Who is the greatest footballer (soccer) of all time?

[theparttimenerd]

Zinedine Zidane in my opinion was the best of his generation and in terms of walking the walk, he is more accomplished than CR and Messi. Dunno if he is the absolute best today but the man won everything there is to win, something both Ronaldo and Messi lack because both have not taken their national teams to glory. He won the Champions League, Ballon d'Or (1998), World Cup (1998), Euro (2000), Player of the Tournament in WC 2006 and Euro 2000, Won the La Liga title with Real Madrid. I never seen someone destroy a powerful team like Brazil the way he did in that 1998 final or 2006 quarterfinal, and that was way past his prime. I have yet to see Messi or Ronaldo deliver a powerful individual performance against a strong national team the way Zidane did. The only time he didn't live up to the hype was in the 2002 World Cup, other than that he was untouchable and delivered on the biggest of stages against the biggest opponents.

The man has the most complete career of any modern footballer. He delivered not only in club career but in international career, leading his NT to glory on two occasions and almost succeeding in his final attempt (2006). Ronaldo nor Messi are as complete has he is and that won't change until they do for Argentina and Portugal what Zidane did for France.

Zidane had quality CDMs though in Patrick Veira and Makelele

[theparttimenerd]

best defender

wizard, glad to see he's getting some recognition ITT. Hope one day the Serie A becomes the league filled with powerhouses like it once was.

[maplestreet]

Lol at you if you need a reason why this is the GOAT

RIP Cruyff

honorable mention to prime Ronaldinho, bar none the funnest player to watch when he was in his prime

[Fang2]

Pele or Maradona.

[GoldsNightCrew]

this list is pretty accurate

http://i.imgur.com/najvmP4.jpg

[Wh1teDyn0mite]

1. Messi (Don't really like he's style of football)
2. Maradonna
3. Pele
4. Old school Ronaldo
6. Zidane
7. CR7
8. George Best
9. Ronaldinho
10. Thierry Henry

[JamesAmbition]

this list is pretty accurate

http://i.imgur.com/najvmP4.jpg

put C. Ronaldo and Ronaldhino in GOAT Tier.

[masterfulsky]

messi and christiano have never even won the world cup they dont make the top 10 (for ameribrahs this would be like claiming someone who never won the superbowl was the goat)

pele/zidane/beckenbaur/real ronaldo/xavi/romario/matthaus/muller all delivered on the big stage

But maradonna was the goat

[jimbob007]

Paolo Maldini is the GOAT
Better than Cannavaro, Lucio, Roberto Carlos, Baresi, Zambrotta, Vidic, etc.
Yes, I know he played left back, but for his position he was the best. I would go so far as to say the greatest defender that ever was. Players like Messi, and Ronaldo come and go. They have players that will always be up for debate as to who was better. Maldini's spot is basically undisputable. I haven't seen any defenders come close besides those that were in the Serie A in the early 2000's. Imagine a player at the age of 19 starting for his national team in a EURO. What if that player was a defender in the team of the nation that had the best defenders at the time?

Also, the attackers he would face in Champions League, International stage, and league were top tier. He was a relatively clean defender which can't be said of the likes of Chiellini and Bruno Alves. He excelled on both attack and defense unlike Roberto Carlos.

Has to be him or Baresi-Milan were lucky to have two such greats playing together all those years & then you throw Costacurta, Tassotti & Rijkaard-greatest defence ever. Baresi was really tremendous in the sweeper role as well. Christ that team were awesome in the 1990's.

[theparttimenerd]

this list is pretty accurate

http://i.imgur.com/najvmP4.jpg

Not really, Nesta at demi god?!
No Kahn or Maldini at GOAT? You would think that the two players who are basically the best in their position would be GOAT level. How is Buffon on God, and Kahn at demi god?
LOL at how Zidane is on GOAT, but the CDMs (Makelele) responsible for him being up there are just at very good when they should be at great or demi god even. Seedorf and Kaka should both be bumped up. Kaka is probably the best CAM to have ever come up for counterattacking squads, he was the center piece of the glorious 2006 AC Milan squad. If Xavi is at god tier then Iniesta should be also. Cafu should be up in god tier. Baggio should be bumped down into demi god. The reason being that sometimes he would have big blunders. Penalty kick misses, and being the 2nd best player to a nobody (Toto Schillaci) in World Cups.

[JJMacD]

GOAT

[rookie999]

Not really, Nesta at demi god?!
No Kahn or Maldini at GOAT? You would think that the two players who are basically the best in their position would be GOAT level. How is Buffon on God, and Kahn at demi god?
LOL at how Zidane is on GOAT, but the CDMs (Makelele) responsible for him being up there are just at very good when they should be at great or demi god even. Seedorf and Kaka should both be bumped up. Kaka is probably the best CAM to have ever come up for counterattacking squads, he was the center piece of the glorious 2006 AC Milan squad. If Xavi is at god tier then Iniesta should be also. Cafu should be up in god tier. Baggio should be bumped down into demi god.

Ronaldo and Zidane should both be a tier lower.

[theparttimenerd]

Ronaldo and Zidane should both be a tier lower.

Nah, Zidane did what Platini did better. Ronaldo proved himself in every league he ever went to. For the few years that he was healthy at Inter he dominated like Adriano did later on (before he went down in form). Ronaldo has proven himself at World Cups unlike Messi, and he dominated the Serie A which at the time was the most physical. I would say it even surpassed the Barclays back then.

[rookie999]

Nah, Zidane did what Platini did better.

Actually every Frenchman that saw both will tell you Platini was the better player. Zidane wishes he ever played a tournament like Platini's Euro 84.

Ronaldo proved himself in every league he ever went to.

We shouldn't hold it against Messi that he never played anywhere else, he's the guy the best team in the world revolves around.

[theparttimenerd]

Pele (Ex Brazil) - “At the moment, Messi is the Best!”

Pele's word means nothing really. There are so many times that he's been hilariously wrong about stuff. This is one of the few times that he is right.

[MarioZ93]

[DeadlyStriker]

Not really, Nesta at demi god?!
No Kahn or Maldini at GOAT? You would think that the two players who are basically the best in their position would be GOAT level. How is Buffon on God, and Kahn at demi god?
LOL at how Zidane is on GOAT, but the CDMs (Makelele) responsible for him being up there are just at very good when they should be at great or demi god even. Seedorf and Kaka should both be bumped up. Kaka is probably the best CAM to have ever come up for counterattacking squads, he was the center piece of the glorious 2006 AC Milan squad. If Xavi is at god tier then Iniesta should be also. Cafu should be up in god tier. Baggio should be bumped down into demi god. The reason being that sometimes he would have big blunders. Penalty kick misses, and being the 2nd best player to a nobody (Toto Schillaci) in World Cups.

The list is pretty accurate. I would maybe put maldini on GOAT. Kaka had a few amazing years. That's it. I agree with iniesta being with xavi. Don't ever say that about zidane though. Any player in the world will say zidane is one of the best/or best to have ever played the game. If you don't recognize that and use his teammates to downplay how special of a player he was, you are an idiot.

I agree with a lot of what you said, but some of it is pretty asanine.

[theparttimenerd]

Actually every Frenchman that saw both will tell you Platini was the better player. Zidane wishes he ever played a tournament like Platini's Euro 84.



We shouldn't hold it against Messi that he never played anywhere else, he's the guy the best team in the world revolves around.

My comment about Ronaldo was referring to snubbing him down a tier. It wasn't a statement over Messi. Had it been so I would have said to knock Messi down a tier.

Fair enough, I never saw Platini (other than a few highlights and parts of games), but the era that Zidane played in was against more difficult opponents.

[DeadlyStriker]

lol if you think otherwise.



srs

Someone else with some smarts. You can't necessarily call him the best ever just because of his shorter career and injuries, but to me he is by far the best skilled/naturally gifted player. Zidane easily insisted ronaldo was the best.

I remember me and my teammates watching hours of videos of him while on a trip (when he retired) and we were all in pure amazement. His ability and pure dribbling ability is unmatched by any player that we have ever seen. We all have our opinions, and that is mine, but watch the hours of footage on him and try to tell me otherwise. Sad that bad injuries ruined his career. IMO the most talented to have ever played

[JamesAmbition]

The list is pretty accurate. I would maybe put maldini on GOAT. Kaka had a few amazing years. That's it. I agree with iniesta being with xavi. Don't ever say that about zidane though. Any player in the world will say zidane is one of the best/or best to have ever played the game. If you don't recognize that and use his teammates to downplay how special of a player he was, you are an idiot.

I agree with a lot of what you said, but some of it is pretty asanine.

The list did not include Zlatan Ibrahimovic, one of the best strikers ever.

[DeadlyStriker]

The list did not include Zlatan Ibrahimovic, one of the best strikers ever.

I only took a quick glance at it. Zlatan should be in God tier. One of my favorite players.

That is a but ridiculous. But I am guessing this was just made by some guy with his opinions. So to each their own

[JamesAmbition]

I only took a quick glance at it. Zlatan should be in God tier. One of my favorite players.

That is a but ridiculous. But I am guessing this was just made by some guy with his opinions. So to each their own

Agreed with this, he should be in God tier.

[terrysorange]

messi and christiano have never even won the world cup they dont make the top 10 (for ameribrahs this would be like claiming someone who never won the superbowl was the goat)

pele/zidane/beckenbaur/real ronaldo/xavi/romario/matthaus/muller all delivered on the big stage

But maradonna was the goat

Such a crappy argument. If Higuain hadn't missed that chance vs. Germany, that would suddenly make Messi the GOAT? wat?

[rookie999]

Agreed with this, he should be in God tier.

Absolutely not. Not better than Figo, Bergkamp or Nedved.

[Bearlet]

Probably Messi. Pele and Maradona is some of the greatest players ever, no question about it. They carried teams to win leagues and world cups and both has amazing well known highlights. C.Ronaldo is pretty great too... but Messi does everything better. Playmaking, goal scoring, you name it. The argument that he only does it with great team mates and against crap teams are pure BS. He has carried Barcelona on his shoulders many times including vs. Arsenal, PSG and Bayern (where he scored some of the most beautiful champions league goals ever).
Unfortunate that he can't stop the choking in the final stages of WC/Copa, but there is in my mind no question about how freaking unbelievable he is.
His 91 goal calendar year is probably one of, if not The greatest year any footballer has ever had, 50 goals in one la liga season (compared to i.e. Suarez 40 this year), 640 games and 500+ goals scored at the age of 29. Hate him or love him, but there is no comparison when you factor in the longevity and some of his brutally dominant seasons where he just smashed through everything almost by himself.

Zidane, Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo, C.Ronaldo will all have places as all time greats, but when they all retire I can see no other outcome than Messi being head and shoulders above the rest (if he keeps it up for a few more years).

[theparttimenerd]

The list is pretty accurate. I would maybe put maldini on GOAT. Kaka had a few amazing years. That's it. I agree with iniesta being with xavi. Don't ever say that about zidane though. Any player in the world will say zidane is one of the best/or best to have ever played the game. If you don't recognize that and use his teammates to downplay how special of a player he was, you are an idiot.

I agree with a lot of what you said, but some of it is pretty asanine.

I'm not downplaying Zidane, I just don't see how the CDMs are down so low. Makelele (Chelsea, France, and RM), Vieira (France), and Seedorf (AC Milan) all deserve more props. They don't get enough credit. I made that statement because for both club and international teams that he played in he had CDMs carrying the bulk of the offensive/defense game. Like Kaka with Gattuso and Seedorf. That's not to say both Kaka and Zidane don't deserve merit. It's that the CDMs dont get enough props.

Gattuso, he didnt even get a name mention.

Kaka should never had gone to Madrid. Even at the 2010 WC, coming off a groin injury he played stellar. Had he stayed healthy, he would easily be the best CAM right now.


Oh and no Drogba in the list either :/

[JamesAmbition]

Absolutely not. Not better than Figo, Bergkamp or Nedved.

He has won in every league he has played in, except the Swedish league, when he was at the beginning of his career. When it comes to titles, the only thing left for him is the Champions League.

He is tied for 7th place for best scorer in CL history.

And he scored the greatest goal I have ever seen against England.

[Rooney15]

Wayne Rooney

[LaCosaNostra90]

messi and christiano have never even won the world cup they dont make the top 10 (for ameribrahs this would be like claiming someone who never won the superbowl was the goat)

pele/zidane/beckenbaur/real ronaldo/xavi/romario/matthaus/muller all delivered on the big stage

But maradonna was the goat

World cup =/= Super Bowl. Messi and Ronaldo have both won leagues and champions leagues. Scored more goals than anyone. Its not their fault their national teams suck

[rookie999]

He has won in every league he has played in, except the Swedish league, when he was at the beginning of his career. When it comes to titles, the only thing left for him is the Champions League.

He is tied for 7th place for best scorer in CL history.

CL history is a bit more than 20 years, and modern day players are favored because they play more CL games than 20 years ago.
Zlatan's teams chronically underachieved with him as a central figure. PSG underachieved the last years, Inter won the CL the first year he left and his year at Barca was not a great chapter either.