i didnt criticize anyone's list because they didnt put Ronaldo.. my comment was simply Real Madrid's history is too rich for 11 spots - so rich that a player of Ronaldo's quality doesnt make the C squad. Rather than personal criticism, it was more of a compliment towards the club's history.
What greatness? He was top scorer for 3 seasons for this team and that was it. I'm sorry but that is what an normal striker does. That does not earn you the title "Greatness". Would Ruud be a Real Madrid Legend if he repeats last season performance this year and next year? I think not. The benchmark is pretty high my friend.
I would actually pick Zidane over Laudrup, the man was definitely far suprerior than Laudrup that says a lot since Laudrup himself was great as well.
I kinda agree with you, it is a difficult task. But I was curious to see what people would say and how they view their best 11. For me I would never put Luis Enrique, NEVER, damn traitor.
Ronaldo is one of my favourites and it is true that he is a LEGEND. He is the best striker of his generation. He is a legend who played for Madrid but not Real Madrid footballer who was a legend. He did score a lot for Madrid but the legends of Madrid rise when the team call upon them, one example is Zidane's CL goal against Leverkusen. Raul has done that, the 50's and 60's Real Madrid has done it multiple times.
Last year's Madrid defnitely will be remembered for the comeback but we always forget to remember that Sevilla and Farca slipped at one point. We made the best of the opportunity. Last year there was a unity amongst players that we lost since the departure Del Bosque. And the team still looks a lot more united. I have to give where credit is due, I think it was Calderon's stupid remarks about the players to the media that did it. Players all united and had Calderon apoligize to them. And there was a little bit of Becks factor I guess, everyone wanted him to leave Real with at least one title, that doesn't Beckham single handedly won La Liga for Real like some of the English media subtly like to put it along with FSC. The whole team played as one unit and there were single superstar that carried the burden. In terms of team spirit and unity it was one of the storied season for Real, but they were pretty dour to watch though. This year's Real will probably destroy last year's Real, especially in the midfield area. Its too early to state this but the current Real Madrid has shown some promise to be remembered as a great dynasty in the future. Majority of the key players are young and they have signed long term conrtacts and with the veteran leadership in certain key positions these players will be polished and put on showcase soon, now that would be mouth watering. But this thread I guess is not about that, sorry I kinda went off track, what can I say I am just too passionate about Real just like all of you. Can you blame me???
I don't think anyone forgets that and I don't see why that makes the title any less great (assuming of course that you only bring that up to show that last season's team wasn't as epic as people think). Both Barca and Sevilla had numerous chances throughout the season to crush our hope and put us out of the title race, but they didn't. Whether we played bad or not doesn't compare to what the team accomplished, they pulled themselves back from the dead and won a title that looked destined for either Barca or Sevilla. I hate how people constantly bring up the fact that Barca and Sevilla slipped as if to say we just got lucky. We beat and drew against Barca and beat Sevilla when it truly mattered. While it would have been great to be in first place form matchday 1 and retain that place til matchday 38, last season's team showed us that never say die attitude of old. We took our chances at the end and won the title. The fact that Barca and Sevilla slipped up shouldn't mean that what the team did last season wasn't legendary. Remember, we ended level with Barca on points with Sevilla just a few points behind that. They never once knocked themselves out of the title race. They made it harder on themselves but were always in it til matchday 38. That is what I think people fail to remember.
You are misunderstanding my point, last year was an epic season not only for Real but also for La Liga, the whole football world's eye were on La Liga's last day since that was the only major football league that wasn't decided. However, it wasn't all us, there a bit of luck involved. Where we should get give the team credit is that they made the best of their opportunities when it counted, the team's unity was real tight and there was a sense of selflessness in the team. But it came around the right time. We can never overlook Farca and Sevilla's slip ups, I am blind Real fan but what's true is true if they hadn't gone through a down phase it wouldn't real tough for us. We were quite a few points behind both of them. I don't discredit Real's title, its not easy to go and win a championship anyways, you must make effort from your end anyways, but in this case Farca and Sevilla slip ups did help, you can't deny that.
--------------Casillas--------------- ----Sanchis--Hierro---R.Carlos-- -------------Redondo-------------- ---Gento----------------Zidane--- -------------Di Stefano------------ Puskas-------Sanchez--------Raul
........................Zamora Pachín.....Santamaría....Hierro....Roberto Carlos ...........................Pirri .......Zidane........Puskas....................Gento ..........Di Stefano.........Hugo Sánchez And no, Ronaldo can't even clean the boots of those in this 11.
I don't deny the fact they slipped up. In fact, I knew they had to slip up for us to win, we all did. But it's not like they both lost all their remaining games just handing us the title. They were still in it til the end. Like I said, they made it harder on themselves to win the title. In the end they didn't. I don't like saying that we won the title because Barca and Sevilla slipped up. We won it because we capitilized on their mistakes, beat them when it counted, and stuck our nose out in front just that little bit and kept it there. Yes, we had luck. But you always need luck to win a title.
Juanito would be in all the lists. He is the most wanted player by people that go at Bernabéu and possibly the most charismatic in all Real Madrid history. My starting 11 would be: ----------------Zamora (or buyo)--------- Ramos---------Hierro-----Santamaria------Camacho. ----------------------Redondo------ Michel----------------------------Zidane---------------------- ---------------------Di estefano------------------- -------------------------------Juanito ---------------Puskas------------ iN the bench I would put: Butragueño, Hugo Sanchez, Camacho, Kopa, Rial and Sanchis.
Starting lineup: Casillas Salgado..... Camacho..... Hierro.... Carlos .......Zidane.... Redondo.... Laudrup....... .......................Raul.......................... ......Hugo Sanchez......Di Stefano.......... Bench: Buyo, Santamaria, Ramos, Solari, Makalele, Puskas + all there players mentioned here
Casillas Camacho-Hierro-Santamaría-RC Michel-Zidane-Di Stefano-Gento Puskas-Raul It's pretty damn hard. I had to cheat putting Camacho on the right (although he did play there fairly frequently when Gordillo was also on the team). I also have no real DM, but screw that. I am missing important staples like Hugo Sanchez, Butragueño, Juanito, Santillana... but if you have to have only two forwards, Raul and Puskas are pretty unbeatable. I know Zamora is a legend, but barring a tragedy Casillas is going to retire with a truckload of silverware and the record for games played for both RM and Spain. You can't do much better than that.
Well, guys call me selfish but I was a little selfish about it, wanted to see who various Real Fans would pick in their best 11. Anyways, if you guys want I can close this thread, considering one guy here is getting all worked up about it.