Michel Platini or Zico

[dor02]

Both players were attacking midfielders and played in the 1978, 1982 and 1986 World Cups. Both players are not only rated amongst their nation's greatest players but amongst the greatest ever to have played the game. Both players starred in the Serie A in an era when Italy had some of the world's greatest players playing there. Who would you consider to be the greatest out of the two and why?

[gmonn]

Zico.
Midfielder w/ 508 goals in 731 games for Flamengo.
66 goals in 88 games for Brazil.
Great passer, shooter, dribbler.
Best free kick taker of all time.

[Twix]

Zico.


Are you a brazil fan ??

[gmonn]

Are you a brazil fan ??

Not recently. I am a Zico fan. Got his games for Flamengo on TV weekly as a kid. Saw Platini play in WCs and wasn't impressed, although his late record in Europe is impressive. I'd take Zico in a heartbeat for my team.

[argentine soccer fan]

They were both giants of the game, you cannot go wrong with either. But if I have to pick one I'd say Zico. Not to disrespect Platini because he was also an all-time great, but I think Zico had better overall ball skills and also was more of a scorer for a midfielder. Both were great passers and both superb from dead balls, and both were great on-field leaders who had that quality that made their teammates play better. Dribbling is one area where Zico was clearly superior.

[Twix]

Not recently. I am a Zico fan. Got his games for Flamengo on TV weekly as a kid. Saw Platini play in WCs and wasn't impressed, although his late record in Europe is impressive. I'd take Zico in a heartbeat for my team.

Just wondering, as you always seem to defend/prefer brazilians imo.

Anyways I haven't seen enough of Platini or Zico to pick a definite one but they would both make my top 20. If forced to pick, I would pick Zico as i saw mesmerising footage of him coupled with an excellent record too.

[gmonn]

Just wondering, as you always seem to defend/prefer brazilians imo.
There's this anti-Brazilian backlash going on that goes way too far. How can you be a footie fan and not appreciate the nation and its players? They have given so much to the game.

[Twix]

There's this anti-Brazilian backlash going on that goes way too far. How can you be a footie fan and not appreciate the nation and its players?

It explains soo much..:D

I agree. I myself think being Brazilian must be hard. If you're not the best player in the country, then sometimes your talents get overlooked and you don't get the adulation you deserve. (Carlos Alberto, Jairzinho, Rivelino etc..)

People like Anderson and Elano are performing great in the league, but the media just classes them as typical Brazilians because of the current competition and the guys of the past and they only get the recognition from their fans.

I will say that sometimes players will be put on a pedestal because they're brazilian ala Ronaldinho and Adriano. When they slip off the top, many are hesitant to criticise them because they are Brazilian. Hence they become overrated in spite of their poor performances and some fans will dismiss any upcoming hyped Brazilian as overrated before even seeing them because of their nationality.

[kingkong1]

So we have objective points to make:
(all data taken from Wikipedia)


________________

Zico Statistics


Team
Goals
Matches
Goal average

Flamengo
508
731
0.69

Udinese
56
79
0.69

Sumitomo Metals
27
31
0.87

Kashima Antlers
27
57
0.47

Brazil National Team
66
88
0.75

Brazil Olympic Team
1
8
0.12

Youth years
81
116
0.69

Others
60
70
0.85

Total
826
1180
0.70

Major achievements

Club honours
• Rio State Championship 1972, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1979 (special), 1981, 1986
• Brazilian Championship 1980, 1982, 1983, 1987
• Libertadores Cup 1981
• Intercontinental Cup 1981
• J.League 1st Stage Championship 1993
International honours
• 1978 FIFA World Cup: Third place
• 1982 FIFA World Cup: Round 2 (5th place)
• 1986 FIFA World Cup: Quarter-finals (5th place)
Individual honours
• 1974 Brazilian Footballer of the Year - Placar Magazine (Brazil)
• 1974 - Set a goal record in a single season as a Flamengo player - 49 goals
• 1976 - Set a goal record in a single season as a Flamengo player - 56 goals
• 1977 South American Footballer of the Year - El Mundo (Venezuela)
• 1980 Brazilian Championship Top Scorer - 21 goals
• 1981 Libertadores Cup Top Scorer - 11 goals
• 1981 Intercontinental Cup Best Player
• 1981 South American Footballer of the Year - El Mundo (Venezuela)
• 1981 World Footballer of the Year - Guerin Esportivo (Italy), El Balón (Spain), El Mundo (Venezuela), Placar Magazine (Brazil)
• 1982 World Cup Bronze Boot
• 1982 World Cup All-Star Team player
• 1982 Brazilian Championship Top Scorer - 21 goals
• 1982 Brazilian Top Scorer of the year - 59 goals
• 1982 Brazilian Footballer of the Year - Placar Magazine (Brazil)
• 1982 South American Footballer of the Year - El Gráfico (Argentina), El Mundo (Venezuela)
• 1983 Player of the Year - World Soccer Magazine (England)
• 1984 Second highest scorer of the Italian League - 19 goals
• 1984 Italian League Player of the Year
• 1992 Japan Soccer League record for goals scored in consecutive matches - 11 goals in 10 straight matches
• 1995 Beach Soccer World Championship Top Scorer - 12 goals
• 1995 Beach Soccer World Championship Best Player
• Top Scorer in Flamengo's history - 508 goals
• Top Scorer in Maracanã Stadium's history - 333 goals
• World Soccer Players of the 20th century
• FIFA 100
Beach Soccer
• World Championship 1995, 1996
• Copa America 1995, 1996
_______________

Platini Statistics


Personal information

Full name

Michel François Platini

Date of birth

June 21, 1955

(1955-06-21) (age 52)

Place of birth Jœuf, France

Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)

Playing position

Midfielder

Youth clubs:

1966-1972
AS Joeuf

Senior clubs:

1972-1979
1979-1982
1982-1987

AS Nancy
Saint-Étienne
Juventus

Club App (Gls):

175 (98)
107 (58)
147 (78)
429 (224)

National team

1976-1987

France

Club App (Gls)

72 (41)

Teams managed

1988-1992

France

Honours

Individual honours
• 1976
o France Football French Player of the Year
• 1977
o France Football French Player of the Year
o L'Équipe French Champion of Champions
• 1979
o Selected in FIFA XI to play Argentina
• 1982
o Selected in Europe team to face FIFA XI in charity match for UNICEF
• 1983
o Capocannoniere (top scorer) in Italian championship (16 goals)
o Coppa Super Clubs player of the tournament
o Chevron Award (best goal per game ratio in Italian league)
o European Footballer of the Year
o Onze d'Or
• 1984
o Capocannoniere (top scorer) in Italian championship (20 goals)
o European Championship player of the tournament
o European Championship top goalscorer (9 goals)
o European Footballer of the Year
o Guerin Sportivo magazine's player of the Italian championship
o L'Équipe French Champion of Champions
o Onze d'Or
o World Soccer Player of the Year
• 1985
o Capocannoniere (top scorer) in Italian championship (18 goals)
o Chevron Award (best goal per game ratio in Italian league)
o European Cup top scorer (7 goals)
o Knight of the Legion of Honour
o European Footballer of the Year
o Onze d'Or
o World Club Championship final, Man of the Match
o World Soccer Player of the Year
• 1987
o English Football League Centenary Classic match, Man of the Match
• 1988
o Officer of the Legion of Honour
• 1991
o El País European Coach of the Year
o World Soccer Manager of the Year
• 1992
o Winter Olympics, Albertville, France, lighter of the Olympic Flame with François-Cyrille Grange
• 2003
o Artemio Franchi Prize
• 2004
o Named in FIFA 100
• 2007
o Elected UEFA President.
Club honours

• Nancy

o 1975 French second division champion
o 1978 French Cup winner

• Saint-Étienne

o 1981 French league champion
o 1981 French Cup runner-up
o 1982 French Cup runner-up

• Juventus

o 1983 Coppa Super Clubs winner
o 1983 Italian Cup winner
o 1983 European Cup runner-up
o 1984 European Cup Winners' Cup winner (first French player to win the trophy)
o 1984 European Super Cup winner
o 1984 Italian league champion
o 1985 European Cup winner
o 1985 World Club Championship winner
o 1986 Italian league champion

International honours

• 1984 European Championship winner
• 1985 Artemio Franchi Trophy winner
• 1986 World Cup third place

During Platini's international career, France were five times holders of Nasazzi's baton, and Platini was captain on the third, fourth, and fifth occasion that the French national team held the unofficial title while he was an international.

[kingkong1]

xxx

[kingkong1]

xxx

[sreeja]

In my opinion zico is best.I am a huge fan of zico.