Greatest Ever Player

[tannerall 25,935]

A 20 year old would say Messi

A 30 year old would say Zidane

A 40 year old would say Fat Ronaldo.

A 50 year old would say Cruyff.

A 60 year old would say Best

A 70 year old would say Pele.

In truth there's no point debating it.

We all know Maradona was the greatest................

[kaiser1041 9,107]

Naw he wasn't

[tannerall 25,935]

Saw him score his first international goal at Hampden (3d Argentinian one in clip).

[TheKingObv 10,854]

Anyone who said Zidane is a mong

[Frank Reynolds 3,359]

Me

[King Jela 21,357]

Never heard anyone say Zidane.

[Bigsasasfloppyhair 13,310]

Foster must be up there surely???

[foghorn leghorn 608]

Close call between Peter van Vossen and Cammy Bell.

[ianferguson 2,619]

Maradona for me, a leader of men and won a world cup on his own and an Italian championship with a provincial club and also played on shit parks where opponents could still kick the shit out of you. Messi a bawhair away though.

[WadeWilson 4,670]

No arguments here.

Dios es Argentino.

[dummiesoot 16,211]

For me it is about eras, you simply cannot compare eras, Pele was kicked out of the 1966 world cup but appeared in 4 world cups and from memory and from clips was ahead if his time, magnificent. Diego was the greatest one man team I have ever had the pleasure to watch, awesome and unstoppable in an era when hatchet men also abounded. Messi has the greatest feet and such sublime finishing against fitter and more technically skilled defenders, but gets more protection from refs than the other two would have.

In short I cannot say who is the greatest. Just glad to have seen them.

[bluedylan 11,555]

Maradona for me, a leader of men and won a world cup on his own and an Italian championship with a provincial club and also played on shit parks where opponents could still kick the shit out of you. Messi a bawhair away though.

Lets knock this myth in the head that Maradona was one man team,he had some great players around him

http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/1986/squad_arg86.html

As for Napoli being some wee provincial club For at least 20 years before Maradonas arrival they were consistently a top 5 team in Serie A

[heathen fish boy 8,654]

tin hat on,my top player of all time is the kaiser himself Franz Beckenbauer,strong,imposing,commanded respect,had an air of complacent arrogance about his play while dictating games from the back

[bluedylan 11,555]

tin hat on,my top player of all time is the kaiser himself Franz Beckenbauer,strong,imposing,commanded respect,had an air of complacent arrogance about his play while dictating games from the back

Another player from that era,maybe not the best on the planet but certainly world class was Bobby Moore.

[JamieD 19,964]

Lets knock this myth in the head that Maradona was one man team,he had some great players around him

http://www.planetworldcup.com/CUPS/1986/squad_arg86.html

As for Napoli being some wee provincial club For at least 20 years before Maradonas arrival they were consistently a top 5 team in Serie A

It's also worth pointing out that Verona and Sampdoria both won their first ever Serie A titles during the 80s - early 90s and nobody ever suggests that Preben Elkjaer or Roberto Mancini single-handedly dragged small clubs to the league championship.

[tannerall 25,935]

It's also worth pointing out that Verona and Sampdoria both won their first ever Serie A titles during the 80s - early 90s and nobody ever suggests that Preben Elkjaer or Roberto Mancini single-handedly dragged small clubs to the league championship.

Napoli achieved very little before Maradona arrived, and nothing after he left. The years in between were the prime of Maradona's footballing career and by no co-incidence they were also hugely successful for Napoli, Italian leagues, Doubles, European success, all inspired by the best footballer ever.

From Wiki:

The Maradona era: League and European success.

The 1980s for the club started in relatively good fashion with 3rd and 4th place league positions early in the decade. But it wouldn't be until Argentine Diego Maradona joined the club from FC Barcelona, in 1984 that Napoli were truly put on the world football map.

Success with Maradona was not instant. The club had to work hard, first with an 8th position in 1984-85, then the following season they stepped up further, with a 3rd place. 1986-87 proved to be Napoli's year, with Diego; Napoli won the scudetto for the first time in their history. In doing so, they also became the first and only mainland Southern Italian team (not including Sardinian club Cagliari) to win the league, this record still stands today. It wasn't just Serie A that the club won that season either, they also beat Atalanta B.C. 4-0 in the Coppa Italia final to complete the double. In the successive year the team were knocked out in the first round of the European Cup by Real Madrid but a runners-up spot in Serie A meant qualification for the UEFA Cup. Juventus and Bayern Munich were among Napoli's victims en route to the final where Maradona and Careca scored a goal apiece late in the second half to beat VfB Stuttgart two-one in the first leg. In the second leg, played in Stuttgart, the match ended in draw (3-3): so Napoli won their first European trophy. Napoli also reached the final of the Italian Cup that year, only to be beaten by Sampdoria.

In 1990, Napoli were champions again, although in rather less auspicious circumstances than their previous Serie A title. They were awarded 2 points after the Brazilian Alemão was struck by a coin away at Atalanta's If this was not bad enough, Napoli's physio was caught on TV cameras exhorting the player to stay on the ground. Anyway, these 2 points weren't crucial, as AC Milan lost a match with Hellas Verona, so Napoli would've won the championship anyway. Worse was to come. Maradona made inflammatory remarks during the 1990 World Cup, appealing to Neapolitans to cheer on his Argentina team over the northern dominated Italy.

The Napoli "tifosi" responded by displaying a banner in their "curva" that read: "Maradona, Naples loves you, but Italy is our homeland". It was touching for Maradona as Napoli was the only stadium during that World Cup in which the Argentinian national anthem wasn't jeered. Apparently, Napoli fans were the "black sheep" of Italy because they rooted for Maradona. He departed after testing positive for cocaine less than a year later, the club was in financial crisis. Although he let his nightlife affect his legacy with Napoli, Maradona will still go down as the greatest Napoli player ever. He has mentioned many times that his love for Napoli is almost as much for his native team Boca Juniors.

[JamieD 19,964]

Napoli achieved very little before Maradona arrived, and nothing after he left. The years in between were the prime of Maradona's footballing career and by no co-incidence they were also hugely successful for Napoli, Italian leagues, Doubles, European success, all inspired by the best footballer ever.

From Wiki:

The Maradona era: League and European success.

The 1980s for the club started in relatively good fashion with 3rd and 4th place league positions early in the decade. But it wouldn't be until Argentine Diego Maradona joined the club from FC Barcelona, in 1984 that Napoli were truly put on the world football map.

Success with Maradona was not instant. The club had to work hard, first with an 8th position in 1984-85, then the following season they stepped up further, with a 3rd place. 1986-87 proved to be Napoli's year, with Diego; Napoli won the scudetto for the first time in their history. In doing so, they also became the first and only mainland Southern Italian team (not including Sardinian club Cagliari) to win the league, this record still stands today. It wasn't just Serie A that the club won that season either, they also beat Atalanta B.C. 4-0 in the Coppa Italia final to complete the double. In the successive year the team were knocked out in the first round of the European Cup by Real Madrid but a runners-up spot in Serie A meant qualification for the UEFA Cup. Juventus and Bayern Munich were among Napoli's victims en route to the final where Maradona and Careca scored a goal apiece late in the second half to beat VfB Stuttgart two-one in the first leg. In the second leg, played in Stuttgart, the match ended in draw (3-3): so Napoli won their first European trophy. Napoli also reached the final of the Italian Cup that year, only to be beaten by Sampdoria.

In 1990, Napoli were champions again, although in rather less auspicious circumstances than their previous Serie A title. They were awarded 2 points after the Brazilian Alemão was struck by a coin away at Atalanta's If this was not bad enough, Napoli's physio was caught on TV cameras exhorting the player to stay on the ground. Anyway, these 2 points weren't crucial, as AC Milan lost a match with Hellas Verona, so Napoli would've won the championship anyway. Worse was to come. Maradona made inflammatory remarks during the 1990 World Cup, appealing to Neapolitans to cheer on his Argentina team over the northern dominated Italy.

The Napoli "tifosi" responded by displaying a banner in their "curva" that read: "Maradona, Naples loves you, but Italy is our homeland". It was touching for Maradona as Napoli was the only stadium during that World Cup in which the Argentinian national anthem wasn't jeered. Apparently, Napoli fans were the "black sheep" of Italy because they rooted for Maradona. He departed after testing positive for cocaine less than a year later, the club was in financial crisis. Although he let his nightlife affect his legacy with Napoli, Maradona will still go down as the greatest Napoli player ever. He has mentioned many times that his love for Napoli is almost as much for his native team Boca Juniors.

I'm aware of that. This is also true of Verona and Sampdoria, so my point stands. People say "Who but Maradona could have dragged a club like Napoli from obscurity to become league champions?" Well, Maradona didn't play for Verona or Sampdoria and they managed it too. Samp even made the European Cup final, which Maradona never managed. It was a period of Italian football where several such clubs managed that very thing. Of course Maradona was amazing, very possibly the greatest player ever, but people don't half use some peculiar arguments to reinforce that. He never won a thing without a good team around him.

[AlBear. 8,499]

It's George Weah ya numpties.

[NorthernLights 2,529]

Zidane was superb.

Probably Messi, though. Pele played in a shite league for his whole career. Messi and Ronaldo have done it for years at a high level, although nether have dominated internationally.

[sandyinroyalblue 16,478]

If I was pushed I would say Maradona but it's really hard to say because every era of football is different.

If I was to choose one single performance it would be Baresi in the 1994 World cup final, despite being injured he produced an absolute master class in defending that day.

[sandyinroyalblue 16,478]

Zidane was superb.

Probably Messi, though. Pele played in a shite league for his whole career. Messi and Ronaldo have done it for years at a high level, although nether have dominated internationally.

Messi and Ronaldo have had to play in a top league and the Champions League for years now and when it comes to international football tournaments at the end of the season I wonder if after the demands of their club football whether they have anything left to give for their countries.

[barrymorrison1 1,038]

I've saw everybody apart from best and pele..

Who's best?

Well? I have saw platini, gullit as well..

Great players..

Are they the best?

No, but they won their clubs a lot of trophies.

[JamieD 19,964]

If I was pushed I would say Maradona but it's really hard to say because every era of football is different.

If I was to choose one single performance it would be Baresi in the 1994 World cup final, despite being injured he produced an absolute master class in defending that day.

Made Romario look like Jon Daly.

[NixonRFC 1,520]

Best I've ever seen was the original Ronaldo, peerless in my eyes

[folkestoneger 8,950]

Zidane was superb.

Probably Messi, though. Pele played in a shite league for his whole career. Messi and Ronaldo have done it for years at a high level, although nether have dominated internationally.

A league that supplied the players that won 3 World Cups in 12 years was shite?