Zidane is probably one of the most overrated playmaker that have ever existed in football history. I wonder why some fans still believe he’s the greatest midfielder that ever played the game LOL.
Especially in some of those big game performances, Zidane failed to show his overhyped playmaking skills.
Good picks. At his best he had some fluency or fluidity I think - otherwise people wouldn't be talking about placing him up there/around with Pelé when he retired as a player (Jimmy Hill, Brian Clough, Onze Mondial, Gazzetta dello Sport, Miroir du Football, France Football etc.). That's why it is helpful I uploaded some things on Dailymotion. As a contrast, here one where he doesn't look very fluent (in my opinion). But over time I'm not sure whether one can call him or Zidane 'overrated' in the sense of playmaking (in general it is not uncommon to see a comment that George Best was more talented). It will be interesting to see Zidane coach another team, which might happen pretty soon. If that is a success, it will become harder to disentangle the player from the manager (and maybe that is not undeserved after all).
Yeah, I suppose it depends how we view fluent but in the way he moves and controls and passes the ball etc I think he still shows decent signs of it in that game too myself! But I think it's true that he can give different impressions in that regard in different games. In a way perhaps I don't see him at his most fluent vs Real Madrid in 1973 even, but still he played a great game (and showed fluency with his individual goal I think).
There's lot of controversy over Zidane in the internet (spend some time in YouTube or FB if you don't believe me). Real Madrid fanbase generally consider him amongst the top 5 greatest players of all time (higher than R9, Cruyff, Zico, Platini) & 2nd best midfielder after Maradona. While some others consider him worse than Xavi & Iniesta
if you put guti (former 2000s RM player) on the same list with these legends I will stop commenting on, and following this nonsense. Otherwise, explain which Guti you are talking about...
he was good player (I actually liked him) but I still can't put on on the same list with Cruyff, Maradona and the alikes. Sorry, it's just not right
Let's talk about Lampard then. I think he should be in this discussion. Let's talk about Seedorf then. I think he should be in this discussion Let's talk about De Bruyne then. I think he should be in this discussion Let's talk about Batistuta then. I think he should be in this discussion Let's talk about Bergkamp then. I think he should be in this discussion Let's talk about ________ (insert great footballer's name who hasn't made it on the list of top xxx greatest footballers) then. I think he should be in this discussion See where I'm getting??
one of the best strikers in the world, and one of my all-time favorite Italian footballers. What else is there else to talk about it? He hasn't won anything meaningful man. Well, it's true that neither Ribbery, Robben, Pirlo, Raul, Maldini, Nedved, Del Piero, Lahm, Lampard, Eto'o, Okocha or Inzaghi have never won a Balon D'or to be talking about them (although all of them deserved it instead of 2011 Messi's Balon D'or, or 2013 CR7's Balon D'or), but like I said, they didn't win anything meaningful other than domestic trophies, so it's still not fair to include them on the same list with Maradona, Cruyff and the alikes
I'm using the concept of relativity quite a lot with the list below, but my list would be as follows: 1. Ronaldinho. The best performance that I have watched from a playmaker was probably Ronaldinho vs. AC Milan 2005-06, at Milan's stadium. Moreover, Ronaldinho's first half vs. Chelsea 2004-05 was as good as anything Messi has ever done, or Maradona for that matter, or any other name you dare compare against that magical first half performance by Ronaldinho. His elusive mobility added to his great strength on-the-ball, added to his extremely well-rounded ball retention ability, make him the most complete and the most practical passer that I have watched--at his best, he could deliver any type of pass out of any type of situation. Overall: Ronaldinho was just consistent against the most defensively solid teams, and he pretty much started doing that immediately upon his arrival at Barcelona. He was so great against the top tier clubs, that even when he was purportedly 'bad' as he was vs. Arsenal 2005-06 in the Champions League final, even in that game it was a pass by Ronaldinho that got Arsenal's GK red carded early on in the game (not to mention that no attacking player was actually good against that Arsenal team, for some reason). 2. Messi. His consistency against the more difficult teams is not as impressive as it could be given his talent, but at the same time, he's been demonstrating his creative talent for almost a full decade now, at a far more consistent rate than any other creative player of his generation. One of the few players in the history of the game who can create plays by literally standing around: he is such a prolific dribbler, that even when he literally walks around he still instills enough fear in the opponents, so much so that Messi often has 2-3 defenders around him even when he is seemingly doing nothing, which creates plenty of space for the likes of Rakitic or Paulinho to surge forwards and have a go at goal. That's how practical Messi's passing ability is, that even when he does literally nothing, he creates openings. And of course then there's Messi's actual passing ability, which is magical in and of itself. 3. Diego Maradona. In his own era (give or take a few years) I would consider Michel Platini as the better passer or at least as the more complete passer, but Maradona was the more resourceful technician and at the same time the more powerful athlete, and that made Maradona an overall better playmaker in my opinion. Maradona's unique brand of powerful physique and at the same time exquisite technical skill, makes him my number three pick. Moreover, Maradona could've been higher in my list had he demonstrated his passing ability more consistently at club level, against the top tier clubs, and without so many of his 'visionary passes' being plain old crosses. 4. Michel Platini. A physically stronger version of Andrea Pirlo, whom at the same time is also physically faster than Pirlo; not as good as Pirlo defensively, but similar to Pirlo in his extraordinary ability for ball retention. In many ways the ideal playmaker, but of course margins are incredibly small when players of this quality are compared, and Platini does not have Ronaldinho's elusive ability, and Platini also does not have Messi's dribbling ability, which is why he's fourth best in my list. In my opinion, the ability to create openings for other players depends more on the physical ability of the passer himself, than it relies on the actual passing ability of the passer himself, and that's especially true in this argument where all the names involved are incredible passers in their own right (well except for Zidane, whom I do not consider a legendary passer by any stretch of the imagination). I will continue with this list later on, as I'm out of time right now. I might alter the list later on, but those are my initial impressions.
Stop acting like a prick or perhaps you're clueless about the point of this argument. We're comparing the best playmakers so I can't bring up the name of strikers, full backs or defensive midfielders. Robben, Ribery, Maldini has won UCL & Pirlo was instrumental in WC 2006 so I'm not sure about them winning nothing important
I guess I missed the "it's about the playmakers" part, but you missed the point, too (you don't ********ing put guti and riquelme along with maradona and cruyff)
1. Johan Cruyff 2. Lionel Messi 3. Diego Maradona 4. Zico 5. Ronaldinho 6. Michel Platini ... 7. Roberto Rivelino 8. Michael Laudrup ... 9. Guti You were missing 3: Pele (the best ever), Zidane and Di Stefano. Rivelino and Laudrup are one step further, along with Baggio, Sivori, Kaka, Hagi, etc, Guti ?, should be a joke!