You criteria for technical ability discriminates against forwards and traditional number 9s who’s primary function isn’t necessarily to create For his position r9 was the most technically accomplished a player could ever hope to be Ronaldinho for his position as a second striker was barely average at scoring (Remove his penalties then do a comparison between him and rivaldo at Barcelona and the NT) And his passing could not compare to other AMF/SS like Maradona and zico.he only matched them in extravagant passes not visionary ones You will point to his pass to guily against Milan.neymar made an identical pass against England in 2017 and he continues to match Ronaldinho in visionary long balls and through passes Bottom line R9 at his best was as good as a striker could hope to be Ronaldinho at his best could not could not compete against the greatest in his position Maradona,Zico and Messi (Genius assist at the beginning) Ronaldinho could only do this in Nike commercials @Vegan10 can you find a comparable performance by Cruyff in any season where he is creating goal scoring opportunities at will A technique based comparison between r9 and Ronaldinho based on passing styles is disingenuous at best.
Haha! You think I have bias for Ronaldo??! In the same way I don't judge Ronaldo's performance winning 7-1 against trashy Roma in 2007 is the same way I don't judge Messi's performance for scoring 5 goals against a trashy Leverkusen in 2012. I also don't judge Messi's performance against Real Madrid in 10-11, 5-0 because the whole team played so damn good!!! You have credibility but you seem to be the only one I know who rates ronaldo performance against Roma in 07 as one of the greatest performances. Psshhh. Pathetic. I need more time to answer more. I will soon
OK, but remember that in Dinho's time La Liga was more competitive. and even if Ronaldo was a better goalscorer (my opinion too) than Dinho's he still forced many shots/game to reach his numbers, many of them speculative shots, so his conversion rate was never been very impressive in RM to be honest. Dinho's was def. more team oriented than Ronaldo. At a club level the conversion rate of PL CR7 in 07/08 (23,7%) is perhaps a outlier in his carrer more than the rule. But yes, I think Ronaldo's peak form was in 2009/2010 with 24-25 years old, he had strong finishing ability this season, beautiful solo goals, nice dribbles, did a lot of key passes per game, good participation in almost all games and he still had 100% of his athletic form, acceleration, strengh... CR7 that season had it at all.
Hypocritacal as f$@k! First you say Ronaldinho is more appealing and fluid then ronaldo (CR7) but doesn't mean he is more technical or skillful which I can understand. But then you say that iniesta isn't skillful (relatively speaking) but Zidane was elegant and skillful! Are you mad! Do you understand the skill level needed to play on that Barca super team. You ever wander why Messi did not stand out as much playing with xavi and iniesta as he does now??? And iniesta's passing skill post 30 was as good as anyone you will see in the modern game. Do you ever wander why players like fabregas, Dembele, and coutinho struggle to play and fit into Barcelona. Why great players on other teams look technically behind and think slowly when they go to Barca but are all stars on other teams?? Iniesta never paled in comparison to Messi in those areas. Even Luis Suarez has been questioned at times where at Liverpool he was seen as a ballon d'or candidate! For iniesta and xavi to be ballon d'or candidates playing alongside Messi when he was scoring 50+ goals a season is unreal!!! No modern Barca player has come close to matching that!
Dude what are you rambling on about and why do you enjoy misquoting me so much? Firstly Cristiano could do everything dinho could do in terms of ball skills and he also evidently has a better shooting technique (in terms of goal variety) while dinho has a better passing technique Even if I admitted Cristiano did not seem as fluid as dinho he could still do what he did and to the same effect (if not greater-as a direct dribbling threat prime c.Ronaldo isn’t surpassed by many) The only point I was making was regarding dinhos aesthetical superiority Iniesta could not do what zidane did in terms of ball skills (CLEARLY) His shooting technique was evidently inferior his passing was inferior And in addition to all the above he was from a aesthetical perspective no where near zizou Show me a source that ranked iniesta as one of the best passers in history (a neutral source-not one written by a pro Barça or tika taka fanboy) Iniestas assist count in this generation is below par except in one season (I believe in 11/12 he made 20+ assists) But so did Ozil,de bruynne,xavi,Messi(and in fact many more times) The weight of the pass and the movement before to make the space for it is just ridiculous De bruyne vs Stoke 2017/18 a masterful playmaking performance and his assist towards the end is one of the best visionary through balls I have ever seen (on par with the best of laudrup) I have never seen iniesta make visionary passes of the same calibre In his prime. he would also perform a great dribble vs multiple players every blue moon. And his la croqueta move that he took of Micheal laudrup was used hardly or rarely in his career(way less than I saw zidane effectively use his trademark roulette move) Overall I don’t see how iniesta could be lauded as a great contemporary technician When he was an ineffective finisher (relative to his position) Not as good a passer as many midfielders from the past 10 years Average in terms of ball skills In his favour he has a great first touch and great ball control but gosh is he so slow that he never or hardly looked like a dangerous game changer
Neymar was a ballon dor candidate in 2015(made the podium in what you believe to be messi’s best ever season) And Neymar was at this stage a significantly superior footballer(and has continued to make greater strides at PSG) Xavi was a very effective midfielder his prime,technically average but efficient as f*ck In 08/09 he made 30 assists and was MOTM in the champions league final He is one of the only players to come close to the Messi/Ronaldo standard during their primes (In fact some analysts ranked xavi above Cristiano for the 2008/09 season which is debatable but not outrageous in the slightest) Iniesta was fraudulently put forward as a ballon dor candidate in 2012. Him winning the uefa best player award ahead of Ronaldo and Messi in 2011/12 was a bigger farce than modric winning any of his awards this year Matter of fact he wasn’t even at Pirlos level this season (11/12)in terms of club form
Deeper comparision between Messi and Pelé: http://otaviopinto.com/index.php/2015/05/16/pele-and-messi-a-comparison-between-two-geniuses/ Club Level http://otaviopinto.com/index.php/2015/05/16/part-ii-club-performance/ National Team Level http://otaviopinto.com/index.php/2015/05/16/part-iii-national-team-performance/ Some data by Louis Soccer FIFA WORLD CUP + QUAILIFIERS + COPA AMERICA Pelé, 26 games, 26 goals + 14 assists = 1.53 per game Messi, 85 games, 35 goals + 26 assists = 0.72 per game Maradona, 41 games, 15 goals + 13 assists = 0.68 per game First conclusion: Pele generated more goals than the sum of Maradona and Messi. Pelé generated 40 goals out of 76 that Brazil made = 53% influence Maradona generated 28 goals out of 58 that Argentina made = 48% influence Messi generated 61 goals out of 150 that Argentina made = 41% influence Second conclusion: Pelé was more influential in Brazil than Maradona and Messi for Argentina. http://otaviopinto.com/index.php/2015/05/16/part-iv-conclusion/ Pele vs Messi in Finals http://otaviopinto.com/index.php/2015/10/02/pele-and-messi-in-finals/ Pele as "10" http://otaviopinto.com/index.php/2016/07/14/pele-10-formation/
This season 2009/10 is a top 3 debut season of the last 25 years Same rank as R9 1996/97 in my opinion In this season he scored 6 direct freekicks 7 solo goals Scored at the same rate as R9 Was voted MOTM in 17 of the 35 matches he played:50% R9 did not have to compete with a player who was equally if not slightly more impressive which is why he could take all the plaudits for himself C.Ronaldo went on the same rampaging runs from his own half A 50m dribbling run through an entire team Scored goals from his own half For example vs Villarreal (away) Scored Maradonaesque solo goals (vs almeria) with great close control R9 played 14 more matches (that would obviously go in his favour)but as we no c.Ronaldo faced disciplinary and injury issues that left him of the pitch for two months in total Note: I don’t know if you’ve seen this youtuber henrik lehmann but he has some fantastic compilations on individual seasons by Lionel Messi The 2009/10 one I found throughly enjoyable I remember At the time some Maradona/Pelé fanboys insisted Messi wasn’t at the level of the greats LOL Messi was 22 years old this season yet comparable to the greatest in football history I think with the benefit of hindsight now even his detractors at the time would admit this
I don’t know mate, football wasn’t all preserved on video back in Cruijff’s era. But in a real challenging league in the mid 1970s, unlike in today’s junior level quality in Spain, Cruijff on a vulgar Barcelona side, was setting up 10-15 goals per season with chains sowed to his ankles. There is no Tirapu’s, Indio’s, Goicoechea’s, Camacho’s or Chendo’s anymore to worry about; on the contrary now you have defenders and players that just show adulation and respect! All defenders today lack the art in tackling and if they breathe on a multimillionaire investment of a franchise player today, they are immediately cautioned or sent off. That wouldn’t fly back then, those defenders would eat you alive and harass a foreign star with impunity. Today’s football is a bunch of sissies more concerned about money and fame than for the love of the game. Again, Cruijff is on another level than anyone today; if today’s current stars teletransported themselves into the past, they’d quit football or end up before games “going 20 times to the toilet”. Jijijii
What about Romario in 1993 1994? He won the La Liga with many good performances through the process and had 30 non-PK Goals and 9 Assists in 33 Matches. Barcelona finished the league with 91 Goals in 38 Matches. For comparison CR in La Liga (2009/2010) had 22 non-PK Goals and 7 Assist in 29 Matches. Real Madrid scored 102 Goals in 38 Matches and didn't won the league. In 2011-2012 Ronaldo had 34 Non-PK Goals and 12 Assist in 38 Matches but still Real Madrid managed to reach 121 Goals in that year! I mean they are both offensive players, Romario more a pure striker of course, but I guess he still had less than 7 shots/90 as Cristiano to do his work. The Brazilian worth a mention here imo.
Assist totals are misleading for Ronaldo particularly in 2011/12 He was putting dozens of high quality passes on a plate for Karim benzema who was a average finisher (at best) With a Luís Suárez or Edison cavani in his team I’m confident he would’ve added a minimum of 10 assists CR7’s involvement in build up(assists and pre assists) in 2007,2011 and 2012 was on a different level compared to Romário,R9 and Van Basten Not to mention ronaldos ability to create his own goalscoring opportunities is better than Romário and Mvb and comparable to R9 17:18-24:50 playmaking/wing play and assists from 2011/12...totally different animal to Romário who racked up his assists in in the penalty area(hardly any were visionary) @ko242 He can compare to Gerd Muller,post 2015 CR7,Luís Suarez etc in passing Note: Deducting penalties from CR7s overall tally in 2009/10 is a futile exercise. Most of the penalties he took he earned (by being fouled)and even passed a few onto Kaká to take Romário 93/94 doesn’t compare to prime CR7 One is reliant on service the other is the service (and the dribbler and scorer) Even the importance of Stoichkov+Romário combined would be hard pressed to equal CR7
Just re-watched most of the 2007 CL semi between Man U and AC Milan last night. Anyone who calls CR comparable to Kaka there is out of their mind. In the first leg in Manchester, CR to his credit did look threatening with his bombs from outside of the box and looked threatening with his dribble but ultimately had two or three fruitful runs. The goal he scored was heavily deflected, first by the goalkeeper and then one other player. Not sure he should have been credited with that one? He had a merely good game, nothing more nothing less. Kaka on the other hand put on a show with his brace. Showed off his pace and dribbling skill beautifully and both goals would make the highlight real. In the second leg in which Milan totally dominated, CR was nowhere to be seen and even coughed up the ball in the middle of the pitch a few times which led to runouts. Kaka scored early to tie the aggregate 3-3 with a nice finish then flourished as a playmaker with another masterful performance.
@Tropeiro Below are a few sources that confirm Ronaldo was widely considered the 2nd best player in the world in 2009/10(ahead of xavi,Sneijder etc) Castrol (ranked 2nd) “It sums up the quality of the player (Messi)that he finishes the season ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in the Castrol Rankings because Ronaldo has been exceptional in his first year at Real Madrid.” https://www.goal.com/en/news/2939/c...-the-worlds-top-performing-player-for-2009-10 http://m.goal.com/s/en/news/3171/go...931858/goalcom-special-la-liga-awards-2009-10 My favourite performance from this season that would highlight his superlative level would be the hat trick performance vs Mallorca and at home vs Osasuna His performance at home against Villarreal was highlighted by the press as being goat level Marca declared after the match “God came dressed as CR9” AS match report opened as follows “Yesterday Cristiano wasn’t just Cristiano but the whole of Christianity “ EL Mundo wrote “the orchestra man, capable of doing everything a player can do in attack” Sid Lowe (la Liga expert) commented “last night Ronaldo was omnipresent and all-powerful, the creator supreme, an irresistible force as Madrid hammered Villarreal 6-2 to go back within two points of Barcelona” El pais simply called him a “colossus” The above performance is comparable to the best I’ve seen of Johan Cruyff or Lionel Messi as a unstoppable creative force He scored one goal and created 3 others (and did a whole lot more) A Villarreal player commented after the match “When he’s playing like this Ronaldo is completely unstoppable Truly incredible His performance can be summed up in just one word," insisted one Tomás Guasch: "¡olé!" https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2010/feb/22/cristiano-ronaldo-real-madrid-villarreal Btw Villarreal were a team ranked 7th in the league (not exactly cannon fodder) Conclusion Comparing a CF like Romario,van basten or r9(even in his prime) to CR7 is ridiculous Despite the revisionism and nostalgia that his prevalent amongst 90s fan these players were limited in that their job was primarily that of a goalscorer (of course they could assist they had good passing technique relative to their position) But operating as the main scorer,best dribbler,and chief creator of goalscoring opportunities simultaneously..they were never that Cristiano in his prime excelled as a LW Excelled as a wing forward and excelled as a penalty area striker And in each position was a top 3 player in the world His prime isn’t better or of a higher quality than Ronaldinho ,it is in a complete different stratosphere CRonaldo was in his prime more direct,more versatile,more productive while still retaining his flair that had made him reknowned the world over
Kaká had a superb game Nobody claimed otherwise.he won the ballon dor for this match and the 3-0 drubbing of Argentina In serie a he (and Milan as a whole) had a lacklustre performance. He arguably wasn’t a top 3 player in his own league Up until the semis nobody claimed Kaka was the best in the world,in fact many sources including the British and Italian press claimed Ronaldo was After the semifinals Kaká was judged to have won the duel (as if it were a tennis match LOL) And he promptly went on to win the ballon dor In terms of league performance nobody challenged CR7 This is confirmed by individual awards,ESM rankings and of course statistics (In the words of Kaká,Ronaldo was judged to have singlehandedly led Manchester United to the 06/07 league title)
He’s emphatically not! This guy has never been a champion amongst champions outside the confines of one club. When we talk about the Pelé’s and Maradona’s of the world they beat past/future champions. Who did Messi beat ? Nigeria !!! He’s never been the decisive figure that could steer his NT to glory against title contenders. That’s not a true champ, that’s a chump!! Comparisons are out of line and it’s marketing that takes his reputation to be compared with ghosts, real champions I may add. Any comparisons are blasphemous.
@Tropeiro Against good league teams (top 10 periodic teams)Romario/MVB/R9/Suárez/Henry excelled only as goalscorers and were usually reliant on service to have impactful games During his prime CR7 could perform the role of chief creator/playmaker and goalscorer against good teams In the game I posted Against Villarreal (finished 7th place)he scored 1 goal and created 4 others (2 assists+1 pre assist and earned one penalty through dribbling that was scored by xabi Alonso) The game finished 6-2 and he was involved in 5 goals(4 of them as a creator) Against Bolton(finished 7th place) in 2006/07 he made 3 assists in a single half .the game that finished 4-1 https://en.m.wikinews.org/wiki/Football:_Manchester_United_breeze_past_lackluster_Bolton Against Aston Villa in 2007/08 (finished 6th place) he scored 1 goal+3 assists in a 4-1 victory Against Roma in 2006/07 he was involved in 6 of the 8 goals scored by his team(scored 2+1 assist+3 pre assists) If I remember correctly those strikers who I previously mentioned had their best games as goalscorers only Suárez could do this but against lowly teams 4 goals +3 assists in 1 game vs Deportivo (15th place) 2015/16 Like Ronaldo vs Espanyol (13th place)2015/16 5 goals+1 assist in one game against good teams Suárez in his prime was usually reliant on quality service It is true Ronaldo became more goal oriented as far back as 2011(less dribbles,less chances created with every season gone by. At least in 2011 and 2012 he still maintained a World class level of wing play Post 2013 he is a goalscorer (with great athletic and technical qualities)but rarely involved in the build up leading to an attack It is only then that a comparison between him and Romario,Henry,R9 etc is acceptable after all they are effectively playing the same role 2007-2012 Ronaldo is a total different beast.his involvement in build up play is comparable to Ferenc Puskas who was a inside forward for Honvéd and Hungary (which I believe was the precursor to the wing forward/playmaking forward role) Players who operate this role to a high standard are inherently better than strikers or centre forwards who are reliant on service Hence the reason Puskas is historically ranked above Eusébio Prime Cristiano above R9,van basten,Romario (It’s their ability to create for others while still maintaining a elite goal return that separates them) Prime Ronaldinho’s ability to create for his team mates was elite of course but he lacked In finishing ability and longevity to be compared to the best
But we are analyzing their debut, Romário in La Liga 93/94 was more determinant than CR7 in his debut for Real Madrid, contributing directly with 39 Goals (33 matches) in a total of 91 Goals of the Barcelona (38 Matches), and it could be also more if you count penalties and fouls that he suffered and resulted in goals or even random penalties which he could have scored himself if he was the official P-kicker. So, after all I just put it in this way to have a fairer comparison. __________________________________________________ 1º Romario had 39 non-pKGoals + assists of all 91 Goals of Barcelona (=43% of contribution) in La Liga 93/94. CR7 in 2009/2010 had 29 non-pKGoals + assists of all 102 Goals of Barcelona (=28,4%) ___________________________________________________ 2º Romário showed himself against a lot of worthy opponents that season and in some clutch moments as well, CRonaldo not so much against Barcelona (the only worthy competitor for Real Madrid in 2009/2010). and Barcelona won the La Liga in 1993/1994 Real Madrid finished in second. ____________________________________________________ 3º You can argue that Cristiano 09/10 was more a creator and dribbler than Romário in their times and they aren't of the same position, OK... but I can argue that Romário was more a deadly finisher than Cristiano Ronaldo and more efficient in his way to play which is a point. Remember that Ronaldo in his debut had 33 Goals with 243 total shots (13,6% of Goal Conversion) which is very very bad for a top notch striker. with 6.54 shots/90 minutes .. and CRonaldo himself, except maybe for 2009/2010, was much more a striker/shooting machine than a playmaker, if you compare the way Cristiano Ronaldo wanted to play, he had much more shots attempted than chances created, which shouldn't be the standard for a supposed creative left winger/forward player like him. If Ronaldo was creative playmaker as he was a striker himself he could have a Neymar or Hazard or even Messi stats per example (chances created/shots): http://www2.squawka.com/comparison-.../successful_take_ons/successful_take_ons_%#90 Ronaldo was between 2010-2013 a player with a striker mentality, very goal-oriented playing in the middle of the pitch imo, when he was relocated closer to the goal like in 2014-2015 he was became more effective: and no mistake here Ozil, Kaka (2011/2012), Kroos, Modric and Guti were the chief creators in Real Madrid with many more opportunities created by through balls proportionally, not Ronaldo. http://www2.squawka.com/comparison-.../successful_take_ons/successful_take_ons_%#90 Remember that he had 38 NPK Goals and 16 assist with 6.54 shots/90 minutes in 2014/2015 La Liga (last season at his peak) vs 28 NPK Goals and 10 assist with 7.78 shots/90 mintes in 2012/2013 La Liga. So if it would not be fair to compare CR7 with Romario, it also would not be fair with Ronaldinho also who played as more a team-oriented, in a less offensive position with a different approach.
Messi has been a very good and consistent performer in Copa America tournaments He is the best since R9 in these comps (and Maradona does not compare) At World Cup level Maradona excelled only in one tournament (1986) 1982,1990, and 94 are at the same level as Messi 2014 IMO Are we to say that because Maradona performed superbly over the course of 7 matches that he is in a different universe to Messi Excelling at International competitions are no longer the barometer of greatness What Messi has achieved within the confines of Barcelona is in a total different league to what Maradona did with Napoli Propelling a relegation threatened team to a league title is unique but not better than being the best player in 3 champions league winning campaigns (and 9 league titles) Defenders like gentile and Goikoetxea were effectively hatchmen(their aggressiveness and propensity to commit reckless challenges did not make them special defenders) The game has progressed and in turn so has the level of athleticism. (So has the level of professionalism,technological advances,nutrition etc) You cannot blame Messi from receiving protection from dangerous fouls The game is now being played as it should be (without the thuggery and brute fouls from a bygone era) Messi is not a leader (I concur) But you cannot witness his exploits and technical ability and say he isn’t one of the greats @Vegan10 Your argument seems to be that Messi doesn’t have the mentality of a champion to qualify as a great of the sport I don’t know if this is true but you have to admit(even begrudgingly) within the confines of his club setup his achievements are vastly superior to Maradona So much so that I don’t even think a case could be made that had Maradona had the same advantages as Messi he would’ve equalled his extraordinary feats (Even if he had the talent he lacked the professionalism of Messi and even adjusting eras,leagues,team edge etc Maradona was never as important for his club teams as Messi Maradona could never outscore platini or zico what makes you think he was remotely comparable as a finisher to Messi I think your criticism of Messi is too emotionally driven If Maradona was as you think of him a born champion,a leader etc Why did he resort to drug taking,mixing with members of organised crime,womanising etc Doesn’t a leader lead by example Maradona had passion no doubt and he could project this onto his teammates in a useful way (particularly in 86 and 90) But he let down his country big time in 94(they were one of the favourites going into the tournament but totally demoralised after Maradonas drugs ban) With Maradona too much hinges on a few great achievements that have been over glorified with the passage of time A goat performance in 1 World Cup and (arguably) being the most important star in 2 league titles for me isn’t enough to warrant a seat with Pelé With many fans of Maradona (including myself) an emotional case is usually made Ie Did you see the defenders he faced The pitches..the boots So why under these same conditions did players like Eusébio,Puskás,Di Stefano,Pelé have vastly superior club careers(and more consistent) Also Maradona In Napoli was never dominant compared Pelé,Messi or Cruyff in his prime Hypothetically speaking if Maradona was eligible he would lose the ballon dor to platini In 84 Van Basten in 88 And arguably Gullit in 87 So that leaves him with 85,86 and 89 Pele between 60-65 is too dominant Eusébio,Di Stefano,Sívori,Rivera,charlton etc are second best Maradona lacked the professionalism and consistentcy even in his prime to challenge Pelé Cruyff was dominant (maybe in a less competitive era,his main challenger was a defensive player while Müller is too limited as a player George best had begun to tail off by 72 but I believe a rivalry between those two in their prime would’ve been one for the ages) Messi in his prime was dominant with only one true competitor but largely he has been the best over the last 10 or so years Maradona’s career as a world beater is finished at 29 years old Messi was a bpitw candidate at 21 years old and remains one at 31 years old I refuse to believe one international tournament (a 7 game tournament) can bridge the gap between their club careers I am certain without a single game for Argentina Messi has done enough to be ranked a top 10 all timer Maradona without 1986 would be an extremely polarising figure (I can imagine him being a cult hero for Boca and Napoli fans possibly making top 20 all time)
So now the league title matters? God forbid someone brings up the fact that Messi lead Barca to win four La Liga titles while Madrid won just one in the last six years. Kaka wasn't simply the best player on the team that won the CL (enough to win BDO according to recent criteria). He was transcendent and the best player in the world that season. Not just scoring the ball but playmaking. The lack of success in Serie A had a lot to do with injuries. Kaka played just 31 matches, Gatusso 30, Inzaghi 20, Ambrosini 19, Maldini 18, and Nesta 14.
This is a joke!!! So your telling me that Iniesta, a player that arguably played for the best team in history, who played on a team that heavily depended on him, was just a player that wasn't as good as de bruyne and Zidane in passing and only performed great dribbles only once in a blue moon. A joke. Iniesta is probably the greatest number 8 in history. Performed equally well for Spain as he did for Barcelona. A player key in arguably the best club and national team in the f@&in history of the game! A joke!
Okay, kiddo, you have your views which I completely disagree with for many reasons I’ve already mentioned. You are overlooking context and that’s your primary error in judgment in the first place. I completely disagree with all of what you said based on the context that makes it irrelevant to what Messi or any current player demonstrates in today’s game. I repeat, Messi would not have shined in Maradona or Cruijff’s era; he would not have even played professional football. His hormone deficiency would have impeded it. In regards to the 7 game tournament reasoning that you’ve made it’s absurd: Messi plays in an era of the 32 team competition and the Copa Americas in Maradona’s generation were never taken seriously as you make it out to be. Furthermore, Messi never beat a champion at the NT level, ever! Who has he beaten ? Nigeria, Iran Mexico... That’s not the sign of a true champ but the sign of a chump! Whenever he faced a true contender he’s shrunk. There is absolutely no comparison at the NT level; it’s blasphemous! Not with Maradona or any former Argentinian legend covered in gold/silver. He has no right to be compared to them, he’s come up very small inspite of having many more opportunities than the former players. He couldn’t even beat Chile on two occasions in the finals, Chile!!! A team that didn’t even qualify. That’s not a great champion, and I’m sorry if that rubs in a wrong way his fans. There is no comparison. Period!
@Tropeiro sometimes I don’t get you the above looks like stats manipulation/voodoo I have already told you Ronaldo in 09/10 isn’t just operating as the scorer of his team He is heavily involved in build up play (creating many pre assists) He is a vastly superior dribbling threat that created many penalties for his team He is such a threat from set pieces that in addition to the six direct ones he scored he made two more assists from FK rebounds Ronaldos involvement in real Madrid’s attack can’t simply be quantified by goals and assists He isn’t a CF(centre forward) He is a CF(creative forward) lol The performance vs Villarreal demonstrates the omnipresent efffect Ronaldo had on his teams attack He is all over the final third,the opposition half is his domain while the penalty area belonged to Romario Ronaldos involvement in build up play in 2011/12 is easily verifiable I posted video footage (8 mins long of his assists and visionary crosses,long balls and through balls from 2011/12) Romário In 93/94 scored 32 goals in 47 appearances Ronaldo in 09/10 scored 33 goals in 35 appearances Added to this Ronaldo was a demonstrably superior dribbler and creator of chances Removing pk goals is bogus it isn’t like Ronaldo had an astronomical amount (4pk) He earned 3 of those and earned a few more that he gave to his teammates to score (Kaká against Marseille and alonso and Villarreal ) And against Marseille in the champions league i distinctly remember him dribbling into the box past two players and being brought down by the third He gave the pen to Kaká to score (it was this foul that caused the injury that saw him out for 6 weeks) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/f....html?WT.mc_id=605456&source=MiddleColumnPuff I hope this further substantiates my point that as the main dribbling threat of his team a lot of his runs lead to fouls and penalties that aren’t recorded by assist stats Also Ronaldo averaged 2.6 key passes in 09/10 which is a tad more than hazard managed in 14/15,16/17 and 17/18 Bottom line you cannot compare the influence of a complete forward to a striker which was what Romario was in 93/94
Technically average??!!! How can I take you seriously when you make such comments. You sound like YouTuber who fails to notice and appreciate the subtleties of the game that true students of the game understand. C'mon!!! You can't play on a team that dominant and be the player in which the team heavily revolves around when you are average technically. Even if you can't notice the subtleties of the game you should at least be able to use common sense. Please @carlito86 tell me one time in the history of the game that a team that dominated as much as Barcelona and Spain from 08-12, and a key player in the center of midfield, in which possession revolved around him was average technically????
OK, but what I've seen of Puskas he wasn't into speculative shoots like CR7 and I think he was a superior goalscorer than Cristiano too. And I don't think CR7 at his best is 'clearly' above VB, Romario and especially R9. R9, for example, was clearly more talented at such young age than CR7 and in a non-super team era. He also had far better carrer in his NT than CR7 (and than Messi too) all of them Romario, Van Basten had better NT carrer than Messi-Ronaldo to be honest too. R9 still got comparable statistics than peak CR7 but very very probably with less than 7 shots/per game at age 19-20 in a more competitive La Liga with Barcelona. ...and more or less maintened his rate of goals in a much more diversified role than CR7 never had in all his life in his debut season in Inter Milano - but despite R9 being more spectacular in that role, it wasn't the ideal position for for his potential. Still, for the way R9 was spectacular they compared he with the best season of Maradona in Napoli, all only with 21 years-old. and in a difficulty Italian League from 90's where the hard tackes and double-man marking was still allowed/used not like today in La Liga where any foul is yellow card. Italy has always had a tradition of prioritizing the defensive and tactical approach more than in Spain imo. Overall, R9 was clearly a more talented player than Cronaldo imo and his peak more awesome as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronaldo_(Brazilian_footballer)#Individual __________________________ Of course you can find Cristiano Ronaldo better than all those players, but surely that it would be a more subjective than objective opinion or analyzis. I value Cristiano Ronaldo too, but he has many things that can be exploited negatively.