Its time to select the "Best of the Best." Having received feedback on the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and 00's All Star line-ups its now time to select an ALL STAR team (1950-2010). Due to reading many useful comments I modified some of my selections into a 'balanced" line-up. NOTE: If you are going to name your selections please keep your squad to a total of 23 players (as in a FIFA World Cup). Here is my squad of 23 players 1950-2010 (All Stars): STARTING 11: --------------------------------------------------------------------- GK: 1. LEV YASHIN (USSR, Dynamo Moscow) --------------------------------------------------------------------- RB: 2. DJALMA SANTOS (BRAZIL, Portuguesa, Palmeiras, etc) --------------------------------------------------------------------- CB: 4. BECKENBAUER (WEST GERMANY, Bayern Munich, etc) CB: 6. MOORE (ENGLAND, West Ham United, etc) --------------------------------------------------------------------- LB: 3. MALDINI (ITALY, AC Milan) --------------------------------------------------------------------- CM: 8. RIJKAARD (HOLLAND, AC Milan, Ajax, etc) --------------------------------------------------------------------- AM: 14. CRUYFF (HOLLAND, Ajax, FC Barcelona, etc) AM: 10. MARADONA (ARGENTINA, Napoli, Boca Juniors, etc) AM: 5. DI STEFANO (ARGENTINA/SPAIN, Real Madrid, River Plate, etc) --------------------------------------------------------------------- CF: 11. PELE (BRAZIL, Santos, etc) CF: 9. PUSKAS (HUNGARY/SPAIN, Real Madrid, etc) --------------------------------------------------------------------- BENCH: ZOFF (GK) (Italy, Juventus, Napoli etc), C.ALBERTO (RB/CB) (Brazil, (Brazil, Santos, etc), N.SANTOS (LB) (Brazil, Botafogo), SCIREA (CB) (Italy, Juventus, etc) FACCHETTI (LB/CB), (Italy, Inter Milan), MATTHAUS (CM) (West Germany/Germany, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, etc) ZICO (AM) (Brazil, Flamengo, etc), ZIDANE (AM) (France, Juventus, Real Madrid, etc), BEST (LW) (N. Ireland, Manchester United, etc) MULLER (CF) (West Germany, Bayern Munich, etc) RONALDO (CF) (Brazil, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, etc) MESSI (CF/RW/SS) (Argentina, FC Barcelona, etc) ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Although Rijkaard was by far the most consistent and best Dutchmen for the NT of his generation, I do not think he is spectacular enough to be in an all-time 11...
I had a feeling Rijkaard will be the first one to get hammered I think its not always about being spectacular, especially in his position DM/CM. I needed to select a player that would fit into this highly technical team. I did not select a more spectacular player, from lets say Brazil 58 team....becasue I think the DM/CM position has really started to evolve into its current importance right around when Rijkaard started playing. Yes, its possible to place another player instead of him....maybe even Makelele....but Rijkaard fully deserves his place. I think.
Makelele would have been a bad choice... Yes, Rijkaard was very good (better than Matthaus and other contemporary DM's/CM's) for a looooong period and also versatile (for the NT he often played as centre-back) but for that position, in a all-time squad, you might expect a more spectacular, flashy player. Lets say, a second Beckenbauer, although Beckenbauer wasn't that spectacular any more in the 1970s... I fully agree with you he was flawless, very intelligent and almost always reached a very high level. He was the one a coach could trust. Whenever others failed, he was the one who stood out. But as I said, you might expect a more flashy player... (someone like Cerezo was already a bit more flashy with a quasi 'joi de vivre' attitude)
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ_kETPUETg"]The Best Of Frank Rijkaard - YouTube[/ame] If you see this you almost get the expression he was a full-blood striker
Serious: Maldini as left-back; I have doubts about it. Carlos Alberto on the bench..... Best on the bench and even Ronaldo..... (I'll pick Eusebio, Müller or Van Basten over Ronaldo; of course Ronaldo was the most enjoyable to watch but that's basically it for me)
I initially had Muller on the bench for Ronaldo. But in the end I opted for R9. It was a very difficult choice. Its so hard to say which one of them deserved it more. I think Van Basten wasn't picked only because his career wasn't as long as that of others(although it wasn't his fault it still counts). Eusebio....well he was very close as well.
Ok, I think the squad is easier to name (although several players will be close of course) than the team itself. The midfield is particularly tricky to put together especially if Beckenbauer is put in as the anchor player in midfield which I seem to feel makes sense now if going for the best possible team. With the other midfielders and support forwards available that'd probably mean no outright wingers (although I could still be tempted to line-up Cruyff wide with another winger the other side). So...I may not name the starting XI at present but here's my squad: Yashin (1) GK - (50's, 60's) - Soviet Union Schmeichel (13) GK - (90's) - Denmark Banks (21) GK - (60's, 70's) - England Beckenbauer (4) SW/CB, CM (60's, 70's) - Germany Baresi (5) CB (80's, 90's) - Italy Moore (6) CB (60's, 70's) - England Krol (16) SW/CB, LB (70's) - Holland Maldini (3) LB, CB (90's) - Italy Cafu (2) RB, RWB (90's, 00's) - Brazil Rijkaard (15) CM, CB (80's) - Holland Neeskens (23) CM, Emergency RB (70's) - Holland Platini (20) CM, AM (80's) - France Di Stefano (9) CM/AM, SS/ST (50's) - Argentina Maradona (8) AM, SS (80's) - Argentina Zico (18) AM, SS (80's) - Brazil Charlton (19) CM/AM (60's) - England Cruyff (11) AM (including winger), SS (70's) - Holland M.Laudrup (17) AM (including winger) (80's, 90's) - Denmark Best (7) LW, RW, SS (60's) - N.Ireland Pele (10) SS/ST (60's) - Brazil van Basten (12) ST (80's, 90's) - Holland Puskas (14) SS/ST (50's, 60's) - Hungary Eusebio (22) ST (60's) - Portugal I could use 1-11 in a sort of 4-1-3-2 with wingers but I'm not sure that would be the choice - I think I'd probably include Platini for example....again. I included a few utility players to cover defence and midfield or AM and possible wide midfield. So I had to take out Scirea in the end (Krol can play left-back or right-back too very well) for example. Gullit, possibly the best utility player of the great players wasn't included although both Rijkaard and Neeskens his Dutch colleagues were included to cover midfield and defensive roles as necessary. EDIT Zidane slipped my mind but he might have to take Zico's place in the squad I'm afraid.
Having thought about 3 or 4 possibilities (4-1-3-2 or attacking 4-4-2 with wingers, 4-2-3-1, 4-3-2-1 etc) I'm going for this as my newly thought-out starting XI: ------------------Yashin----------------- Cafu-------Baresi--------Moore-------Maldini ----------------Beckenbauer-------------- -----------Platini--------Di Stefano-------- ----------------Maradona----------------- ------------Pele--------Cruyff------------- Di Stefano and Cruyff are interchangeable, and Cruyff would look to provide wingplay often by drifting wide. If it didn't work I'd switch to one of the other systems! Meanwhile without going into detail here's my B and C Squads from all other players 1950-2010 (still left out a few I'd like to include and/or think are about equally worth consideration to these players): B Squad Shilton, Buffon, Dasaev, Sammer, Scirea, Nesta, Figueroa, C.Alberto, Jorginho, N.Santos, Lizarazu, Matthaus, Redondo, Socrates, Matthews, Garrincha, Figo, Finney, Ronaldinho, Zico, Dalglish, Ronaldo, Muller. C Squad Zoff, Southall, Maier, Hierro, Cannavaro, Passarella, Pique, D.Santos, Amoros, R.Carlos, Edwards, Vieira, Deyna/Didi(?), Hoddle, Gullit, Kaka, Jairzinho, Pires, Dzajic, Savicevic, Baggio/Bergkamp(?), Weah, Henry or Shevchenko (or both instead of a defender or midfielder). I did consider picking Messi and accomodating a 4-3-3 as an option for the C Squad but that formation doesn't suit the other players best. EDIT - If I included both Henry and Sheva in squad C I might also put in Facchetti or Breitner instead or R.Carlos or in Breitner's case could be instead of Deyna/Didi although I'd be reluctant. That's my final thoughts (!) and hopefully the mention of Deyna makes up for me going off track from the original 23 man squad
Krol is imo just as Scirea often one of the underrated greats. Krol reached a very high level for over more than 10 years. In the 1981 or 1982 Ballon D'Or he still received multiple votes or so. Krol was indeed ambidextrous and one of the most technically gifted backs I saw. A great passer too. He had those extras, something which I don't saw at Maldini (I even prefer R. Carlos!). I mean, Rijkaard did not have that extra flavour.
Why did you opt for Puskas? As I said elsewhere, he is very difficult to judge because images of a healthy Puskas are very rare.
Really? You would take Platini over Zidane ? Even Platini himself admitted Zidane was the better player. Not by much, but still better. Also, M. Laudrup instead of Zidane ??? M. Laudrup was very good, but he was the level of Pavel Nedved, which is a little lower than the likes of Zidane, Platini, Zico, etc....
Puskas was a MACHINE, considered by some to have been better than Pele. He had the best LEFT FOOT in the game. He was the best player on perhaps the best team in the history of international football the 1950's Hungarian Team (Brazil 58 or 70 are the other candidates). His goalscoring statistics are perhaps one of the best in the history of this game. He was also part (and a big part!!!) of another legendary team in club history, the Real Madrid of the 1950's and 60's. I probably should have included 1 or 2 more of his Hungarian team mates into my ALL TIME 1950-2010 squad, but I didn't simply becasue its difficult to get footage and information about them. Either way..... the THREE best attacking players in the history of football (between 1950-2010) were PELE, PUSKAS, MARADONA (although this isn't a correct order). I am not sure how I would rate them..... but they are the top 3 in my books. After them I would probably place Cruyff and Best as to round up the Top 5 of Attacking players. But, that's why Puskas is in my starting 11.
No Garrincha, how come Best and Ronaldo are chosen before him?! And what Messi have to do with such list?!
First thing is sorry....I managed to completely forget about Zidane and probably didn't make it clear enough that when I remembered him I decided he had to make the squad and Zico wouldn't (partly because Zidane gives another who's comfortable being a central midfield playmaker albeit often as the designated attacking midfielder - I think he can be a playmaker in a central midfield pair without any problem though for example). I do think Laudrup was above the level of Nedved in terms of talent but we all have our own opinions. He's more of a favourite of mine than Zidane I'd say but I'd tend to think Zidane has the slight edge if I had to call who was better. I'd keep Laudrup in the squad rather than Zico as he can play wide and even as a central attacking midfielder he would be able to use the width of the pitch very effectively at times (otherwise only Cruyff and Best would be expert at this within the squad). If the diamond formation was maintained he'd be able to play on either side of it probably as well as behind the strikers. Having said I would definately have Zidane in the squad, to answer your question, I would rate Platini over him marginally I think. When did Platini say Zidane was better? I think Zidane's mastery of the ball and ability to keep possession in tight spaces etc was superior but as good as his playmaking and goalscoring abilities were Platini had the edge in those categories I think including vision and long-range passing. If both players could be combined into one then we'd really have a player , although he still wouldn't be particularly quick or the best defensively of course.
Garrincha wasn't choosen only because of tactical reasons. My starting 11 wasn't going to use this type of right-winger player. I wanted to opt for 2 up front. But, I know you have a right to demand his inclusion. Ronaldo was CF...and George Best was LW, Garrincha was a different position. Messi? He actually took Garrincha's place.... I took him over the Brazilan becasue I could play him in CF, RW and SS. Also, regardless of your opinion of Messi, just becasue he is a player from now..... doesn't mean that he cannot be considered among the best of all time. I am not gonna go and say he is the best of all time (far from it !!!) but he is already among the top 23 (at least).
The problem is indeed that most footage of Puskas is of his Madrid-era, when he was already past his peak and imo very static and outshined by Di Stefano.
Well you give good logical reasons for your choices. They are based on tactical preferences, which I believe make sense. I also think M. Laudrop has a little bit more talent than Nedved. In terms of Platini saying that Zidane had already surpassed him..... well that was right after Euro 2000 win, when Zidane was at the best time of his career. I just rate Zidane a little better than Platini, but not by much (probably because of his character and influence).......however, Platini had even better free kicks.
Cruyff No, seriously. Both had their respective qualities and used them well. Platini wasn't as gifted in tight spaces perhaps but he had his means to evade that and his long-range weaponry was always something to fear. As far as I can see it the bottom performance level of Platini was higher than of Zidane. Zidane sometimes faded in a match (although this is often exaggerated by his haters; Messi is no different in this respect) while Platini didn't it. Of course, when he played bad he had always his shots to rely on. In the low-chances Serie A he was still able to decide a match with two, maybe three, attempts on goal. I have Platini in a very high esteem for various reasons. I think he is on par with fellow Europeans Cruyff and Eusebio (I do not have a clear picture of Puskas; his numbers alone don't convince me because other Hungarians even scored also a high amount of goals in a similar role). It is because debates about prizes (we are talking about individuals while prizes are a team-effort) and skillsets (I personally do not believe that Maradona or Pelé was miles ahead of the rest) say not a lot to me. I think a distinctive trait of the greats is to be a leader and to perform under various conditions. Hence, one might say that the likes of Garrincha and Messi are 'just' good managers while Platini was a top notch CEO, in business terms. And some others like Eusebio and Cruyff are close to be a Nelson Mandela because they liberated nations, at least in football
Yes, maybe a slow version . Of course in certain aspects the two Frenchmen would have slight advantages over Cruyff but a combined version might indeed be on a similar level to him. I understand what you're getting at in terms of the decisiveness of Platini too. He was a big influence of course as a playmaker and goalscorer, not that he could always make the difference but I get what you were saying.
I agree with this alot. When I selected my 23 Squad (and couldn't decide between players) this was sometimes used as a tie-breaker. For this reason, I am sure Zlatan Ibrahimovic or Nicolas Anelka would not have made the 00's ALL Star squad. Not even team "C" Character also counts.
Platini also played for a (often) defensive-minded counter-attacking team. To shine then as a rather slow attacking player AND being a goalscoring threat at the same time, that underlines someone's talent I think. I also never forget the picture of him standing next to Battiston.
He was great at knowing how to get in goalscoring positions in crowded areas I think. His short passing and movement was probably about as good as his long passing in reality. He could also dribble pretty well over short-ish distances and he had great imagination and the touch to make the most of it. If Battiston had scored he'd have had an assist there too. I think that incident showed his sensitive/emotional side (also evident after Heysal) in contrast to at times what might've seemed like arrogance in his demeanour on the pitch (see his reaction which is pretty amusing really but perhaps a bit arrogant after the ref disallowed his goal in the 1985 Intercontinental Cup Final - that 'goal' showed his imagination and skill to it's full actually like a few he scored for Juventus after lobbing the ball over defenders and running through himself etc).