I don't think you can compare the achievments of either club Santos are considered the team of the sixties bar none (including Real) Napoli were a decent team who had Maradona, remember it took 2 years before Diego had an effect on Napoli. Carlos Alberto will be a demon player if he progresses.
going waaaaaayyyyyy off topic (sorry) ROM2 makes the point. Napoli will never be remembered as one of the all time great teams in the history of club football. They won a EUFA cup which, let's face it, has always been the cup of european also rans. "Le Santos de Pele" meanwhile is ALWAYS mentioned in the discussion of best club teams of all time. Not on the same scale at all. Merengue, you may have the impression that I don't like Diego...far from it, the guy was a beast, and I do remember him with fondness. I'm just a bit fed up with the denigration of Pele's accomplishments...some of it is clearly ignorance of football history by a new generation, while some seems to be carefully articulated misrepresentation of the facts. As for Di Stefano, also one of the greats (but its not suprising that Real fans say he is the best). His club play record with Real was impecable. He did not help himself with a less than stellar national team resume. If I'm not mistaken he played for Argentina, Colombia, and Spain without winning anything of significance. Definetly makes my all time XI. Garrincha should also be mentioned and is often forgotten. I've read some of the posts on the Greatest WC Team All-Time thread.....did you know that the Brasil national team NEVER lost a game with Garrincha and Pele playing together?! That should be enough to make Bra' 58 the best*. I wish all these guys were playing today. ---------------------------------------------- *When you add to that the fact that Bra '58-62 is one of only two teams to win WC championships back-to-back; that they are still the only non-euro team to have won a WC on European territory; and that probably had the most the most talented squad of all time(more talented defensively than the Bra'70 team given Nilton and Djalma Santos)....they are in my mind the greatest WC team of all.
Back on topic Yes indeed! His performance against Paraguay, with two men down was pretty impressive. I thought the Brazilian coach out-smarted himself when he took C.Alberto off. The team lost needed ball and tempo control. Some other observations from that game.... Dagobert has great ball skills but needs to sharpen his finishing skills. I find that his shot on goal lacks direction and power. If he picks that up, watch out. Andre Bahia is a monster. Strong and controlled. He may be the next Aldair. Jean has a wicked shot. Thanks Hagi, that is the guy. Do you know how old he currently is and where he is playing? He was the man in Toulon.
P.i.n.g.a. was in Italy at Reggina...I think...and played well, when played. A little footnote on Di Stefano which lowered him in my estimation: Didi was signed by Real but never got a game becos Di Stefano saw him as a threat to his position and being Brazillian the traditional enemy. Real wouldn't even loan him out becos he was that good! Didi eventually returned to Brazil. Funny that Puskas wasn't treated the same way by Di Stefano?
Thanks on the P.i.n.g.a info. Let's hope he doesn't get lost. In Didi's biography he mentions how hurt he had been by the orchestrated ostracism at Real. He was anxiously waiting to get his revenge (victory wise, not violently) on the field against DiStefano in the Brasil x Spain 1962 WC game. At the time DiStefano and Puskas had naturalized and were on the Spanish squad. Unfortunately, DiStefano was injured for the game that Brazil eventually won. Your right about DiStefano's anti-Brasilian bias. I've noticed over the years him always saying how 'so and so' player was better at 'this or that' than Pele. When Kubala died recently - a great player in his own right - DiStefano said something to the effect that Kubala was technically superior to O Rei. Yeah right.....have him tell it, Pele was nothing special. Still, a beast of a player despite his apparent bias.
Diego and Robinho both have the potential to be as big as Ronaldo. But yes, Diego plays a different position.
1)He's a first team player, isn't he? 2)Diego plays in attack with Robinho? Robinho age:? Diego age:?
Diego plays in an o-mid role like Ronaldinho. Robinhis 18, Diego is 17, they are both starters on Santos' first team.
Saw highlights of the last Fla-Flu game and Carlos Alberto (of the sub-20 team) is emerging as a true star. It got me to wondering about the Brasilian Selecao 2010 (thats 2 WCs from now-- not the one in Germany). Indulge my fantasy… History has already recorded the greatness of the team with the five "No. 10's" that was Brasil 1970. Those who didn't follow their club careers mistakenly believe that Pele and Tostao were strikers, and that Jairzinho and Rivelino wingers, because of the predominant positions they played on that 1970 squad. In fact each of these players was the "10", or playmaker, on their respective club teams. Zagallo bowed to pressure to play his most skilled players at the same time. The thing was, they could all finish as well as create, thus alleviating the need for a goal poacher. Pele – santos Tostao – cruzeiro Jairzinho – botafogo Rivelino – corinthians Gerson - flu So I got to day dreaming…what if the 2010 selecao was bold enough to do away with conventional thought and play multiple playmakers in the front third? R. Gaucho (he'll be 30 years old) Kaka Robinho Diego Carlos Alberto Granted, Robinho is not a true "10", but his effect on play is beyond that of a pure striker. Also this scenario assumes that they all continue to progress mostly injury free. Would any coach today be bold enough to utilize such a formation. Who would play the Pele role? Who would be designated to play the more traditional organizer role, as Gerson did? Could this work? Finally, what ever happened to Alex? Random thoughts going through my mind during a painfully slow work day.
Santos was quoted as saying to their fans that they would keep Diego and Robinho at least through the Copa Libertadores. They said they would not negotiate with anyone now. Santos is bringing a great style of play to the Brazilian league now and it will be a pity to see the team "dismantled" but the big payday for the team and the players will likely win out. If they stayed, Santos would be a top 4 team in the world in short order, in my opinion. Close to that now in the opinion of many. They certainly are one of the most entertaining teams to watch I've seen in many years. I think, at this point, it's hard to say if Diego or Robinho will be the biggest star of the two. Diego still has some "attitude adjustments" to work out. Robinho seems to be more mature at this point.
In the last match of Santos I haven't seen Robinho playing for Santos. Has he played? I saw Ricardo Oliveira and he's really very fast!
ROM2, how would you play them? I think I'd have Diego and Carlos playing offensive mids, with Kaka and R. Gaucho the point-forwards (a la Pele -Tostao '70) due to fact that they are the best goal scorers of the bunch. Robinho would get a free role attacking from either flank as he does with Santos. This could work, but only with two stud defensive midfielders and decent zagueiros -- cause none of the guys upfront can mark their own shadows.
Diego and Carlos would play midfield with some defensive responsibilites (not too much!) with the other 3 rotating up front...but, as you say, they'd need a solid line of defence behind them.
Still Ronaldinho Gaucho (if 23 is young). http://perso.wanadoo.fr/anel7ka/images/Video/but_guingamp.mpeg [Courtesy of Vico from FIFA Tournaments thread.]
Under-20 UAE tournament Neither Diego or Robinho will be playing in the tournament. Look up news under Fox Sports soccer/Latin America