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That’s what I thought this was when I read the thread title but it’s how good an individual did as a player and manager.
Wouldnt it be fergie and keane.
Which one? Jack was a decent player, but I wouldn't call him one of the all-time greats; his success with Ireland was quite impressive, but, again, it's not something that's comparable to the big guys like Sacchi, Trapattoni, Fergie etc.
Oh, Heynckes is a great shout. He's not going to win it, but he has to be somewhere close to the top.
Pep is a great manager but as a player he was nothing special, he just did his job. The Barcelona Darren Fletcher.
The latter inspired an entire branch of football with his far-reaching influence, though — that influence, while intangible, exceeds even the likes of Ferguson or Messi — and must be worth something extra? For example, without Cruyff the player, Ajax wouldn't become the club it became and Michels probably wouldn't be as successful as he was, and that would have a domino effect on Gullit, van Basten, Neeskens as well. Without Cruyff the manager, Barcelona might not have lost their little-brother mentality that plagued the club through the early '80s, La Masia wouldn't be as distinguished (which would affect Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, et cetera), and probably no Guardiola in his current guise — which would considerably alter the landscape of modern football as totaalvoetbal and concepts of positiespel have permeated every sector of the game.
A very impressive stat... though somewhat tempered by the fact that all except one of his goals were not in top flight games (he only ever played 3 games in the top league division scoring one goal and two international caps with no goals...
What about 2006 WC where he literally dragged France past Spain and Brazil into the final?The latter inspired an entire branch of football with his far-reaching influence, though — that influence, while intangible, exceeds even the likes of Ferguson or Messi — and must be worth something extra? For example, without Cruyff the player, Ajax wouldn't become the club it became and Michels probably wouldn't be as successful as he was, and that would have a domino effect on Gullit, van Basten, Neeskens as well. Without Cruyff the manager, Barcelona might not have lost their little-brother mentality that plagued the club through the early '80s, La Masia wouldn't be as distinguished (which would affect Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, et cetera), and probably no Guardiola in his current guise — which would considerably alter the landscape of modern football as totaalvoetbal and concepts of positiespel have permeated every sector of the game.
Would also disagree with the assertion that Zidane was the main reason France won the 1998 World Cup, as the key to the team was the impregnable defensive unit: conceded only 2 goals in the entire tournament including a long streak without conceding a single goal between the Round 1 match vs. Denmark and the Semi-final match vs. Croatia — definitely one of the absolute greatest defenses in football history. That being said, fair enough if you reckon Zidane has an edge over Cruyff as a player and manager — not trying to step on your toes!
The latter inspired an entire branch of football with his far-reaching influence, though — that influence, while intangible, exceeds even the likes of Ferguson or Messi — and must be worth something extra? For example, without Cruyff the player, Ajax wouldn't become the club it became and Michels probably wouldn't be as successful as he was, and that would have a domino effect on Gullit, van Basten, Neeskens as well. Without Cruyff the manager, Barcelona might not have lost their little-brother mentality that plagued the club through the early '80s, La Masia wouldn't be as distinguished (which would affect Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, et cetera), and probably no Guardiola in his current guise — which would considerably alter the landscape of modern football as totaalvoetbal and concepts of positiespel have permeated every sector of the game.
Would also disagree with the assertion that Zidane was the main reason France won the 1998 World Cup, as the key to the team was the impregnable defensive unit: conceded only 2 goals in the entire tournament including a long streak without conceding a single goal between the Round 1 match vs. Denmark and the Semi-final match vs. Croatia — definitely one of the absolute greatest defenses in football history. That being said, fair enough if you reckon Zidane has an edge over Cruyff as a player and manager — not trying to step on your toes!
Are you old enough to have watched much of Zidane? The guy was unbelievable, effortless talent and a great leader.
The highlights of zizou vs brazil in that game is just art. No other word for it. On a pitch full of stars he looked a level above.
I get what you're saying about Guardiola and one or two others have said similar. He was never regarded as one of the very best players in the world or in contention for Balon D'or or anything like that. However he was a very solid player, won trophies, won a good number of caps for his country and if any other big club had have bought him you wouldn't exactly have had people being shocked or fans protesting the signing.
