One of these things is not like the other..........
Best Front Twos of All-Time
- Thread starter Physiocrat
- Start date
Romario and Ronaldo
Daglish and Rush
Beardsley and Rush?
United gets nowhere near this as a front two in my memory.
Daglish and Rush
Beardsley and Rush?
United gets nowhere near this as a front two in my memory.
In PL history Bergkamp and Henry surely. Fabulous football and tons of goals with 2 world class technical players who were a joy to watch and who’s styles complemented each other perfectly.
For a very brief period Rooney and Saha were incredible.
For my memories of front twos
Henry and Bergkamp
Gullit and van Basten
Romario and Bebeto
Henry and Bergkamp
Gullit and van Basten
Romario and Bebeto
Weah and Simeone for Milan is one I think of. Might just be an imression I have from when I was young.
Let's add new names
French league
Weah-Ginola
Trezeguet-Simone
Laslandes-Wiltord
Falcao-M'bappé
Serie A
Trezeguet-Del Piero
French league
Weah-Ginola
Trezeguet-Simone
Laslandes-Wiltord
Falcao-M'bappé
Serie A
Trezeguet-Del Piero
That’s a great shout out other the more obvious pairings.
Paolo Rossi? Bettega?
Ha ha, we are giving our ages away here! That’s a great shout out too. People tend to remember Rossi more due to the World Cup and international appearances, including myself but I believe that Bettega had an amazing record with Juve and was prolific and renowned.
Zamarano and Salas
Beardsley and Cole
Eusebio and Torres
Pele and Jairzinho
Sanchez and Butragueno
Beardsley and Cole
Eusebio and Torres
Pele and Jairzinho
Sanchez and Butragueno
If we're talking about greatest of all time then surely we can't be counting one season wonders like Shearer / Sutton. The fact some are mentioning them on the same level as Van Basten & Gullit actually made me bring up some bacon I just had for breakfast.
Still bothers me that MvB 's career ended early, in my opinion the best number 9 of all time.
Cantona-Hughes 
Wont be the best but i grew up watching Del Piero and Trezeguet, so that will always be first and foremost in my head.
Pelé & Coutinho
But.... is 'front 2' defined only by literal 2-man attacking lines, or can the front 2 in a 4-2-4 be included beings as that is an adjusted front line with wing-forwards instead of wingers?
Would say this is tilted towards certain nations/leagues who used 3-5-2, 5-3-2, 4-4-2 or 4-3-1-2 extensively. Germany, Italy, Argentina, England especially so.
But.... is 'front 2' defined only by literal 2-man attacking lines, or can the front 2 in a 4-2-4 be included beings as that is an adjusted front line with wing-forwards instead of wingers?
Would say this is tilted towards certain nations/leagues who used 3-5-2, 5-3-2, 4-4-2 or 4-3-1-2 extensively. Germany, Italy, Argentina, England especially so.
Yorke and Cole are special for United fans. They put up some fantastic numbers and were instrumental to an historically successful season but let's face it if you're picking a GOAT pairing they aren't in the conversation. It's interesting that even though we've done great things in the '4-4-2 era' the aforementioned partnership is about the best we have to offer, I suppose it shows the embarrassment of riches we've had in midfield over the years.
I doubt I've got much to add that hasn't already been said but for me the greatest in the PL is Henry-Bergkamp by a distance.
I doubt I've got much to add that hasn't already been said but for me the greatest in the PL is Henry-Bergkamp by a distance.
He hasn't mentioned them as a pair, but rather meant that Platini and Boniek is in no way a front two - they played in a system with a number 9 upfront, like Bettega or Rossi
The other nations had that same advantage when it comes to greatest front threes of all time though. Obviously it depends on the formation. There's a certain beauty to two forwards who really get each other and play together up top with the rest of the team behind them as support. You can't really replicate that kind of two man punch in a 4-3-3 by singling out two of the three forwards. Similarly you can't just add one of the wide players or midfielders to the two forwards of a 442 and expect a similar connection as for example Messi, Suarez, Neymar had recently at Barca.
Oh I agree. It's just that I don't think we've ever had a thread like this, so this was my first time thinking about it and coming to the conclusion of where to expect the best and most numerous partnerships from.
Germany is one of few nations who can do 2's and 3's. Does show how rich and varied your systems (and players) have been.
Man all this thread is doing is confirming that Cristiano Ronaldo was really the signing of the century 
Strike partnerships are a funny thing because a lot of it is down to perception. Quite often strikers won't form a great partnership, in terms of interaction between themselves, but will compliment each other's styles thus allowing one or both of them to flourish. I'm currently reading The Mixer and it's interesting to read that despite being prolific together Suarez and Sturridge didn't really form a partnership. They were effectively two forwards in the same team operating independently of one another.
Anyway, I'll throw in my two pennies with a Spurs and England bias.
Greaves and Gilzean (probably the best Spurs ever)
Archibald and Crooks
Sheringham and Klinsmann
Sheringham and Shearer
Lineker and Beardsley
Kane and Alli did well as a strike partnership last season and shows promise. But I think as time goes on Alli will be dropped back into midfield.
Anyway, I'll throw in my two pennies with a Spurs and England bias.
Greaves and Gilzean (probably the best Spurs ever)
Archibald and Crooks
Sheringham and Klinsmann
Sheringham and Shearer
Lineker and Beardsley
Kane and Alli did well as a strike partnership last season and shows promise. But I think as time goes on Alli will be dropped back into midfield.
I meant specifically about 2's. Or, should say, two's on an all-time scale.
Great partnership.
Not saying they were the best at all but Toshack and Keegan were a good combo.
That's actually my all time favourite pairing - loved watching them togetherCantona-Hughes
Surprised no one's mentioned the title winning partnership of Vardy / Okazaki yet
I think the spirit of the thread is about the two-man central partnerships. That inclines me to include the likes of Puskas and Kocsis, and Puskas and Di Stefano. We rule out a lot of successful partnerships depending on the positioning really of the wide players, and that gets quite blurry between an old school 4-2-4 and a modern 4-2-3-1. It basically limits it to 4-4-2 and 3-5-2, and even those 3-5-2 units are often 3-man attacking units when you include the number 10.
Romario Stoichkov
Henry / Bergkamp - very sexy but is that the partnership featuring a shortage of goals from the Dutchman with the Flying Elbows?
I can see why the likes of Shearer/Sutton or Yorke/Cole are getting mentioned. Nowhere near the all-time stakes, but great examples of pairs which were more than the sum of their parts. Shearer and Sheringham would be another example of that ilk, Sutton and Larsson, McCoist and Hateley, even Raul and Morientes was more cohesive than Raul/Ronaldo.
These two
MARK HUGHES - POWER & PRECISION
MARK HUGHES - LINK-UP PLAY
MARK HUGHES - THE REST
Thanks for the video clips! What a player he was. I always remember how hard he used to head the ball and also the passes using the outside of the foot to bend into a player.
imagine living in Holland during the 80s / early 90s like I did and it hitting you when he announced it. Never been so gutted before, plus I was in the states in '94 so was looking forward to getting some Holland tickets and watching my idol during a WC.
Last game played I believe was when he was 28, so that's like us not having the enjoyment of seeing Ronaldo for the last 3 years and thus knowing he was world class but always wondering what he'd have done in those years left.
More low-key, but how about Ronaldo & Nilis @ PSV
Vieri Ronaldo
Totti Cassano
Totti Cassano
From all the names and taking into account longevity and the level of the stage it seems these are the best IMO.
Gullit and van Basten
Seeler and Muller
Puskas and Kocsis
Bergkamp and Henry
Gullit and van Basten
Seeler and Muller
Puskas and Kocsis
Bergkamp and Henry
In 98/99 season Yorke & Cole's exploits outdone anything Henry/Bergkamp did together. Yorke & Cole Handed Juve and Barca their asses on a plate. they were fantastic!