well were up to the playmaking midfielder, the #10, the man behind the strikers, the engine - this is a pretty impressive group, hope nobodys favorite is left out - close calls this time around: scholes, reyna, marcelinho, deco, yakin, ortega, kaka, barbarez, deisler, litmanen, riquelme, valeron
Juan Sebastian Veron, the greatest passer in the world and a man that can see and play balls other wouldn't dream of. admittedly out of form last season, but coming back into it this year. Absolutely amazed he was not even on the nearly list.
it's a hard pick. For a long time it was a 2 man deal between Rivaldo and Zidane (and maybe Veron) but the last years 2 new great attacking mids have appeared; Pablo Aimar and Ronaldinho Gaucho. I got the luck to see the match between Olympique Marseille and PSG yesterday and DAMN!!! Ronaldinho is goooood!!! But he is still too irregular. I'd say that it is a tie between Aimar/Ronaldinho/Zidane. I love Rivaldo but I think that after the WC he hasn't been his old self and lately he has been playing more as a striker than an offensive mid.
Juan Roman Riquelme, he's having a hard time adapting to Europe's life, but when he's on top form, he's the best at what he does, just ask Real Madrid.
i think its easy to annoint ZZ... but consider the teams hes played on (and teammates he played with) versus some of the others - i dont know, maybe i just think the gap between him and those other is closer than most - ballack has been an absolute horse for 2 years now, VDV is rub-your-eyes-great and valencia arent the same without aimar (ditto PSG and ronaldinho) - i also rate marcelinho very highly - he can make magic and was the 2nd to last cut (scholes being the ninth guy)
Zidane is so peripheral in loads of games. He won world player of the year in 1998 for 2 headed goals, because he was crap in the rest of the tournament. Madrid only bought him for the prestige, not for his footballing abilities.
I am not trying to argue with you here but you have got to be joking. ZZ has more skill and class with the ball on the feild than damn near anyone I have ever seen except maybe Maradona. I guess the prestige of the CL goal that won the match and handed Madrid their 9th Cup had nothing to do with his footballing abilities. Kinda funny though that some one who's crap seems to score such big goals on a regular basis and set up god knows how many more, on top of that just about every player who's played with him or against him has rated him as being in class by himself,but opinions are like a$$holes everyone has one.
Zidane will go down in history as the equal of Cruyff, Platini, and Eusebio. Incredible close control, beautiful style, a good shooter with both feet, and a habit of rising to the occasion.
Ballack is not an attack mid anymore like he was in Leverkusen. For Bayern he plays defensiv mid. He don't like that an he had a disput about that with coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. But he has to deal with this role. Bayern plays best when they control the game with a strong defense. Anyway: Ballack scored nine goals this season and gave many assists. He is very very talented and he is still young (26 years old) so he may get better and better. But no way to compare him with the best yet - Zidane. My - biased - pick for attack mid: Mehmet Scholl. He is often injured and he is old (31). But it's just a show to watch this guy playing football when he is fit. Technically the best bundesliga player in my opinion.
Zidane is a quality player but he's not the player people make out. the hampions league goal was superb and i have no problem with that but in the world cup 98, he was not amazing and knocked in 2 goals that Dion Dublin would have buried. Madrid bought him for the prestige (obviously partly his ability) because if they had a normal transfer policy they would have signed a good centre mid and a centre back. Maybe Nedved and thuram as Juventus did with the money they got from Zidane.
I know it is only a matter of opinion, but Zidane is the best player I've ever seen live. He simply does not give the ball away and can produce match-winning moments that other players simply cannot. He's awesome.
There's Zidane, and then there is everybody else. If I'm starting a world 11, he's my first pick. Incredible technical ability, great passer with outstanding vision, strong on the ball, does a decent job defending, makes his teammates look better, and is humble and unselfish.
Veron may give the ball away more but if he plays a goalscoring pass then it is worth the attempts. His assist against chelsea was the perfect example of why there is not a passer to rival him and he was absolutely imperious for Lazio.
Zidane. I had the priveledge of seeing him play against Roma at the friendly at Giants Sta last summer. Everything cpwilson, mobile, and lawmill said was evident in spades. I remember I just kept saying "No way!" because I just could not believe what I was seeing. It was the most amazing display I ever saw.