Best Striker At Their Prime?

Discussion in 'The Beautiful Game' started by Bavarian14, Dec 27, 2018.

  1. Isaías Silva Serafim

    Real Madrid
    Brazil
    Dec 2, 2021
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    Well I don't think his lack of goals from set pieces are due to his injuries. In the parma game i sent earlier he also scored a free kick. I think it's due to having better set piece specialists at Real Madrid and Milan for example than he used to have at Inter. At Real Madrid there were Robert Carlos and Beckham for example.
     
  2. Wiliam Felipe Gracek

    Santos FC
    France
    Feb 3, 2024

    [​IMG]
     
  3. carlito86

    carlito86 Member+

    Jan 11, 2016
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane would likely have been ahead of him in the pecking order for set pieces at Real Madrid during that period aswell.


    For Brazil the primary options would have been Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo and later on Ronaldinho Gaucho.


    Take Yaya Touré as an example
    He scored four direct free kicks in the 2013/14 season with an exceptional conversion rate yet never replicated anything close to that before or after.


    It’s entirely possible that R9’s five free kick goals in his first Inter season were simply an outlier rather than a reflection of consistent ability. The type of injury he suffered wouldn’t meaningfully affect his capacity to take or score free kicks.


    Similarly, the idea that his supposed elite playmaking at Inter failed to develop further because of injuries is laughable.

    Was Van bastens playmaking ability even remotely affected by the million kicks he sustained in Italy?

    Roberto Baggio?
    He was already a crippled player at 18 years old
    Roberto Baggio — Lessons from Football’s Silent Artist | by Rational Badger | Medium

    R9 tends to be given the benefit of the doubt in situations where others wouldn’t be even when the arguments don’t hold much weight.


    Even after 2002, with the ball at his feet, he remained one of the fastest attackers in the world. Between 2002 and 2004, it’s hard to name any attacker in Europe who was clearly faster aside from Thierry Henry and possibly Samuel Eto’o.
     
  4. Wiliam Felipe Gracek

    Santos FC
    France
    Feb 3, 2024

    " Many many people in the world " around lovely " treat Ronaldo Nazario de Lima as an orphaned and poor player raised by charity homes. " !

    Eusebio had 8 knee surgeries... it didn't stop Eusebio from scoring Olympic goals.


    This is bizarre.

    Ronaldo Nazario de Lima and Ronaldinho Gaucho...

    are being evaluated "lovingly" as poor boys from charity homes and humanitarian aid.


    They were skilled artists, so they cannot be seriously analyzed.
     
  5. Wiliam Felipe Gracek

    Santos FC
    France
    Feb 3, 2024

    Batistuta ...almost...
    amputates the legs !
     
  6. Isaías Silva Serafim

    Real Madrid
    Brazil
    Dec 2, 2021
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    Yeah I share that same view. The only thing his injuries affected are his dribbling ability. But he could still use the knock ahead and run on counter attacks but not the fast change of direction or that unpredictability and waist movement to dribble in tight spaces against well positioned defenses.

    His pace and finishing ability weren't affected and he got more service at Real Madrid (assist providers) than he ever had before. And that also has to do with him being less individualistic and trying to do all by himself. He could focus only at scoring goals as there were Zidane, Figo and Roberto Carlos playmaking so it would be redundant for him to drop deep, get the ball and carry until the goal like he used to do. He could rely on his teammates and open passing lanes for them via off the ball movement
     
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  7. Wiliam Felipe Gracek

    Santos FC
    France
    Feb 3, 2024

    Yes

    History doesn't change anymore...

    The Real Madrid fiasco

    Galactico

    from 2003-2004 season
    until
    2005-2006 season

    with Luxa



    Things improved somewhat with the arrivals of Fabio Capello, Cannavaro, and Nistelrooy.

    but already wasn't more the Galacticos group . !

    Real Madrid ...was good until Claude Makelele ...

    later ..without him..

    What a trash at all !
     
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  8. Wiliam Felipe Gracek

    Santos FC
    France
    Feb 3, 2024

     
  9. Tropeiro

    Tropeiro Member+

    Jun 1, 2018
    Off-the-ball movement, ball carrying ability and dribbling ability are incredible desirable for an attacker, and he lost a lot of that. He was still fast, but not as fast and definitely couldn't move as efficient as he moved before his knees exploded.

    I agree that finishing ability didn't deteriorate, but I guess it didn't improve either tho, it is hard to finish when you dribble two or three players or carry the ball for 50 meters, so he was still a top finisher and gave the illusion he was perhaps more efficient.

    But what I found interesting is that the decreasing of Zidane in 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 seasons was even more drastic than that of R9 and no one talks much about this. The feeling of the Galacticos Real Madrid was of a team of famous players who already had all the glory and they are waiting to retire, that was the vibe, and also a big jump in salary between the so called galacticos and the common player from the academy or other obscure teams are always in discussion and politics.

    2007-2008 was a much less talented Real Madrid but actually had better foundation and players with more desire to conquer things.
     
  10. Al Gabiru

    Al Gabiru Member+

    Jan 28, 2020
    #2285 Al Gabiru, Apr 8, 2026
    Last edited: Apr 8, 2026
    We cannot go to extremes. Without injuries, Ronaldo Nazario would not have become such a great playmaker, but at the same time his injuries were not the same as those many players in the past suffered. It’s a bit extreme to downplay Ronaldo’s injury, which was a rare case. He lost mobility and movement in a way different from other players mentioned. Van Basten in 1985 and in 1989 were not such different players. Ronaldo’s heat map changed radically. Just watch a video of Ronaldo at Inter compared to Real Madrid. This was confirmed by specialists such as Mourinho.

    Inter had good free-kick takers like Djorkaeff and Recoba, yet Ronaldo Nazario still took responsibility and scored goals. Taking free-kicks requires repetitive effort, and it is not recommended for someone who has suffered a serious injury.



    Regardless of what we imagine Ronaldo Nazario might have become, the numbers show that he was never a great header or a true playmaker. Yet he was a real threat from direct free-kicks, possibly an elite dribbler and foul-drawer, until he stopped being that after 2000, but he remained a great goalscorer and explosive within 10 meters.
     
  11. Loco

    Loco Member+

    River Plate
    Argentina
    May 1, 2005
    Miami
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    Says who? You? You are in a position to know what I, or anyone in this forum, know?

    The hubris from all you regarding stuff that you google is hilarious.

    I'm old enough to have seen the most potent strikers in the last 50 years, and my comment stands. So go and google yourself a personality. And maybe some humility
     
  12. Wiliam Felipe Gracek

    Santos FC
    France
    Feb 3, 2024

    It still doesn't provide details of Gerd Muller's entire matches.


    You made a crazy mix of words that makes absolutely no sense.


    What you saw about

    continues to represent

    000000, 00001%
    of the history of Football
     
  13. Wiliam Felipe Gracek

    Santos FC
    France
    Feb 3, 2024
    [​IMG]


    The King Striker is here on this photo as simple as that !
     
  14. Wiliam Felipe Gracek

    Santos FC
    France
    Feb 3, 2024
  15. Isaías Silva Serafim

    Real Madrid
    Brazil
    Dec 2, 2021
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    Come on man, who were djorkaeff and recoba close to Roberto Carlos, Figo, Zidane, Beckham. They were nothing. So it didn't matter if it was Ronaldo, Djorkaeff, or Recoba who were going to take the set pieces. There was no one of that level to take set pieces. In fact, Ronaldo didn't even take set pieces for the national team before his injury. So it's not because of the injury
     
  16. Isaías Silva Serafim

    Real Madrid
    Brazil
    Dec 2, 2021
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    How exactly did Ronaldo lose off the ball movement after the injury? Ball carrying and dribbling I agree. And why is it harder to finish after dribbling 3 players? Isn't the goal of dribbling to take an easier shot? As I said, at real Madrid Ronaldo could rely on his playmaking teammates and focus on scoring goals cause there were no need of a striker creating his own opportunities. In fact that would be a waste. The playmakers needed someone to be unmarked and unnoffsided to finish the chances they were creating.
     
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  17. Loco

    Loco Member+

    River Plate
    Argentina
    May 1, 2005
    Miami
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    Correct. And to make your argument stronger, this thread is "Best Striker At Their Prime?", so before Ronaldo got his knee injury, would've been his prime. So who cares about post-injury (but he was awesome even after his knew injury)

    El Fenomeno was unstoppable in his prime;
    • Unstoppable at his peak (1996–2002): At his best, he combined elite speed, power, and technical skill in a way no defender could consistently handle. OnevOne, he could breakdown any defender.
    • Complete skillset: Could dribble like a winger, finish like a poacher, and create like a playmaker, there were no real weakness in attack. He didn't park himself in front of the goal, he ran.
    • Explosive acceleration: First few steps were unmatched for a striker; defenders were beaten before they could react. Like I stated above, 1v1 he could breakdown any defender.
    • 1v1 dominance: Perhaps the greatest striker ever at taking on defenders directly, regularly slicing through entire backlines.
    • Clinical finishing: Scored with both feet, from distance, in tight spaces, and under pressure. He found goals.
    • Big-stage performance: 2× World Cup winner, 2x Copa America, Golden Boot in 2002, decisive in finals and knockout games throughout his career.
    • Era context (how dominate was he compared to the other strikers of his era?): Dominated in a more physical, defensively disciplined era (Serie A peak), making his output even more impressive. And his time, he was the #1 striker in the world, and we all knew it.
    . . . now, I will wait for the troll to tell me that I have only watched 00000.000000000001% of soccer of some stupid s like that.
     
  18. Al Gabiru

    Al Gabiru Member+

    Jan 28, 2020
    This is an analysis for today. Recoba was once the highest-paid player in the world in 2000.

    https://www.news24.com/recoba-worlds-top-paid-footballer-20001221

    In the video I posted earlier, there’s a direct free-kick goal by Ronaldo for the national team.
     
  19. Frank73

    Frank73 Member

    Inter Milan
    Brazil
    Mar 22, 2025
    Italy

    He was "O Fenomeno", not El Fenomeno.
     
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  20. Frank73

    Frank73 Member

    Inter Milan
    Brazil
    Mar 22, 2025
    Italy

    Recoba was one of the biggest president Massimo Moratti's fixations. A beloved president by Inter MIlan supporters for being passionate at the edge of madness, he ended up being the laughing stock of everyone else for spending ridiculously huge sums of money with little to no logic (some pundits say his expenditures amounted to a grand total of 1 billion euro). Recoba became the highest paid player in the world because he lucked at finding a president overwhelmed by passion (and by the "ghost" of his father Angelo Moratti, the president of world-conquering Inter Milan of the 60s, whose memory the son Massimo felt obliged to honor by matching him in trophies). Nobody else in the world would pay Recoba so much. He was not a tier one player even in his prime among his contemporaries, let alone an all-timer. If Recoba was a genius for scoring some long distance fancy goal (some very nice one, don't get me wrong), Eder Aleixo was the GOAT.
     
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  21. Isaías Silva Serafim

    Real Madrid
    Brazil
    Dec 2, 2021
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    "OnevOne, he could breakdown any defender" Except for Lilian Thuram lol

    "create like a playmaker" disagree. He could create his own goals sometimes but not much for others a consistent playmaker (chance creation) like Figo, Zidane or Beckham of the late 90s for example

    Having said that, I think no other striker in history combined that level of goalscoring with elite dribbling and speed. Most strikers who score a lot of goals are usually poachers/fox in the box. And those who have that level of dribbling usually doesn't score that many goals. Prime Ronaldo is unique for this.
     
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  22. Franz Puskas

    Franz Puskas Member

    Newcastle United
    United States
    Jun 30, 2025
    I *love* this photo! I've got a massive poster of the 1974 "Weltmeisterschaft", but this is a great informal, candid image. Thanks for sharing!
     
  23. Franz Puskas

    Franz Puskas Member

    Newcastle United
    United States
    Jun 30, 2025
    Throughout the 1990s, few strikers could match Alan Shearer. Sure, maybe he's not in your debate of "best", but Shearer is definitely in my field of view.
     
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  24. Wiliam Felipe Gracek

    Santos FC
    France
    Feb 3, 2024

    Ruben Sosa ... and Ruben Paz much better than Recoba as simple as that !
     
  25. Wiliam Felipe Gracek

    Santos FC
    France
    Feb 3, 2024

    I disagree totally from you Isaias Why ??? :


    Firstly ... You starts totally wrong

    You're wrong not to include things like:

    defensive work, positioning, Mental Attributes, Offensive & defensive Off the ball Job , Stamina , Endurance and tactical awareness&game reading& scanning in this entire package.

    from being number 10 and number 9 at the same time ..in gullit's case number 4 and number 7 also

    like Harry Kane says :

    He explains very very well and very clearly how to become a more complete and better attacking midfielder and striker ..

    I think no other striker in history combined that level of goalscoring with elite dribbling and speed. this is the wrong feeling ... on my view




    Romario Prime ....

    1987-1995


    Marco Van Basten Prime

    1984-1989 ...


    George Weah ...Prime ..

    1989-1996

    Eusebio Prime


    1961-1968


    Mbappé ;;;; currently ....




    Gerd Muller ...Prime

    1969-1977 ..
     

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