Find that very hard tbh. The goalkeepers are a category where that is even harder. Van Breukelen is often placed a half-step behind the other three, but he replaced successfully Peter Shilton who was generally thought of as (one of) the best in Europe (in 1982, was also Forest player of the season in 1982), and all English sources mention he was very popular among the Forest fans. In his two seasons he contributed to the two best league results since 1979, and - after qualifying for European football in 1983 - the first continental semi final since 1980. @PDG1978 (as a long-time Forest fan) placed him on the bench. There are even a sporadic few ex-Forest players who have him in their ideal XI, such as Steve Hodge (24 caps for England), who wrote "he was hugely popular with fans and players alike." The book 'Forever Forest: The Official 150th Anniversary History of the Original Reds' wrote: "His replacement at the City Ground was Johannes Franciscus Van Breukelen, known to all on Trentside as Hans, a Dutch international when Brian Clough paid £200.000 for him to FC Utrecht. Six-footer Hans played superbly for Forest between 1982 and 1984 and was immensely popular with the fans before returning to Holland with PSV Eindhoven." The goalkeepers are not the easiest category, but because HvB hasn't that Rolls Royce aura of the other three, it's often a coin flip between those three I think. Maybe that Sar has commonly the edge for #1 but not too sure (Cruijff selected in 1999 Van Beveren as Holland's best post-war goalkeeper, for KNVB's official event, LOL). Anyway I was a bit busy and it's also very warm here so didn't progress to the defenders, but will come to that. Starting with 'the plaice' (or the 'platfish' - you know who that is one of the least flattering nicknames around and it was/is his only nickname) N.B. good decision by HvB to find Sampaoli not the right man at the right place (he was under pressure to appoint a foreign coach, and apparently Sampaoli had hinted he would like to do the job).
Now moving to the defenders of VI's top 50, in order of appearance. Danny Blind https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Blind One of the cornerstones and leaders - and between 1991 until his retirement the captain - behind Ajax's second golden age. At club level he won all available trophies, rounding it off with an MVP display for the Intercontinental Cup. That he never went abroad was related to his age, as well as his homesickness. He missed some athletic traits but was nevertheless a pinpoint tackler (2nd example). Furthermore, he had good qualities with and on the ball (more goals here). His national team career was for a variety of reasons less successful. On the game related reasons he said in 1999: "Ronald Koeman was put ahead of me and I could live with that. I'm someone best suited for pro-active, forward defending. The Ajax game of fore-checking, hunting, intercepting, pressing happens at international level to a lesser extent or not at all [...]. I lean on the creative part." What also sticks out is his nickname, his only nickname, the plaice or the platfish ("Scholletje" - little platfish). This refers to his birthplace Zealand, but also the idea he glibberishly navigated through social interactions. The every-man's friend, the dishonest diplomat, peacemaker and politician. Fairly or unfairly, it is certainly one of the least flattering nicknames around and he hasn't another one. Maybe he was the type of captain Ajax needed at that particular time, at that state of development. It's possible to say he was one of the last remaining sweepers, albeit in an unorthodox system (the classic 3-4-3).
Harry Denis Harry Denis was an internationally recognized two-footed player in the 1920s, and also the captain of two podium finishes during the Olympic Games. Only three players had the captain's armband more often (37 times). It was seen as indicative for his status that he was asked to deliver the Olympic Oath in 1928. This despite various disparaging and harsh comments about Uruguay's gamesmanship, which caused estimable controversy, which put his position into doubt. He studied as civil engineer, founded an architect firm, and his buildings can be found throughout The Hague (including a few theaters; Roxy, Rembrandt, Capitol). Final thing worth saying, that is not on wikipedia, is that he was a symbol of the democratization of the sport. Although he had a background that in other countries would count as 'upper middle class', he was deeply enmeshed and befriended with the working class milieu, went to school with them andsoforth. This is a great profile on him (use google translate), very well done and worth a read: http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/bwn1880-2000/lemmata/bwn2/denis (okay, more difficult exercise than I thought!)
Blind and Koeman were somewhat opposites. Infiltration vs long range, local vs international, involved vs simplistic. I think Rijkaard fed Blind the international experience/mindset local players tend to lack. Which makes me wonder who's next on the list. Great read!
About the 'meester op de vierkante meter', I recall reading he was an apt dribbler. This makes me wonder what his best position would be, also in comparison with Stam and Krol. Any ideas?
Yeah he had already some success before Rijkaard came back (finals in 1987, 1988, 1992 - banned from Europe in 1990, 1991 because of fan incidents) but see the idea of what you mean. LvG and Blind were for 7 years team mates at Sparta and LvG made him captain in 1991 (had tbf already a bit of that role and the cognitive leaders aren't always the formal captain). With lack of video material I can't say honestly. I think on paper he was a full-back in a pyramid system. The standard work 'The Internationals' (very well researched piece of work by researchers of reputation, but is getting outdated) mentions he liked to dribble in his own penalty area. It's taken over here: http://www.voetballegends.nl/profile.php?id=10 Anyway, sometimes hard to keep it concise without just repeating wikipedia!
Yeah I had seen that idea by you. He certainly was often mentioned among the honorable mentions or - just as easily - higher than that. The KNVB declared him as the greatest of all-time in January 1948, but as usual that call met discussion. This happened and is correctly mentioned in another standard work, the top 500 dutch sporters of the 20th century. I think Denis certainly should be higher as the next one in the list (and Van Heel, a great omission in the VI top 50, too)... On radio tapes he sounds like a smart man, sure.
Maybe this is of interest for you. Also mentions and comments on other keepers (incl. De Munck, too). It is brief but has some good things. And this: (comments below video also funny) Here Willy van de Kerkhof (PSV icon, a typical provincial with a provincial accent) talks about how everyone received the same money in 1974, but this arrangement was broken in 1978 after the captain had left the ship - metaphorically speaking. Enough for now, today.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_van_Bronckhorst https://talksport.com/football/3649...rmer-arsenal-and-barcelona-star-giovanni-van/ The skinny boy of Indonesian heritage, a child of Rotterdam. Speaks and writes the language better than 99% of his countrymen, according to the linguists (also according to me...). It's not posh, not polished, not like the gentry. He is one of five footballers to have been knighted, though the equivalent of 'sir' does not exist, nor is it used in official correspondence. Through the years he was a dependable and solid player for the national team, and then progressed to vice-captain and captain status (was captain 33 times). For once there was no discussion, the accumulated work and that many liked his playing style was sufficient. He's now best remembered for the Italy 2008 match, where he had a direct hand in two goals (good long pass & scoring with a header after a good run). Then in 2010 a long range thunder against Uruguay in the semi final, a repeat of a similar goal three months earlier. Few would place him in the class of Krol, Cruijff and Gullit, but from a technical point of view he was close to the textbooks. He himself played alongside an impressive range of names, ranging from Ronald Koeman to Arjen Robben, from Thierry Henry to Lionel Messi. When the Argentine was about to solidify himself as the leading name in the game, he mentioned Van Bronckhorst as best left-back (January 2009 - notice the absence of Cristiano..). Equally remarkable, Celtic legend Henrik Larsson placed 'Gio' at left-back in his ideal XI of his playing days (GvB was, of course, associated with Rangers and a midfielder there).
Personally I think it's a mistake to place Harry Denis lower, but VI's profile on GvB is very good. They mention the Messi thing (one of the very, very few times he has made an XI?) and I checked whether that's right... Spoiler (Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content) Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler This is the part in the profile: Lionel Messi hoefde niet lang na te denken over de linksback in zijn favoriete elftal van 2008: 'Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Hij is vurig, vastberaden en draagt aanvallend veel bij.' Een toch wel verrassende uitverkiezing, want zijn Nederlandse ex-ploeggenoot speelde toen alweer een jaar in de Eredivisie, bij zijn oude liefde Feyenoord. ----- Lionel Messi did not have to think long about the left back in his favorite team of 2008: 'Giovanni van Bronckhorst. He is fervent, determined and contributes a great deal. " A rather surprising election, because his Dutch ex-teammate had already played a year in the Eredivisie, with his old love Feyenoord. On (consistent) national team performances and his skillset I can see a case for top 50 national team players (weighing in all playing positions), but less so for club. O.K. - above link to the podcast is good, I listened it some months ago and he played with many big names... (No Dirk Kuijt in the top 50 though)
Cor van der Hart https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cor_van_der_Hart http://www.voetballegends.nl/profile.php?id=239 https://www.volkskrant.nl/sport/een-stijlvolle-voetballer-met-een-goddelijke-pass~b1a4c24b/ (note: wikipedia page not fully accurate with his text here, so quickly found two others) Lively and colorful Amsterdammer who played over 1000 matches in his career. Internationally best known for his long passes, and to a lesser extent his robust posture and 'reading' of play. It is (likely) exaggeration but in France they occasionally said he had "the most beautiful kick of Europe". In his first season as starter (1946-47) he had a constructive contribution to the championship, while 'his' Ajax was one of the hardest hit clubs during the war. Ajax wins only two championships in the next 20 years (note: the term 'lucky Ajax' has there the origin). In 1950 he moves to Lille and becomes (most probably) one of the best paid players in the French league. In his first season he helped them to the Latin Cup final, losing to AC Milan. In the following three years he continues with ticking off the boxes and wins one league title (one of only three by Lille), and the domestic cup. It was utterly surreal that he made his national team debut at the age of 27, resulting in some marquee games against the French, Belgian and German national teams. As an old dog who loses his force but not his vision, he had later a small part to play in the coming of age of the 'total football' era, and made some excellent reports. Captain Cruijff (who was an enthusiastic observer himself, see for illustration the spoiler below, but can't do everything by himself all the time) said before the 1974 tournament that he "trust his observations blind-folded, value his scouting work very much". Van der Hart his forced and controversial departure mid-tournament was a big blow to the team, they missed his reports on Brazil and West Germany. He had this position on merit and division of labor, not necessarily because he was an old friend (note here they teamed up again in 1985, as per his CV on wikipedia). His kicking technique was included in Dutch and French instruction videos (just as anecdote to end this... hope I'm complete and not overlook an important thing). Spoiler (Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content) Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler Cruyff had a home videocassette recorder before they were on the market. He had his own library of tapes on players who interested or inspired him. Di Stéfano was his reference point, but we also pinpointed what made Gerd Müller an exceptional scorer for West Germany, how Kazimierz Deyna made Poland tick, the way that Roberto Rivellino bent those Brazilian free kicks, and how his friend Johan Neeskens put the fighting spirit into the Dutch Oranje. Sometimes, the tutorials were physical and not just verbal. There were insights beyond what a spectator, or even an average pro, would see. There were moments in his living room when Cruyff rearranged the furniture and used cutlery, salt and pepper and even cigarette packets to illustrate a point. When asked at what stage he might attempt a 40-yard pass as Germany’s Günter Netzer imperiously did, Cruyff responded: “I don’t answer. First, tell me who the pass is for?” https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/28/...otal-football-transformed-ajax-barcelona.html
Who could VI be catering to, when they list a player like Gio? He was anything but "fervent". Just like Matthijsen, he lacked torque and tenacity. His best asset was his Xavi-like concentration and of course his shooting. However, he was sort of demoted from midfield. So there weren't many opportunities to exploit the latter. It does fall in line with the placing of the previous defenders having a mostly local career and Gio having a bigger resumé. So success > effective skill. So then I suspect that top 2 would be Rijkaard, Koeman. But best leave that a surprise. I recall a very old Ajax staff member having vd Hart as his preferred right back (and v Reenen over v Basten) in his alltime Ajax. Perhaps vd Hart was the right-footed version of de Boer. I agree that Dénis is a higher profile player.
Yeah, many true words in this, especially when he became older & captain. Harry Denis merits to be placed higher in my view. An inclusion in the top 50 I can somehow understand though. Gio (as he was called since his surname didn't fit on the small shirt...) was part of three semi finals and a final with the national team. How many of his country can say the same? What was the effect of his forced substitution in the 2010 final? (had injury) I also think he was correctly viewed as a technically sound player (a bit more than merely shooting well), was reliable and solid, and has a marquee match to showcase his ability. Then left-winger Robben wasn't even playing against Italy, someone to make it easier for him. His playing traits that you describe add to the charm. Maybe the description 'spirited', 'determined' or 'fervent' by Messi is meant in that concentration sense. In 2005-06 he was the only Barcelona player to start all 13 Champions League games, leading to his biggest club trophy. That's trivial yet in this context relevant too. He isn't David May or Marco Arnautovic. Rijkaard as national team manager was the first to see him as a left-back (not just emergency solution). He did it again at Barcelona. Gio was sort of demoted, but it had a history. Well seen Continue this over two weeks.
Imho, Gio's career was a combination of luck and smarts. At the NT, Davids and Zenden were unwilling to make the transition to LB. Especially the latter could have had a much longer career had he gone for a switch. The first was always in competition with Cocu for midfield and both even complained about filling in at LB, resulting in playing 45 minutes each. Paauwe and Bouma had to transition to center. And by the time the more talented de Cler was up for it, he couldn't match up against Gio's experience. At Barcelona there was only Sylvinho to beat. Gio escaped Abidal just in time, adding 3 more years to his NT career as captain.
Yes I had expected a comment on it and it's good to take a bit time and thought for this. If you look at transfermarkt (and others) you see that Gio still played occasionally in midfield, even one time as central defender in the league. In the 2005-06 Champions League they conceded 5 goals in 13 games, which is fine. It becomes even better when one sees three goals were the result of a direct set piece (2 directly headed goals, 1 own goal by Motta) and two of a penalty (in one of them Gio makes a perfect tackle on Terry, but referee makes an error). So 0 goals from open play - I don't make it up. Gio played all 13 games as left-back. Full-backs aren't necessarily the most stacked positions and especially the left-back. The 'only Y to beat' phrase can be applied to many full-backs, even the very best of them (let's start with Dani Alves, Lahm), when they established themselves or later in their career (who did Maldini beat when he started his career? Or later during his career? Lahm beat 35-36 years old Lizarazu, as one of the more flattering examples around...). I see the point of this, though in a varying way - some more flattering than others - 'only Y to beat' applies to many full-backs.
The ordering of the following two players might be debatable, but let's move on with it (was halfway with the profile before the hiatus): Rinus Israel http://www.kentudezenog.nl/marinus-david-rinus-israel-1942/ https://www.peczwolle.nl/nieuws/pec-in-time-ijzeren-rinus http://www.henkvanderveer.nl/dagboek/default.asp?id=6487 https://www.esquire.com/nl/mantertainment/a7218/rinus-israel/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rinus_Israël Famously nicknamed 'Iron Rinus' because of his tough style of play and his moody no-nonsense appearance. It was a turnaround from his early years when he had the reputation to play frivolously around with the ball, such as in 1964 when he was one of the two main stars (the other was Daan Schrijvers) behind DWS their domestic championship. It was a considerable achievement since DWS was a newly promoted club and Israel made his debut as starter the very same season. This remains the last championship won by a club not having the red color on their shirt. The next season they were a hair away of reaching the semi finals of the European Cup. Israel moved in 1966 to Feyenoord for a then domestic transfer record. He was there a pillar behind three league titles, a domestic cup, a UEFA Cup (as captain), three Intertoto Cups and the Intercontinental Cup. His finest hour was undoubtedly the 1970 European Cup final where he scored one goal and assisted with a long pass the other goal, as the captain. Someone like Leslie Vernon of Goal Magazine placed him in his team of the year, a World Cup year, probably helped further by a strong display against England in the very same year. In his last two Feyenoord seasons (1972-1974) he struggled with his fitness, with two heavy knee injuries as stand outs. Feyenoord decided to let him go and Israel made a point by becoming Dutch footballer of the year in 1975, by then playing for Excelsior. While it needs to be taken with "a pinch of salt", as he said at the time, he certainly made a point by rebounding strongly and playing well against the 'big' teams. Israel had little left to prove (at club level) and relocates to the 2nd division. There he captained tiny Zwolle to a domestic cup final, promotes them to the 1st division. Although the standout performances became naturally more sporadic, he still had some notable ones like against champion and UEFA Cup holder PSV (won 0-1). Retired from playing at the age of 40, the oldest outfield player to appear in the Eredivisie. At his best he was a relatively rare combination of silk and steel. He was just as 'steely' against his team-mates: veteran Moulijn played the 1970 final with painkillers because of a big kick by Iron Rinus... It is a part of his play he feels nowadays ashamed of and doesn't brag about.
Frank de Boer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_de_Boer Grew up in former fisher town Hoorn, made good by Ajax. Just as in the second half of the 1960s Feyenoord had the stadium and people, PSV had the external money, but Ajax had 'the system' to rely on where players gradually grew into. Left back, defensive midfielder and a ball playing center back. Like so many of them (Vertonghen, Hummels, Rio Ferdinand, John Stones andsoforth) not immune to slip ups, which are even today still called 'one De Boertje'. In a flat back four those slip ups could be costly. An adapt through-baller from deep, he is nowadays best remembered for providing the long ball to a handful iconic goals. Bread and butter goals after a well played through-ball tend to be less spectacular thus that is logically not remembered as well, but those could be very sharp and dangerous by him. Another famed expertise of him were his free kicks (many will single out the one against France in 2000). Finally, he was above average for a center back in dribbling past other players, as showed by him against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup. He captained the national team 71 times, 26 games more than anyone else (13 goals, with 1 penalty). He tops that list as well for qualification games and tournament games. Played four semi finals with the national team, was unavailable and injured at euro 1996, and was for large stretches (injury and ban) also unavailable during the dismal 2002 qualifiers. Was again injured for the 2004 semi final against hosts Portugal. So at the major low points he just wasn't there. Not the greatest talker (interesting comments to the BBC there though). Thanks to multiple deep runs in Europe, he surpassed a certain Johan Cruijff as Dutch player with the most UEFA games for a club. A little later he was even the all-time record holder across all nations, a distinction that he held onto until his (injury-troubled) retirement in 2004. De Boer said: "That's a nice bit of info but no record lasts forever, and because of the ongoing format and development changes it will not stand for long". His last stand-out game was probably the 2-0 win over Juventus at December 2003. One major stain on his career is the drugs ban of 2001 - something that probably prevents a higher place on the VI list (De Boer: "You will not hear me parroting Klopp, Heynckes, Mourinho and Ancelotti that gaming with drugs does not exist and will not work in football"). Just as 400 other athletes at the same time (including team-mates Stam and Davids, and Barcelona team-mate Guardiola) he was caught for showing traces of the metabolite of nandrolone. This episode raised many interesting questions and answers about the sports business, the money sources, and the politics and intimidation side of sport (including proven cover-ups by various usual suspects). After these cases the limit was raised from 2 nanogram to 10 nanogram (Stam, De Boer and Davids were well below that limit, Guardiola 2 nanograms above). Him being placed above Rinus Israel might not be the consensus, though difficult to compare. Spoiler (Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content) Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler Financial Times: "However, the test results have been called into question. For a start, the tests do not detect nandrolone itself. Instead, they isolate its metabolites, which are the waste products the body produces as nandrolone, or any other chemical, is used up. Unfortunately, the metabolite in question could have come from three different sources - nandrolone, another steroid with anabolic properties, or a benign chemical cousin. These other two have now been outlawed to stop athletes using them as an excuse, but the scope for inadvertently testing positive is enhanced. The science behind the nandrolone tests has also been questioned. Many researchers believe that humans produce some nandrolone naturally. How much, however, is still a matter for debate. "We need more research. It might be that some people are very good at sports like football precisely because they do produce a lot of nandrolone naturally", says Dr D'Hooghe. The chief controversy surrounds not the test or the human body, but the perfectly legal dietary supplements many athletes take. Growing evidence suggests that these supplements are sometimes spiked with steroids such as nandrolone. In April the Medical Commission of the IOC published research into 634 different samples of nutritional supplements. Some 15 per cent of them contained substances that would have led to a positive drugs test and were not included on the label. A number of scientists believe the contamination of supplements may explain the test results of athletes such as the footballers Jaap Stam, Edgar Davids and Frank De Boer, who were only slightly above the legal limit for nandrolone." ---- He makes clear today that he is prepared to fight what he sees as fatal flaws in football's handling of drug cases which have left him and Davids as 'victims' of a suspect system. A leader on the pitch, he is ready to represent these 'victims' and try to reform a system he says is fatally flawed. '[Fifa president Sepp] Blatter wants to be seen as a disciplinarian, someone who is battling against doping. That's good for football but disastrous for individuals like myself who are made scapegoats in order to present a squeaky clean image of the sport to the public,' said de Boer. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2001/jun/24/newsstory.sport2 ---- https://www.worldsoccer.com/uncategorized/frank-de-boer-55720 https://correctiv.org/en/investigat.../2013/03/06/frank-de-boer-and-the-nandrolone/ http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2017/04/25/sharapova-guardiola-doping-darkness-and-light-250401/ (the last link is the best imho, a good read and ignites some thoughts)
It is very hard to compare indeed. No 2 players are alike and/or played in distinct times. Considering teams, it becomes easier to rank. For team A, considering de Korver a mid, I'd probably go with vd Sar, Dénis, Krol, Stam and Rijkaard. Team B, v Breukelen, vd Hart, de Boer, Koeman and Israel Team C, de Munck, player X, v Tiggelen, Blind and probably Ernie Brandts. I recognize that Gio and Suurbier had good careers but let's leave it at that. Of course PvH the player gets mentions for earlier positions on the left side in defense. I'm curious though. For player X, I suppose Feyenoord's Wijnstekers is a good candidate as well as PSV's Wiersma. I'm not keen on Ajax' RBs. Boring Jaliens is a personal favorite. Perhaps it's too early for you to comment here without giving away spoilers. Though some locals (reads as low calls) deserve a mention.
You have also point that 'success =/= better'. Buffon is maybe the best club goalkeeper of all-time but never won the Champions League (he did win the WC ofc, but his countryman Zoff has very arguably the more impressive WC career with e.g. a record amount of saves). Though things like VdS being the only goalkeeper to win the EC/CL with two different clubs and Seedorf the only player to win with three (with direct contribution in all of them; e.g. best rated Real Madrid player by kicker in 1997-98) are important enough to mention. At the risk of revealing too much: De Korver, Brandts, Van Tiggelen, Suurbier, Wijnstekers, Wiersma, Jaliens and Van Heel are not included in the VI top 50. Van Heel is maybe & from my perspective a big omission, one of the very few too to receive high civilian medals for contributions outside sport. There was a Croatian poster here (not SexyBeast) showing he had made a name in Yugoslavia in 1950s/1960s football publications (msioux75 and PDG1978 probably remember). But that's still subjective, PDG likes Van Tiggelen quite a bit I remember. Suurbier had a good/great career, was (like peak Gio) an integral part of a statistically great defense, and received recognition abroad (see that 1970s yearly teams thread). He's together with Keizer and Cruijff one of three players to have been there at the start of this famous Ajax team (and the first 'big' games), and also at the end (as starter). Also together with Hulshoff, Keizer and Cruijff the only players to have played in all four finals. Though it was not visible in the 1974WC, for his club he had often un-thankful defensive tasks. Problem is that full-backs are rarely among the three/four/five 'best' players of any given team.
For some he goes too early, I think (and no, the #1 is not the one some might think). Ruud Krol https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruud_Krol Class defender - and popular window dummy for Italian fashion magazines - who remained unbeaten as the home playing team between 1969 and 1975 (in the games he played), yet his prime took place between the mid-1970s and 1982 - then started to struggle with injuries, as shown by that he played only one international match after 1981-82. Was schooled as a stopper, but made it to a left back and later sweeper. Despite being naturally right footed, he trained his left foot well enough that he could use that foot too, and not only for the most simple passes. Despite making his competitive debut in December 1968, Krol wasn't part of Ajax their first European final (1969) and also missed the 2nd leg of the quarter final, both semi finals and the final of the 1970-71 campaign (meanwhile, Ajax their main talisman missed the first 10 league games after which Ajax was 6th in the table). He made that good in later years and when all was said and done he had accumulated the games during deep runs; of his former team-mates only Cruijff and Haan played in more European matches as him. In spite of modern revision about his toughness, he had in his time actually a fair reputation, saw rarely a yellow card and was in Italy viewed as one of the cleanest but defensively strong defenders (the land of the defenders...). Compare him with the seven years younger Rinus Israel and the gulf is pretty clear. His 1978 World Cup as captain was not as good as he himself hoped (got injured January 1978, after this injury his warm-ups took three times as long as usual), but he is yet a candidate for four successive teams of the tournaments. Winning coach Cesar Luis Menotti rated him in Shoot! magazine as one of the two best players of euro 1980. From roughly 1973 to 1982 he was a mainstay in many, many ideal teams through the years (prominent example). Despite not winning anything that year, it might be said 1979 was his pinnacle. As a mainly defensive player he got on the podium for the Ballon d'Or (he was tipped for winning it all); he became the most capped player of his national team (record stood for 42 years, not bettered until 21 years later); he had the special honor to captain an official FIFA XI, a rare and special distinction for a player of a 'small' country outside the FIFA mainstream (though Mario Coluna had preceded him as stand-by captain in one match). With this election he followed into the footsteps of Alfredo di Stefano and other big names. In this well-marketed showcase match he even managed to stand out, in the eyes of for example El Grafico (graded him with an 8, together with Boniek and Zico the highest of the match). (hope I'm not forgetting something crucial.. feel free to ask or add)
"Compare him with the seven years younger Rinus Israel and the gulf is pretty clear." ---> seven years older
Brian Glanville described him this way in his 1982 book of footballers: "One of the most gifted and omni-competent full-backs of his day, a left back who forced Inter's goalkeeper to a spectacular save in the 1972 European Cup Final when overlapping on the right. Ruud Krol was born in Amsterdam on 23 March 1949, began his career with Rood Wit, and joined Ajax in 1967. A broken leg caused him to miss the European Cup Final of 1971, but he played in the next two, and had a fine World Cup in West Germany in 1974. Fast, strong and a player of good pace and stamina, he is winger and full-back happily combined. Appearances in the Nations Cup Finals of 1976 in Yugoslavia brought his total of caps to forty-one. He played again in the Nations Cup Finals of 1980 as the Dutch captain in Italy, by now transformed into a sweeper of formidable powers. Many European clubs still wanted him but he decided to play for Vancouver in the North American League. He was later tempted back for brilliant seasons with Naples where he became a folk hero." --- Might've gone too early here.
Jaap Stam "During this time, when Premier League managers were polled about which player they would most like to buy if given a blank cheque, it wasn’t Thierry Henry, Michael Owen or David Beckham. It was Jaap Stam. Veteran BBC football commentator Mike Ingham, said simply, “Without Jaap Stam, Sir Alex would still be Alex." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaap_Stam Sometimes portrayed as the no-frills single minded 'bald slayer' from Kampen (another former fisher town), he was at his peak a stopper with "a rare combination of speed, strength and ball-playing ability", as the 2000 BBC guide said. Defensively imposing, calm with the ball, could drive with the ball infield (but just as often not asked to do so) and had a fast paced lobbed ball over the top of the opposition defense. An interesting alternation is here that for Manchester United he was theoretically and practically the ball-player of the two center-backs (though still commonly classified as a 'stopper'), while for the national team the order was reversed. Many think Stam had his break-out season in 1995-96. With Willem II he was halfway the season 3rd in the league table, then he was picked up by PSV in the transfer window, and Willem II dropped down to 12th which might be seen as a reflection of the influence he had. One match in particular is remarkable: Willem II vs Ajax (14/01/1996). Ajax was for 52 matches unbeaten in the league, was busy with setting unbeaten records in Europe (stretching until 1997, even), and Willem II won 1-0. Maybe he was in some circles slightly misunderstood, though it was clear Stam was a bedrock in the victory. PSV improved in the 2nd half of the 1995-96 season but it was not nearly enough. In his first full season for PSV he was footballer of the year by the press and pros, with them winning the league after a half decade hiatus. A subsequent bidding war made him in the summer of 1998 the most expensive defender in history (together with R. Koeman and Van Dijk one of three countrymen). At Manchester United he lost 5 league games in his three seasons. He needed a brief adaptation period, but narrative wise the 1998-99 treble season was his pinnacle. He was almost unanimously seen as a key player that campaign (that was the dominant opinion). He was next to goalkeeper Schmeichel the only player to start, and the only player to play in all the Champions League games. After three consecutive PFA team of the year appearances (surprisingly few foreigners can say the same), with 1999-00 as his apex, Alex Ferguson decides to sell him, against Stam his wishes. Ferguson thought Stam had lost a bit after an injury, had just turned 29 in July, and 25 million euro for a center back is good business. Since then Alex Ferguson said numerous times that selling Stam was his "biggest mistake." Stam goes to Lazio where both DBScalcio and Gazzetta dello Sport give him the highest average grade for a stopper in both full seasons. He was also shortlisted by the Italian football association for 'defender of the year' in both years, but ended 2nd on the list in both. At Milan (2004-2006) the shine starts to vanish, and gets immediately injured at the start of the season. By then he is past his best and is often asked to play out of position as right back, from which he has some assists in a few big matches, like vs Inter or vs Bayern. His grades are though about as good or bad as the ones of Cafu, Maldini and prime Nesta (who is surprisingly lowly rated back then), and he still did his job in the Champions League. The games against Barcelona (1st leg), Bayern and Inter can be mentioned (Kaka said then April 2005: "It is simple - Stam is without doubt one of the world's best defenders.") but maybe especially the 2005 knock-out match against his former club Manchester United in the 2nd leg, won 1-0 by Milan. Stam - who was perhaps missed in the 1st leg - was by Gazzetta dello Sport the most praised defender of the game (highest rated defender), with a nodding approval by Ferguson himself. He returned to his native country in 2006, because his parents were ill and needed to take care of them. It's very interesting VI places Stam ahead of his contemporary De Boer, which is - as far as I can estimate - usually a 50/50 decision. Just as with De Boer and Davids, the drugs ban (0.8 nanogram above the old 2ng limit) is a blemish on his career (strange: his de facto successor Rio Ferdinand had also a ban). Personally (my own estimate) I'm inclined to say his prime was between 1995 and 2004, or more sharply 1997 to 2004. The piece in VI has some very interesting insight by himself, on differences between Italy and England and such (not just cliches), but that would make it too long.