Paulo Sousa, Rui Costa, Deco, Ricardo Carvalho, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo Fenomeno, Zidane, Ibrahimovich, Shevchenko, Pirlo, Iniesta, Xabi Alosno, Messi, Henry, Patrick Vieira, Quaresma(in his Porto Days), David Silva, Kaka when he played for Milan, Madjer and my all time favorite Mario Jardel...if jardel hadnt got into drugs and gambling when he left Porto he would be talked about for generations to come...my absolute childhood hero, honestly im yet to see someone so lethal in the aerial game as he was. Edit: well, silly me for forgetting three german gems: Oliver kahn, schweinsteiger and the legend Beckenbauer(thoug i have only seen him in recorded matches my dad had on VHS back in the days i still had a functional video player).
Under 25 here so can't say much about the game before 1998. Batistuta, Ronaldo (Brazilian), Edgar Davids, Riquelme, Claudio Suarez, Jaime Moreno (DC United legend)
I started following the sport in the mid-90s and am partial to the #10 and am a GK so that colors my top 10 Zidane Pirlo Riquelme Veron Messi Iniesta Henry Okocha Friedel Buffon
To come back to this; these are who I appreciated a lot (in no order). Kenny Dalglish Gianni Rivera Rob Rensenbrink John de Wolf Pierre van Hooijdonk Jari Litmanen Marco van Basten (the way he 'redefined' the striker role & the willpower/mentality) Michael Laudrup Michel Platini (the footballer and person; not the sports administrator) Cristiano Ronaldo (greatest 'pure athlete' since Pelé; the model professional & off the pitch a nice person I think) Alain Giresse Eusebio Raymond Kopa Gunter Netzer Pierre Littbarski Josef Masopust Michel Preud'homme Paolo Roberto Falcao Enzo Francescoli Alain Simonsen Soren Lerby Jan Ceulemans Luis Figo Phillip Cocu Franco Causio Gerson Liam Brady Ossie Ardiles Antognoni Ludo Coeck Luc Nilis HM for Cruijff and what he has meant for football as well as the charitable work outside it. HM for Pelé too btw; it is easy to laugh at him, everyone does, but he has a hard role to play. In a way Pelé represents more than himself, he represents the sports, and I admire the way he does this. Maybe I forget some? Have to make a seperate one for defensive players, I think. EDIT: maybe I forgot some. I see Henke Larsson misses erroneously.
In a tentative order: Goalkeepers - Peter Schmeichel - Gianluigi Buffon - Luis Arconada (Retrospectively) Central Defenders - Franco Baresi - Franz Beckenbauer (Retrospectively) - Marcel Desailly - Frank de Boer - Paolo Montero Side Defenders - Roberto Carlos - Lilian Thuram - Javier Zanetti - Júnior (Retrospectively) - Rafael Gordillo (Retrospectively) Defensive Midfielders - Edgar Davids - Mauro Silva - José Velásquez (Retrospectively) - Duncan Edwards (Retrospectively) - Claude Makélélé Central Midfielders - Andrea Pirlo - Wim van Hanegem (Retrospectively) - César Cueto (Retrospectively) - Steven Gerrard Attacking-Midfielders - Zinedine Zidane - Diego Maradona - Ronaldinho - Zico (Retrospectively) - Roberto Rivelino (Retrospectively) - Andrés Iniesta - Ricardo Bochini (Retrospectively) - Julio César Uribe (Retrospectively) Wingers - René Houseman (Retrospectively) - Grzegorz Lato (Retrospectively) - David Ginola - Arjen Robben Support Strikers - Pelé (Retrospectively) - Ferenc Puskás (Retrospectively) - Dennis Bergkamp - Lionel Messi - Cristiano Ronaldo - Wayne Rooney Strikers - Romário - Ronaldo - Marco van Basten (Retrospectively) - Gabriel Batistuta - Hugo Sánchez (Retrospectively) - Christian Vieri
Boo. I believe Peru FC has a deep seated hatred of all things Scottish. My suspicions will be confirmed if he does not place me within his top 5 selections in the ongoing sheep draft that is nearing conclusion.
Ramires for Chelsea (no joke). Might come as a surprise but I love how gritty he plays. he has a small frame but is not afraid of a tough challenge.
My favorites are Romário, Edmundo (http://espnfc.com/columns/story/_/id/994033/the-mavericks:-edmundo?cc=3888) and Juninho Pernambucano. Of course, I also liked others Brazilian players like Ronaldo, Bebeto and Ronaldinho and other less famous like Djalminha and Alex de Souza. In Argentina, Ariel Ortega, Juan Sebastian Verón and Kun Aguero are fantastic. Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and Román Riquelme are the ones I most enjoyed watching. And Europeans like Michael Laudrup, Zidane, Dennis Bergkamp, Luis Figo, Francesco Totti, Thierry Henry, Xavi...
No disrespect to you mate, but I always had a dislike for Edmundo for some weird reason. I also never liked hunchback Cuauhtemoc Blanco, and despised his "Blanco Hop". Maybe another thread titled "Players you dislike" would be interesting
I completely understand. Edmundo always had a controversial and explosive personality. And he always created many problems in all the teams that played, as the article explains.. If he did not create so many problems, he could have a better career in Europe football and Brazil NT. But at the peak in Brazil he was a fantastic player to watch and an exciting for fans.
I will only mention the players that I have (in my esteem) seen enough of, so some notable omissions should be expected considering that I have not seen enough of many many players. I would divide them into two or three groups, Players that I like the most, Andres Iniesta Roberto Baggio Carlos Valderrama Romario Roman Riquelme Gheorghe Hagi Diego Maradona Matt Le Tissier Players that I like a lot though not as much as the ones already mentioned, Andrea Pirlo Zinedine Zidane (note: would be in the above list if he was a more consistent and a more direct passer) Michael Laudrup Lio Messi Players that I like a lot but slightly less than the above list, Andrey Arshavin (note: in his prime, that is, his first season with Arsenal) Ronaldo Ronaldinho Xavi Hernandez Francesco Totti (note: a stationary-type player who lacked pace, who scored a lot of goals, very rare) Luis Figo Joaquin Sanchez
Don't rely on my conscience. Evidently, they're only my top favorites, but among the many likes I have there are 3 Scottish: Morton, Bremner and Johnstone. The first, of course, just because the impression I've for the descriptions.
I consider myself very lucky to have grown up watching the three Dutchmen dominate for Milan during the late 80s/early 90s. It was a special time in Serie A with so many talented players and sides. The greatest players I've ever seen play have to be Maradona and Gullit. When in form, they were in a class of their own. These are the players I have most enjoyed watching, some present day players included as well... 1) Gullit 2) Maradona 3) Van Basten 4) Roberto Baggio 5) Romario 6) Ronaldo (fat) 7) Zidane 8)Ronaldo (yes he whines, but what a player..) 9) Messi 10) Figo
Maldini, Paolo Gattuso, Genaro Kluivert, Patrick Davids, Edgar Nazario Da Lima, Luis Messi, Lionel Maradona, Diego Arantes to Nascimento, Edson Thuram, Lilian Di Stefano, Alfredo Ronaldo, Cristiano Santos Do Nascimento, Ramires Vieira, Patrick Wright, Ian Gullit, Ruud De Souza Faria, Romario Modric, Luca Montolivo, Riccardo Borges Da Silva, Willian Schweinsteiger, Bastian Gonçalves de Andrade, Eduardo
Can you explain why you include Di Stefano but not his equally gifted partner Ferenc Puskas, Jaweirdo? Puskas had arguably even a better touch and slightly better technique, some said. Or why Di Stefano and not Cruijff? (who was ofc different but a bit similar) @Jaweirdo
In no order 10 Premiership Matt Le Tiss Paul Gascoigne (though mostly not actually in the prem) Gianfranco Zola Dennis Bergkamp Steve McManaman Peter Beardsley Tony Daley Tugay Ledley King Georgi Kinkladze 10 Blades from watching in person Dane Whitehouse Vas Borbokis Stuart McCall Glyn Hodges Brian Deane Paul McGrath Dave Holdsworth Alan Kelly Phil Jagielka Harry Maguire Sadly too young to have seen Alan Woodward or Tony Currie but needless to say I'm sure they would make the list if I had. 10 All time Legends, considering I've seen more of some than others Zico Michael Laudrup Gullit Cafu Hagi Ronaldinho Hoddle Best Baggio Cueto
I only like Di Stefano based on highlight clips i've seen of him, i loved his approach of keeping the game simple and passing and moving; an approach to the game that would still prove to be useful this day in age... as opposed to say Garrincha who's style I really do not like at all. I do like cruijff a lot, I just forgot to include him. I havent taken the time to watch Puskas, just read about him. Its also worth noting that I like the new version of CR7, not the overly flashy one from Manchester United that sometimes tricked his own self with his flair.
In no particular order and some at certain period in their careers; Maradona (even when he was over weight he was still the best) Hagi Ginola Bergkamp Rui Costa Zidane Shevchenko LeTisseir (sp) Okocha Tevez C Ronaldo (06-07 version not to say he's now bad, just prefer that version) Messi (up to 2011 version, same argument as above) Batigol Iniesta (with end product) Stoichkov Seerdof Taarabt Gerrard Ballack Quaresma (Porto one) Scholes Desailly (Milan one) Modric Bale Neymar (Brasil version) Malbranque (sp.)