as much as i admired the player george best. he ofcourse was a dumb person. he once stated in an interview that he was far better then cruyff. thats fooling yourself. as an overall player cruyff was way more complete and important to a team then george best
I'll complete these comparisons lists: Voters who included Maradona but not Cruijff Law- di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Best, Beckenbauer Eusebio- Pele, di Stefano, Garrincha, Maradona, Charlton Papin-Pele, Maradona, van Basten, Beckenbauer, Platini Baggio-Maradona, di Stefano, Pele, van Basten, Baggio Zidane-Maradona, Francescoli, van Basten, Pele, Platini Voters who included Cruijff but not Maradona Kopa-Pele, Puskas, di Stefano, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Suarez-di Stefano, Pele, Cruyff, Platini, Charlton Masopust -Pele, di Stefano, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Platini Florian Albert-Pele, Puskas, di Stefano, Cruyff, Kopa Cruyff -Beckenbauer, Platini, van Basten, Cruyff, Pele Blokhine-Pele, Yachine, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Blokhine Keegan-Pele, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Best, Platini Matthaeus-Mueller, Platini, Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Voters who included both Charlton-di Stefano, Platini,Pele, Maradona, Cruyff Rivera- Pele, Maradona, di Stefano, Beckenbauer, Cruyff Beckenbauer- Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, di Stefano, Yachine Simonsen - Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Platini,Beckenbauer Rummenigge-Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Maradona, di Stefano Rossi-Pele, Maradona, Platini, Cruyff, Zoff Belanov-Platini, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Gullit-Cruyff, Pele, Gordillo, Maradona, Platini Van Basten-Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Platini,Beckenbauer Stoitchkov-Pele, Platini, Cruyff, Romario, Maradona Weah-Pele, Platini, Cruyff, Maradona, Milla-Charlton Sammer-Beckenbauer, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Walter Ronaldo-Zico, Maradona, Pele, Cruyff, Platini Rivaldo-Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Zico, Garrincha Voters who excluded both Mueller- Di Stefano, Puskas,Beckenbauer, Pele, Fontaine
most talented players were/are arrogant (in their own self) Maybe Best took Pele's comment a bit "too seriously" in something like : "the most salute of my life when Pele called me the BEST" p ) I agree with you that Cruijff was a better player in "completeness, leadership, influential, and intelligent" than G. Best ever was. The only category Best might be better was his close ball control and dribble. That was IT, and besides the fact that his "peak years/form" was so SHORT.
Voters who included Maradona but not Platini Law- di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Best, Beckenbauer Eusebio- Pele, di Stefano, Garrincha, Maradona, Charlton Rivera- Pele, Maradona, di Stefano, Beckenbauer, Cruyff Beckenbauer- Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, di Stefano, Yachine Rummenigge-Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Maradona, di Stefano Baggio-Maradona, di Stefano, Pele, van Basten, Baggio Sammer-Beckenbauer, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Walter Rivaldo-Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Zico, Garrincha Voters who included Platini but not Maradona Suarez-di Stefano, Pele, Cruyff, Platini, Charlton Masopust -Pele, di Stefano, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Platini Cruyff -Beckenbauer, Platini, van Basten, Cruyff, Pele Keegan-Pele, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Best, Platini Matthaeus-Mueller, Platini, Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Voters who included both Charlton-di Stefano, Platini,Pele, Maradona, Cruyff Simonsen - Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Platini,Beckenbauer Rossi-Pele, Maradona, Platini, Cruyff, Zoff Belanov-Platini, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Gullit-Cruyff, Pele, Gordillo, Maradona, Platini Van Basten-Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Platini,Beckenbauer Papin-Pele, Maradona, van Basten, Beckenbauer, Platini Stoitchkov-Pele, Platini, Cruyff, Romario, Maradona Weah-Pele, Platini, Cruyff, Maradona, Milla-Charlton Ronaldo-Zico, Maradona, Pele, Cruyff, Platini Zidane-Maradona, Francescoli, van Basten, Pele, Platini Voters who excluded both Kopa-Pele, Puskas, di Stefano, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Florian Albert-Pele, Puskas, di Stefano, Cruyff, Kopa Mueller- Di Stefano, Puskas,Beckenbauer, Pele, Fontaine Blokhine-Pele, Yachine, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Blokhine
I personally don't believe in such clear demarcations, not across eras. Certainly the influence of Cruijff isn't something that Van Basten hasn't (although he receives occasionally a large part of the credit for bringing 'attacking football' to Italy) but I'm not sure whether he was categorically a better footballer and in this thread I've posted a few snippets where Cruijff himself says something similar like in the book 'mis futbolistas y yo' of 1993. You can read it back what he said in that book: https://www.bigsoccer.com/community/...ho-voted-for-who.1597402/page-2#post-26902618 And such view is at least consistent with what he has said since a teenager: there is no best. From the library I lent a version of Radnedge his football encyclopaedia, and I posses another one. In the 2002 version it is literally said that he had perhaps won more Ballon d'Ors without the ankle trouble and all other injuries. It is said that he first got international acclaim for the 1983 Youth World Cup and also the 1994 version says that the 1.5m transfer fee to Milan was very much at the low end. It ends with: "Milan looked to a half-fit Van Basten in the 1993 Champions Cup Final against Marseille in Munich but he had played only 15 intermittent league games all season and the challenge proved beyond him. He never played again. At least he left a wonderful legacy for football's memory - one of the all-time great international goals." So the 'might have been' factor plays a part perhaps and I think Zidane and Papin maybe also saw Van Basten play live and not Cruijff. It is better to point at guys like the British Denis Law who saw various people play. The status of a football nation has also a role of course in such rankings. Obviously the Bosman ruling and many other structural changes by the UEFA and FIFA have pushed the Netherlands to the periphery (and not only the Netherlands) but by 1995 the Netherlands was fifth in the all-time table of all European club competitions combined (EC, UEFA Cup, CWC, Fairs Cup), even fourth in the European Cup table, fifth in the UEFA Cup/Fairs Cup table and ninth in the CWC table (which was logical because the domestic cup wasn't a big priority or very strong). The source is Guy Oliver his Guinness Book of World Soccer (page 190-192).
Voters for Maradona but not Beckenbauer Eusebio- Pele, di Stefano, Garrincha, Maradona, Charlton Charlton-di Stefano, Platini,Pele, Maradona, Cruyff Beckenbauer- Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, di Stefano, Yachine Rossi-Pele, Maradona, Platini, Cruyff, Zoff Gullit-Cruyff, Pele, Gordillo, Maradona, Platini Baggio-Maradona, di Stefano, Pele, van Basten, Baggio Stoitchkov-Pele, Platini, Cruyff, Romario, Maradona Weah-Pele, Platini, Cruyff, Maradona, Milla-Charlton Ronaldo-Zico, Maradona, Pele, Cruyff, Platini Zidane-Maradona, Francescoli, van Basten, Pele, Platini Rivaldo-Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Zico, Garrincha Voters for Beckenbauer but not Maradona Kopa-Pele, Puskas, di Stefano, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Masopust -Pele, di Stefano, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Platini Mueller- Di Stefano, Puskas,Beckenbauer, Pele, Fontaine Cruyff -Beckenbauer, Platini, van Basten, Cruyff, Pele Blokhine-Pele, Yachine, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Blokhine Keegan-Pele, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Best, Platini Matthaeus-Mueller, Platini, Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Voters who included both Law- di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Best, Beckenbauer Rivera- Pele, Maradona, di Stefano, Beckenbauer, Cruyff Simonsen - Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Platini,Beckenbauer Rummenigge-Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Maradona, di Stefano Belanov-Platini, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Van Basten-Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Platini,Beckenbauer Papin-Pele, Maradona, van Basten, Beckenbauer, Platini Sammer-Beckenbauer, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Walter Voters who excluded both Suarez-di Stefano, Pele, Cruyff, Platini, Charlton Florian Albert-Pele, Puskas, di Stefano, Cruyff, Kopa
Voters for Di Stefano but not Cruijff Law- di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Best, Beckenbauer Eusebio- Pele, di Stefano, Garrincha, Maradona, Charlton Mueller- Di Stefano, Puskas,Beckenbauer, Pele, Fontaine Baggio-Maradona, di Stefano, Pele, van Basten, Baggio Voters for Cruijff but not Di Stefano Cruyff -Beckenbauer, Platini, van Basten, Cruyff, Pele Blokhine-Pele, Yachine, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Blokhine Simonsen - Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Platini,Beckenbauer Keegan-Pele, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Best, Platini Rossi-Pele, Maradona, Platini, Cruyff, Zoff Belanov-Platini, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Gullit-Cruyff, Pele, Gordillo, Maradona, Platini Van Basten-Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Platini,Beckenbauer Matthaeus-Mueller, Platini, Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Stoitchkov-Pele, Platini, Cruyff, Romario, Maradona Weah-Pele, Platini, Cruyff, Maradona, Milla-Charlton Sammer-Beckenbauer, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Walter Ronaldo-Zico, Maradona, Pele, Cruyff, Platini Rivaldo-Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Zico, Garrincha Voters who included both Kopa-Pele, Puskas, di Stefano, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Suarez-di Stefano, Pele, Cruyff, Platini, Charlton Masopust -Pele, di Stefano, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Platini Charlton-di Stefano, Platini,Pele, Maradona, Cruyff Florian Albert-Pele, Puskas, di Stefano, Cruyff, Kopa Rivera- Pele, Maradona, di Stefano, Beckenbauer, Cruyff Beckenbauer- Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, di Stefano, Yachine Rummenigge-Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Maradona, di Stefano Voters who excluded both Papin-Pele, Maradona, van Basten, Beckenbauer, Platini Zidane-Maradona, Francescoli, van Basten, Pele, Platini
Voters for Di Stefano but not Platini Kopa-Pele, Puskas, di Stefano, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Law- di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Best, Beckenbauer Eusebio- Pele, di Stefano, Garrincha, Maradona, Charlton Florian Albert-Pele, Puskas, di Stefano, Cruyff, Kopa Rivera- Pele, Maradona, di Stefano, Beckenbauer, Cruyff Mueller- Di Stefano, Puskas,Beckenbauer, Pele, Fontaine Beckenbauer- Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, di Stefano, Yachine Rummenigge-Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Maradona, di Stefano Baggio-Maradona, di Stefano, Pele, van Basten, Baggio Voters for Platini but not Di Stefano Cruyff -Beckenbauer, Platini, van Basten, Cruyff, Pele Simonsen - Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Platini,Beckenbauer Keegan-Pele, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Best, Platini Rossi-Pele, Maradona, Platini, Cruyff, Zoff Belanov-Platini, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Gullit-Cruyff, Pele, Gordillo, Maradona, Platini Van Basten-Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Platini,Beckenbauer Matthaeus-Mueller, Platini, Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Papin-Pele, Maradona, van Basten, Beckenbauer, Platini Stoitchkov-Pele, Platini, Cruyff, Romario, Maradona Weah-Pele, Platini, Cruyff, Maradona, Milla-Charlton Ronaldo-Zico, Maradona, Pele, Cruyff, Platini Zidane-Maradona, Francescoli, van Basten, Pele, Platini Voters who included both Suarez-di Stefano, Pele, Cruyff, Platini, Charlton Masopust -Pele, di Stefano, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Platini Charlton-di Stefano, Platini,Pele, Maradona, Cruyff Voters who excluded both Blokhine-Pele, Yachine, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Blokhine Sammer-Beckenbauer, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Walter Rivaldo-Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Zico, Garrincha
I have now all possible comparisons among the ones who ended 2nd to 6th I think: Voters who included Di Stefano but not Beckenbauer Suarez-di Stefano, Pele, Cruyff, Platini, Charlton Eusebio- Pele, di Stefano, Garrincha, Maradona, Charlton Charlton-di Stefano, Platini,Pele, Maradona, Cruyff Florian Albert-Pele, Puskas, di Stefano, Cruyff, Kopa Beckenbauer- Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, di Stefano, Yachine Baggio-Maradona, di Stefano, Pele, van Basten, Baggio Voters who included Beckenbauer but not Di Stefano Cruyff -Beckenbauer, Platini, van Basten, Cruyff, Pele Blokhine-Pele, Yachine, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Blokhine Simonsen - Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Platini,Beckenbauer Keegan-Pele, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Best, Platini Belanov-Platini, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Van Basten-Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Platini,Beckenbauer Matthaeus-Mueller, Platini, Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Papin-Pele, Maradona, van Basten, Beckenbauer, Platini Sammer-Beckenbauer, Pele, Maradona, Cruyff, Walter Voters who included both Kopa-Pele, Puskas, di Stefano, Cruyff, Beckenbauer Masopust -Pele, di Stefano, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Platini Law- di Stefano, Pele, Maradona, Best, Beckenbauer Rivera- Pele, Maradona, di Stefano, Beckenbauer, Cruyff Mueller- Di Stefano, Puskas,Beckenbauer, Pele, Fontaine Rummenigge-Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Maradona, di Stefano Voters who excluded both Rossi-Pele, Maradona, Platini, Cruyff, Zoff Gullit-Cruyff, Pele, Gordillo, Maradona, Platini Stoitchkov-Pele, Platini, Cruyff, Romario, Maradona Weah-Pele, Platini, Cruyff, Maradona, Milla-Charlton Ronaldo-Zico, Maradona, Pele, Cruyff, Platini Zidane-Maradona, Francescoli, van Basten, Pele, Platini Rivaldo-Pele, Cruyff, Maradona, Zico, Garrincha
I would think so. I have no doubt on Van Basten's talent. However, rating a player could be a lifetime research or just a trivia Both Basten and Ronaldo shared the same fate that their longevity/peak were cut short, and that hurt their legendary status.
@joaovatares - I managed to scan it in now if you want to print it off (so it might be easier to read) - as you can see all the choices are as stated on Xtratime, and there is a short piece of text in French to go along with it.
If there is a better thread to put this, it is OK but I thought about this. In the October 2010 issue, when World Soccer existed 50 years, they had short interviews with a number of 'legends'. To a few of them they asked the question which players they "admired the most in the past 50 years". Among the real top legends Di Stefano and Cruyff are notable absentees among the interviewed people (I know that Cruyff usually had not a great relationship with the magazine and the subscript below Zico, "considered by many the best [living] player to never have won the World Cup" will maybe not help LOL). Players of the past 50 years they admired the most [if the question was slightly different then I'll note] Zagallo: "Pele and Garrincha. The two of them were the greatest players I have ever seen and deserve to be at the top of every list of football legends that is compiled." Ponedelnik (question: best player [singular] he ever saw): "Several. Yashin, Pelé, Maradona, Cruyff, Beckenbauer." Denis Law: "What a lovely question. There are so many. My favourite goalscorer was Jimmy Greaves, without a doubt. He was the master of putting the ball in the net." Law also mentions: Johnstone, Mackay, Baxter, Bremner, the Tottenham team of 1961 (he never saw a better team he says), George Best, Charlton (the "greatest of players to have alongside you"), Stiles, Crerand. A long answer without much 'explanation'. Uwe Seeler: "Fritz Walter was a class apart in everything he did. So was Franz Beckenbauer, Pelé, Di Stefano, Puskas, Eusebio, the Spaniard Suarez and Bobby Charlton." Dragan Dzajic: "Pelé first of all. I also liked Omar Sivori very much. I appreciated Eusebio, Florian Albert, Sandro Mazzola, Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer, and in recent times Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Messi." Bobby Charlton: "So many and it's hard to pick out just one. But if I had to I'd go just outside the 50 years and say Duncan Edwards. I was alongside him every day at Old Trafford and he made me feel so inferior because he could do it all, and better than anybody - pass with left or right foot, score goals from 30 yards, head the ball so wonderfully. He could play in any position and be the best. I was in awe of Duncan and he was a giant already by the time of the disaster. I liked Johan Cruyff very much - and Ferenc Puskas. He didn't look like a footballer, but could he play. I remember how he embarrassed England at Wembley. When you go to the Nep Stadium in Budapest there is a plague on the wall about Puskas and his international career that tells you he played 85 games and scored 84 goals. That is just sensational. Maybe to a lot of people he looked arrogant. But he wasn't. He was just the most confident player you ever saw." Tostao: "We had an instant understanding from the first moment we teamed up in the national team. We instinctively knew what the other had in mind. Pelé always will be the number one. He had no weaknesses and made it all seem so simple on the patch." "[Besides Pelé, the other players I admired are] Cruyff, Beckenbauer, Bobby Charlton, Bobby Moore, Diego Maradona, Platini, Socrates, Zico. From my Brazil team I'd single out Gerson, who apart from being a technically outstanding creative midfielder was a true warrior and leader." Carlos Alberto: "Pelé, Garrincha, Didi, Jairzinho, Gerson, Rivelino. If you're talking about foreigners then my all-time favourites are Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Charlton and Eusebio." Franz Beckenbauer, after answering the question that he had two reasons to join NY Cosmos: "Pelé, who has to rate as the best player of all-time. He had 10 times as much skill as ordinary footballers, was unselfish and was a tremendous team leader. Brazil's World Cup winning side of 1970 will never be matched and he was at the heart of it." Gerd Muller: "Beckenbauer was nothing short of a genius and I don't say that because he was a team mate for my whole career. He made everything look so easy and wrote the manual for attacking sweepers. He and I could play one-twos blindfold." Elias Figueroa: "Pelé, Beckenbauer, Pedro Rocha, Carlos Alberto, Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, Teofilo Cubillas, Rivelino. There were also lots of other incredible players in my era who I had the great fortune to play with or against." Mario Kempes: "My idol was Pelé. Then there is Diego Maradona, Alfredo di Stefano, Johan Cruyff, Marco van Basten." "Maradona was just a boy when Pele was ending his career. Each one to his era, you can't make comparisons after 15, 20 or 30 years." Karl Heinz Rummenigge: "I've always appreciated the elegance of Brazilians, whether it be Pelé, Jairzinho, Rivelino, Socrates or Zico. Also Platini, Maradona, Cruyff, Keegan, Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller and Breitner." Grzegorz Lato: "I have three favourites: Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer and Pelé. But I especially admire Johan Cruyff. He had fantastic technical skills and playing vision on the field. He could conduct the team during the game in an absolutely perfect way." Paolo Rossi: "Oh, there are so many, but Maradona, Platini and Zico were really a world apart. It is not a manner of speaking, but the naked truth. Then there were many others. I think of Falcao, Karl Heinz Rummenigge, my former Juventus team-mates Zbigniew Boniek and Diego Tardelli, and in the national team, Bruno Conti - but those first three were real geniuses of football; unparalleled football geniuses." Michel Platini: "I've admired many players throughout the years and generations. But my idol, the player I admired most, was Johan Cruyff." Zico (about the new Pelé tag): "There is one Pelé only! Pelé is the greatest player of all time. He is incomparable and unattainable. Any comparisons with him are impossible. He was a phenomenon and my idol. I prefer people to know me as Zico." Emilio Butragueno (about "the best player you have seen"): "Maradona, no debate." Lothar Matthaus: "Diego Maradona was the most gifted player I ever saw. His skills were from another planet. Almost single-handedly he turned Argentina into World Cup winners and Napoli into Serie A champions. With all due respect, he carried those teams." Franco Baresi ("best player of your generation"): "Diego Armando Maradona is an obvious choice, but I have to say Marco van Basten, and not only because he was my long-time team-mate. I had the privilege to train with him every day and in training he was even more remarkable than in matches. I was lucky enough to guard the strongest players in the world but he was extraordinary, a complete striker and a very smart man. Sometimes he felt closed, introverted and distant from everybody, but it was just his way. Marco was a champion in every sense." Roger Milla: "I've never seen anyone come close to matching the brilliance of Pelé. He was a one-man spectacle, a front man with extraordinary skills who thought quicker than anyone else on the pitch. He did me the honour of writing the preface to my autobiography and thrilled me with his praise for my career." Romario: "Pelé, Maradona, Ronaldo, Zidane, Van Basten and Michael Laudrup. A lot of people get surprised when I mention Laudrup, but he was the best partner I have played with. He had two very good feet and was a brilliant passer. For a striker, playing with him was a blessing." George Weah: "Zinedine Zidane and Maradona for their ability to do anything they wanted with the ball. Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini for making defending look so simple. Pelé, whose goals still send shivers down my spine when I watch them on DVD." Georghe Hagi: "That's difficult to say. I played against Pelé when he was 50 and he was the most complete player. He remained an encyclopaedia of soccer. Maradona was charming, a player with fabulous technique who made incredible things happen with the ball at his feet. Johan Cruyff was fantastic. Platini convinced everybody that the game is about intelligence. Today, Messi is adding his name to such greats. Each era his its heroes and I'm proud to be among them." "Nicolae Dobrin taught me how to dribble, Platini to be clever on the field, Cruyff how to find the net." Zvonomir Boban: "Diego Armando Maradona. Believe me, the ball even made a different noise when he touched it." Zinedine Zidane: "As a youngster I loved to watch the tricks and elegant play of the Uruguayan attacker Enzo Francescoli at Marseille. I'd have paid to see Maradona, Michel Platini, Ronaldo and Xavi today." Ali Daei: "I consider Pele, Maradona and Messi out of this world. But for me Van Basten was a role model." Pavel Nedved: "When I was a kid I was a fan of Manchester United and was bewitched by guys like Cantona and Bryan Robson. In Italy I've had the good fortune to rub shoulders with some of the all-time greats: Zidane, Totti, Del Piero, Ronaldo." Andriy Shevchenko: "The great Dynamo forward Oleg Blokhin. He had unbelievable pace. I saw him on the field in one of his last seasons in a Dynamo shirt - a clear leader, dictating the pace, feeding his team-mates and scoring magnificent goals." Raul: "Thanks to film clips I've been able to fall in love with the Real greats like Di Stefano, Puskas and Gento. Growing up I was fascinated by the skills of Maradona, Baggio and Van Basten." Question not asked to: Egon Loy George Eastham Eusebio Gianni Rivera (not asked but says that football is in crisis and has a lack of developed talent) Teofilo Cubillas (says same as Rivera; not as many good players) Antonin Panenka (says also that football was better. "Without names on their shirt there would be no way of distinguishing them.") Zbigniew Boniek Dino Zoff Rinat Dasaev Daniel Passarella (says that Maradona is certainly not ranked among his friends. "Bilardo gave him the captaincy he always wanted when I fell ill and later I had to rebuke him for setting a bad example with his nocturnal escapades.") Ian Rush Diego Maradona (also critical of technical level of current game - saying that his generation had a better touch for the ball) Hugo Sanchez Enzo Francescoli Hristo Stoichkov (says that his Barca was better as the Guardiola led one; entertaining football and "one perfect coach") Gabriel Batistuta Sami al Jaber Hakan Sukur Pelé
So when restricted to Ballon d'Or winners only these are the names they drop (for full reasoning, and context see above). Denis Law: Favourite goalscorer: Jimmy Greaves. Also: Johnstone, Mackay, Baxter, Bremner, the Tottenham team of 1961, George Best, Charlton, Stiles, Crerand. Bobby Charlton: Duncan Edwards, Cruyff, Puskas Beckenbauer: Pelé Gerd Muller: Beckenbauer Rummenigge: Pelé, Jairzinho, Rivelino, Socrates, Zico, Platini, Maradona, Cruyff, Keegan, Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller and Breitner Paolo Rossi: Maradona, Platini and Zico Michel Platini: Johan Cruyff Lothar Matthaus: Diego Maradona Romario: Pelé, Maradona, Ronaldo, Zidane, Van Basten and Michael Laudrup Weah: Zinedine Zidane, Maradona, Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini, Pelé Zinedine Zidane: Enzo Francescoli, Maradona, Michel Platini, Ronaldo and Xavi Pavel Nedved: Cantona, Bryan Robson, Zidane, Totti, Del Piero, Ronaldo Andriy Shevchenko: Oleg Blokhin
Gosh, why Zidane kept on changing his votes? Where were Basten or Cruijff here but Xavi Blokhin was another "under rated" player ... that many forgot ...
Thanks Puck. Not surprised about Charlton's comments and naming Edwards (though it should be noted he didn't actually vote for him for the Player of the Century poll as per this thread). I know Shevchenko has also picked out Igor Belanov as well as Blokhin as a childhood hero of his, but also Ian Rush from non Dynamo Kiev players.
Well, was surprised that Charlton did not call his good friend Di Stefano. http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/bobby-charlton-perfect-xi Though he reckons Cruyff also among his friends; they frequently play golf and such. Charlton also accompanied him when he accepted the honorary president title (later stripped away by Rosell ofc, who had some old scores to settle). But he often spoke highly of Di Stefano and, per public knowledge, he likes him very much.
Surprises me the so high praise of Matthaus to a man he did not include in his Top5 for the France Football voting above...
Anyway ... people got older and sometimes confused ... Like Bobby said in the 70's “I sometimes feel as though football was invented for this magical player.” Yet in his latest best XI he confused between Pele and Puskas The same with Mathauss , Edwards and Di Stefano (as friend)
I thought Maradona and Matthaus liked each other? With Maradona not castigating Matthaus his man marking (for example) and Matthaus appreciating Maradona in general. I had that impression, not sure though. If so, it is strange indeed. Maybe he forgot him for the France Football vote in 1999! Maradona would play in his farewell game a year later.
Yep. I think it's possible to update it. Di Stefano now says Pele is the best ever. He probably has Maradona at second place. Cruyff probably did indeed send his list backwards. I think he rates Pele first and himself or Di Stefano second. Van Basten thinks Maradona is first. Ronaldo has said Pele is the best. Matthaus has said Maradona is the best. Gullit sometimes has Pele, other times, Maradona. And so on. But I think most have the same opinion. Rivera recently said Pele is the best ever and Zidane says Maradona.
Not sure if Di Stefano would put Maradona as 2nd ... (over Pedernera or Moreno as his peers) Zidane was a very "humble type" (personality) he said "Enzo was my Idol, even in my youth I always tried to play Platini's position. I never watched Pele, but of all players I watched or knew, Maradona was the best. Of all players I played with or against, Ronaldo was the best"
Di Stefano's prepared answer for every time they asked him about the best ever used to be "Munoz, Moreno, Pedernera, Labruna and Loustau". In the actual voting he seems to have gone with Maradona. I have seen him say he could not judge Pelé for he had not seen/followed his career. Now his most recent take is that Pelé was the best ever...