Who can remember the smoldering heat of Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium, Argentina were already a goal up against England (due to divine intervention according to Argentinean folklore)…. In a sequence of outright mind-blowing passage of play, Diego Armando Maradona at the halfway waltzed, tangoed, foxtrotted and rumbaed his way past almost the entire England team to score what has since been selected the greatest goal in the history of football. He may be considered as one of the most disreputable figures in English sporting history, but the talent clearly was there for all to see. His vision, skill, speed and above all his endurance was the stuff of legends. He was born to play the game…
As they say comparing player from different eras is such a subjective matter and simply put a bloody hassle. My old headmaster used to tell me as wee boy that nobody was ever better than Bobby Moore, Johan Cruyff and Alfredo di Stefano, my uncle says Georgie Best and Pele truly walked on water and not one single player has come anywhere close to matching their skill level, despite his recent antics, I still believe Maradona is the greatest….although I have always had a soft spot for Marco Van Basten arguably the most complete forward of all time. Even a friend’s son reckons Lionel Messi and Zidane are the ones for him….
Wherever you go, whether it is the Emirates, Stamford Bridge, Old Trafford or even Anfield, the names will be different from the ones being whispered around the Santiago Bernabeau, Camp Nou or the San Siro….
Conceivably that is why we all love football so much, to a larger extent sports in general. At all times we believe that the top professionals of ‘our time/era’ are the greatest of all time. The reality is that it is complicated to compare these great players since they are all from a different period.
I wonder if Pele would be able to have the stamina and strength to play in today’s Premiership; furthermore if Messi or Ronaldo were beamed back over thirty years ago would they be able to cope with the heavier leather balls and the lack of referee protection? I am guessing soft free kicks were not ever part of the game back then!
My guess is that we can evaluate them by how good they were in the company of their generation. It is absolutely pointless paying attention to unreliable substantiation because the fans of each player will only tell you why their particular favourite is the best of all time.
All wrong my dear Professor RMP. Pascal Cygan is the greatest of all time. Technically, no one can touch him.
Pascal “Zidane”Cygan… tough one letting him go for Phillipe Senderos… end of the day Arsenal Football club were spoilt for choices…..
Zizou is the greatest footballer of my formative years. The guy made players around him better, simplified the game and had an ability to rise up in big moments. Not to mention that he won it all!
Agreed Sir Mix-A_lot, he was a special player. Probably the most elegant and beautifully balanced footballer of the past decade.
My beef with him is that he never played for a bad team with bad players and more importantly he never tested himself against true gladiators like Lucas Leiva, Michael Brown or John Obi Mikel…..