Fastest Dribblers

Discussion in 'Players & Legends' started by reckless_mf, Jan 10, 2013.

  1. reckless_mf

    reckless_mf Member

    Nov 15, 2009
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Following on from the Best Dribblers thread, I'd like to know who you think were the fastest dribblers. The fastest with the ball at their feet.

    And I mean dribblers with a very good level of control.
    Not just kick the ball 5-10m away and run after it like Rommedahl, Odonkor, Caniggia, Bale, Walcott, Overmars. Even Cristiano falls into this category IMO.

    I would say Ronaldo 9, Kaka, Ryan Giggs, Robben, Brian Laudrup, Magico Gonzalez.
     
  2. Daniel96

    Daniel96 Member

    Aug 12, 2011
    Australia, NSW
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Messi and Neymar should be up there.
     
  3. JamesBH11

    JamesBH11 Member+

    Sep 17, 2004
    First we have to differentiate between "quick" and fast.
    1- Quick: (more due to good acceleration in SHORT distance, but not so much speed in long distance) Romario, Owen, Van Basten, Batistuta, Muller , Zico , Ronaldinho, Garrincha (special case: he got speed but due to his uneven legs he could not run fast in long distance) and lately Neymar (but he got potential to develop in speedy run at long distance)

    2- Fast: (due to speed more long distance)
    Kaka, Henry, Overmars, Juninho Paulista, Theo Walcott, Robben ... and lately Lucas

    3- Quick and Fast:
    Pele. Maradona, Eusebio, Cruijff, Magico, R9, Messi, CR7 .. (Garrincha and Neymar were border line in this group)
     
  4. MailMan

    MailMan Red Card

    Sep 7, 2011
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    I wouldnt actually say R9 is a fast dribbler. Sure he knocked the ball 10 yards in front of him and chased after it faster than everyone but that should count more for general speed than for dribbling speed. He did have quick feet when it came to his moves though
     
  5. JamesBH11

    JamesBH11 Member+

    Sep 17, 2004
    you need a big pair of glasses and maybe a zoom in toools to rewatch R9
     
  6. reckless_mf

    reckless_mf Member

    Nov 15, 2009
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Owen was extremely fast over long distance, it was one if his best qualities.
     
    RoyOfTheRovers repped this.
  7. Lucas...

    Lucas... Member+

    Dec 18, 2012
    Ronaldo, o Fenômeno, is the name of this thread.
     
  8. Rob55

    Rob55 Member

    Nov 20, 2011
    Not to change the topic, but something I was wondering about and needed more expert opinions to evaluate. Looking at the best players with ball handling footskills on the ball and ability to change direction or start/stop quickly off the dribble, do most have genetic makeup to have short legs in relation to their upper body/torso? If you ignore the overall height of the player but look at body type of legs compared to upperbody is there any coorelation? With short legs and longer torso, the center of gravity comes down considerably and its harder to knock a player off the ball. Longer legs take more time to accelerate up to speed from a stopped position compared to shorter leg individuals with more "turbo" boost off the line and to make very sharp & quick cuts. Any truth to this or am I just crazy?
     
  9. JamesBH11

    JamesBH11 Member+

    Sep 17, 2004
    You may not be that crazy .. just got a COMMON MISTAKE in such speculation (actually there were quite a few people in this forum also "think" so)

    STATS said you maybe wrong:
    Look at a few best sprinters in the history (best acceleration and best strides)
    Usain Bolt was 6'5 (very very tall )
    Carl lewis was 6'3 (very tall)

    Some fast players with best acceleration and speed In football:
    Ronaldo 6'1
    Henry 6'1
    C.Ronaldo 6'2
    Cruijff 5'11
    Robben 6'0
    Rommedahl 5'10
     
  10. MailMan

    MailMan Red Card

    Sep 7, 2011
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    im just saying how do you evaluate dribbling speed; is it one touch per stride, one touch every 3 strides, one touch every....4 strides..you see what i'm getting at?
     
  11. MailMan

    MailMan Red Card

    Sep 7, 2011
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    well which is it? JamesBH11
     
  12. JamesBH11

    JamesBH11 Member+

    Sep 17, 2004
    NO
    ... unles you nitpicked on a few games? Did you have a STATS that showing Ronaldo kicked the ball 3,4 m away in most the time ??? Go wear more GLASSES

    well go and count for me if you can and here are just some of his games


    and here was his famous one ... you can estimate how quick he dragged the ball up and scored from 66yards away with 5,6 DF bothring ... that was EXTREMELY fast and Effective (actually more difficult than maradona vs England since he faced only 1 at atime while R9 constantly got 2 every time he touched the ball )
     
  13. MailMan

    MailMan Red Card

    Sep 7, 2011
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal
    thanks for the response and the insults. The second video you posted demonstrates what i would consider dribbling (as opposed to booting the ball ahead and chasing it), and ronaldo was fast, but the defender caught up with him.
     
  14. MailMan

    MailMan Red Card

    Sep 7, 2011
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    Portugal

    Run @ 7:28 demonstrates what I mean. Ronaldo did everything perfectly and even managed to slow down his pace to nutmeg the De Boer but he clearly kicks the ball ahead a couple meters during his run so would this be considered dribbling speed or general speed?

    Ronaldo was unstoppable in this game
     
  15. kick96

    kick96 Member

    Nov 10, 2012
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Australia
    Aaron lennon fits the bill for fast current footballer whilst still keeping it tight, as does sterling, robben and ribery
     
  16. Rob55

    Rob55 Member

    Nov 20, 2011
    My point wasn't about overall tall guys vs short guys, but on body proportion (leg length compared to torso). You can be tall but also have a long torso with shorter proportioned legs.

    It just seems from my observations both in how long Messi's upper body is compared to his short churning legs and also seeing children and teens whom have longer torsos and very short legs seem to have a much greater ability to start explosively and stop and change directions more quickly than guys with long legs and shorter upperbodies. And your point about Bolt being 6'5'' and great sprinter. Well that is 100M and longer. I'd take Messi over Volt on for a 10M run, touch ground, and run back 10M (a very basic suicide run). That ability to start and stop on a dime is what in my mind make from genetics standpoint the best "controlled"/possession style dribbling soccer players. Weaving through traffic and still keeping control of the ball.
     
  17. JamesBH11

    JamesBH11 Member+

    Sep 17, 2004
    Messi will only catch Bolt's a$$ ...
    Did you really have the number seconds that Messi can run 10m? Bolt walks over 10m with 2 strides and Messi would need 4,5 OK?
     
  18. tony-soprano37

    Dec 5, 2008
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    you forgot eusebio who was extremely fast. when he was 18 or 19 he was champion of portugal i believe on the 100 metres and 200 metres.
     
  19. JamesBH11

    JamesBH11 Member+

    Sep 17, 2004
    yes thanks ... those names just pooped in my mind ... Eusebio was like an unstoppable beast in the 60's (just like R9 in late 90's) with power, and fast dribble runs
     
  20. reckless_mf

    reckless_mf Member

    Nov 15, 2009
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    You may have a point, Ronaldo9 has very short legs compared to his upper body! Almost comical looking.

    But then again the lanky Kaka was also rapid in the first few metres.
     
  21. Bada Bing

    Bada Bing Member+

    Jul 13, 2012
    Finland
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    If by "fast" you mean how fast players can run with kicking the ball, R9, Kaka, Walcott etc. If by "fast" you mean the frequency how fast player can adapt, change direction and caress the ball, it's Messi and it's not even close.
     
  22. reckless_mf

    reckless_mf Member

    Nov 15, 2009
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    You can't compare Walcott to Kaka and Ronaldo9. Kaka and Ronaldo had very good ball control whilst running fast, not to the level of Messi but still good. Look at Kaka's goals against Fenerbahce l, Argentina and that goal he scored for Sao Paolo he changed direction well against Fenerbahce. Likewise Ronaldo's goal against Compostela.
    Walcott often runs with the ball behind him!

    Messi runs at the same speed as Maradona and George Best, they also did the same things he did, although his agility is better.
     
  23. JamesBH11

    JamesBH11 Member+

    Sep 17, 2004
    Do not bother .. I doubt they did ever watch R9 in his best LIVE games (96-98) but some youtube!
     
  24. Bada Bing

    Bada Bing Member+

    Jul 13, 2012
    Finland
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    Yeah I agree, where as Messi is the other extremity of "fast", Walcott is propably the other, Kaka and R9 are somewhere in the middle of the raw speed, and speed of control.
     
  25. JamesBH11

    JamesBH11 Member+

    Sep 17, 2004
    you don;t have a CLUE what is fast?
    - with the ball at the feet: R9 is arguably the best, Messi Maradona Cruijff, Best and Pele were among them - lately Neymar and Lucas have good promise
    - without the ball (to control): Theo Walcott, Roberto Carlos, Robben, Henry were another group (kicking and running)

    Please NEVER mention Walcott next to R9 as there was a HUGE GAP (unreachable) between them
     

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