The Three Greatest Players Of Your Lifetime

[Guest jimmy1982]

Honourable mention.

 

http://www.um.dk/Publikationer/UM/Deutsch/Daenemark/enzyklopaedie/kap3/images/laudrup_m.jpg

 

Thumbs up for that honourable mention J2J! My younger brother, the total idiot, reckons Brian was better than Michael. We've been having a running argument over it for about 7 years!

 

More or less the same names cropping up again and again which is to be expected, and I'll go with them as well:

 

My top three:

Maradona miles out in front.

Zidane.

Beardsley.

 

My honourable mentions - Ronaldo, Baggio, Romario, Maldini, Batistuta.

Personal faves - Rui Costa, Hagi, Stiotchkov.

Massively over rated: Gullit.

[Guest jimmy1982]

best defenders then?

Cannavaro

Maldini

Baresi

 

Maldini,

Ayala,

Baresi

[danswan]

 

 

And...I was always a massive fan of Batistuta.

 

Not one mention of Batistuta?

 

[Guest Knightrider]

Not including any NUFC players it would be:

 

Zidane

Henry

Ronaldo (Man Utd one)

 

Those are the players that have impressed me most.

 

However there have been so many great players it really can only boil down to personal preference because each are up there regardless. I used to love watching Baggio for example, Stoichkov, Hagi, Batistuta, Signori, Ronaldo in his pomp, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and so many more.

 

The best footballer I've seen up close and personal on a regular basis would have to be Beardsley, with Shearer the best all-rounder I've seen. I still think Big Al is underrated as player and as a centre-forward I don't think there was any better in his time, here or abroad. He was ultimately the best pound for pound centre-forward, especially during his latter Blackburn and Euro 96 days when he had pace.

 

Ronaldo had the flair and speed, but in terms of all-round game, Shearer was the best as a centre-forward.

 

Ho much would he be worth today, at the age of 24-25?

[Guest Knightrider]

Btw Kluivert in his pomp was right up there, what a player he was, a goalscorer and a creator, a centre-forward and a playmaker. He was exceptional for a brief time. Notable mentions to Le Tissier too, for someone with zero pace he could beat a man easily, often three or four at a time, such amazing close control and quick feet with an insightful and delicate football brain.

[Tooj]

Honourable mention.

 

http://www.um.dk/Publikationer/UM/Deutsch/Daenemark/enzyklopaedie/kap3/images/laudrup_m.jpg

 

Thumbs up for that honourable mention J2J! My younger brother, the total idiot, reckons Brian was better than Michael. We've been having a running argument over it for about 7 years!

 

 

 

Michael probably has the best vision I've ever seen in my lifetime, Romario even said he's the best he's played with man.

[Rob W]

Pele

 

Kluivert

 

 

Maradonna

 

[colinmk]

Zidane

Batistuta

 

Hard to name the third tbh because there is so many that could make it, Ronaldo, Maldini, Ronaldinho, Cantona, Larsson, not really right to say Maradonna for me cause he was slightly before my time really.

[colinmk]

And i think Messi is well on his way tbh.

[Thorpinho]

Leaving aside the more obvious ones like Maradona...I always loved watching Raul when he was at his best. Also Rivaldo was a brilliant player as a few people have mentioned. Got to respect Cafu's achievements as well.

 

In 10 years time Messi will probably be high up in these sort of lists.

[Guest jimmy1982]

Aye Kluivert was class for a time. Even when he was with us you saw glimpses, and he still had an absolutely velvet first touch, probably the best I've seen apart from Pedro.

Gazza had to be up there - I was too young to remember him playing for us, but I can't remember many other players who could be such a creative force in midfield as well as him. Whenever I saw him from Italia 90 onwards, inbetween injuries, he was top, top drawer. I know most people say that injury he got against Forest in the FA cup knacked him, but whenever he was fit and playing for Lazio on channel 4 he looked a class above anything else on offer, and that was when Serie A was supposed to be the highest quality football in the world.

[Guest jimmy1982]

 

Michael probably has the best vision I've ever seen in my lifetime, Romario even said he's the best he's played with man.

 

Aye, class player. I know its totally pointless to say things like this, but I wonder how good Beardo would have been in Laudrup's position in that Barcelona team... Or in Gullit's/Savicevic's place in the late 80s/early 90's Milan teams... etc, etc

[Tooj]

 

Michael probably has the best vision I've ever seen in my lifetime, Romario even said he's the best he's played with man.

 

Aye, class player. I know its totally pointless to say things like this, but I wonder how good Beardo would have been in Laudrup's position in that Barcelona team... Or in Gullit's/Savicevic's place in the late 80s/early 90's Milan teams... etc, etc

 

Savicevic was pure class, vastly underrated, same with Boban.

[Guest jimmy1982]

 

Michael probably has the best vision I've ever seen in my lifetime, Romario even said he's the best he's played with man.

 

Aye, class player. I know its totally pointless to say things like this, but I wonder how good Beardo would have been in Laudrup's position in that Barcelona team... Or in Gullit's/Savicevic's place in the late 80s/early 90's Milan teams... etc, etc

 

Savicevic was pure class, vastly underrated, same with Boban.

 

Yep, when you think of some of the players that came out of Yugoslavia/Croatia in the late 80s and 90s they've made a big impact on Euro football (not that surprising that they never won owt as national teams when you consider all of the wars and that going on at the same time) - Mihailovic, Mijativic, Prosinecki, Boban, Savicevic, Suker, wasn't Vierchowod a nationalised Yugoslav... I'm sure the list goes on. Even Milosevic who played for Villa was a cracking player on his day. I remember how good Croatia were to watch in Euro 96, likewise Yugoslavia in France 98.

Was just reading an article in When Saturday Comes last week about some gadgie who's supposedly one of the all time great footballers. Can't remember his name, or even the country he was from. It was part of the Soviet in the 80s. But whoever he was supposedly an absolutely magic player and is a legend at his club, who he helped to win their only ever Soviet championship. He had a horrendous stutter and was alchoholic, ended up in a loony bin before drinking himself to death at 35 or something like that. Was a great article - always good reading about great players who are under-apprecitaed by people outside their own clubs but loved by their own people, although obviously I wish he could have had a happier ending. Any WSC readers out there might know the one I'm talking about.

[Dr Spectrum]

 

Michael probably has the best vision I've ever seen in my lifetime, Romario even said he's the best he's played with man.

 

Aye, class player. I know its totally pointless to say things like this, but I wonder how good Beardo would have been in Laudrup's position in that Barcelona team... Or in Gullit's/Savicevic's place in the late 80s/early 90's Milan teams... etc, etc

 

Savicevic was pure class, vastly underrated, same with Boban.

 

Yep, when you think of some of the players that came out of Yugoslavia/Croatia in the late 80s and 90s they've made a big impact on Euro football (not that surprising that they never won owt as national teams when you consider all of the wars and that going on at the same time) - Mihailovic, Mijativic, Prosinecki, Boban, Savicevic, Suker, wasn't Vierchowod a nationalised Yugoslav... I'm sure the list goes on. Even Milosevic who played for Villa was a cracking player on his day. I remember how good Croatia were to watch in Euro 96, likewise Yugoslavia in France 98.

Was just reading an article in When Saturday Comes last week about some gadgie who's supposedly one of the all time great footballers. Can't remember his name, or even the country he was from. It was part of the Soviet in the 80s. But whoever he was supposedly an absolutely magic player and is a legend at his club, who he helped to win their only ever Soviet championship. He had a horrendous stutter and was alchoholic, ended up in a loony bin before drinking himself to death at 35 or something like that. Was a great article - always good reading about great players who are under-apprecitaed by people outside their own clubs but loved by their own people, although obviously I wish he could have had a happier ending. Any WSC readers out there might know the one I'm talking about.

 

Alexander Prokopenko

 

Not that I've ever heard of him. Just sounded interesting so I had a quick poke about. Led Dinamo Minsk to the title in 82

[Tooj]

 

Michael probably has the best vision I've ever seen in my lifetime, Romario even said he's the best he's played with man.

 

Aye, class player. I know its totally pointless to say things like this, but I wonder how good Beardo would have been in Laudrup's position in that Barcelona team... Or in Gullit's/Savicevic's place in the late 80s/early 90's Milan teams... etc, etc

 

Savicevic was pure class, vastly underrated, same with Boban.

 

Yep, when you think of some of the players that came out of Yugoslavia/Croatia in the late 80s and 90s they've made a big impact on Euro football (not that surprising that they never won owt as national teams when you consider all of the wars and that going on at the same time) - Mihailovic, Mijativic, Prosinecki, Boban, Savicevic, Suker, wasn't Vierchowod a nationalised Yugoslav... I'm sure the list goes on. Even Milosevic who played for Villa was a cracking player on his day. I remember how good Croatia were to watch in Euro 96, likewise Yugoslavia in France 98.

Was just reading an article in When Saturday Comes last week about some gadgie who's supposedly one of the all time great footballers. Can't remember his name, or even the country he was from. It was part of the Soviet in the 80s. But whoever he was supposedly an absolutely magic player and is a legend at his club, who he helped to win their only ever Soviet championship. He had a horrendous stutter and was alchoholic, ended up in a loony bin before drinking himself to death at 35 or something like that. Was a great article - always good reading about great players who are under-apprecitaed by people outside their own clubs but loved by their own people, although obviously I wish he could have had a happier ending. Any WSC readers out there might know the one I'm talking about.

 

I honestly feel when you look at all of the countries from Eastern Europe/Balkans who shone at USA '94 that group of Yugoslavia players were better than all of the others, I feel they could have really given a serious challenge at USA '94, what could of been eh?

 

Boban the bastard starting a Civil War.

[Guest jimmy1982]

 

Michael probably has the best vision I've ever seen in my lifetime, Romario even said he's the best he's played with man.

 

Aye, class player. I know its totally pointless to say things like this, but I wonder how good Beardo would have been in Laudrup's position in that Barcelona team... Or in Gullit's/Savicevic's place in the late 80s/early 90's Milan teams... etc, etc

 

Savicevic was pure class, vastly underrated, same with Boban.

 

Yep, when you think of some of the players that came out of Yugoslavia/Croatia in the late 80s and 90s they've made a big impact on Euro football (not that surprising that they never won owt as national teams when you consider all of the wars and that going on at the same time) - Mihailovic, Mijativic, Prosinecki, Boban, Savicevic, Suker, wasn't Vierchowod a nationalised Yugoslav... I'm sure the list goes on. Even Milosevic who played for Villa was a cracking player on his day. I remember how good Croatia were to watch in Euro 96, likewise Yugoslavia in France 98.

Was just reading an article in When Saturday Comes last week about some gadgie who's supposedly one of the all time great footballers. Can't remember his name, or even the country he was from. It was part of the Soviet in the 80s. But whoever he was supposedly an absolutely magic player and is a legend at his club, who he helped to win their only ever Soviet championship. He had a horrendous stutter and was alchoholic, ended up in a loony bin before drinking himself to death at 35 or something like that. Was a great article - always good reading about great players who are under-apprecitaed by people outside their own clubs but loved by their own people, although obviously I wish he could have had a happier ending. Any WSC readers out there might know the one I'm talking about.

 

Alexander Prokopenko

 

Not that I've ever heard of him. Just sounded interesting so I had a quick poke about. Led Dinamo Minsk to the title in 82

 

That's the badger, cheers. Sounds like a heck of a player in the article. The writer was also going on about how the Minsk title was a victory for football as an art over the scientific football that Dynamo Kiev always played, which was interesting as well. Supposedly the Kiev manager used to say footballers should'nt think, just do the jobs he told them to do, and would give them a telling if they ever tried owt off the cuff. This Prokopenko bloke was the opposite of that, scoring goals with back heels and what not.

[Mr. Snrub]

Too hard to answer.

 

Suprised Stoichkov has not been mentioned.  Rivaldo is another one of my all time favourites, as is Rui Costa.

[Guest jimmy1982]

 

Michael probably has the best vision I've ever seen in my lifetime, Romario even said he's the best he's played with man.

 

Aye, class player. I know its totally pointless to say things like this, but I wonder how good Beardo would have been in Laudrup's position in that Barcelona team... Or in Gullit's/Savicevic's place in the late 80s/early 90's Milan teams... etc, etc

 

Savicevic was pure class, vastly underrated, same with Boban.

 

Yep, when you think of some of the players that came out of Yugoslavia/Croatia in the late 80s and 90s they've made a big impact on Euro football (not that surprising that they never won owt as national teams when you consider all of the wars and that going on at the same time) - Mihailovic, Mijativic, Prosinecki, Boban, Savicevic, Suker, wasn't Vierchowod a nationalised Yugoslav... I'm sure the list goes on. Even Milosevic who played for Villa was a cracking player on his day. I remember how good Croatia were to watch in Euro 96, likewise Yugoslavia in France 98.

Was just reading an article in When Saturday Comes last week about some gadgie who's supposedly one of the all time great footballers. Can't remember his name, or even the country he was from. It was part of the Soviet in the 80s. But whoever he was supposedly an absolutely magic player and is a legend at his club, who he helped to win their only ever Soviet championship. He had a horrendous stutter and was alchoholic, ended up in a loony bin before drinking himself to death at 35 or something like that. Was a great article - always good reading about great players who are under-apprecitaed by people outside their own clubs but loved by their own people, although obviously I wish he could have had a happier ending. Any WSC readers out there might know the one I'm talking about.

 

I honestly feel when you look at all of the countries from Eastern Europe/Balkans who shone at USA '94 that group of Yugoslavia players were better than all of the others, I feel they could have really given a serious challenge at USA '94, what could of been eh?

 

Boban the b****** starting a Civil War.

 

 

Have you seen the clip of Savicevic getting interviewed, when he was mebbies 19/20, and some Croat starts skitting him from across the street? Absolutely brilliant, he just breaks off from the interview to give the bloke a tirade of absolute filth, then turns back to the interviewer as if nothing has happened!

[Tooj]

 

Michael probably has the best vision I've ever seen in my lifetime, Romario even said he's the best he's played with man.

 

Aye, class player. I know its totally pointless to say things like this, but I wonder how good Beardo would have been in Laudrup's position in that Barcelona team... Or in Gullit's/Savicevic's place in the late 80s/early 90's Milan teams... etc, etc

 

Savicevic was pure class, vastly underrated, same with Boban.

 

Yep, when you think of some of the players that came out of Yugoslavia/Croatia in the late 80s and 90s they've made a big impact on Euro football (not that surprising that they never won owt as national teams when you consider all of the wars and that going on at the same time) - Mihailovic, Mijativic, Prosinecki, Boban, Savicevic, Suker, wasn't Vierchowod a nationalised Yugoslav... I'm sure the list goes on. Even Milosevic who played for Villa was a cracking player on his day. I remember how good Croatia were to watch in Euro 96, likewise Yugoslavia in France 98.

Was just reading an article in When Saturday Comes last week about some gadgie who's supposedly one of the all time great footballers. Can't remember his name, or even the country he was from. It was part of the Soviet in the 80s. But whoever he was supposedly an absolutely magic player and is a legend at his club, who he helped to win their only ever Soviet championship. He had a horrendous stutter and was alchoholic, ended up in a loony bin before drinking himself to death at 35 or something like that. Was a great article - always good reading about great players who are under-apprecitaed by people outside their own clubs but loved by their own people, although obviously I wish he could have had a happier ending. Any WSC readers out there might know the one I'm talking about.

 

I honestly feel when you look at all of the countries from Eastern Europe/Balkans who shone at USA '94 that group of Yugoslavia players were better than all of the others, I feel they could have really given a serious challenge at USA '94, what could of been eh?

 

Boban the b****** starting a Civil War.

 

 

Have you seen the clip of Savicevic getting interviewed, when he was mebbies 19/20, and some Croat starts skitting him from across the street? Absolutely brilliant, he just breaks off from the interview to give the bloke a tirade of absolute filth, then turns back to the interviewer as if nothing has happened!

 

Aye.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOPLOelchgM

 

Savicevic is being interviewd.

Then someone shouts to Savicevic: 'You are a piece of shit.'

Savicevic looks at him and realises the moron is shouting to him. He answers: 'Fuck you, come here. Fuck you, you pansy. Come here pansy.'

Then he kindly continous talking to the camera.

[Guest jimmy1982]

 

Michael probably has the best vision I've ever seen in my lifetime, Romario even said he's the best he's played with man.

 

Aye, class player. I know its totally pointless to say things like this, but I wonder how good Beardo would have been in Laudrup's position in that Barcelona team... Or in Gullit's/Savicevic's place in the late 80s/early 90's Milan teams... etc, etc

 

Savicevic was pure class, vastly underrated, same with Boban.

 

Yep, when you think of some of the players that came out of Yugoslavia/Croatia in the late 80s and 90s they've made a big impact on Euro football (not that surprising that they never won owt as national teams when you consider all of the wars and that going on at the same time) - Mihailovic, Mijativic, Prosinecki, Boban, Savicevic, Suker, wasn't Vierchowod a nationalised Yugoslav... I'm sure the list goes on. Even Milosevic who played for Villa was a cracking player on his day. I remember how good Croatia were to watch in Euro 96, likewise Yugoslavia in France 98.

Was just reading an article in When Saturday Comes last week about some gadgie who's supposedly one of the all time great footballers. Can't remember his name, or even the country he was from. It was part of the Soviet in the 80s. But whoever he was supposedly an absolutely magic player and is a legend at his club, who he helped to win their only ever Soviet championship. He had a horrendous stutter and was alchoholic, ended up in a loony bin before drinking himself to death at 35 or something like that. Was a great article - always good reading about great players who are under-apprecitaed by people outside their own clubs but loved by their own people, although obviously I wish he could have had a happier ending. Any WSC readers out there might know the one I'm talking about.

 

I honestly feel when you look at all of the countries from Eastern Europe/Balkans who shone at USA '94 that group of Yugoslavia players were better than all of the others, I feel they could have really given a serious challenge at USA '94, what could of been eh?

 

Boban the b****** starting a Civil War.

 

 

Have you seen the clip of Savicevic getting interviewed, when he was mebbies 19/20, and some Croat starts skitting him from across the street? Absolutely brilliant, he just breaks off from the interview to give the bloke a tirade of absolute filth, then turns back to the interviewer as if nothing has happened!

 

Aye.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOPLOelchgM

 

Savicevic is being interviewd.

Then someone shouts to Savicevic: 'You are a piece of s***.'

Savicevic looks at him and realises the moron is shouting to him. He answers: 'f*** you, come here. f*** you, you pansy. Come here pansy.'

Then he kindly continous talking to the camera.

 

Nice one

[Alberto2005]

1.Zidane

2.Ronaldo

3.Rivaldo

[Ember]

1. Zidane - Incredible

2. Ronaldo - His achievements are incredible, despited his setbacks

3. Alan Shearer - obvious ain't it?

[midds]

Maradona

 

Platini

 

Van Basten.

 

Loads more who push them close too - Baresi, Maldini, Ronaldo, Zidane, Gullit, Shearer, Matthaus, Stoichkov, Rivaldo...  you could go on for ages.

[ross magoo]

1. Diego Maradona

2. Zinedine Zidane

3. Hristo Stoichkov