Uefa Jubilee - best 50 european players (25 Viewers)

[Majed]

Well there you have it people... The countdown is all over and the winnder has been decided.

Zidane won

I didn't expect Zidane to win, but oh well. it was close.

here's the top 10 - and the number of votes they received:

1 Zinedine Zidane 123,582
2 Franz Beckenbauer 122,569
3 Johan Cruyff 119,332
4 Marco van Basten 117,987
5 Dino Zoff 114,529
6 Alfredo Di Stéfano 107,435
7 Eusébio 103,937
8 Lev Yashin 101,862
9 Michel Platini 99,380
10 Paolo Maldini 95,497

 

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[Lawnchair Bes]

man Zidane before Beckenbauer. damn internet votes

 

[gray]

Zidane the best European player?

I disagree :irritate:

 

[Lawnchair Bes]

here's a quarter. go call someone who cares

 

[gray]

Oh I'm sorry, did I make the mistake of thinking that this forum is for stating opinions?

 

[Lawnchair Bes]

well i rembered this joke today and i had to post it somewhere before i forget it again. u were just a coincidence

 

[gray]

That's a really old one man. I win the duel (again )

btw how convenient that it was me; I bet you loved it

 

[Lawnchair Bes]

convinient? loved? thoughts talkst of nothing.

 

[flieeeekke]

man thats rubbish.

but i think the voting system is to blame. 10 players from every decade.. and how many voters didnt actually include zizou in last decade's top 10? simple imo. i kinda expected zidane to win it because of that.

 

[Desmond]

half of the top ten deserve to be higher up than zidane:groan:

 

[aressandro10]

the list isnt right at all... its a popularity contest really....thats what u get when u let the public vote... people actually see zidane playing compare to other players who they can only know the description from football magazines....

 

[denco]

Well for me he is in fact the best player to have come from Europe and I totally agree with it as I am yet to see any player who can caress a football and do whatever he wants with the ball

The fact that the guy lacks pace but can still find room to do whatever he wants in this era is a testament to his brilliance

Better than Platini? Yes! Better than Beckenbauer? Yes! Better than Cruyff? Yes! More skilful that Pele? Yes

Hail king Zizou

I just wonder how you guys can be priviledged to witness such a talent and not appreciate it

 

[Fred]

why dont you guys think Zizou deserves to get the best?i think he deserved it,i mean none of the players under him have achieved as much as the french magician.

 

[Lawnchair Bes]

++ [ originally posted by denco ] ++
Well for me he is in fact the best player to have come from Europe and I totally agree with it as I am yet to see any player who can caress a football and do whatever he wants with the ball

The fact that the guy lacks pace but can still find room to do whatever he wants in this era is a testament to his brilliance

Better than Platini? Yes! Better than Beckenbauer? Yes! Better than Cruyff? Yes! More skilful that Pele? Yes

Hail king Zizou

I just wonder how you guys can be priviledged to witness such a talent and not appreciate it

ahh cut the crap. the footbalL of the 70s was simpLy magicaL. not this buLl we see today

with some exceptions obviosLy

 

[Kaiser Franco]

++ [ originally posted by denco ] ++
Well for me he is in fact the best player to have come from Europe and I totally agree with it as I am yet to see any player who can caress a football and do whatever he wants with the ball

The fact that the guy lacks pace but can still find room to do whatever he wants in this era is a testament to his brilliance

Better than Platini? Yes! Better than Beckenbauer? Yes! Better than Cruyff? Yes! More skilful that Pele? Yes

Hail king Zizou

I just wonder how you guys can be priviledged to witness such a talent and not appreciate it

Zidane surely did not steal anything, but then again seeing Cruyff or Beckenbauer grabbing the first place would certainly not have been outrageous either.

Thinking of it, it really comes down to one question : "What has changed in the game of football after this or that player?"

Cruyff (or better, Ajax) brought us the zone marking and all-attacking mentality of Totall Football. Beckenbauer rewrote the role of the libero, greatly inspiring the Scirea, Baresi and Sammer that came after him. Van Basten defined the canons of the modern center forward.

In Zidane's case, we can say that he represents a new breed of offensive midfielders, one with relatively poor scoring abilities but with a vision, a physical force and - in Zizou's case - a quintessential talent that enables him to literally toy with whoever stands in his way. Zidane really is a new - maybe unique - kind of player, and we should indeed feel lucky to see him play in our lifetime.

 

[gray]

Excellent post Kaiser, that's a great way to define a player, how the game has changed after they graced it

 

[denco]

++ [ originally posted by Don Bes ] ++


ahh cut the crap. the footbalL of the 70s was simpLy magicaL. not this buLl we see today

with some exceptions obviosLy

Really who were the magical player you saw in the 70s , enlighten me with their names

Yes the game is more athletic now than classy but there are still some very good players around

But I still stand by the fact that Zidane is the best European player I have ever seen and just to show you sign of the times we replaced him with Nedved who is more of the modern breed than old school kinda player

 

[Lawnchair Bes]

if i say names i am gonna confuse them with the 80s. what i was taLkin about was the before catenacio soccer

 

[Kaiser Franco]

I was bored so I thought I'd revive this thread by making my own personal list of the best 50 European players from the past 50 years.

Two remarks : 1) I did not include players such as Nordahl or Hidegkuti for they reached their prime in the early 50's, i.e. more than 50 years ago
2) I did not include any current player except those whose career is pretty much over.


1. Zinedine Zidane (France)
2. Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
3. Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany)
4. Eusebio (Portugal)
5. Marco Van Basten (Netherlands)
6. Michel Platini (France)
7. Alfredo Di Stefano (Spain)
8. Gerd Mueller (West Germany)
9. Paolo Maldini (Italy)
10. Ferenc Puskas (Hungary)
11. Lev Yashin (Soviet Union)
12. Franco Baresi (Italy)
13. Bobby Charlton (England)
14. Roberto Baggio (Italy)
15. Lothar Matthaeus (West Germany)
16. Paolo Rossi (Italy)
17. George Best (Northern Ireland)
18. Bobby Moore (England)
19. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany)
20. Kevin Keegan (England)
21. Gianni Rivera (Italy)
22. Paul Breitner (West Germany)
23. Johan Neeskens (Netherlands)
24. Gaetano Scirea (Italy)
25. Raymond Kopa (France)
26. Stanley Matthews (England)
27. Dino Zoff (Italy)
28. Just Fontaine (France)
29. Uwe Seeler (West Germany)
30. Luis Suarez (Spain)
31. Sepp Maier (West Germany)
32. Bruno Conti (Italy)
33. Matthias Sammer (Germany)
34. Hristo Stojchkov (Bulgaria)
35. Ruud Gullit (Netherlands)
36. Michael Laudrup (Denmark)
37. Grzegorz Lato (Poland)
38. Gheorghe Hagi (Romania)
39. Franklin Rijkaard (Netherlands)
40. Dragan Stojkovic (Yugoslavia)
41. Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany)
42. Oleg Blokhin (USSR)
43. Emilio Butragueno (Spain)
44. Sandro Mazzola (Italy)
45. Josef Masopust (Czekoslovakia)
46. Kenneth Dalglish (Scotland)
47. Marius Trésor (France)
48. Rob Rensenbrink (Netherlands)
49. Zbignew Boniek (Poland)
50. Igor Belanov (USSR)

 

[Kaiser Franco]

I see my list has sparked a lively debate.