Best Soccer Players Of Each Decade

Discussion in 'Players & Legends' started by Daniel96, Jan 1, 2012.

  1. Daniel96

    Daniel96 Member

    Aug 12, 2011
    Australia, NSW
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    Thanks PDG1972.
    Everything looks good but for the 90s, Ronaldo is #1.
    And I think we need to wait until 2014 to know for sure if Neymar should be in the list haha, but we will still keep him in the list :)

    Messi and Neymar are more of the 2010 (10s) decade generation.
    Messi started to become the best in the world in 2010 and thats when Neymar started to become world known. So in the future they wont be considered in the 00s Generation (2000-2010) with Ronaldinho and Zidane.
    The 2010 (10s) Generation are players born in the late 80s and 90s such as Messi and Neymar.
    But its still too early to say Messi is #1 of the 2010s, because within 5 years Neymar can become #1, or maybe someone else can come along and be #1 which I doubt but still you never know.
    But its most likely going to be out of Messi or Neymar, and we need to wait until 2014 World Cup to see if Neymar is better.

    My Best Of Each Decade, In order.
    50s - Di Stefano, Puskas, Yashin
    60s - Pele, Garrincha, George Best
    70s - Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller
    80s - Maradona, Platini, Zico
    90s - Ronaldo, Laudrup, Romario
    00s - Ronaldinho, Zidane, Thierry Henry
    10s - Messi, Neymar, C.Ronaldo

    Still need to wait a few years to see who is best on the 2010s (10s), I think 2014 World Cup will give us the answer for who is the best of the 10s. But Its preety much out of Messi or Neymar.
    Ronaldinho in his 02-06 prime years is unmatched in the 2000s (00s), so its a hard decision on who is better Ronaldinho or Zidane.
    Ronaldinho has a exceptional style of play, so I think Ronaldinho might be just a touch better than Zidane.
    :)
     
  2. gilmour86

    gilmour86 Member

    Oct 23, 2011
    Club:
    Palmeiras Sao Paulo
    definitely, the 90´s had a lot of legends and I also believe it´s really difficult to name the top 3 here. but I would go with Baggio, Romário and Ronaldo, I think it´s the most logical choices.
     
  3. babaorum

    babaorum Member+

    Aug 20, 2005
    Marseille
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    The main problem concerning Benbarek is that we have very few footage of him (of course) and that his carreer was spoiled by WWII. However, he's always described as an exceptional striker by his contemporaries. For example, when asked about the greatest players, Raymond Kopa answered that behind Pele, Di Stefano and Puskas (the three greatest players ever according to him), the best players he saw were Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Platini, Stanley Matthews and... Larbi Ben Barek (with whom he played for France once). This says a lot about Ben Barek's greatness I think.
     
  4. msioux75

    msioux75 Member+

    Jan 8, 2006
    Lima, Peru
    If you considered to include Houseman in this list. Then Oreste Omar Corbatta must be a sure pick, since he's widely regarded as the best argentinian Right Winger of all times.
     
  5. Once

    Once Member+

    Apr 16, 2011
    Unless I have read this same post a few times :)):eek:) I think I have seen you clarify that many times... You should also keep in mind that Uruguay lost O. Varela to injury for that game. For that reason Schiaffino took his place as center-half and, for what I have read, his remarkable performance was largely influencial for Uruguay to come back from being 0-2. In fact, with the game 2-2 and a minute left or so, a shot by Schiaffino was inevitably going in for what would have been certain victory for Uruguay, but the ball's pace was slowed down by the mud on the pitch enough for a Hungarian defender to clear it inches awar from the goal line. For the extra time it was a 11 aganst 10 game as Uruguay lost Andrade to injury.
     
  6. Once

    Once Member+

    Apr 16, 2011
    My best guess:

    1930s
    First half - Meazza, Sindelar, James, Monti, Orsi
    Second half - Sarosi, Erico, Sastre, Szepan, Nejedly

    1940s
    First half - Moreno, Pedernera, Bican, Zizinho, Labruna
    Second half - Mazzola, Deak, Moreno, Matthews, Zizinho

    1950s
    First half - Puskas, Schiaffino, Nordahl, Kocsis, Di Stefano
    Second half - Di Stefano, Kopa, Didi, Fontaine, Finney

    1960s
    First half - Pele, Garrincha, Suarez, Eusebio, Sivori
    Second half - Eusebio, Charlton, Best, Pele, Tostao

    1970s
    First half - Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Muller, Netzer, Rivelino
    Second half - Kempes, Keegan, Rensenbrink, Zico, Platini

    1980s
    First half - Zico/Platini, Falcao, Maradona, Rummenigge, Socrates
    Second half - Maradona, Van Basten, Gullit, Matthaus, Baresi

    1990s
    First half - Baggio, Laudrup, Romario, Stoichkov, Maldini
    Second half - Ronaldo, Zidane, Rivaldo, Raul, Bergkamp

    2000s
    First half - Ronaldinho, Zidane, Henry, Figo, Ronaldo
    Second half til now - Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Cristiano, Eto'o
     
  7. PuckVanHeel

    PuckVanHeel BigSoccer Yellow Card

    Oct 4, 2011
    Club:
    Feyenoord
    Almost agree except:

    First half 80s needs Dalglish in the top 5. Why is he so underrated?

    First half 70s is a prey for Van Hanegem.
     
  8. JamesBH11

    JamesBH11 Member+

    Sep 17, 2004
    Very good list Once

    However IMO:
    2nd half 50's: Puskas > Finney
    2nd half 60's: Pele >= Best, Charlton
    2nd half 90's: Bergkamp > Raul
    2nd Half 2000: Ronaldo > Figo
    2nd haf til now: CR7 > Iniesta, Etoo
     
  9. Daniel96

    Daniel96 Member

    Aug 12, 2011
    Australia, NSW
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    Everything looks good except for the 90s, how can you have Brazil Ronaldo that low? he should easily be in the TOP 3 of the 90s, in my opinion he is #1 there.
     
  10. Once

    Once Member+

    Apr 16, 2011
    No, no. I have him at n1 for the second half of the 90s. Also at n5 in the first half of the 2000s (though Im not absolutely sure about that one).
     
  11. PDG1978

    PDG1978 Member+

    Mar 8, 2009
    Club:
    Nottingham Forest FC
    Yeah, just to help out.... you mean 1st half 90's= years 90-94 and second half 90's=years 95-99 not 1st half=top 5 of 90's and 2nd half=6-10 of 90's.
     
  12. Once

    Once Member+

    Apr 16, 2011
    Yeah.. For the first half of the decade.. those are the players I feel were the most outstanding. For the second half of the decade, those other guys were the ones I feel were the most outstanding. I did not limit the time too strictly when I did it. Its a bit flexible. First half = 90-95 and second half = 95-99 more or less.
     
  13. PDG1978

    PDG1978 Member+

    Mar 8, 2009
    Club:
    Nottingham Forest FC
    Yeah, after your post I had a think about my similar lists but I think I might actually find it easier to split the decades into 3 (early, middle, late eg 90-3, 93-96, 96-99) as some players excelled in the middle of a decade and then it'd be a matter of ignoring less impressive form at the start or end or downgrading them from their prime level when rating them for the 'start'(eg 90-95) or 'end'(eg 95-99) depending on if rating on peak or on overall performances over 5 years or so. 2 recent examples of players excelling in the middle of a decade would be the Brazilians Ronaldinho and Kaka. It could also apply to those who were at their best at the turn of a decade like Rivaldo, Figo and Shevchenko or going back further someone like Karl-Heinz Rummenigge maybe.
     
  14. Il Gigante Buono

    Il Gigante Buono New Member

    Jul 11, 2011
    Club:
    Leeds United AFC
    Pretty much agree with most of the names in the list but I'm really surprised to find that no players from Don Revie's great Leeds team make the cut. Billy Bremner deserved a mention for his contributions in the 60s and early 70s.
     
  15. Daniel96

    Daniel96 Member

    Aug 12, 2011
    Australia, NSW
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    Yee man I understand now sorry, because Ronaldo played in the late 90s, so he goes into the 2nd half which is 1995 and up.
     
  16. Once

    Once Member+

    Apr 16, 2011
    Thats a good idea. I thought about it when I was writting that post. My attempt:

    1930s
    Early: Meazza/Sindelar, James, Orsi, Ferrari/Schaal
    Mid: Meazza/Sindelar, Nejedly, Monti, Sarosi
    Late: Sarosi, Erico, Sastre, Szepan, Szengeller/Meazza

    1940s
    Early: Moreno/Pedernera, Bican
    Mid: Labruna/Zsengeller, Bican
    Late: Mazzola, Deak, Matthews/Puskas

    1950s
    Early: Puskas, Hidegkuti, Kocsis, Nordahl, Kubala/Liedholm
    Mid: Di Stefano, Puskas, Kopa, Schiaffino, Czibor
    Late: Di Stefano, Kopa, Didi, Fontaine, Charles/Pele

    1960s
    Early: Pele, Garrincha, Suarez, Sivori, Puskas
    Mid: Pele, Eusebio, Suarez, Law, Greaves
    Late: Charlton, Eusebio, Pele, Best/Tostao

    1970s
    Early: Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Muller, Netzer, Van Hanegem?
    Mid: Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Muller, Figueroa, Rivelino
    Late: Kempes, Keegan, Rensenbrink, Zico, Platini (or Dalglish/Falcao/Passarella?)

    1980s
    Early: Zico, Maradona, Rummenigge, Falcao, Platini/Socrates
    Mid: Maradona, Platini, Francescoli, Zico, Souness?
    Late: Maradona, Van Basten, Gullit, Hugo Sanchez, Matthaus

    1990s
    Early: Van Basten, Baggio, Matthaus, Laudrup, Stoichkov (or Romario/Papin/Bergkamp?)
    Mid: Romario, Baggio, Laudrup, Klinsmann, Litmanen
    Late: Ronaldo, Zidane, Rivaldo, Bergkamp, Batistuta/Raul

    2000s
    Early: Zidane, Raul, Henry, Rivaldo, Figo/Owen (Kluivert?)
    Mid: Ronaldinho, Henry, Gerrard/Lampard/Pires/Riquelme/Deco
    Late til now: Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Cristiano, Etoo

    Did my best. Its impossible. Surely missed many names.
     
  17. PDG1978

    PDG1978 Member+

    Mar 8, 2009
    Club:
    Nottingham Forest FC
    Nice attempt and it looks very well informed :).
    I'll have a look through my own sometime and see where I might add any other names. Probably Kaka in the mid 2000's for one, but it's possible you didn't overlook him but felt those other players edged him out. I actually favour Pires more for the early 2000's I think before his injury although certainly when he returned he became an even more effective goalscorer and was a key player for 'Invincibles' Arsenal.
    The 30's and 40's might be even harder for me this way and would be pretty vague, but I know a little about Ferrari of Italy who you mentioned for example.
    Daniel will be pleased to know we both agree with him for the late 90's ;), although I think it'd be the mid-to-late 90's period which seels it for Ronaldo (definately no point narrowing it further!, but I'd say '96, particularly '97 and also '98 are when he was the best in the world which would be enough to get number 1 for the late 90's even if '99 had been more of a disaster; like if he'd scored 10 own goals before his injury maybe).
     
  18. msioux75

    msioux75 Member+

    Jan 8, 2006
    Lima, Peru
    I did something like that for South American players. I don't finish yet, but i like to know your thoughts
    Best South American players by position in each decade
     
  19. Daniel96

    Daniel96 Member

    Aug 12, 2011
    Australia, NSW
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    Thanks but can you please put the best player of each decade in (bold writing or underlind or put #1) or something so we can know who is #1 of the decade.

    example
    90s - Ronaldo, Romario, Laudrup

    Thanks
     
  20. United_xxx

    United_xxx Member

    Aug 10, 2004
    Thailand
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Mine is:
    1990s
    Early: Van Basten, Baggio, Matthaus, Laudrup, Stoichkov (or Romario/Papin/Bergkamp?)
    Mid: Baggio, Romario, Savicevic,Laudrup, Litmanen
    Late: Ronaldo, Del Piero, Rivaldo, Zidane, Bergkamp, Batistuta/Raul

    2000s
    Early: Henrry, Zidane, Raul, Rivaldo, Figo/Owen (Kluivert?)
    Mid: Ronaldinho, Henry, Gerrard/Lampard/Pires/Riquelme/Deco
    Late til now: Messi, Cristiano, Xavi, Iniesta, Rooney, Etoo
     
  21. Daniel96

    Daniel96 Member

    Aug 12, 2011
    Australia, NSW
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    Come on man, are you serious?
    Ronaldo has to be #1 of the 90s, and you dont even have him in your TOP 3

    Zidane and Ronaldinho are better than Cristiano and espically Rooney.
    Fair enough for Thierry Henry, but Ronaldinho, Zidane and Messi are heaps better than the other two.
    And how on earth is Rooney better than Ronaldinho, Zidane and Messi? you have to be joking.

    (Zidane - Ronaldinho - Messi) > (Henry - CR7 - Rooney)

    I think you favor EPL and Man United way too much.
    Anyway doesnt matter because thats your opinion.
     
  22. Gregoriak

    Gregoriak BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 27, 2002
    Munich
  23. Gregoriak

    Gregoriak BigSoccer Supporter

    Feb 27, 2002
    Munich

    He must have been some kind of player.

    In the European Cup season 1956-57, he once scored 3 goals against Real Madrid in one half:


    Meanwhile, Real Madrid had had a gruelling path to the semi final. In the first round, they had met a strong Rapid Vienna, with Ernst Happel anchoring defense and Gerhard Hanappi making his side’s play. The first went tolerably according to plan, at least for 89 minutes, as Karl Giezser scored the 2-4 in the last minute, which gave Rapid a good chance of at least tieing in the return leg. That return leg was attended by 60,000 people in Vienna’s Prater stadium, and these 60,000 arguably witnessed the finest day in Ernst Happel’s career as a professional. The center half scored some three times in the first half alone, once per penalty. Nobody would have bet a penny on the great Real at half-time. But then Santiago Bernabeu visited his players in the dressing room. “We are not on vacation here! I don’t know if you comprehend this, but you are wearing the logo of Real Madrid on your chests!” At least di Stéfano comprehended that. After 60 minutes he scored the 1-3, which was the final score of the game. Both teams had to engage in a third encounter.
     
  24. PDG1978

    PDG1978 Member+

    Mar 8, 2009
    Club:
    Nottingham Forest FC
    That looks like excellent work and very extensive, and I'll be looking through it in more detail. I'd seen the thread where comme added the World Soccer World XI's but I notice you have threads for each decade.
    I'd also read that thread keenly before and it was a great idea. btw, I'd also read that story about Happel before and it would have been unbelievable for him to knock-out Real Madrid with a first half hat-trick (Di Stefano saved the day for the Spaniards though).
    I think there is confusion after your request (to bold or underline the top players of each decade) because it looks like United_xxx bolded the players he included that Once didn't but he was still listing top 5's (approx.) for early, middle and late in the decades and not choosing a top 3 overall for the decades.
     
  25. Daniel96

    Daniel96 Member

    Aug 12, 2011
    Australia, NSW
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    ahh shit sorry United_xxx, I didnt realise that you were naming the missing players the other person forgot to put in.
     

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