Easy, batistuta can't even walk right now, literally, kane would not last half a season in that era imo attacking players are a lot more protected be it with harsher penalties for offenders or video evidence. You are also missing a huge detail and that is the 3 point system which was only introduced in the 90s before that a tie was much more desirable so less imcentive to attack.
Yes but the 3 points for a win argument doesnt apply to the Batistuta - Kane argument. It was the same in most of Batistuta's time.
With regards to players being more protected, i think anecdotally that seems to be true, not only for us watching, but players mention it often too. But I am not sure how much that has really impacted the game in terms of ease of scoring. Yes, its nicer for attacking players nowadays that there is a constant push thats still going on to stamp out violent tackles(which IMO is a good thing tbh). But is the implication that its easier to score? When did this shift happen, because presumably we should be seeing an uplift in teams propensity to score goals in top tournaments compared to the era footballers were not as protected. Again, i am talking primarily about the era we watched football, so the mid 90s onwards.
I really dislike comparing players across eras generally to be honest. There are always going to be differences across eras, but i think that difference manifests itself more in styles of football rather than actual quality. I am a huge fan of #10s, and second strikers(between a 10 and a striker ala Del Piero). They don't exist anymore unfortunately. Loved the time when you had Aimar's, Riquelmes, Bergkamp's, Baggios etc. Then you'd have technical geniuses playing for smaller teams like Hagi for Romania and Galatasaray or Micoud at Bremen. Do not for one second think i don't prefer that era over this one. But i really think its style, not quality.
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I dont think tricks necessarily equal skill. There really arent any top forwards with the trick arsenal of original Ronaldo or Ronaldinho, but obviously the world is full of trick masters, its just a thing that became obsolete in elite footie like long distance shots. Its not that players are worse at striking the ball, we just now know its a low value action compared to 90ties and 00ties.
Yup same as crossing. Even English teams stamped it out of their games significantly. How many English teams do you see have wingers who hug the touchline and put in crosses all game long?
Statistical analysis, data science and the introduction of metrics such as Xg are showing teams the kind of actions that are proven to be of low value, or at least statistically less likely to result in scoring opportunties or other favorable outcomes.
As teams all over get access to the same kind of data, you start to see a lot more convergence in styles. Which obviously for us we remember a time when you'd watch an English team and recognize the style, watch an Italian, Spanish, or Portugese team and be able to point to real differences in style. That;s no longer the case, i guess you could say football has lost a lot of its spontaneity. I can't think of any reason to watch a team thats not world class these days. I remember a time though when I'd try to catch Galatasaray for Hagi, Valencia for Aimar, Bremen for Micoud, even Chelsea for Zola.
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