Zinedine Zidane

[Stephan]

Football has changed, nowadays most games are unwatchable and that includes some Juve games as well. No technique, it's all about athleticism.

How old are you? Capello juve was pretty unwatchable. Great players but boring football and outclassed in europe by inferior opponents on paper.

[Afghan_juventus]

I grew up with Zidane and Ronaldo. I've seen players after him.


Today we see a pass by Pjanic, and its called brilliance. We see a stepover and exit other side by Messi, and its genius. Ridiculous.



Zidane defined brilliance. Watching Zidane makes you call Pjanic pass 'nice vision' and messi's dribbel, 'somewhat predictable'. Zidane did things not a single human would have come up with at that point of time, and executed to perfection.

His ballcontroll was the best in history. There hasnt been a single player who could completely wrongfoot an entire 90ties calcio defence like zidane, with just a controll.
Not a single player i've seen who would do one time passes of the extravaganza he did, to perfection


Pirlo has these lovely long balls. Zidane gave long balls without looking at the player, one timed, while turning his marker the wrong way


Zidane is the player who defined new ways of feinting and dribbeling past his opponents, always with a clear goal to end up in a MUCH more dangerous position.


Juve had insane stacked teams in 97 and 98. ANd we blame zidane for not showing up. All that insane talent, but zidane not beeing top, and it didnt work.



Usually such legendary brilliance players are inconsistant. But zidane was by far and away the most consistant of all. Licking his wounds from the lost CL finals, he grew into learning to shine when the opponent was setup up to mark him all over the place.


Imagine Zidane in a modern era team. A balanced team, that accomplished him.



No. You havent seen Zidane(entire career), or Ronaldo (peak career), if you talk about modern players beeing superior. CR7 and Messi are special too. Against considerably inferior opponents

Still not a goat. The likes of Platini and Maradona are a tier above.

[Cerval]

Football isn't just Juve, matches were more interesting back then as a whole. Now quality is so diluted matches involving some high profile matches feels like second league material

[Gagi]

This GOAT talk is just boring.

[Juvellino]

Legend. Can't believe he's still in this section.

I think he should be moved back to legends section

[Afghan_juventus]

If you guys think some guy who left us for Madrid and obviously identifies with Madrid more than us deserves to be a Juve legend then Juve must not be a big club after all.............


If Zidane is a legend then Vidal and Pogba should most definitely be legends aswell.

[Vialli_92]

If you guys think some guy who left us for Madrid and obviously identifies with Madrid more than us deserves to be a Juve legend then Juve must not be a big club after all.............


If Zidane is a legend then Vidal and Pogba should most definitely be legends aswell.

And Bonucci

[Tak!]

He did slow play down a lot too, though. And I mean... a... lot... Nedved is a compleeeetely different player so I really don't want to compare. Naturally our style of play had to change. But damn, it was like a Ferrari vs Volvo on the autobahn. Zidane is the player that has wooed me the most, but he could also be extremely frustrating. A brilliant player to open up defences while Nedved was more of a runner/shooter. Love Nedved too, but for different characteristics.

All I want to say is that as esthetic it was to watch Zidane, I can also recall the frustration every game of Zidane being to slow off or with the ball.

[Afghan_juventus]

And Bonucci

While were at it add Inzaghi to that list too

[Ventus]

How does Zidane defines brilliance and genius ? Its actually easy to describe


Give a fragment of the game where Xavi or Pirlo receive a ball. You are told they'll split the defence with a pass. The fragment is paused, you get time and turn the camera 360°. Because of the time you are given, when watching football, alot, you'll have an idea what kind off pass they could have attempted. Thats called beeing insanely good cause they do it in the blink of an eye.


Give a Fragment where the ball goes to Zidane. Pause it. You are told he'll do a great thing that leads to a goal. You have 20 ideas. Play. Nope, zidane did something completely different, in a way you couldnt have predicted and it would put a bunch of highly rated defenders all the wrong way.


That is genius, brilliance. The ability to think of stuff, no expert/professional/elite would, regardless of the time given to come up with an idea.



That is what zidane was. That is what is no longer in the game anymore

The best players aren't necessary the most skilled. IMO Ronaldinho's prime represented football's best raw ability, however he didn't last very long. I think the greatest players, comes with how long they stay at the top and how effective they are at football. This is why many regard Maradonna as the greatest footballer to have existed; look at what he did at Napoli and Argentina. As much as I love my nostalgia, I do think Ronaldo and Messi have eclipsed Zidane and R9. They've been consistently world class for longer periods.

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Football isn't just Juve, matches were more interesting back then as a whole. Now quality is so diluted matches involving some high profile matches feels like second league material

Reckon international football weakened, but club level has improved. With that said I do believe football has evolved. Its less about flair and fancy skills, and more about physical strength, stamina and pace. Also the game has become increasingly statistical; we judge the best players on how many goals they score, assists they make etc. rather the raw talent.

[Stephan]

Less flair and fancy skills? I disagree about that. What time range you talking about. There are more poser mentality players in football since Zidane retired than before. So pre-after 2006. Also becauce the social media side in football has grown since those days.

[Zacheryah]

Evolution doesnt equal improvement in football.

Evolution is growing the new style to beat the metagame. And the direction that takes, depends on the new instream.


You can counter excessively physical $#@!ball like today, with sublime trickery and flair. But if your youth doesnt has that, another path is taken

[Nedved96]

This GOAT talk is just boring.

Zidane shouldn’t be in discussion about who is the GOAT. He was a phenomenal footballer, and his technique was great on the eye, but he is still a cleat tier below Messi and Maradona.

[Bianconero81]

Clear tier below Messi

I can give you Ronaldo, Pele, and even Platini, but below Messi?! The tax evading garden gnome $#@! $#@!s in his diapers every time he wears an Argentina jersey cuz his little butt buddies Xavi and Iniesta aren't there.

[Nedved96]

Clear tier below Messi

I can give you Ronaldo, Pele, and even Platini, but below Messi?! The tax evading garden gnome $#@! $#@!s in his diapers every time he wears an Argentina jersey cuz his little butt buddies Xavi and Iniesta aren't there.

Yeah, Zidane is a clear tier below Messi. It’s not even debatable.

Messi is a tax evading midget, but that doesn’t effect his footballing abilities one bit.

[zizinho]

Zach

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The best players aren't necessary the most skilled. IMO Ronaldinho's prime represented football's best raw ability, however he didn't last very long. I think the greatest players, comes with how long they stay at the top and how effective they are at football. This is why many regard Maradonna as the greatest footballer to have existed; look at what he did at Napoli and Argentina. As much as I love my nostalgia, I do think Ronaldo and Messi have eclipsed Zidane and R9. They've been consistently world class for longer periods..

so Buffon is the GOAT then?

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If you guys think some guy who left us for Madrid and obviously identifies with Madrid more than us deserves to be a Juve legend then Juve must not be a big club after all.............


If Zidane is a legend then Vidal and Pogba should most definitely be legends aswell.

lol

[Ventus]

so Buffon is the GOAT then?
-[/SIZE][/COLOR]

One of yes, you make it sound like the prospect is ridiculous. Once ge retires he'll be remembered as the Maldini of goal keepers.

[zizinho]

One of yes, you make it sound like the prospect is ridiculous. Once ge retires he'll be remembered as the Maldini of goal keepers.

would you put him in the top5 ever? longetivity wise, hes definitely at the top

[Bianconero81]

Yeah, Zidane is a clear tier below Messi. It’s not even debatable.

Messi is a tax evading midget, but that doesn’t effect his footballing abilities one bit.

It's your opinion, and therefore it's debatable. Are you a $#@!ing god that I'm supposed to take your word for gospel or fact? Get a grip dude.

We're comparing Zidane to Messi, not some random footballer. Zidane is one of the greatest footballers of all time, and arguably the greatest footballer of his generation.

[Ventus]

would you put him in the top5 ever? longetivity wise, hes definitely at the top

If there was any justice in football then you can make a case for him and Maldini, at least since I've started watching football. Problem is defensive minded players tend to be ignored. Buffon is arguably the best keeper ever though, so he has a strong case.

Remember its not just longevity, its being world class for long periods of time. Giggs for example was world class for like 5 years then just "good" for the rest. Buffon has been world class for at least 10 years.

In my honest opinion Maradonna is the GOAT, proved it at club and international level, and stayed world class for many years.

As I keep saying though, football is evolving its difficult to compare two eras. It would be like getting a snooker player to play pool (billiards). Best compare the best players with the other players at his time.