEap.comBig players are easy to come by; it’s the magic players that are hard to find. Who is going to replace the Messi of Barcelona or the Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid today in a few years? Soccer has the ability to produce stars to showcase on the world stage, which makes soccer such an amazing sport to watch.