Physical skills don't have much anything to do with intelligence. Again, just because a mind is at hard work with a physical activity doesn't mean there is a whole lot of unique creative thinking, creative ideas, problem solving, etc. ... There are a lot of animals on this planet that can do amazing physical tricks, but are quite dumb.
Eh I was just speaking out of my ass...its allowed here..hehe.. I noticed that Collocini has some real good positioning and makes some good tackles here and there but he often misses and gets the players legs. Maybe the fatigue added to his quick temper though.
The two that stand out to me: High IQ - Carlos Gamarra. Was the rock in the the center of Paraguay's defense in the 1998 World Cup, where he played every minute for Paraguay without committing a single foul. Low IQ - Denilson. Has the uncanny ability to dribble through four or five defenders... en route to the corner flag.
Now here's an example of "off field low IQ" the guy just doesn't get it! A good example of "on field high IQ" If you ever hear Scholes give an interview you'd wonder who ties his shoe laces though!
I mentioned Iuliano (though he's no longer a vital player) for similar reasons--he's someone who made a career for himself despite having very little talent/ skill. I think that is a sign of intelligence. When Ombak mentions Pele, he is talking about cleverness and wit, I assume, which are also signs of high on-field IQ. I have that great clip of Pele going the opposite direction of the ball, dancing round the keeper, collecting it, and shooting it across the face of goal. (It narrowly missed wide.) But that was genius. Zola, by the way, was another extremely witty player--just seemed to always improvise his way through a defense. In response to the poster who trashed the 'idea' of the thread: I think the term IQ is frightening you more than anything. We can say there are some very clever players, while others are not as smart on the field. There are ways to measure it . . . however subjective. I know from my own experience that I always envied smart players, because I often tried to over- compensate after making a mistake, or was provoked into losing my temper. It takes a real kind of wisdom to do everything right on the field, in the heat of the moment.
high -fernando redondo deserves to be mentioned amongst one of the smartest footballers ever. low - ivan helguera, how did this muppet ever become a footballer? the only thing he seems to do well at is score with his head.
By the way I think this thread brings up an interesting side question--players with a low on-field IQ who are nonetheless great/ impressive. The first names that come to my mind here are Gerrard and Totti. Gerrard because he plays without rhyme or reason and often gives the ball away; Totti because the street type of game he plays (which includes all sorts of minor forms of cheating) is so transparent to referees. But both can turn a game, and both play with a lot of passion.
Any slow(runner) player who is top ranked has a great footballing brain. A few examples: Terry, Riquelme, Scholes, Makelele, Zidane, Xavi etc, etc. They constantly outwit superior atheletes to survive and thrive at the top of the game. Another sample group of extremely intellient players are those who are much, much quicker then others athletically, still keep control of all their faculties and manage to play the game quickly and elegantly: Henry, Eto'o, Robben, etc they see things quicker then other players and react to scenario's before average players even know what is going on. I admire top scoring goal poachers for their intelligence. Of all time I believe Gerd Muller is the most intelligent player ever. He was not blessed with the gifts most all-timers have and yet he scored a phenomenal amount of goals in his career simply by seeing the field in bullet time. Baresi is another brilliant example - often the slowest player on the pitch and often the best as well.
I would add Pirlo to that list. The guy is small, slow, frail, and extremely unphysical, but somehow he's at the center of all that Milan do (and lately he's Italy's hub too). A great brain.
Yea. These type of players are acknowledged for their intelligence by the media quite often actually...because they are so slow..and so physically ordinary or even sub=par (take Valderamma or Scholes- who has asthma} and yet manage to make things happen and constantly outwit players who are infinitely superior to them as athletes. I'm sure a team of such players could easily be assembled in a thread like this.
Eh? Thats only because hes soft-spoken, I bet hes actually smart.. not really your right actually, he doesn't seem or look smart.. plays good though most of the time and thats what really matters isn't it.
Conversely, many players with great speed or great ball control can do well in spite of a low football IQ. I can think of some Argentines. Claudio Cannigia was not very bright, but a constant pain in the ass to defenses because of his speed. Piojo Lopez also has similar characteristics, maybe a slightly higher IQ. And then there's Ariel Ortega, a brilliant dribbler with great touch, always dangerous even though he was basically uncoachable. He never had a concept of a game plan and basically did whatever he wanted on the field.
Yes I agree I would add someone like Giggs to a list like that. Raw ability gets such players by and a natural instinct for the game. Funnily enough Although I admire most of the truest greats ever to play the game..Pele, Maradona and co I don't really think about them in threads like these. They have an unnatural advantage over others. Their perception of the field..and their own awareness of what they are capable of is different to the kind of smarts I think of for physically inferior players.
also add maradonna to that list because all his talent was natural i don't think he ever learnt much other than what he self-taught.
there is little symbolic reasoning going on in Football now a days, thats why you saw Germany get embarassed on their own pitch by Brazil and Argentina... it don't take a genius to have good vision or make a good pass. Sorry but I just don't see the genius in most footballers... I watch to see players with character that to me is entertaining, and thats what its all about, its just a game its not rocket science or brain surgery its just a simple kids game, there is no secret to how the ball is supposed to be played, I guess that is a fundamental difference between some people.
i've always been amazed by riquelme. he is helplessly slow. he's always been a creative force though. he's always been able to dribble through several players and then lay it off. valderrama too. he just seemed to be in the right place at the right time and make the right plays.
No, I dissagree with that. Maradona may have been stubborn on the field sometimes, but he had great IQ. (At least about football matters). He was one of those players who anticipated the play and read it ahead of everybody else, and that is one of the many reasons why he was so dominant on the field of play. Romario is another player similar to Maradona. Also very smart on the field, although more lazy than Diego. There is a difference between being stubborn and not listening to the coach sometimes (like Diego or Romario) and being uncoachable (Like Ortega.) Riquelme reminds me a lot of Valderrama at his prime, that's a good call.
I disagreed with Zidane. yes, he has a high IQ in terms of version on the field. however, Since you are talking about the control of temper, he is not so good. He is no "Rooney" or Edmundo, but he is not the one who "keep their cool and do whatever they can to prevent their teammates from getting into trouble or going over the edge". he received a number of high profile red cards because he went over his head.
Both Pele and Maradona got good natural high IQ on field, but their IQ off the field is pretty bad. maradona, needless to say... Pele is now the king of bad quotes.
For the high IQ, I agree with the earlier mentions of Gamarra and Redondo (man could he control a game) In a similar vial I would like to mention Javier Zanetti, never out of place, never looses the ball, cool as a cucumber, knows when to attack and when to defend, really reads the game well. True class. He will be much harder for Argentina to replace than any midfielder, as they produce those by the gross. For the low IQ, I cannot really think of any not already mentioned at the moment.
Their footy IQ was there for all to see but I'm saying wwhen you can do anything you want with a ball, can jump higher than most and have a natural skillsetthat is peerless...I would think they percieve things very differently to someone who knows they have limitations and therefore has to always be a step ahead of play just to recieve a ball.
High IQ- Cahill deserves respect he's no great talent but he alway's seems to thinking recently described as the 'invisible man' for his stealth on the field. Low IQ- Titus Bramble the personification of a 'brainfart' p.s My favourite all time smart player was Kevin Keegan.
I think Maldini is amongst the smartest players ever, not just because he is slowing down and is still the best player on the pitch more often than not, but because most people don't realize he is right-footed. He's doing everything with his opposite foot.