The best players of the season 1986-7

Discussion in 'The Beautiful Game' started by comme, Jan 30, 2013.

  1. Krokko

    Krokko Member

    Nov 16, 2011
    Club:
    AIK Solna
    Nat'l Team:
    Sweden
    In this period Júnior was probably the best player of the Serie A (along with Gullit and Franco Baresi). He never played in a big club and won no big titles, but his class was unmatched.
     
  2. Pipiolo

    Pipiolo Member+

    Jul 19, 2008
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    Was Boniek really that ginger? :eek: He's definitely aging gracefully, looks like Tom Selleck's European cousin these days.

    [​IMG]
     
  3. lanman

    lanman BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 30, 2002
    Couldn't agree more. Beardsley was a wonderful little player who's biggest misfortune was to be English. A continental European national team would have made far more use of his talents.
     
  4. JamesBH11

    JamesBH11 Member+

    Sep 17, 2004
    Well IF Juve were not winning the title that year, I doubt Platini name would come over Zico in 2nd half. At time 80% serie A fans were thrilled with Zico skills and thought he wass better

    That's NOT a theory. It's a FACT. They called him a "Interno" (center attacking mid) never attacante nor centroavante

    At home games Zico -played more like Totti, Baggio a playmaker behind the striker Virdis, but in AWAY games or international level, friendlies, Zico was a midfielder playmaker (like Platini)
    So I always said only at Undinese he was 60% FW, 40% AM - but that was just 1 full season, in folowing season, the coach agreed to play Zic0 as AM full time (at Zico request) but that was a very short time with despair and homesick for him.

    This is a brief link when Zico faced off MIlan n an AWAY game interview:

    The visitors, Udinese, had a foreigner with a little more glamour attached. Arthur Antunes Coimbra, better known as Zico, had incredibly been convinced to trade Flamengo for the Friuli in the summer of 1983. He quickly developed an excellent understanding with his World Cup rival of the year before, Franco Causio.

    Their visitors came into the game undefeated since the end of November and had just dished out a memorable 4-1 drubbing to Napoli. They sat on the same points as the Milanese giants. A good result could be a turning point for either side.

    .....

    The Rossoneri looked like they had things under control with Mauro Tassotti tracking Zico, Filippo Galli taking care of Pietro Virdis and Alberigo Evani asked to deal with the dribbling skills of Causio. It worked from more than half an hour.

    But then Zico decided to wake up from an apparent slumber by popping up on the back post to nod home an equaliser and it was back to square one for Milan. They dealt with the setback well, however, and before half-time midfield man Vinicio Verza swivelled well to drive a low shot past Fabio Brini in the Udinese goal. Few could argue the lead was not deserved.
    .....
    It took something special to give Enzo Ferrari’s men a lifeline. A neat one-two on the edge of the Milanese penalty area saw a ball chipped into the box in Zico’s direction. The ball took a slight deflection off a home defender but the Brazilian adjusted brilliantly to swing an overhead kick past a helpless Ottorino Piotti. It was Zico’s third two-goal game since arriving in Italy.

    “I feel good now,” beamed Zico. “Plus Ferrari played me in a deeper role where I prefer to play and I have always played there in Brazil. But when I arrived in Udine they asked me to play a bit further forward.”
    Whatever position he was put in and no matter how many injuries he suffered, he certainly made an impact. A 19-goal haul saw him finish just behind Juve’s Michel Platini in the Serie A goalscoring charts. It would be the peak of his time in Italy as he struggled for fitness the following year and managed just a handful of goals. But at least Udinese fans had the memory of an outstanding strike at the San Siro before letting him go back to Brazil.
     
  5. Vegan10

    Vegan10 Member+

    Aug 4, 2011
    I'm not sure where you came up with the 80%, but nevertheless, anyone that enjoyed positive and constructive football, certainly enjoyed his game. However, this was one of Platini's strongest seasons and he certainly rivaled Zico and any other star player in the world at the time. Perhaps you seem to forget, or were unaware, at this stage in their careers, especially during the second half of that season, Platini had leveled things up in the view of the world media.

    Not according to the sources from La Gazzetta dello Sport that I provided, which clearly mentioned Zico was an 'attaccante' in his first season. And this pretty much summed it up from your link below: Zico. "But when I arrived in Udine they asked me to play a bit further forward.”

    No one is disputing his ability to function in either role - but the difference between Platini and him, is that the Frenchman was always classified as 'centrocampista/trequartista' in Italy, while Zico was viewed as an 'interno' and 'attacante' in 83/84 - in other words, neither of the two functioned exactly the same as you previously claimed.
     
    Once and laudrup_10 repped this.
  6. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel Member+

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    How was his role/position for Flamengo in your view?
     
  7. Vegan10

    Vegan10 Member+

    Aug 4, 2011
    I'm not totally qualified to say, since Brazilian football was not transmitted in my area. My visual knowledge of Zico was only through the NT, Udinese and some Flamengo international matches (which were few). But in the past I explained this to James and asked him what was his knowledge in that regard, but I don't remember getting a convincing answer, so I moved on.
     
  8. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel Member+

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    Thanks. I remember that you saw him as a forward (unlike Maradona, Platini) in a previous discussion but like he himself says, for Udinese he played (even) more advanced. For that reason I was curious.
     
  9. JamesBH11

    JamesBH11 Member+

    Sep 17, 2004
    Well at time 83-84, Zico and Platini in serieA, were both like Messia dn CR7 in Liga in 2011. The favorites are divided, but at times when I watched them , most would agree Zico was a more skillful player, of the two. ONLY at 2nd half toward Euro1984, Platini got his name sealed BIG in such event, along with his Juve winning the champions title + serieA topscorer.

    Second bold, you have NOT read well: ONLY at home games, that he was playing at more advance position. NOT in away games or against big opponents (like vs Inter, Roma, Juve or Milan) - , my post here are to CLARIFY:
    1- Nevertheless, and regardless 60% FW or even 80% as FW at Undinese, that was just 1 season (out of his total 16years playing)

    2- Zico was NOT a forward period. Only who had NOT watched him playing, or only watching him with some "home games" for Udinese and for Brazil NT, would claim so!

    Lastly, "interno" is more of a midfielder than a "trescartista" (in Intalian term)
    The only difference between "Interno" and "centerocampista" are the much less "defensive responisbility", since an Interno = attacking playmaker, that's all. Anyway, I did watch them playing, NOT like this is a "WAR of Wordings" after 30years, OK?

    Here is another flash back of the games when the two greats facing off in 83-84:
    Despite of playing for a LOWER side, not fully fit, Zico took on Platini (with betetr quality teammates) with his best and made Udinese fans PROUD:

    http://www.serieaweekly.com/2011/08/when-zico-and-platini-slugged-it-out-in-udine.html
    GIANCARLO RINALDI
    ON AUGUST - 26 - 2011
    It just might be Serie A’s answer to a cold night at the Britannia Stadium. An icy December day at the Stadio Friuli is the kind of test that a pundit might think would be a step too far for a star foreign player, particularly a boy from Brazil. But, back in the 1980s, there was one golden player ready to prove them wrong.
    This was a time when the frontiers had not long reopened to Stranieri and Italy was plucking the very best of the crop. It is hard not to feel a certain nostalgia, and jealousy, for an era when the footballing world revolved around the peninsula. Nothing signalled this more than Zico’s arrival in Udine.
    The little Bianconeri have never been the biggest club in the country. Heck, they have rarely been the most significant side in its north east corner. But they were still able to lure one of the finest footballers of his generation to come and ply his trade for a brief, magical moment in their history.
    Out in the provinces, it is always a special occasion when Juventus come to town. There are plenty of other major sides in the country but nobody quite gets the combative juices flowing like a visit from the big Bianconeri. If you are going to take just one scalp a season, you’d like to be trimming La Vecchia Signora’s fringe.
    When those Turin giants come with Michel Platini in their ranks, the desire to take them down a peg or two is even greater. In the early 1980s, Le Roi reigned supreme across European football. What better feeling than to show your skills were a match for one of the finest in the business?
    Their clash on 11 December 1983 was a chance to renew a World Cup duel seen in Spain a year earlier. Paolo Rossi lined up for Juve with Zico in the ranks for Udinese. It had been Pablito who got the better of the Brazilian in one of the greatest games international football had ever seen. But would the same situation be repeated in their club colours?
    The South American star looked puffed up to twice his normal size before kick-off – but that was simply down to the number of layers of clothing he had on. “I have had a cold,” he sniffed to touchline reporters. “So I have got to be careful. But once the game starts I’ll take all this stuff off.”
    First blood, however, went to Rossi. With typical penalty box precision he popped up to tap in a cross from the right wing from close range. He wheeled away from goal in a celebration reminiscent of his glory days back at the Mondiale in Spain.
    But this was not an Udinese side to take defeat lying down. Inspired by the odd touch from Zico, they equalised in a most un-Brazilian manner. Defender Dino Galparoli rose to meet a corner kick and his looping header stunned Luciano Bodini, making a rare appearance in the Juve goal, when it dropped over his head and into the net to level the scores.
    Worse was to come for Giovanni Trapattoni’s men as a packed Friuli roared its approval for the effort being shown by their favourites. Two ex-Juventini then combined to put the home side ahead. Club legend Franco Causio swung a lovely cross in from the right and it was met by Pietro Virdis to nod the ball home. “I’ve been threatening to score for a couple of weeks,” said the expert striker at half time. “Let’s hope it is the first of many.”
    The visitors had other ideas and their coach decided to shuffle his pack in the second half. Bringing midfielder Beniamino Vignola on for Nicola Caricola proved to be the move that turned the game. He started to take control of Juve’s rhythm and gradually gave them the upper hand.
    It was from the little Italian’s boots that the equaliser was ultimately born. He linked up beautifully with Platini to send a defence-splitting pass into the Frenchman’s path. It was not the kind of opportunity he was likely to pass up and he scooped the ball over the goalkeeper into the net to make it 2-2.
    That was how the game would finish but not before Zico had done his best to secure victory for his side. First a close range header was easily saved and then a trademark free-kick stretched Bodini to the full. He may not have found the goal in this particular game but the Brazilian tried everything in his power to influence the outcome in his team’s favour.
    It said much about the quality of Udinese’s play that fellow Brazilian Edinho looked disappointed with the final result when he trudged off the pitch. “When we are playing in Udine, we can’t settle for a draw,” he said. “But in the first half we were a bit afraid of Juve, maybe a draw is a fair result for both sides.”
    Platini, for his part, seemed frustrated at how inconsistent his team had been. “When we are ahead we have problems, but when we go behind we play brilliantly,” he said. “After we equalised we sat back and we were in trouble. But a point is always something.”
    It would be enough to build another Scudetto for Juve anyway as they marched on to the title, seeing off Roma by just a couple of points. It was a tougher season for Udinese but they still finished respectably midtable with Zico chipping in an outstanding 19 goals – only to be denied the top scorer’s crown by a single goal by Platini. And, on a freezing day in north eastern Italy, they had both proved that star players can always shine – no matter what the weather and location for a match might be.
     
  10. laudrup_10

    laudrup_10 Member

    Jun 6, 2011
    Fine list Comme, could you post beside each player individual and collective accomplishments during that season?

    Sorry just saw you did post individual stats.
     
  11. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel Member+

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    Porto won the European Cup but was somehow not rated highly. France Football held a poll among journalists for best club team of Europe in May 1987 (sponsored by Adidas btw) and Porto did not make the first four. Ajax won the poll (winner CWC) with Bordeaux (semi-finalist CWC) on second place and Bayern Munich (losing finalist EC) on third place.
    Steaua their run in 1985/1986 was valued a lot better.
     
  12. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel Member+

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    Maybe also good to post this here. Deals with the 1986/1987 scudetto winning season by Napoli. Remember some interesting parts like some comments about his playing style, the difference with Platini and you see him on television saying against a journalist "if I see you near my house, you will end up with a swollen head. Do not say I haven't warned you" :p
    [at 16:50]

    Also the coach speaks who says how the team is supposed to be built around him and that he moved him further up front etc.
    [saw the documentary before]



    https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/...er-football-video-and-picture-thread.1978005/
     
  13. Tom Stevens

    Tom Stevens Member+

    Dec 12, 2012
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
  14. tony-soprano37

    Dec 5, 2008
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    England

    i was there in athens. great goal by van basten. it was the beginning of ajax being european toplevel again. playing 5 european finals in 9 years.
     
  15. COYS

    COYS Member

    Jul 29, 2008
    London
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    This is brilliant, mate. Do you do any more of these at all?

    This is like porn for a man like me.
     
  16. comme

    comme Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 21, 2003
    There are ones for every season from 1980 to 1988 so far up in this forum. Looking to continue soon with 1988-9.

    If you search for threads started by me with "Best players of" in you should be able to find them.
     
  17. COYS

    COYS Member

    Jul 29, 2008
    London
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Great. Thanks for the reply, I will check them out.
     
  18. carlito86

    carlito86 Member+

    Jan 11, 2016
    Club:
    Real Madrid

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