Best technical dribblers who weren't/aren't pacy

Joga Bonito

The Art of Football
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Jul 14, 2014
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Apologies if there is a similar thread around.

Was reading the RVP thread were they were debating on his dribbling so decided to open this thread. Who are the best technical dribblers who didn't rely on pace. I am not knocking down the likes of Ronaldo, Messi, Robben etc who use pace/quick burst but still have tremendous technique and not everyone with pace is a great dribbler anyway.

I just want to know who in your opinion are the best dribblers who used sheer technique, quick thought of mind and ball control to outwit their opponents.

I will start it out with Zidane, Bergkamp and Berbatov (don't exactly consider him to be one of the best dribblers but rather someone who fits the description of the type of dribbler I mean)

EDIT: NO INIESTA, he isn't slow enough to qualify. Try to stick to players who weren't exactly quick throughout the majority of their entire careers for a more defined/clearer discussion. Try to prevent yourself from debating about how certain players are pacy but do not rely on pace for their dribbling.

The obligatory Youtube vids
Zidane


Bergkamp


Berbatov

From 2.12 onwards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efTrsaF23IE

EDIT: Added Ibrahimovic


EDIT: Added Riquelme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxJCfzmpjGc

EDIT: Added Matt Le Tissier
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPw0XRAuzu0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB9HjYmYwpk
 
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Berba has a brilliant touch but apart from that one dribble, he isn't that great of a dribbler. Certainly shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as bergkamp and zidane.
Ibra is really good though too, as is iniesta.
 
was Ronaldinho pacy? I don't think so, so he deserves a shout
 
Zidane was the one that sprang immediately to mind.
 
fontaine said:
was Ronaldinho pacy? I don't think so, so he deserves a shout
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He wasn't slow. Remember his goal against Sevilla? (I think it was Sevilla anyway..) He took it past several players at top speed and rifled one in off the bar from 30 yards. He looked pretty nippy to me.
 
Le Tissier.

Xavi said he admired the way he could go past 6 players at walking pace.
 


Doesn't seem to rely on pace though

Zidane also had pace.. remember, he's one of the greatest attackers of space =p
 
fontaine said:
was Ronaldinho pacy? I don't think so, so he deserves a shout
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He was. Of course he is a fantastic dribbler even without pace but still, he was very fast. He relied on pace in his early days in PSG also
 
fontaine said:
was Ronaldinho pacy? I don't think so, so he deserves a shout
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He was extremely fast, even with the ball. Look at the two goals he scored vs Madrid at the bernabeu in 05/06. Ronaldinho at his best could do stepovers while running at an incredible speed which is extremely difficult and it is hard to think of many players that could do them successfully at pace as consistently as he did.
 
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Giggs, post the death of christ. I can still remember that one game when he tore Micah Richards a new asshole in 2009 or something playing on the left wing.
 
Iniesta is the one for me. Zidane stands out too.

The little spanish "second-tier" playmakers - Silva, Mata, though they're not really dribble that much.

Laudrups, Littbarski? They weren't slow but not that fast if I recall correctly?
 
I'm not saying he is anywhere near the best at it, but Diaby is quite good.

Ronaldinho was pacy but his dribbling repertoire was so vast and varied that he can easily fit in the category of players who don't rely on pace for dribbling.

Of current footballers, Iniesta is probably the best at it.
 
Ronaldinho was lightning fast when he came through as a youngster, but even after losing his pace he was one of the best in the world. So 'old' Ronaldinho should definitely be on the list.

Iniesta's not Messi fast but he's not slow either. He definitely uses his little burst of acceleration to help show people a clean set of heels, even though he wouldn't actually need it to be a good dribbler.

Zidane is undoubtedly the absolute epitome of the type of dribbling we were talking about in the RVP thread. Obviously Zidane's is in another league to RVP's, but the actual style of movement and the way he manipulates the ball is the same. Almost zero reliance on pace, and no requirement to bundle through tackles or react to opposition touches on the ball. The opponent can never lay so much as a toe on it.
 
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Wednesday at Stoke said:
Giggs, post the death of christ. I can still remember that one game when he tore Micah Richards a new asshole in 2009 or something playing on the left wing.
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Yeah he tore him apart just using his intelligence. Little dummies and beautiful close control. Great shout.
 
Michael Laudrup, better dribbler than both Iniesta and Zidane. Iniesta comes closest, though he's inconsistent when he's in the final third, great in the middle otherwise.
 
Wednesday at Stoke said:
Read man, I specificaly said in his latter years. He was getting past people with trickery and changes of pace than outright speed.
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You are still wrong. He didn't lack pace he just couldn't sustain runs up and down the flank or a full CM shift for 90mins. Still had pace to burn albeit not as much as he had in his younger years.

Keeps It tidy said:
Even in his later years he had more pace than most.
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This.
 
Roberto Baggio was my favorite growing up, he wasn't slow but didn't rely on pace. Recoba, maradonna and Ibra are supreme dribblers who don't necessarily depend on pace.
Isco, d silva and iniesta are also immense in that department.
 
Iniesta. So good at judging where his opponents balance is heading, allowing him to drift past with ease.
 
Coutinho, he's probably the slowest in this whole list as well.
 
bosnian_red said:
Berba has a brilliant touch but apart from that one dribble, he isn't that great of a dribbler. Certainly shouldn't be mentioned in the same breath as bergkamp and zidane.
Ibra is really good though too, as is iniesta.
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Jacob said:
Berbatov?
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I used him more as an example to describe the type of dribbler I wanted to discuss about -elegant, majestic and classy. Perhaps he shouldn't be on that list of best dribblers out there but I couldn't quite think of many brilliant dribblers who weren't pacy other than Bergkamp and Zidane tbh. Berbatov was more than capable of that moment of magic when it came to dribbling but didn't do it consistently enough.
 
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