3rd best football player in the last 15 years?
- Thread starter Droolinggimp
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Soldato
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Chadwick or Maguire winning it for me LOL
Consistency: Lewangoalski
Peak: Xavi
It's kind of hard because the consistency award has to go to someone in their mid-30s really in order to encompass enough seasons. Older players (e.g. Xavi, Lahm) have typically stopped playing already and younger players (e.g. Kane) didn't play enough in the noughties.
Best player to overlap with Ronaldo and Xavi was Zidane. Still smashed it in his final tournament, totally bossed the quarterfinal against an elite Brazil team, despite retiring from football 2 games later. Absolutely majestic highlights reel, well worth a watch if you didn't witness it, he's literally and I don't mean "literally (c) Jamie Redknapp" running rings round the so-called best players in the world. Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Kaka, Lucio, Gilberto etc none of them could get near him, make them look like a pub team.
Peak: Xavi
It's kind of hard because the consistency award has to go to someone in their mid-30s really in order to encompass enough seasons. Older players (e.g. Xavi, Lahm) have typically stopped playing already and younger players (e.g. Kane) didn't play enough in the noughties.
Best player to overlap with Ronaldo and Xavi was Zidane. Still smashed it in his final tournament, totally bossed the quarterfinal against an elite Brazil team, despite retiring from football 2 games later. Absolutely majestic highlights reel, well worth a watch if you didn't witness it, he's literally and I don't mean "literally (c) Jamie Redknapp" running rings round the so-called best players in the world. Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Kaka, Lucio, Gilberto etc none of them could get near him, make them look like a pub team.
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I don't he has been consistently great, he is a great player but a lot of people think he was just a peak player, 4 or 5 amazing seasons. Then average ones either side.
Edit: About Neymar.
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Caporegime
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I would say Paul Scholes but to be honest he only played for 5 of those 15 years. Pretty much the same could be said for a lot of players.
For a player who is still playing I would most likely have to give the nod to Suarez. He had a crazy goal return for a good ten year period despite how much of a vile person his is.
For a player who is still playing I would most likely have to give the nod to Suarez. He had a crazy goal return for a good ten year period despite how much of a vile person his is.
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An unconventional one but I'd put Trippier in a 3rd or 4th place spot - unlike many of the names up in lights he has a well rounded skill set, maybe not the insane talent in specific areas of some players but very high level in all areas, able to slot into many different play styles and positions, at the top level of the game. I have a certain amount of admiration for players who put the level of committent into the game and willingness to play a broader and sometimes less conventional role. It seems often overlooked/unrecognised how much he is able to influence the outcome of a game beyond what is normal from an individual player.
That has to be a joke post...Trippier?
People tend to instinctively think of players who are crazy good at playing their position but often peaking for a relatively short time at the top of the game. Less often those like Zidane get recognised for their ability just to play very good football consistently and have the vision to influence the game far beyond the normal input of a single player. If you look at any top 100, etc. list it is heavily dominated by strikers who in many cases had a very good playmaker behind them for the season(s) they became widely recognised.
I have a certain amount of admiration for players who just get stuck in when the going gets tough.
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Were you a fan or even knew of his existence when he was at Burnley/Spurs etc? He didn’t really set the world a light, plus was always in Kyle Walkers shadow.
I'm not particularly a fan though my post(s) might not come off like that. He has never really set the world a light but something which often goes unrecognised IMO is how much he has held up teams in tough situations where many other players would have wilted.
I'm not a big football fan aside from following my old home town team and England - but I generally know what is going on with football more broadly - I was aware of him at Spurs, less so before that.
Caporegime
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It's a bit of a weird choice, I wouldn't even put him in the top 3 right backs of the last 15 years. Lahm and Daniel Alves are both obvious names ahead of him.
He wouldn't get in the top 3 English right backs in that period!
Suarez is the correct answer to the OP's question.
That is part of it - there are many players who are more accomplished defensively but that isn't how I'm looking at it. There are many highly rated players who would not be my choice in a high pressure situation when I needed a player to rely on.
Caporegime
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So if you were in a high pressure situation you'd choose Trippier over Lahm or Alves? Who have both won more trophies than Trippier could ever dream of?
I think you should watch the first 30 seconds of the 18/19 Champions League final. Trippier got completely lost, leaving Sadio Mane to run in behind him from a nothing pass forward, wins a penalty and Spurs CL hopes are over inside 30 seconds of the final kicking off.
I can see why you'd say completely lost but I don't think he was unaware of what he was doing there - he often plays slightly out of conventional position, 9 times out of 10 that nothing pass and subsequent penalty wouldn't have come off.
I don't expect people to agree with me, neither do I think he is the most accomplished player in his position, but I have some admiration for his commitment and ability to influence games far more than it seems is generally recognised. Far too many top players don't do half as well when the direction of play isn't in their favour.
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