He's saying it once again, apparently: what say you, caf, which players have the greatest late peaks or resurgences of all time?I'll say it once again: best late peak of all time.
No chance, he was one of the best CBs (if not the best) in the world at AC MilanThiago Silva
It depends how you clarify ‘late peak’No chance, he was one of the best CBs (if not the best) in the world at AC Milan
He retired at the age of 31, no?Cantona is a good one too
Cantona is an early bloomer. At 19 he was arguably the best player for Auxerre. Outside of his temperament, Cantona was consistent in terms of his level, he reached a high level early and maintained it despite all the nonsense he put himself in.Cantona is a good one too
Puskas was considered the best player in the world at the 1954 World Cup at 27 and destroyed England at Wembley at 26. So I wouldn’t say it was a late peak, just sustained excellence.Didn't Puskas join Real after he turned 30? Obviously I didn't see him play but his legacy is incredible if it was founded largely on his later years.
Yeah, at Qatarian peaks, enjoying retirement.Xavi.
He was dedicated from the start, it has never been his issue. His issue was that he was confrontational and would get thrown out of clubs quickly.A few dodgy mentions on here, even Zlatan was nowhere near Benzema in actual ability on the pitch and importance for his team. Benzema has always been good, but you have always had that feeling he was declining early... a bit stocky, a bit slow... boy was that wrong! Developed a smartness few can match, so all the physical decrease has been replaced with intelligence and extreme dedication to it as well, highly impressed. I was 100% sure he was going to slowly disappear after Ronaldo left, but he just got better - even though of course he's nowhere near Ronaldo's peak, but only one player in history is - so it's not like that is a negative. As for Cantona... no, he wasn't even old when he retired, he wasn't old when he was at his peak, he just wasn't as dedicated from the start. Few rock stars are...
Lots of examples of 'sustained excellence' as @KeanoMagicHat puts it. Puskas, Di Stefano, Matthews, Nilton Santos, Djalma Santos received a lot of their recognition in their mid-30s. However, you could put that down to the TV era and European competition coming in from the late 1950s onwards broadening their reach and legacy.Puskas was considered the best player in the world at the 1954 World Cup at 27 and destroyed England at Wembley at 26. So I wouldn’t say it was a late peak, just sustained excellence.
Zlatan had those numbers because he was in France at a time when the league was in shambles.I think Zlatan would be the winner if he went to the premier league instead of Ligue 1.
He was 30 when we had a monster 35 goal season for AC Milan in 2011/2012 and has continued to score buckets of goals well into his 30s since but doing it in an inferior league for a highly dominant team like PSG lessens the achievement unfortunately.
That's a good call.Sheringham?
Did well in early years but at Millwall so a lower level. Didn't get in England team.
26 when first joined Spurs (started England apps), 30ish when he came to us, 32/33? and scored FA Cup Final and European Cup Final goals.
Wasn't he 26 when he went to Real? And had played well for Spurs before that?Didn't Modric peak fairly late? He was always class but reached his very best when he was just above 30.
Zlatan had those numbers because he was in France at a time when the league was in shambles.
He never replicated that rate in England, Spain, Italy, Champions League, etc
Also, 35 goals in all competitions is world class no doubt but hardly a monster rate. Serie A was hardly 90's Serie A at the time which was very tough to score in.
We have players consistently scoring more than 40 goals every season in this generation. The very elite bracket.
Yes because if it’s the former it’s Vardy hands down. If it’s the latter there are probably dozens of players in the discussion.Are we talking about late bloomers or about those who had managed to retain an incredible level of performances (that weren’t necessarily better than their original peak) later on in their careers? There seem to be some confusion on the matter.
