I think you're right about R9 and Zico IIRC. That one, and even more so the Lewandowski ones are interesting in that they idolised different types of forward than they became themselves.
Answers that appears in the 'Focus On', 'Super Focus' etc. : Van Breukelen's boyhood hero: PSV's Van Beveren. Van Breukelen was at Forest. Liam Brady - Best, Charlton, Giles / Current fav's: Platini even though he took my place at Juventus. And I don't agree with people who said that he hasn't deserved his EPTOY. Scoring 18 goals from midfield in Italy isn't easy! Then Zico who hasn't hit top form with Udinese but is still top of the scoring charts. The other Brazilian, Socrates. And I wish I could see more of Maradona. Charlie Nicholas, Jimmy Johnstone. Gordon Cowans: George Best and Denis Law. Kenny Dalglish - Denis Law Arnold Mühren - Bobby Charlton (Mühren when at Man Utd) Colin Irwin (Swansea) - Alan Ball Kenny Burns - Jim Baxter, I used to watch him at Rangers Charlie George - Denis Law Jovan Acimovic - Eusébio Luther Blisset - Best [...] even though I've never saw him live. Gary Stevens (Tottenham) - B. Moore Toshack - Charles Imre Varadi (She. Wed.) - George Best, I think he was everybody's hero at that time. Tommy Caton - Tommy Smith Joe Royle - B. Charlton Kenny Hibbitt (Wolves) says Di Stéfano... but doesn't have him on his best 11. Peter Withe: Alex Young and Jimmy Greaves. David Johnson (when at Everton): Roger Hunt and Denis Law. Favorite player: former Liverpool's winger Steve Heighway. Ray Wilkins - Johnny Giles ('favorite player', not presented as 'boyhood hero' here) Alex McLeish - Gerd Müller (favorite player, Krol) Garry Mabbutt - Bobby Moore Davie Dodds - Willie Henderson David Swindlehurst - Bobby Charlton, I loved his cannonball shooting for Manchester United and England Alan Smith (Leicester) - Colin Bell of Manchester City Petar Borota - George Best Russel Osman - Kevin Hector Paul Sturrock (Dundee Utd) - Jimmy Greaves Tonny Currie - Greaves Terry Gibson (born in '62) - Greaves Ken McNaught - Jim Baxter Martin Jol - Cruyff Kenny Wain - Alex Young Mike Hazard - Cruyff, Ball Gary Bailey - Gordon Banks Not counting all the other ones who have Pelé or Cruyff, Best or Charlton, or Beckenbauer, or Dalglish amongst the youngest players. It can be Keegan too in this case there - of the youngest. Law and Greaves are often cited too by the precedent generations or even in general. There is not so numerous 'surprises' amongst the listed ones here, yep. Some of them remain not so evident though...
Looking at this yes about Maradona on Pelé, he did. That's the answer that appears in here at least: Kempes and Pelé. Found via Focus_off, twiiter account (inactive since some times now) For France Football in 1995 he said that his favorite actor was Gérard Depardieu. Ofc citing Kempes and Pelé seems a bit 'too much'. That's what he did.
From the June 2002 edition of FourFourTwo.... Question to Luis Figo: Who inspired you when you were a young footballer? A: Portugal's Paulo Futre and Mario Coluna, and internationally Maradona, Laudrup and Van Basten.
Please, did he developped things a bit about Coluna? (or it is short questions/ answers like with the focuses maybe I don't know) We can have doubts on Laudrup...don't know... but can have. First name that comes, Futre, must be his biggest influence. And source of inspiration.
Yes, it was one of 17 questions to him and he didn't expand (that was his exact answer). However, 7 years later in the same magazine he said this: "To be honest, Eusebio was not among my big idols because I never saw him play. I was more a fan of the great players from the 1980s, especially after the 1982 World Cup. There was Maradona, Zico... in Portugal, Fernando Chalana and Paulo Futre, both of them wingers. I guess we all have a tendency to like guys who play in the same positions as we �do, right?" http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/luis-figo-one-one in response to a question from a reader about specifically his heroes growing up. So he is consistent with Futre and Maradona. I saw his quoted as saying Laudrup was the best player he played against or something. It's uncertain whether his answer from 2002 regarding him would be based on the 1986 WC (perhaps Juventus games too) or more the Barcelona period I suppose. But maybe Laudrup only played against Figo as a Real Madrid player? Intresting to compare his answer about Eusebio (who he separately did say was the best ever Portuguese I seem to remember; but maybe that it is hard to compare between eras) with his choice of Coluna indeed yes.
Maybe watching some of Coluna inspired him as a midfield player though? Although he does mention wingers who "played the same position" as him (eventually) too.
About Ronaldo and Zico (from a World Cup '98 preview magazine): "My big idol was Zico. He played for Flamengo, my favourite team. When I used to play with my friends in the street I always used to be Zico. I used to hang around the stadiums to collect signatures and Zico's was the one I treasured most. I still have it." and (talking about World Cups 1982 and 1986): "Zico was the best player in the world in those four years...." From the same magazine Teddy Sheringham says: "When I was growing up I'd be Glenn Hoddle in the school playground. Or Kenny Dalglish. I admired them both. Glenn for his range of skills and passing, and Kenny for the way he'd turn and play people in or score great goals himself" continuing with comments including.... " I used to love the way Glenn would warm up before a game - that was good enough for me to see the way his skills and touch were. From Kenny I used to love seeing him bend the ball into the top corner."
Ronaldo himself posted this today on his profile. https://www.theplayerstribune.com/ronaldo-brazil-the-life-of-dadado/ After brief scanning, going through quickly I saw Zico and Weah his name mentioned (when he was still under-18 of course).
Ahead of the World Cup German football magazine "Socrates" asked several players who their all-time favorite players were:
Johan Cruijff’s idols- Flórián Albert, Faas Wilkes, Alfredo Di Stefano Leo Messi’s idols- Pablo Aimar, Diego Maradona My idols- Johan Cruijff and Leo Messi.
I like Thomas Muller's answer. Riquelme is an unfashionable answer for a German player I would imagine, but most importantly it's the very interesting that Muller turns out to be a completely different player to Riquelme. Muller is probably the polar opposite of Riquelme in terms of style lol.
This is what Müller said on Riquelme: "He was arguably not the most defining player in World Cup history. But I always liked to observe him although he is a very different type of player than I am. Riquelme was the tamer of the Argentine World Cup team in 2006. He could caress the ball and process it like almost no one else. This impressed me a lot."
The British 'Total Football' magazine asked this question to various people in January 2000. Bobby Charlton - Jackie Milburn Graeme le Saux - John Robertson Gary Lineker - Frank Worthington Michael Owen - Gary Lineker Alan Shearer - Kevin Keegan Pelé - Dondinho Andy Roxburgh - Ferenc Puskas Andy Gray - Jim Baxter David Beckham - Glenn Hoddle John Charles - Roy Paul Diego Maradona - Pelé Charlie Georghe - Denis Law Howard Wilkinson - Stanley Matthews Rio Ferdinand - Diego Maradona Terry Yorath - Ivor Allchurch Paul Gascoigne - Kevin Keegan Glenn Hoddle - Alan Mullery Dwight Yorke - John Barnes James Alexander Gordon - Willie Waddell Sepp Blatter - Ademir David Elleray - Bobby Charlton Kevin Keegan - Ron Ashman and Bill Shankley Ryan Giggs - Mark Hughes and Ian Rush Sol Campbell - Gary Mabbutt Zico - Dida Gordon Banks - Bert Trautmann Ian Wright - Stan Bowles Gianfranco Zola - Diego Maradona Roberto Rivelino - Pele Romario - Reinaldo Tony Adams - David O'Leary Ian Rush - Bob Latchford Darren Anderton - Kevin Keegan Jamie Redknapp - Kenny Dalglish Stuart Hall - Stanley Matthews George Best - Alfredo di Stefano Zinedine Zidane - Enzo Francescoli Mark Hughes - Joe Jordan Paul Scholes - Andy Ritchie Ronaldo - Zico Craig Brown - Dave Mackay Eric Cantona - Celestin Oliver Billy Dane - Dead-Shot Keen Ron Atkinson - Johnny Dixon Jurgen Klinsmann - Uwe Seeler Kenny Dalglish - Denis Law Gary McAllister - Gordon Strachan Matt le Tissier - Glenn Hoddle All provided explanation too. It seems no Spaniards, Dutchmen or Portuguese were asked, although Gullit prominently features in their 'best rejects' section (him and Ronaldo receive a 9/10 rating; Cantona, Keegan an 8/10 rating). Spoiler (Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content) Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler Excerpt: The man who made George Graham look like a footballing cavalier could have signed the teenage Gullit for a mere £80.000. The young Gullit was already being touted as a potential world star but Don Howe wasn't keen on the asking price. He said: "It was a lot of money for a teenager [17/18 years old] then and we were not in need of a player of his type." That'll be the type of player who becomes World and European Footballer of the Year, captains his country to the European Championships, and is generally recognised as one of the sublime talents in world football. Ever. "His career might not have developed in the same way if he had come to Arsenal." Too true. Don might have played him at full-back, stifled the creativity out of him and made him cut his hair.
Yes this is true, and he said that before he reached the apex of his fame (although by 1967-1968 some magazines like Miroir Football etc. already named him as one of the better/important Europeans in the game). For some of his compatriots it is not very clear while for others it is more obvious and consistent to see (i.e. Gullit - Rivera, long before he went to Milan; Robben - Romario; Bergkamp - Hoddle).
Rio Ferdinand Top 10 https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/feb/01/rio-ferdinand-ronaldo Scholes Favourite 3 http://dailypost.ng/2018/10/16/scholes-reveals-three-favourite-players-picks-ronaldo-messi/ Ferguson 4 World-Class Players at Man Utd https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...yan-Giggs-Paul-Scholes-Cristiano-Ronaldo.html Kwadwo Asamoah Favourite Africans https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomeP...his-favourite-African-football-players-691964
Heard today Lothar Matthaus his favorite player as a youngster was Cruijff. I knew this about Littbarski but that's a more similar player. https://www.sportschau.de/fussball/...lothar-matthaeus-und-die-hollaender--100.html
Rivelino was the idol of Maradona, not Pele "Rivelino was everything I wanted to be as a football player"Maradona on his idolhttps://t.co/fgsReI0wbV pic.twitter.com/2NIu4rmnHS— FIFA (@FIFAcom) February 21, 2016
He also said it at the end of 1979 867477712318988288 is not a valid tweet id Of course he's not exactly the most reliable story teller
The last months various great and very good players/coaches have been invited to talk in a programme about various leagues. In this they picked their favorite player of that league (copy paste of the transcript). Roy Makaay (La Liga/CL - Van Basten) Was invited to talk about La Liga/Champions League. He picked Van Basten. "In my time, Cruijff, Pelé... so many good players. But as a boy and me as forward, he was with a distance the best forward of his time. The period with Milan, the national team artistry, Ajax. The whole run-up to the euros if he would make it, the images of the dramatic farewell. As striker he was the example to look for, hence I chose him. For Hasselbaink, Nistelrooij, Kluivert it was the same. Yes, here he scores four against Goteborg in the last eight, with one incorrectly disallowed. What made him so good was the desire to make a difference in the finals, the elegance. The types likes Vierchowod and Kohler that he had to endure. And that shining in the major matches, goals, assists, winning penalties. An example as striker, absolutely. Not that he was an idol or I tried to copy him because I think every person has their own qualities, but this was wonderful to look at." Then he also adds that MvB practically ended his national team career as a player but was technically a good coach. Guus Hiddink (Premier League - Lampard) This was a very intriguing one to hear, also because he has been almost anywhere in the world. From Real Madrid, Chelsea to Australia, Korea andsoforth. He picked Lampard as his favorite Premier League player. "It was a midfielder, a box-to-box player. In a good season he scored 15 goals and in a bad 7 goals. Look, here he does it with his left, for a right-footed player he does this subtle with his left. You don't see it that often for a right footed player. It's something he has tought himself. But aside from that he was also a good personality who chips in with his contribution, and is good for his team and has an eye for his team. Once we played a semi final in Camp Nou against Barcelona, and I subbed him out because that would be better for the result and it worked. We lost the grip on midfield too much so I took him off. He understood that completely, maybe also knowing he would continue to play and I'd be gone in a few months, but still. So in my short spells I worked in the Premier League I have him as my favorite player." Dirk Kuijt (Premier League - Gerrard) Kuijt picked Gerrard as his favorite player. On a scene where Gerrard himself (played 160 Premier League games together) talks about Benitez not using him for crucial important games. "Yes Benitez is one of my best trainers and certainly the best Liverpool manager I had. When I went to Liverpool he had done so much preparation, knew exactly who I was, the ways he could use me, had followed me for years. He said I was capable of scoring goals in Champions League finals, FA Cup, League Cup finals as midfielder and that is also what happened. Igor Glusevic, the player I played with at Utrecht, had also played under Benitez and was later employed as scout for him. So when he wanted me I knew this was a manager who had done his preliminary work and knew more about me than myself. It was not only the club Liverpool, which was my favorite English club by definition, but also the manager who gave me a very warm feeling at the beginning phase." -- But that is funny, because this is opposite to what Gerrard says. Did he have a custom-made management by player? "No, he treated me the same way as Gerrard in the future, so I also didn't know when I would play. I also didn't know when I would be rested, because you play every three days. Benitez almost always chose to give two or three players of his default team some rest. The best example is that in the beginning of my spell only 16 players could be selected for a game. Four substitutes and a reserve keeper. On friday it was not like he said which players would be in the selection, no, a list was in the dressing room. And I was looking at that, luckily I was selected, and Gerrard was behind me, looked over my shoulder and doesn't see his name among the sixteen. The most beautiful with Gerrard was that he wished the boys luck and success, didn't say anything more, no bad word from his mouth, and the next day he was one of the best on the training. That was the respect I had for Gerrard, but also indicated how Benitez worked. He was, generally put, not the manager who called the player or captain towards him. 'Hey Gerrard, you will not play because...'. No he didn't say. He said just: you are not playing. Gerrard accepted it but you saw how difficult he found it and struggled with what attitude he should give to it. But the good part is he at hindsight admitted Benitez brought the best out of him." "Yes I played with many good players. Gerrard, Alonso, Suarez, Torres, Hyypia. Also at the national team Van Nistelrooij, Robben, Van der Vaart, Van Persie so I was allowed to play with some of the best. But Steven had in principle everything. It was a symbolic leader, enthusiastic towards others, not a man of many words but what he said was fine. He had a fantastic pass. If you look at how he scored then it was not only with a fast instep kick, but also with the inside, with his left. It is a player with speed, has depth without ball, has a dribble and a tackle that Scholes didn't have. Is not someone to give up and always wants to win every training exercise. Also on the training he wanted to be the best, was busy with improving himself. One of the first trainings I will not forget, the manner how he played a ball in, so fast and pure, trapping it with the inside just hurt." -- How was your cooperation in the field? "I think quite good. I think we had a good click on and off the field. I have still contact with him, not that I call him every day or every week. But lately with the UEFA Cup matches or with my testimonial. On the field we had a good connection. The first year was good, the second year Torres came who scored many goals, but also Gerrard was good, and I was a linking player in that picture, making sure that it works. So for now I've picked him as my favorite player." Jaap Stam (Serie A - Maldini) Stam picked Maldini as favorite Serie A player and that was primarily because of how he approached himself towards other players, to young players and newcomers like himself. Van der Sar (Serie A/CL - Zidane) “There were several options, I first spoke to Liverpool. I thought England was a little too close, I wanted more of a challenge. Juventus was very big in name, Liverpool was not like that at the time. History, but I didn't see such a future ahead of me there." “The conversations were good, they told me that they wanted to play like Ajax with building up from the back, that this was the future. It may be the same stories that Wim Jonk and Dennis Bergkamp also fell for at Internazionale. But that turned out to be out of the question. The way of training and playing was very different. When I played the ball to someone, he didn't know what to do and the ball was shot. "Edwin, play that ball long", I was told. That was precisely my strength, to be involved in the game. It also undermined my confidence. It's my fault, I made a couple mistakes. I was not myself. Then they played powerplay and maneuvered me to Fulham.” Van der Sar is asked whether he still had revenge feelings after his period with Juventus. “The first time I had that feeling was the European Championship 2008 when we played against Italy and Gianluigi Buffon was also there. Buffon is a great guest and has an outstanding career, but I wanted to show the Italians that I could keep goal. ” At Juventus, Van der Sar played with Zinedine Zidane, of whom he was very impressed. “The way he is, no big talk. A nice guest. Of course he has a black border around him, because he did take some red cards. But the way he took a ball, took it out of the air and how you could always play him... He wanted the ball directly from me. He was someone who gives you a good feeling and also feeds off the good feeling of others. In addition, he came to training in a Fiat, wearing jeans, a white Levi's shirt and white Adidas. That was something different compared to the Ferraris, Dolce & Gabbana and Versace that other players came with. ” "I thought the whole package to him was different, felt different than the others at Juventus. It was difficult because he only spoke French and Italian, and I could only speak home-and-kitchen French. He still doesn't speak English very well. He was much smoother with a ball than without the ball, it is not a very elegant player. For example, it is easier to see with Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. At club level he should have won more but is one of the best memories of my Juventus time. Dealt with his own limitations very well and that's also why he was a favorite."
After seeing Baresi's interview last week, I saw that Ronaldo Nazario said on the same FIFA website at the retirement this: "Zico has always been my idol. As for strikers, well in those days it was (Marco) van Basten. One of the greatest centre forwards." Danny Blind (asked for the CL) picked also Van Basten as his favorite player, but also named Rijkaard, Litmanen and Seedorf too in the 1.5 hour. He said he always liked Seedorf his personality and qualities, even at the time when 80% of the country didn't like him. "I only played with him when he was very young. For the last time when he had just turned 20 for the national team. But as far as I'm concerned he was already the finished article although I wasn't sure whether he would do well in Italy. He was already telling to others what had to be done, and although not everything connected to the others, it was helpful. He was one of four players to have played in all league games that season, where we were unbeaten; and one of five to have played in all Champions League games, where we were also unbeaten. That says a lot, but of course De Boer, Davids, Overmars, Rijkaard were also good in midfield and without those suspensions and injuries we could have won the Champions League again a year later." "Yeah, you can say 'of course you win a Champions League somewhere when you play for Real Madrid and are fortunate to end up there as a starter', but at the same time, were that winning teams before he and others came to these teams? Real Madrid pursued the Intercontinental Cup for how long? 40 years? He gave that long pass assist to Raul. It was an excellent footballer, strong but didn't use the 'big tackle' when it wasn't needed, in terms of technical ability one of the best midfielders of his time, and it was a winner with leadership capabilities who had a pretty special and unique career. Then around 2007 - but also at other times - he showed what he could do when he was the guy with freedom to attack and having the most contacts with the ball, there he was the difference maker. If I have to make a list of the ten best midfielders of his generation, then he is for his general all-round ability, for his success as winner or runner-up, his great goals, his adaptability, the longevity at the top, on this list. The only thing he couldn't do was taking penalties, also in training he was horrific. He could take free kicks quite well, yeah." "That he was always poor for the national team is not entirely right. Before the infamous Turkey penalty miss he was generally one of the better and most reliable performers of his team. In the qualifiers against Belgium and Wales, but also in the 4-1 Wembley defeat against England he was one of the few who came out well. Then later on he had also his terrific games against Argentina, Spain and Germany, and was among the better midfielders for euro 2004." Then Barcelona assistant Ten Cate (has also worked for Ajax and Chelsea) picked out Ronaldinho as his favorite and placed him into the right context I thought, described him very well. One of the (upvoted and repeated) comments by people was "his voice and grammar is a blend between Gullit and Cruijff".