Best Footballer Of All Time

Ive always had a problem with this question. Football is game of 11 positions so how do you compare how one player can be better than another say George Best or Gordon Banks?. Most pundits will say its about beating the best and winning trophys so poor George wouldnt get a mention coz he didnt do it in a world cup. Surely the question should be categorised best forward, defender etc. Someone has stated that Maradonna took the Argies and won the world cup yes he did and Pele won 2. So how do you tell who is the greatest ever? Well if you listen to the so called experts and say it was Maradonna or Pele for their World cup wins or Johan Cruyff for his European cups or Franz Beckenbaur for his times with Germany then their really is only one player who can be in the frame for it. The player with more medals than Albert Trotter. It can only be Paulo Maldini.

Different eras, styles of play and standards of opposition make it impossible to prove.

Pele was great but only spent his playing career in Brazil, so his opponents weren’t as great as in Europe.

For me it’s a toss up between Zidane, Messi and Maradona. What they could do with a football was beyond belief, yet Cruyff, Pele, Best, Ronaldinho etc weren’t bad either.

Spot on, Retired.

90% of people (probably closer to 98% on this forum) have their opinions formed by the media, or by their mates who have been influenced by the media, or by people they have never met on an internet forum who happened to post their opinion first and saved them the trouble of forming their own.

I think you have been listening to Tyldesley going way over the top in commentary backed up by his bumboy Townsend.

Is the above your own true opinion or are you simply led astray by the fierce opinions of a modern day football commentator?

I’m genuinely curious I see lots of people on forums having opinions which happen to have been formed by somebody on the telly. Perhaps if you watched the game muted you would have a different opinion?!

Regardless, the lad needs to transfer his ability to the international scene and win more across board trophies to be even considered up there with the best. My pick is Zidane for ability but most of all his club & international achievements which are breathtaking. The guy has won everything from club to personal awards.[/quote]

I was kind of trying to make the same point but could not be arsed writing as much :D

First 3 paragraphs totally spot on, However a little more sceptical on the last. I don’t think doing it at international level makes that much of a difference these days. The days when Bobby Charlton played every game for his country and only managed a handful of caps in retrospect to the Rooney’s and Beckham’s of this world is a completely different ball game. George Best was and probably still is the best winger (Inside Forward) of his time (maybe all time) but Northern Ireland did not make his career any greater, The same in this day and age can be said of Ryan Giggs, We all know how good he is but turning out for Wales made no difference to him. You could flip your point though Andy and also say that Zidane, Pele and Maradona e.t.c were only recognized because of their respective countries successes in their time.

It is a very difficult subject but for me, If a player has talent, Whether he be Brazilian, Zimbabwean or Maltese then it should be recognized on club football over International. A player could play 10 times for his country in a regular season but re-wind 20 years or so and they were lucky to get 5.

As i say though, Talent is talent. We all know how good Cantona was but how many of us actually knew about the man who deprived him of his place in the French squad until later in his career because no bugger had heard of him in this country until his mid 20’s. Step forward Zinedine Zidane.

There are far too many players for me to pick just one. It would be easier if the question was to pick your favourite ever 11 because i think choosing one is too much of an ask. And if picking the 11 only choosing players you have seen, Not jumping on the Pele, Zoff e.t.c bandwagon if tha knows what i mean.

I failed to mention how my opinion on Zidane is based upon the modern era of footballer. Best player ever for me is Pele.

Zidane’s goal in Champs League final, two headers to win the 98′ World Cup and also helped his country win the European Championships. I have copied the following from Wiki: –

Honours
[edit] Club

* France Girondins Bordeaux
o UEFA Intertoto Cup:
+ Winner: 1995
o UEFA Cup:
+ Runner-up: 1995–96

* Italy Juventus
o Serie A:
+ Winner: 1996–97, 1997–98
+ Runner-up: 1999–00, 2000–01
o Supercoppa Italiana:
+ Winner: 1997
+ Runner-up: 1998
o UEFA Champions League:
+ Runner-up: 1996–97, 1997–98
o UEFA Super Cup:
+ Winner: 1996
o Intercontinental Cup:
+ Winner: 1996
o UEFA Intertoto Cup:
+ Winner: 1999

* Spain Real Madrid
o La Liga:
+ Winner: 2002–03
+ Runner-up: 2004–05, 2005–06
o Supercopa de España:
+ Winner: 2001, 2003
o Copa del Rey:
+ Runner-up: 2001–02, 2003–04
o UEFA Champions League:
+ Winner: 2001–02
o UEFA Super Cup:
+ Winner: 2002
o Intercontinental Cup:
+ Winner: 2002

[edit] Country

* France France
o FIFA World Cup:
+ Winner: 1998
+ Runner-up: 2006
o UEFA European Football Championship:
+ Winner: 2000

[edit] Individual
Ballon d’Or awarded to Zidane in 1998

* Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year – 1994
* Ligue 1 Player of the Year – 1996
* Serie A Foreign Footballer of the Year – 1997, 2001
* UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year – 1998
* FIFA World Cup Final Man of the Match – 1998
* World Soccer Awards Player of the Year – 1998
* Ballon D’or – 1998
* L’Équipe Champion of Champions – 1998
* French Player of the Year – 1998, 2002
* Onze d’Or – 1998, 2000, 2001
* FIFA World Player of the Year – 1998, 2000, 2003
* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team – 1998, 2006
* ESM Season XI: 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04
* World Soccer 100 Greatest Players of the 20th Century – 1999
* UEFA Euro Player of the Tournament – 2000
* UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament – 2000, 2004
* Serie A Footballer of the Year – 2001
* UEFA Team of the Year – 2001, 2002, 2003
* UEFA Champions League Final Man of the Match – 2002
* Best Foreign Player in La Liga – 2002
* UEFA Club Footballer of the Year – 2002
* FIFA World Cup Dream Team – 2002
* FIFA 100 Greatest Living Footballers – 2004
* UEFA Best European Player of the Past 50 Years – 2004
* FIFPro World XI All-Star Team – 2005, 2006
* FIFA World Cup Golden Ball – 2006
* UNFP Honorary Award – 2007
* Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award – 2011

Step forward Zizou: – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLddUfcfErg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdy5fKdLvL8

Leo Messi hasd a long way to go yet :D

Here’s one for you then: who is best English player you’ve seen?

Has to be Gazza for me.

Hoddle reminds me of Gomez in many ways.