Ay I actually prefer 10+ years ago. As a neutral, IMO only messi does magical things with his dribbles. CR7 to me is not aesthetically pleasing to watch. He however has shown how conditioning and hard work can turn you to be the most efficient and deadly player around. I can't think of any other unique player.

Then though we had Il fenomeno who combines insane technical skills usually seen in wingers with centre forward play. We had ronaldinho who showed the world how football tricks are relevant even at the highest level. We had zidane who was one of the most graceful and efficient attacker in the game, every step over or 360 had a purpose.

Dante08

Singapore4139 Posts

May 03 2017 01:02 GMT

#4788

Man CR7 has found a way to be so efficient late into his career. Props to his hard work and determination!

evilfatsh1t

Australia8796 Posts

May 03 2017 03:35 GMT

#4789

looks like rm is on their way to being back to back cl winners. ballon dor for ronaldo if they win the league too.

sharkie

Austria18573 Posts

May 03 2017 04:16 GMT

#4790

On May 03 2017 05:59 cSc.Dav1oN wrote:
How lucky we are to watch such great players as Cr7 and Messi performing, that's amazing!

Ehh, more like how unlucky we are to see such a lack of talent in this generation of players. Yes we have Messi and CRonaldo but that's it. There have been no other players who were able to challenge these two for more than one year. Same with star power where only Ibrahimovic is on their level.

evilfatsh1t

Australia8796 Posts

May 03 2017 05:01 GMT

#4791

while i also think we are incredibly lucky to witness a genius like messi and a proficient goal scorer like ronaldo, i do think to some extent the current generation of players are generally crap compared to the older ones, like sharkie said.
the previous generation had zidane, r9, r10, bergkamp, scholes, giggs, maldini, henry etc.
there was a pretty big list of players no one would doubt was absolutely world class and whilst you could say that strictly speaking, ronaldo and messi are better than most (or in messi's case, all) of them, the rest of the crop havent caught up.
the next in line for the current generation are suarez, neymar, bale, hazard?, modric?, lewandowski? etc.
that list is a joke compared to the older guys

WillyWanker

France1915 Posts

May 03 2017 05:02 GMT

#4792

On May 03 2017 13:16 sharkie wrote:

Show nested quote +

Star power you have Neymar as well. The thing is these 2 are a few steps above the rest, and they're regular. It seems like you don't appreciate how good they are. Hazard, Griezmann, Neymar, Suarez, Bale, Iniesta, Modric, these are all amazing players. Just not as good as Messi/CR.

I think you don't remember previous eras correctly. Ronaldo (the Brazilian) was amazing but injuries plagued his career. Zidane wasn't a consistent player, same for Ronaldinho (their peak was really high but still). You can say the same for the ones before. Even Maradona that people say is the best, wasn't as consistent as Messi and CR.

evilfatsh1t

Australia8796 Posts

May 03 2017 05:11 GMT

#4793

double

evilfatsh1t

Australia8796 Posts

May 03 2017 05:12 GMT

#4794

its why i accept that i am lucky to see ronaldo and messi.
they play at a level that is either on par or above the peaks of their predecessors, but they are playing at that level consistently throughout the majority of their careers. thats something that i doubt will be accomplished again by any player, let alone 2 in the same period for a very long time.
but if you consider the rest of the players, their peak performances and their influence on the actual sport pales in comparison to their predecessors. r9 didnt have a long stable career, but at his best he was THE best. a lot of cr7 haters now still refer to r9 as the real ronaldo. zidane may have been inconsistent, but again his peak was a different level. r10 burned out or partied too much, but everyone knows the influence he had on the sport.
which player out of the current generation bar cr7 and messi have that level of peak performance + influence on the sport? imo if you asked the next generation of kids to compare players from this generation and the previous, i think many would still choose the latter

WillyWanker

France1915 Posts

May 03 2017 05:21 GMT

#4795

So you're picking 3 players from the previous generation and compare to 2 now (and the 2 now are better than the 3). It's the same, no? If you compare the Scholes/Giggs to Iniesta/Modric, the Henry/Schevchenko to Suarez/Ibrahimovic, ... I don't see a difference. These are/were all top players, and about the same level. It's just that now every performance looks less impressive because we can see every league, every replay, every YouTube highlights, etc...

evilfatsh1t

Australia8796 Posts

May 03 2017 05:24 GMT

#4796

i didnt pick 3, i just chose 3 examples and decided to stop because i couldnt be bothered to make my points for the rest of them. if we did a number for number comparison though i think in my list the previous generation had a higher number of players that at their peak could have walked into any team. at the moment the current generation is seeing a pretty severe shortage of legitimately world class players

WillyWanker

France1915 Posts

May 03 2017 05:28 GMT

#4797

No, that's because these were the only 3 that could compete with Messi or CR. I think nostalgia affects us a lot. I don't remember Zidane ever reaching Messi's level on more than 2-3 games. I don't remember Henry being better than Suarez. The only thing I think the current generation is missing, is great defenders. The previous generations had amazing defenders, but now I don't see any that's an absolute boss.

sharkie

Austria18573 Posts

May 03 2017 05:44 GMT

#4798

You don't really put Henry and Suarez on the same level do you, WillyWanker? Henry is a legend in Arsenal and a highly praised figure in Barca and French national team and keeps getting praised by neutral people.
Who will ever speak highly of Suarez when he is gone? I bet you no one outside Uruguay. Same with Hazard, Özil - good for the current generation but will they be spoken of highly when they are gone? I highly doubt it.

Also it is not only Zidane, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho. It's the ones who were clearly below those three that will be remembered fondly for ages. E.g. Gerrard, Beckham, Luis Figo, Michael Ballack, Henry, Shevchenko. Iniesta will never reach the level of appreciation Xavi has reached. Same with Modric, I am sure we will remember Scholes/Giggs more than Modric in years to come.

WillyWanker

France1915 Posts

May 03 2017 06:06 GMT

#4799

Are you talking about level or fame? Because that's different. If Suarez stayed at Liverpool, he'd be a legend there by now. But in Barcelona he's surrounded by world class players, so it's more difficult. Henry isn't a highly praised figure in Barça. He was at the end of his career, yes, but he was benched for Pedro/Bojan. And out of the 3 (+ Messi & Eto'o), he was the weakest.

Iniesta is already more appreciated in Spain than Xavi (he gave them a World Cup). And I won't do it AGAIN, but for every player you mentioned I could find the equivalent in the current generation. Again, maybe they don't have the same charisma, but in terms of football level, it's pretty much the same.

sharkie

Austria18573 Posts

May 03 2017 06:31 GMT

#4800

Guess we just have to agree to disagree then. Also I did not mean fame but influence in the game