Best players of the noughties? ( 2000 - 2010 )

2008-09 is part of it surely. The Actim and Opta index also supports this.

 

Since PDG wondered in this thread about the veteran Baggio vs the veteran Bergkamp (8 goals and 14 direct assists in 29 league games at the age of 35/36) and their respective strengths, maybe it is a good idea to list the best veteran player per decade. Since also this dynamic has changed over time, as is the case in every sport (in golf it has undeniably become harder to be good as a veteran).

Before going more detailed (e.g. 1985 - 1995, 1990 - 2000) here some rough sketches:

1960s: Puskas? Yashin?
1970s: ? Alan Ball, Martin Peters, Zoff.
1980s: Cruijff? Zoff? Morten Olsen?
1990s: Milla? Bergomi?
2000s: this has to be Maldini. Giggs, Baggio and Bergkamp also very good. Gianfranco Zola in Serie A.
2010s: Ibrahimovic? Totti also good.

Maybe @PDG1978 or @comme knows a better thread for this? Ideally I'd like to go more detailed so 1975 - 1985 (which might go to Zoff) and 1980 - 1990 (which might go to Shilton). Then also an outfield player if the #1 pick is a goalkeeper (e.g. Olsen).

 

Thanks. Matthaus is also a good one for 1990s.

I will use that thread.

 

I'm not neutral but I'd say that at his peak (which is probably 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989) he was probably a class above Ibra, Lewandowski or Suarez.

Very difficult to compare very different eras of course, and assess 'technique' in an absolute or relative sense. But from my point of view he's more around CR7 his class (in the eyes of PDG1978 above, in the eyes of others slightly below) than in Ibra territory. Even more so with the qualifier 'at his peak'.

That being said, Lewandowski's value for a team (wins added) might be up there with the other multiple Ballon d'Or winners (except Keegan, Rummenigge).

The interesting question is here - to me - if whether Ibra, Lewandowski or Suarez would've won a Ballon d'Or with LM10/CR7 taken out of the equation. Suarez maybe (others would say he's good because he plays alongside Messi, Neymar) but Ibra or Lewandowski would be more difficult. Apart from the observation that the awards have been dominated by Serie A and later on La Liga since the 1980s (not always matching the team results or so).

Totti is a very good fit for this period (2000 - 2010) and some good comments have been made on this thread about him; also in relation to Pirlo for example. Two of the mentioned difficulties are: 1) at his peak Serie A was the 3rd or 4th best league in Europe, 2) modest individual success on the international stage with equally modest AS Roma or the national team (thanks to injuries, euro 2000 aside). There are also big plus sides like his 2000-01 league title with Roma, where he was maybe - maybe not - their best player.

 

Ibrahimovic has divided opinions here since his Ajax days. This started around the time when JC14 as a pundit famously said "he has a very good technique for a bad player and a bad technique for a good player". He remained quite reserved throughout, and in return Ibra is not mild in his autobiography.

Totti has some big fans among pundits (ex-players) and journalists alike. There are two prominent journalists in particular who have been covering Serie A, and/or lived there, since the 'Big Three' played there. Those are a big fan of him and think perspective is lost when Raul Gonzalez - who is nine months younger - is seen as a great player and he isn't.

JC14 was also positive about him and although not everyone is immediately convinced in that instance, that does help to sway perception in some circles. Seems that Totti himself has returned the compliment:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=totti+cruyff

Interesting to see old BBC DVDs by the way - at the end of the evening he has 'primed' Alan Hansen to talk along similar lines and with similar 'glasses' so to speak. Very comical to see.



Example of 1 minute 19 seconds.

 

It got me thinking about which players - of this era - there was/is some doubt or divided opinions.

I'd say:

Cannavaro
Puyol
Eto'o
Gerrard
Lampard
Pirlo
Casillas
John Terry

From this list I compiled:
https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/be...ghties-2000-2010.2037761/page-2#post-34972474

From PDG his list Riquelme can be added as a divisive player (I thought Riquelme might fit best into 1995 - 2005 but that's somewhat debatable). He'd be right among the very top of the heap.

Ofc this is with some 'doubts about the doubts' but something like that I think. Maybe Seedorf, Ballack and David Villa as well, but in the end I don't think so.

In terms of veteran players from this period, the big one is 'mister lazy' and 'I am tired' Romario.

Not easy to indicate and give a complete list.

What are other (commonly) expressed considerations in England with regards to Totti?

 

Maybe this something of interest for you too:
http://econ.sciences-po.fr/sites/default/files/file/jbvilain.pdf

Slight warning: it requires some proper reading and the clubs players played for might have an effect. Also something as injuries and frequent returning from injuries.

There are some interesting and relevant bits hidden in the text that are not immediately apparent from the table.

 

Yeah. Above document shows him 43th while he was aged 31 - 38 (almost 39) in that measured period.

Not claiming it is the be all, end all but it is kind of indicative.

 

This is a decent impression;



This doesn't include the dribble from the halfway line past three men vs Finland or the very good dribble against Inter where he ended up crossing (successfully) at the right-sided edge of the penalty area.

This makes me wondering who was the greatest striker of 2000 - 2010. Eto'o in pole position I think.

https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/best-players-of-the-noughties-2000-2010.2037761/#post-34967777

 

The other thread made me think I might cite the Ballon d'Or write ups of 1988, 1989 and 1992 as well.

It indeed shows a template that is somewhat comparable to Lewandowski but very difficult to compare very difficult eras. Even in case of teams who had arguably many of the best players in the world in their own position - game dynamics and other aspects can change.


1988

And which threatened the record of Michel Platini, established in 1984, with the incredible score of 128 points out of 130 possible. With 129 points on 135, the Dutch striker of Milan was not far from marking with an orange stone a success which took the form of a triumph.

Striker
The triumph of Marco van Basten in the election of the 1988 European Ballon d'Or is the crowning achievement of a champion faithful to his nature and his conviction of being what he is.

This is an important event, as it discards the many creators or pseudo-creators buried 40 meters deep, to privilege the aristocracy of the game of football: the scorer, the man of all risks subject to the vagaries of the coming of the ball, frustrating tactical patterns, unavoidable injuries given the aggressiveness of the defenders and the psychological weaknesses of the referees.

Van Basten is currently the survivor of an ancient team in the process of disappearing from the earth. And yet, at the same time, the quasi-ideal "product" adapted to a certain form of consumption by the public. Because it combines technical virtuosity, psychological impermeability, gushing speed, performance, athletic resistance, body play, tactical sense (masking intentions), head play. You can not ask Van Basten anything more because he has everything.

What is interesting to note in the case of Van Basten, and which must be stressed relentlessly, is that at the beginning of his trajectory was technique, at the same time as the sense of purpose, one [male form] or one [female form] carrying the other. All those who have known Van Basten, the minors or cadets [in France] remember a superb ball handler, already adapted to all situations in front of the opponent's cage, lively, precise, clever, never missing the point of the gesture. Then came the rest, including the "game of body", in a Dutch football that is not repugnant to contact. Van Basten has not left anything in the shadow of the center-forward play. He is both a classic striker, an inspired striker and an inventive striker.

Van Basten is neither better nor worse than Eusebio or Gerd Müller who preceded him to the prize list. He is marvelously adapted to the football of his time and it revalorizes, in our time of scarcity of goals, the offensive game of panache and audacity, as symbolized by its luminous takeover against the USSR in the final of the Championship of Europe 1988.
*) As some will know, some languages know a male form and feminine form of a word.


1989

Of evil skill
One year after the triumph of the Orange of Rinus Michels, it is another European champion (clubs, that one) who influenced the choice of the European journalists consulted by France Football. It is clear that in the trio of Van Basten-Baresi-Rijkaard, it was AC Milan who was awarded and honored. And, with him, was devoted a team whose original organization and tactical animation, entrepreneurship promote the total development of his individual talents.

The reverse is also true. Van Basten, Baresi and Rijkaard: it will be noted that the three men each played a key role in each of the three lines of the team.

Marco van Basten was once again the decisive striker in the important matches (Red Star Belgrade, Real Madrid, Steaua Bucharest), but it was not only that. The Dutchman must often bear, let us not forget, an ungrateful role. Alone at the forefront of the fight, as long as the team has not reconverted to the offensive to come to support it, it is the target of a severe, double and redouble marking, which it controls thanks to a suppleness and an agility that is amazing for a player of his height and size.

His remarkable technical skill is manifested in unbalanced ball catches, but also in calm and nervous dribbling, and an equally astounding gesture of action for a 1.87m striker allows him to be placed alone or in the most delicate situations. His game of head and his great composure (similarly effective for the transformation of penalties) are his other assets. It will not fail to emphasize that the frequent absence of his teammate Gullit has in no way lessened the performance of this racy, elegant center, which is not only a profitable striker but also its own goal creator.
https://www.francefootball.fr/news/1989-marco-van-basten/423442


1992

And one, and two, and three !
1992 will not have been profitable for the first three of the 1991 Golden Ball. The serious injury of Lothar Matthäus, the early retirement of Gary Lineker added to the painful situation experienced by the former Yugoslavs drew a completely new landscape at the top of the best European players. Among the top ten of the previous year, only Jean-Pierre Papin was in the standings, with only two points, it is true. The struggle between Van Basten and Stoichkov was extremely tough for the trophy and in this Milan-Barcelona match, the Dutchman was once again the winner for the third time in history (1988, 1989 and 1992). The one who found Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini at the top of the charts had been cited in first place by eleven jurors, against Bulgarian striker, who was "victim" of a very divided vote, which also placed Hässler (three), Schmeichel (two), Brian Laudrup, Bergkamp and Ronald Koeman (one) in pole position. Finally, Denmark, winner of the Euro, found the reward of its coronation with the presence of seven of its champions in the ranking of the twenty-two best players of the year.

Cruyff's son
Marco van Basten has not changed so much in a year. At the most, he keeps in the court the bitter memory of a Euro, a chance rather missed by him as by his orange company. It is true that in Sweden the 1992 Ballon d'Or did not fully live up to its value and reputation, re-directing the spotlight to his young compatriot (and perhaps successor) Bergkamp, author of three goals. While Marco van Basten, remained silent in front of the opponent's goal, even went so far as to miss the penalty shootout that eliminated the Netherlands in the semi-finals against Denmark.

Fortunately, the "Flying Dutchman" had done very well by overflying his AC Milan to an Italian Championship (finishing unbeaten with eight points ahead of Juventus), Marco taking his share of the cake by removing the king's crown from the scorers with no less than 25 goals.

Van Basten continues to wreak havoc this season. In the Champions League, he realized a new feat against Göteborg by achieving four goals, all more different than the others. One must see in it the extent of his register and the talent of an attacker who combines all the physical, technical and tactical qualities. Large, slender, elegant, it could be a little slowed down and braked by this slender morphology, in his gestures, in his sprints, his starts.

And yet, his acceleration or crochet vivacity, his relaxation, his speed racing are those of a short-legged. This allows him to try and succeed in the dribbling, the most varied, the most unexpected and the most effective strikes of the foot and head. But it is also and above all by his lucidity in the game, by his art to alternate wisely the individual feat (of the striker) and the collective action (of the passer) that he creates miracles. Van Basten, with his high head on a long, straight bust, has a peripheral vision of the terrain, like a navy periscope, which makes him an unrivaled playmaker to make himself useful by his movements without a ball or his passes to a partner. In addition, he also knows how to bend to defensive contingencies when necessary, as he demonstrated on several occasions, during the Euro where he was even seen tackling his own penalty area. Elegance, intelligence, collective spirit, efficiency: is not that the perfect robot?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwL4ev1QI1K6Q3dMc0V1MDdheHc/view

*) France Football themselves did give MvB the most 'stars' of all Dutch players during euro 1992, thus rating him the highest.

A while ago I made this compilation, where he was playing a competitive match against FC Barcelona.

 

I didn't realize he was runner-up 8 times. That brings a necessary perspective.