[Agreed, & as "GRB" pointed out above; how fast a player is w/the ball at their feet AND how quick they are when running w/o the ball is very important. Once again, Sir Tom Finney and Jackie Milburn were sterling examples of being lightning on the pitch both with and w/o the ball at their feet IMHO.]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]This is Blackpool & England cult hero Bill Perry talking about the nature of pace in the game and Sir Stanley Matthews:[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif](3) [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bill Perry[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif], interviewed by David Millar (1990) [/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]I had to hook it a bit. Morty said he left it to me, but that's not true, it was out of his reach. Ernie Taylor changed the run of play. He didn't get the credit but he was the main man. I'd contributed much more in the semi-final against Spurs. Of course, Stan was special, the ability he had. If a player had a choice of pass, me or Stan, they'd give it to Stan, knowing he'd get to the line and take two opponents with him. For speed I'd beat him every time over 50 yards, but never over five, or 10 yards.[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT] It's from footnote No.3 on the bottom of this page; try and take the time to read Perry's profile if you can: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/BLACKPperry.htm
Well, if you see this video it would seem that Messi is really fast but Kaka is faster due to his longer stride. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAyklhjtzb0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAyklhjtzb0[/ame]
Kaka just came in as a sub while Messi was playing the whole match, the comparison is not valid, even tho I think Kaka infact was faster than Messi.
I also think Kaka is faster in straight,longer distances. Also it has to be said, Messi was 18 and Kaka was at the peak of his career.
Neymar is nowhere near the fastest players of all time. Even current Brazilians like Hulk and Pato are quicker. Caniggia and Overmars are the two fastest.
No im not saying Neymar is the fastest of all time, im saying hes just very fast... By the way Neymar is faster than Hulk and Pato/ Neymar has very fast acceleration like Messi.
In case you did not know... in 2007, Old Ronaldo has beaten Kaka (at Milan team contest ) following 3rd was surprised old Inzaghi
I can't find the news after Pato's goal against Barcelona at nou camp. It says that Pato is the second fastest player in the history of AC Milan before him it was only Serginho. Ancelotti says: "Usually, a Brazilian doesn't like to work hard in training, doesn't like to stay focused. I trained a lot of Brazilian players. I had a problem with Ronaldo at Milan. It was not easy to get him fit! Ronaldo was 100kg but was the quickest in the 10 metre test" Also see this: At 14-years-of-age, Nedum Onuoha ran the 100 metres at 11.09 seconds, beating Great Britain sprinter Craig Pickering who recorded a personal best of 10.08 seconds in 2009.
in 2007, Milan did timing the run, and Ronaldo (98Kg to be exact) had beaten Kaka (#2) and Inzaghi (#3) in 30m run (from outside the box in) at middle pitch, Kaka was faster than the old and fat Ronaldo from 50m. Ronaldo was surely among the TOP3 fastest players in history with the ball at his feet. The others could be Cruijff, Messi, Best, Pele and Maradona.
I'm not so sure about Pele and Maradona (they were fast w/ball), but fastest? Younger Di Stefano was really fast, arguably the fastest without the ball.
without the ball ... who cares as R Carlos, Rommeldahl were also very very fast ~ 10.5 seconds /100m ... FAST With the ball is much more difficult and a sure threat to DF/GK ... (of course I also include their dribbling skills on top of their ball speed) Kaka, CR7, Henry are also very fast with the ball as well but their dribbling is a bit less efficient to the names mentioned!
Di Stefano was known as "La Saeta Rubia" (blond arrow) for his lightning speed. His speciality was breaking defenses looking through ball served by Moreno. Di Stefano also was recognized by his great skills in his Real Madrid. So isn't difficult assume that he could be also really fast with the ball, and could be able to did slalom past players. If I remember well, something similar was said about Bican. I really don't how much fast they were, how many meters per second!! But, they were the non-plus-ultra among fast-players in older era.
It's always difficult to rate players pre war and early 50's like Di Stefano Moreno ... since we lacked of their real footage. However in talking to other old friends of mine (soccer friends) Di Stefano was hardly noticed for his speed rather than his midfield control and build up games ... Of course he was fast but not too sure in the breadth of Pele Maradona Ronaldo Best Garrincha Cruijff - again I could be wrong ... IMO, Ronaldo9 was the fastest I have seen with the ball within 50m range! His acceleration w.o the ball was also phenomenon within 20m range.
Caniggia was incredibly fast with the ball, and he did not need to push the ball too forward but rather he seemed to run with it. Similar like Messi, possibly even faster although not as much milllimetric control.
This is a clip estimated Ronaldo speed at Corinthian, 33yrs old with 92Kg of fat - yet still so fast - estimated 36km/hr or close 10s of 100m ( of course over a short distance)
Yeah, Ronaldo had crazy speed even after his prime. Remember when Puyol busted his cartilage trying to keep up with him, Ronaldo blew past and scored. I think it was the derby just prior to WC06.
Sorry for dragging up an old thread. But Serginho was the fastest players I've ever seen, even when he 34/35 he was one of the fastest players out there. He was faster than Lennon, Walcott or R9.
A very good find. Gento was incredibly fast but also - and this is often forgotten - a very technical player. When I watch clips of the Real Madrid team of the late-50s/early-60s, it is usually Gento that strikes out the most to me. He's just a joy to watch due to his trickery and "ball humour".
[Speaking of Gento; I've posted a link to the England v. the RotW XI match fr. Oct. of '63 @ Wembley in its full ninety-plus minutes glory. Did you want me to post a link to it in here, mate? I've also got a link to an excellent match report on it as well...]