As today is the big day I'm not going to spend it blogging. However, I thought a little treat would be to list the 30 players I've most enjoyed watching these past 30 years.
Given I wrote this piece last week on defenders and goalkeepers not winning the big awards often enough I must concede that it is overly heavy on beautiful midfielders.
It is also (a) overly reliant on Liverpool players and (b) focuses largely from me watching football from about the age of 8 onwards. It is my list, my gaff, my rules. Zico and Maradona both featured in my lifetime but I can't really remember them and, in Maradona's case, he was erring towards a still brilliant parody of himself by that point.
This list would be different tomorrow if I were to write it again and different again the day after that. God knows how Pele got to his 125 best living players and, more pertinently, how Diouf managed to get into that list but not Tostao. That is surely what the International Criminal Court is actually for.
All that waffle said, there are no doubt beautiful players I will tear my hair out at missing in a moment of Cisk-induced carelessness.
So, the 30 are (and in no particular order). Those with links in are ones I can remember writing extended pieces about:
- John Barnes
- Jari Litmanen
- Steven Gerrard
- Dimitar Berbatov
- Ronaldinho
- Lionel Messi
- Xavi
- Andres Iniesta
- Dejan Savicevic
- Zvonomir Boban
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic
- Bruce Grobbelaar
- Matt Le Tissier
- Paul Scholes
- Rui Costa
- Zinedine Zidane
- Ronaldo
- Robert Prosinecki
- Dennis Bergkamp
- Robbie Fowler
- Jan Molby
- Pavel Nedved
- Juan Roman Riquelme
- Paolo Maldini
- Cafu
- Clarence Seedorf
- Andrea Pirlo
- Michael Laudrup
- Roberto Baggio
- Xabi Alonso
RCM
14 comments:
Solid list, but no Nesta, Cannavaro, Van Der Sar, Schmeichel, Keane, Vieira, Del Piero or even Cristiano Ronaldo?
No Cantona?
Your list is shit
The only one I would quibble with is Gerrard, otherwise a good list. There are obviously names missing, but Gerrard appart, it would be difficult to choose who would be left out.
BTW Happy Birthday!
Good stuff. I won't try and tell you where you've gone right or wrong as it's clearly a personal list based on your own experiences of watching football.
For what it's worth I agree with quite a few of your choices, though I have a few years on you so I would include Maradona as well as Marco Van Basten.
Would also go for Luis Enrique, Emilio Butregueno and Enzo Francescoli, who I thought may have been included following your post of a couple of months ago.
Roars of applause for Le Tiss; the eyebrow quizzical for Fowler and Gerrard.
Wot no Zola?
For one glorious 45 minutes, young Master Bale.
It's not all that often that a footballer makes me laugh out loud several times in one half.
NO GIGGS!? Teddy Sheringham?
The fact that you don't have giggs, the most decorated player in the history of the English game, is laughable and your list loses all credibility because of this. good effort though.
Thanks for sharing!
On further reflection: Fowler and Gerrard rather than Souness and Beardsley? You've not even got the right Liverpool players.
although i love superbatov, you have him yet theres no giggs, beckham, cantona, keane, schmeichel, solskjaer, neville, ronaldo, or rooney? get real man. good effort though. and the inclusion of xabi alonso and gerrard was just hilarious!!
Congrats on reaching 30, but I believe Cantona should have been on this list lol :P
Happy bday - be sure to include Deco for 31 at 31.
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