View Full Version : Most influential footballers
schafer
04 Jul 2005, 06:41 PM
This is a thread to list your personal list of who you think are the most influential footballers playing right now. Not necessarily the most talented, but those who have an ability to sway a match in their team's favour. Most lists will probably include talented players, but try to think outside the box. Some that I would include (not a complete list) would be:
Makelele
Nedved
Ronaldinho
Rooney
Gilberto Silva (for Arsenal, maybe not Brazil)
Henry
Pirlo
Riquelme
Terry
Gravesen
Adriano
Ballack
Bergkamp
Nesta
Hartfield
04 Jul 2005, 07:19 PM
influential???.... if a player is not talented then he's not influential. you should ask what coach is influential.
dﮥnny
05 Jul 2005, 12:20 AM
Zola and C. Lucarelli
gomez
05 Jul 2005, 05:33 AM
Fowler's rich ass
SirManchester
05 Jul 2005, 02:29 PM
Effenberg!
Germanshepherd
05 Jul 2005, 03:50 PM
Kahn. With his win of the Golden boot at the 2002 World Cup he lifted the goalkeepers standing inside the game on another level.
bojendyk
05 Jul 2005, 03:55 PM
Bergkamp
I love Bergkamp and think he's got a year or two of top-drawer football ahead of him, but the days in which he could influence the direction of a game are mostly behind him. When Henry is on fire, so is the whole team. When Bergkamp is on fire, it's not always the case that the rest of the team is as well.
Bertje
05 Jul 2005, 04:15 PM
When Bergkamp is on fire, it's not always the case that the rest of the team is as well.
But how many games in which Bergkamp is on fire are won?
Exactly.
schafer
06 Jul 2005, 04:46 PM
influential???.... if a player is not talented then he's not influential. you should ask what coach is influential.
I disagree. If I understand what you are saying, then by your logic, Denilson is more influential than Makelele, which he clearly is not. Talent may and usually does determine how influential a player is, but not always. Look at Steven Gerrard. Not the most technically gifted player in the world (he is good technically, but he's no Zidane), and he is sometimes criticized for bad decision making, yet his character and inspiration helped Liverpool to a CL victory. That is what I meant by influential.
benztown
06 Jul 2005, 05:05 PM
Effenberg!
This is a good example of a player who is not among the most talented, but who can turn a game by will alone. He was very important for Bayern, but with Ballack they found a perfect successor.
SirManchester
06 Jul 2005, 05:25 PM
This is a good example of a player who is not among the most talented, but who can turn a game by will alone. He was very important for Bayern, but with Ballack they found a perfect successor.
Yes...Effenberg was the best example of a true leader that I can think of back when they won the CL....his leadership during that season and run was simple unmatched in a very long time.
Ballack isn't on the same par with Effe yet when it comes to leadership but he has certainly found his place this past season and can only get better.
Teso Dos Bichos
06 Jul 2005, 07:18 PM
And neither of them come anywhere near Roy Keane. :D
Ombak
06 Jul 2005, 07:49 PM
I disagree. If I understand what you are saying, then by your logic, Denilson is more influential than Makelele, which he clearly is not. Talent may and usually does determine how influential a player is, but not always. Look at Steven Gerrard. Not the most technically gifted player in the world (he is good technically, but he's no Zidane), and he is sometimes criticized for bad decision making, yet his character and inspiration helped Liverpool to a CL victory. That is what I meant by influential.Sounds like you think dribbling ability = talent. I'll take Makelele's passing, positioning and tackling among other skills over Denilson's dribbling as a better talent any day.
nicephoras
06 Jul 2005, 08:09 PM
Kahn. With his win of the Golden boot at the 2002 World Cup he lifted the goalkeepers standing inside the game on another level.
Nonsense. Schmeichel's role in Denmark's Euro win was clearly more important.
Neoš
06 Jul 2005, 08:22 PM
STEVEN GERRARD, The most influencial player in the world. He single handidly got Liverpool the Champions League throphy (with help from the supporting cast). That Final was probibly the best game of his career, its not even the fact that he started the come back. Its just that when AC Milan were trying to take the game, he was everywhere on the pitch. And he isnt even THAT brilliant a player, he is not the best passer, dribbler, or goal scorer. But he has a mixture off all those qualities and his influence on the pitch, with the fans, and even in the dressing room cannot be matched. I would call him the new Roy Keane but that would be in insult to Gerrard. :p
filiusterrae
06 Jul 2005, 08:24 PM
Hierro when he was at real - seemed like entirely different teams depending on whether or not he was on the field.
slidingtackleCOM
06 Jul 2005, 08:42 PM
Kahn. With his win of the Golden boot at the 2002 World Cup he lifted the goalkeepers standing inside the game on another level.
No way IMO. I don't think it was the golden boot he won anyway (that is for top scorer), i thought he won player of the tournament. Even during the final against Brazil he made a couple of fumbles and was at fault for one of the goals.