The question is, is Zidane the second greatest European player in the last 25 years ( behind Cristiano ) ?
Very difficult question IMO Was zinedine Zidane a better league performer than Thierry Henry? League matches account for 60%~ of a players career Id say he is quite arguably the best European NT performer of the last 25 years There is even a case that he is the best NT performer since 1995 Irrespective of nationality R9 is close but Zidane beats him in a head to head comparison Completely outshining him in the 98 final and 06 QF Messi/CR could also challenge due to the sheer amount of tournaments they have participated in+qualifying rounds Heading into the 2006 WC final the overwhelming consensus regarded zidane as a top 10 all timer(at worst) Greater then platini for sure and challenger for Johan Cruyff and franz beckenbaur https://www.uefa.com/insideuefa/news/newsid=171207.html Whatever anyone says here (including myself ) 150,000 people took part in this poll. Big soccer/xtratime/reddit polls are a mere fraction of this Had this gone in...... Not many can argue against a narrative of a player leading his country to 2 world cup victories
Franco Baresi said yesterday As one of the greatest defenders of all time, what do you make of today’s crop? Football has changed so much in the last 15 to 20 years, not just on the pitch but in how it’s seen, access to information and the role of social media and all that. I think the way in which defenders are seen has also changed over the years. Real football fans know how important defenders are and they appreciate them. If I had to name names, then the one who really stands out is Virgil van Dijk, who’s shown the quality, character and strength that a defender needs to have to be a successful leader of a team like Liverpool. You’re celebrating your 60th birthday on 8 May and in your six decades you’ve played alongside and seen so many great players. Which of them have a place on Franco Baresi’s list of all-time greats? I’ve played with and against so many great players that it’s hard for me to choose. But given everything I’ve learned about football in my life, I’m going to choose two players from every generation who have really made their mark on the history of the game: Pele and Eusebio – who I remember watching on TV when I was young – Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer, then Diego Maradona and Michel Platini, Ronaldo and Marco van Basten, and finally Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. That ought to do it (laughs). https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/baresi-real-football-fans-know-how-important-defenders-are At tournament level possibly imho. At league level it is a bit disappointing (only three league titles, no domestic cups). 14 - Zinedine #Zidane scored 14 goals in 80 UEFA Champions League apps, 7 out of these 14 from the start of Quarter-Finals round (50%). Sublime. pic.twitter.com/ce1bXzu4f9— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) May 1, 2020
From similar role, I think Xavi has a case over him. Other EU players who might also have a case are Henry and Lahm, for example.
To be fair, Zidane might have outshined Ronaldo in the final, but Ronaldo also won the Golden Ball, while Zidane didn't even plae top 3. Ronaldo would also earn the Golden Boot and Silver Ball in 2002. Zidane only has one Golden Ball to his name, and that was in 2006, which I believe the vote took place before the final?
Was R9 better than golden ball winner david suker? The golden ball winner with goals vs Germany,France and the Netherlands All round performances like this were not typical of strikers in that time Zidanes 2006 WC performance was a microcosm of his club career A player who drifts in and out of form Capable of the truly sublime vs brazil without scoring Terrible against Switzerland in the Groupstage with 0 goals and assists Mediocre against Spain in the R16 and still scoring a quality goal Zidane never had a consistent great league campaign from beginning to end Nor did he have a great international tournament from beginning till end Euro 2000 is perhaps the closest Final performance vs Italy aside
This is simply not true. He was the best performer for his team against Switzerland and created clear goalscoring chances for Henry that a much inferior striker should have converted. To hold him to the standard of an all-time performance as the barometer for how well he played is a bit unfair. If Zidane consistently played at the level of his Brazil 2006 game, he would be hands down the greatest player by a country mile - but that would be humanly impossible. His Spain game was a true return to form, he was excellent. He has had tremendous league campaigns as well - he was excellent throughout with Bordeaux in 95-96, Juventus 98, Madrid 02-03. The narrative that Zidane was inconsistent is not real - you can't expect him to be transcendent every game for a whole year, because that was the standard he was being held to. He had a hard time transitioning to the Italian game, had a rough patch with Real in the first hald of the 01-02 season but then hit his stride, and looked like an old man in 05-06
He is a better midfielder, attacking midfielder than someone like Iniesta imo, more flair, more elegance, better general technique, best first touch, a better dribbler also, excellent in ball retention and passes as well. And likely he produced two times more goals/assists than the Barcelona player while playing in a low-scoring era. He played in a very good level and had great season in some of the best league of his time and also won Eurocopa and World Cup being decisive in both. He is the best attacking mid of the last 25 years.
I'm not sure if Xavi + Iniesta was really better than Kroos + Modric to be honest (neither Busquets compared to Casemiro, even tho they had different roles). Both of the spanish guys had Guardiola (arguably the best offensive coach in this generation) and better forwards in Henry, Eto'o, Ronaldinho, Neymar, Suarez and arguably the best player of all time (that is Messi in Barcelona shirt) or at least a TOP3-5 for the real level. Only Cristiano reached the same level of these forwards (behind Messi tho). Benzema, Higuain and Bale are likely a tier below even if compared to Henry 08/09. Kroos won a lot in his period at Bayern Munchen and is also a World Cup winner. Modric is a Golden Ball (carrying Croatia to a WC final) and is a Ballon d'Or also. This is the VAEP ratings in the World Cup 2018 Likely in none of their Barcelona season Xavi and Iniesta reached 0.86 VAEP rating of Kroos for example (not sure if before 2006 is Xavi or Iniesta in their peak...). That is their VAEP average only in the matches Messi played: Real Madrid midfielders: Peak seasons (again only when Messi played). Rakitic was also good, Deco also. With #vaep framework, I have evaluated @FCBarcelona players performances from last 15 years in @LaLiga using @StatsBomb data. Best lineup is based on player's best single-season performance. Positions are determined using k-means clustering. #FoT #LaLiga #FCBarcelona @JaviOnData pic.twitter.com/zD4IghOUzS— Jernej (@jernejfl) June 13, 2020
VAEP had a use for forwards but works poorly for midfielders and other positions. Xavi reached a peak in 2014-15? Really? Iniesta in 2017-18? Ter Stegen one of the very lowest? See also: https://dtai.cs.kuleuven.be/sports/...n-soccer-a-critical-comparison-of-xt-and-vaep It shows Shaqiri as number two for 2018-19. Why does he play so few minutes then? (Also in 'big games'). Liverpool has their own extensive data team that is world leading. Ryan Babel (Fulham) at number three for the 2018-19. Really? Not saying it is useless but has to be taken with great care, in particular players that are not pure attackers. It would mean De Bruyne of 2019-20 is not among the best three of Man City for example (and Mahrez among the best two).
The comparison between Xavi/Iniesta and Kroos/Modric is an interesting one in that despite the latter winning three consecutive UCLs together, I don't think they were at any point considered as dominant as the former in their 2008-2011 run. I would argue though that Busquets has clearly been better than Casemiro when he was at his peak. Not that i have proof for it, but I watch both plenty, and Busquets at his peak was quite something else compared to Casemiro, to me.
Busqs best ever holding player .. easy He’s still the best .. just suffering from playing in a poor team - as is Messi
Maybe Frank riijkard also played volleyball Riijkard the 2× consecutive Ballon dor podium player Who scored 100 career goals Directly assisted goals in European cup semi final(madrid 89) and finals(steaue Bucharest 89,benfica 90 and Milan 94) Riijkard was one of the biggest game club players of the last 50 years If someone can name any playmaker who assisted in 3 separate European cup finals? To be honest the real top 100 all timers that peaked over the last 10 years could be counted on barely 2 hands and Sergio busqeuts was not one of them. Ive heard here many times busquets was the best defensive mid over the past 10 years According to whoscored busquets was the 10th highest rated midfielder in la liga 10/11 behind Xavi Iniesta Xabi alonso Javi Martinez Santi cazorla Mesut ozil Gabi Bruno soriano Antonio reyes (No particular order) In la liga 11/12 he was the 8th highest rated midfielder behind Jesus navas Jeremy Toulalan Cesc fabregas Xabi Alonso Bruno soriano iniesta Javi fuego (No particular order) la liga 15/16 is widely considered to be one of his best ever seasons He was ranked by WS as the 8th best midfielder in la liga behind Koke Casimero Nolito Luca Modric James Rodriguez Toni Kroos Shukran Mustafi (No specific order) In 17/18 I remember many fans here saying he was arguably Barcelonas 2nd best performer He is still rated by whoscored as an inferior DM to kondogbia and Casimero If whoscored uses an algorithm that favours forwards,more direct,offensive minded dribblers, than why and and how is busquets finishing behind at least 8 midfielders every single prime season Busquets isnt a particularly productive player (19 goals in his career for club and country) In his prime he never lead in defensive interceptions or tackles In 15/16 la liga Casimero averaged more tackles, interceptions,dribbles,blocks,goals,assistsetc And its not just Casimero Danilo had more tackles and interceptions as Busqeuts in la liga 15/16 So did Asier Illarramendi So did Gabi In la liga 17/18 Casimero averaged 3.6 tackles+2.1 interceptions per match Busquets really cannot touch this Casimero also scored 5 goals in la liga 17/18 which is equivalent to 55% of the goals Busquets scored in his entire la liga career (9 goals in 375 appearences) Casimero the midfield destroyer scored or assisted at least 1 goal in champions league quarter final,semi final and final between 2016-2018 Even ronaldinho 04/07 with his creative licence (and freedom to take 9 shots in 1 game couldn't do that ) 9 - Luis Suárez has equaled Ronaldinho as @FCBarcelona player to have made more shots without scoring in a single #UCL game (nine in the 2006 Final vs Arsenal) – since at least 2003/2004 season. Active pic.twitter.com/k5KwuV6ehA— OptaJose (@OptaJose) November 6, 2018 Casimero in this guise is arguably one of the greatest midfield destroyers in history Even if kante at his best is even more defensively impressive as Casimero he doesn't have the distribution of the Brazilian nor does he have his end product Busquets is for his longevity one of the best defensive midfielders of his era But that's it Best of all time(in history!!!) Its impossible