Best player ever in the history of many countries

Josh 76 said:
France: zidane. Platini . Henry

Is there a country that can beat this 3?
Click to expand...
Brazil: Pelé, Zico, L. Ronaldo
Argentina: Messi, Maradona, Di Stefano
Netherlands: Cruyff, van Basten, Gullit
Germany: Beckenbauer, Müller, Matthäus

Also good shouts:
Italy: Meazza, Rivera, Baresi
England: Charlton, Moore, Matthews
Portugal: Eusebio, Figo, Cristiano
 
harms said:
Brazil: Pelé, Zico, L. Ronaldo
Argentina: Messi, Maradona, Di Stefano
Netherlands: Cruyff, van Basten, Gullit
Germany: Beckenbauer, Müller, Matthäus

Also good shouts:
Italy: Meazza, Rivera, Baresi
England: Charlton, Moore, Matthews
Portugal: Eusebio, Figo, Cristiano
Click to expand...
Good shout.
 
As pointed out earlier Ole would probably struggle to even make it in a best ever Norway national team to be honest. I'd rate Tore Andre Flo above him. A lot of people rate Tom Lund as one of the best Norwegian footballers ever.

For me it's one of the guys from the core of the teams in the 1990s, and the one who stands out is Myggen in his prime, followed by Bratseth and Rekdal.
 
Vooon said:
As pointed out earlier Ole would probably struggle to even make it in a best ever Norway national team to be honest. I'd rate Tore Andre Flo above him. A lot of people rate Tom Lund as one of the best Norwegian footballers ever.

For me it's one of the guys from the core of the teams in the 1990s, and the one who stands out is Myggen in his prime, followed by Bratseth and Rekdal.
Click to expand...

Myggen was brilliant, but to lazy to make the impact he could have. Loved him, though.

Tom Lund is a good shout. He was actually seen as Ajax' replacement for Cruyff, but was too bound to his hometown (Lillestrøm - god knows why) and did not want to move even though the clubs agreed to a transfer. He retired at hte height of his powers because he could not make a living out of playing in Norway. Professional sports were illegal at the time, and he had to find himself a job to pay the bills. He is frequently ranked as Norways best ever player, but the lack of international success makes him unknown outside Norway.

Hallvar Thoresen might also be a candidate? He ended up being the captain of the great PSV team of the 80's that had players like Hans van Breukelen, Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman, and Gerald Vanenburg - all essential parts of the dutch team that won the Euros in 1988. Thoresen bagged 20 goals for four seasons in a row, won the league and the European cup for PSV. He also had 50 caps for Norway.

Both Lund and Thoresen played in Norways epic victory against England in 1981 and scored Norway's two goals.

Another candidate from history could be Per Bredesen. He won the scudetto with Milan in the 50's. As he was a professional, he was banned from the national team. Supposedly a brilliant player, but hard to gauge as I haven't seen him play, and it's a long time ago.

I'd agree to your suggestions from the 90's. Rekdal is criminally underrated and was probably instrumental to Norway's success. It all fell apart when he retired and fecking Semb tried to replace him with fecking Trond Andersen.
 
ReddBalls said:
Myggen was brilliant, but to lazy to make the impact he could have. Loved him, though.

Tom Lund is a good shout. He was actually seen as Ajax' replacement for Cruyff, but was too bound to his hometown (Lillestrøm - god knows why) and did not want to move even though the clubs agreed to a transfer. He retired at hte height of his powers because he could not make a living out of playing in Norway. Professional sports were illegal at the time, and he had to find himself a job to pay the bills. He is frequently ranked as Norways best ever player, but the lack of international success makes him unknown outside Norway.

Hallvar Thoresen might also be a candidate? He ended up being the captain of the great PSV team of the 80's that had players like Hans van Breukelen, Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman, and Gerald Vanenburg - all essential parts of the dutch team that won the Euros in 1988. Thoresen bagged 20 goals for four seasons in a row, won the league and the European cup for PSV. He also had 50 caps for Norway.

Both Lund and Thoresen played in Norways epic victory against England in 1981 and scored Norway's two goals.

Another candidate from history could be Per Bredesen. He won the scudetto with Milan in the 50's. As he was a professional, he was banned from the national team. Supposedly a brilliant player, but hard to gauge as I haven't seen him play, and it's a long time ago.

I'd agree to your suggestions from the 90's. Rekdal is criminally underrated and was probably instrumental to Norway's success. It all fell apart when he retired.
Click to expand...
Agree, both Lund and Thoresen were too early for me, but everyone who saw them are raving about how good they were. Some claim that Lund would have been a major star in Europe if he'd left Lillestrøm.

As for Myggen I agree, but his peak level was so high, but Rekdal is easily up there as well.

I miss those generations we had in the 90s and early 00s. So many who deserve a mention, most of the guys representing Norway today wouldn't have played a single national team match back in those days.
 
Vooon said:
Agree, both Lund and Thoresen were too early for me, but everyone who saw them are raving about how good they were. Some claim that Lund would have been a major star in Europe if he'd left Lillestrøm.

As for Myggen I agree, but his peak level was so high, but Rekdal is easily up there as well.

I miss those generations we had in the 90s and early 00s. So many who deserve a mention, most of the guys representing Norway today wouldn't have played a single national team match back in those days.
Click to expand...

True.

You also had the guys at RBK who played and won games in the CL for ten years in a row. Players like Strand, Hoftun, Ø. Berg, Skammelsrud were great at European level for their club, but did not shine as much in the national team (bit like Ole). It might have to do with how those two teams were built. The 90's was great!
 
Slovenia is interesting one. See @GifLord has outed himself. :D Handanovic, Oblak or looking at outfield Zahovic or llicic?
 
Vooon said:
Agree, both Lund and Thoresen were too early for me, but everyone who saw them are raving about how good they were. Some claim that Lund would have been a major star in Europe if he'd left Lillestrøm.

As for Myggen I agree, but his peak level was so high, but Rekdal is easily up there as well.

I miss those generations we had in the 90s and early 00s. So many who deserve a mention, most of the guys representing Norway today wouldn't have played a single national team match back in those days.
Click to expand...
Norway, though, seems to be having a new golden generation with Odegard and Haaland.
 
Brazil: Pele

Argentina: Lionel Messi

Holland: Johan Cruyff

France: Michel Platini

Spain: Xavi Hernandez

Germany: Franz Beckenbauer

Italy: Roberto Baggio

Belgium: Eden Hazard

England: Bobby Charlton

Uruguay: Luís Suárez

Croatia: Luka Modrić

Czech Republic: Pavel Nedved

Poland: Zbigniew Boniek

Wales: Gareth Bale

Ireland: Roy Keane

Scotland: Kenny Dalglish

N. Ireland: George Best

Colombia: Carlos Valderrama

Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo

Greece: Vasilis Hatzipanagis

Chile: Miguel Figueroa

Denmark: Michael Laudrup

Sweden: Zlatan Ibrahimovic
 
Infordin said:
I think that Bale had a higher peak, but Giggs' superior longevity makes him a bigger legend.

Hard to separate them.
Click to expand...
Ian Rush had twice as many goals as either of them so no contest. I would put Giggs 2nd and Bale third though.
 
ReddBalls said:
Myggen was brilliant, but to lazy to make the impact he could have. Loved him, though.

Tom Lund is a good shout. He was actually seen as Ajax' replacement for Cruyff, but was too bound to his hometown (Lillestrøm - god knows why) and did not want to move even though the clubs agreed to a transfer. He retired at hte height of his powers because he could not make a living out of playing in Norway. Professional sports were illegal at the time, and he had to find himself a job to pay the bills. He is frequently ranked as Norways best ever player, but the lack of international success makes him unknown outside Norway.

Hallvar Thoresen might also be a candidate? He ended up being the captain of the great PSV team of the 80's that had players like Hans van Breukelen, Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman, and Gerald Vanenburg - all essential parts of the dutch team that won the Euros in 1988. Thoresen bagged 20 goals for four seasons in a row, won the league and the European cup for PSV. He also had 50 caps for Norway.

Both Lund and Thoresen played in Norways epic victory against England in 1981 and scored Norway's two goals.

Another candidate from history could be Per Bredesen. He won the scudetto with Milan in the 50's. As he was a professional, he was banned from the national team. Supposedly a brilliant player, but hard to gauge as I haven't seen him play, and it's a long time ago.

I'd agree to your suggestions from the 90's. Rekdal is criminally underrated and was probably instrumental to Norway's success. It all fell apart when he retired and fecking Semb tried to replace him with fecking Trond Andersen.
Click to expand...
Looking at Norwegian history, Arne Brustad and Henry ‘Tippen’ Johansen were the stars of the best NT ever, who came third in the ‘nazi’ Olympics in 36 (sending Hitler’s hopefuls out crashing first...), and QF in the 38 WC losing marginally to champions Italy.

Harald ‘Dutte’ Berg was Norway’s best player in the 60’s/70’s, when His half of the country were still excluded from the National League because of centralization issues(!). Those who saw him, claim he was better than Lund and Thoresen.

Tom Lund and Dutte Berg were victims of home/faeropøane sickness and cultural oppression, but probably also overrated by some because they never got to show ‘what could have been’.

Rune Bratseth or Hallvard Thoresen are probably more realistic candidates. ‘The Elk’ Bratseth was a star at the very good Werder Bremen side of the 80’s, were known as The Last of the Libero’s and drew comparisons with Beckenbauer in Germany. Thoresen was captain of the PSV team that beat Cruijff’s Barcelona in the champions league, and a star in Eredivisie when players like Van Basten and Gullit played there.
 
Liam Brady is worth a mention as is Mark Hughes purely for his goal against Spain
 
Based on National team Impact and Titles

Ghana: Abedi Pele

Cameroon: Samuel Etoo

Nigeria : Yekini/Okocha

Togo:Adebayor

Ivory coast :Drogba

Egypt:Aboutrika

Algeria:Mahrez

Senegal: Diouf

Zambia:Katongo

South Africa:Ntsoelengoe

Morocco:Hadji

Club Impact/Titles

Cameroon:Etoo

Ghana: Essien

South Africa:McCarthy

Nigeria: Kanu

Egypt:Salah

Algeria:Mahrez

Senegal:Mane

Liberia:Weah

Ivory coast:Drogba/Yaya Toure

Togo: Adebayor
 
Moby said:
No I'm just here to correct other ones! :wenger:
Click to expand...

There are many candidates for Belgium, in reality none of them have actually reached a level where they are untouchable. De Bruyne and Hazard are probably the pick today but while I like Scifo, Ceulemans and Gerets were probably greater players. I feel that the oldies played at a high level for longer though but maybe it's just nostalgia?
 
JPRouve said:
There are many candidates for Belgium, in reality none of them have actually reached a level where they are untouchable. De Bruyne and Hazard are probably the pick today but while I like Scifo, Ceulemans and Gerets were probably greater players. I feel that the oldies played at a high level for longer though but maybe it's just nostalgia?
Click to expand...
I would have Gerets probably as their best player. It is weird to have a fullback as the GOAT for a country, but he was ever present for them during their golden generation in the 80s. In terms of ability he was up there with some of the best defenders of that generation, great athleticism and stamina, and was a proper leader with great mental toughness. Somewhat like a Maldini'esque presence for them. He then captained PSV to a European Cup win in 1988, defeating Madrid in the semis. PSV won 6 league titles in 7 years from 85 to 92 and he was captaining them during that era, so I think he has the best credentials out of the lot.

Cuelemans and Van Moer were their heroic players during the 1980 Euro win. I think KDB has a chance of going down as the best, he needs a CL win and/or maybe a good run in Euros but with a CL win he would be up there.
 
Grande said:
Looking at Norwegian history, Arne Brustad and Henry ‘Tippen’ Johansen were the stars of the best NT ever, who came third in the ‘nazi’ Olympics in 36 (sending Hitler’s hopefuls out crashing first...), and QF in the 38 WC losing marginally to champions Italy.

Harald ‘Dutte’ Berg was Norway’s best player in the 60’s/70’s, when His half of the country were still excluded from the National League because of centralization issues(!). Those who saw him, claim he was better than Lund and Thoresen.

Tom Lund and Dutte Berg were victims of home/faeropøane sickness and cultural oppression, but probably also overrated by some because they never got to show ‘what could have been’.

Rune Bratseth or Hallvard Thoresen are probably more realistic candidates. ‘The Elk’ Bratseth was a star at the very good Werder Bremen side of the 80’s, were known as The Last of the Libero’s and drew comparisons with Beckenbauer in Germany. Thoresen was captain of the PSV team that beat Cruijff’s Barcelona in the champions league, and a star in Eredivisie when players like Van Basten and Gullit played there.
Click to expand...
Good post. Speaking of the Bergs it always dazzles me how Ørjan Berg never made it to a top club in Europe and played more for the NT. He was a beast for Rosenborg during his second spell there.
 
Vooon said:
Good post. Speaking of the Bergs it always dazzles me how Ørjan Berg never made it to a top club in Europe and played more for the NT. He was a beast for Rosenborg during his second spell there.
Click to expand...

The Berg family has produced four players of high National quality, that’s good for any family.

Of the later Norwegian players, Solskjær, Flo and Carew played at as high a level as any before them. In my view, Solskjær was the most impressive, which I thinknis controversial in Norway due to his ‘super-sub’-stereotype status and the fact that Norways extreme tactics under Drillo Olsen and Semb saw aerially powerful solo players like Flo and Carew and later Iversen, crowd out the one striker spot in a 4-5-1, with Solskjær admirably expanded his game to fight for what more or less was protrudent wing back and B2B midfielder positions.

Solskjær is of course most known for THAT goal and his legendary loyalty to the club, but people forget sometimes the quality that At 23 won the striker spot ahead of Andy Cole at a United one notch away from being the best team in Europe, and at 30 replaced and kept out Beckham as RW even after Becks injury, and before the bust-up and Becks going to Real Madrid. During his whole era, United was player by player a superior side to Flo’s Chelsea, Carew’s Valencia/Rome, Bratseth’s Werder Bremen and Thoresen’s PSV. I saw Solskjær live against PSG at 22, and there is no doubt iin my mind he would have become a prolific focal point at any club at that level, while I do doubt that Flo, Thoresen or Carew could ever have emulated what Solskjær did at a club like United, Juve, RM or Bayern at the time. Bratseth is the exception, being a defender.
My choice of best Norwegian player ever would stand between Thoresen, Bratseth and Solskjær, but if I have to pick one, I think I’ll have to go with Solskjær.
 
Haddock said:
Surely Kalusha?
Click to expand...

Chitalu was a prolific goalscorer, scoring 116 goals in 1972. He had an opportunity to win Afcon in 1974 when Zambia reached the final in 1974. He was by no means the spearhead of that agonisingly close run as whilst Zambia had multiple key players, it was ultimately Chanda that was the most impressive for Zambia in that tournament. With that being said, he was able to
win the award for best Zambian player multiple times.

A legitimate case can certainly be made for Kalusha who was a force to be reckoned with when Zambia destroyed Italy at the 1988 Olympics. With Morocco, I could have quite easily chosen Hadji a majestic player or perhaps my favourite Moroccan footballer of all time, Naybet when you take into consideration who Ben Barek played for.

For South Africa, one could quite rightly argue a case for either of Khumalo or Ntsoelengoe who extenuating circumstances prevented him from showcasing his individual brilliance on the international stage.
 
Australia - Harry Kewell
Iran - Ali Daei
Japan - Shinji Kagawa
Philippines - Paulino Alcantara
Saudi Arabia - Mohammed Al-Deayea
South Korea - Cha Bum-kun

Algeria - Lakhdar Belloumi
Cameroon - Samuel Eto'o
DR Congo - Paul Bonga Bonga
Egypt - Mohamed Salah
Gabon - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Ghana - Michael Essien
Ivory Coast - Yaya Toure
Liberia - George Weah
Mali - Salif Keita
Morocco - Larbi Benbarek
Nigeria - Jay-Jay Okocha
Senegal - Kalidou Koulibaly
South Africa - Lucas Radebe
Tunisia - Tarak Dhiab
Zambia - Kalusha Bwalya
Zimbabwe - Bruce Grobbelaar

Canada - Bruce Wilson
Costa Rica - Keylor Nevas
El Salvador - Magico Gonzalez
Honduras - Gilberto Yearwood
Jamaica - Wes Morgan
Mexico - Hugo Sanchez
Trindad & Tobago - Dwight Yorke
USA - Bert Patenaude

Argentina - Diego Maradona
Brazil - Pele
Chile - Elias Figueroa
Columbia - Carlos Valderrama
Ecuador - Alberto Spencer
Paraguay - Carlos Gamarra
Peru - Hector Chumpitaz
Uruguay - Obdulio Varela

New Zealand - Wynton Rufer

Armenia - Nikita Simonyan
Austria - Ernst Ocwirk
Azerbaijan - Anatoliy Banishevskiy
Belarus - Sergei Aleinikov
Belgium - Eric Gerets
Bosnia-Herzegovina - Mirsad Fazlagic
Bulgaria - Hristo Stoichkov
Croatia - Branko Zebec
Czech Republic - Josef Masopust
Denmark - Michael Laudrup
England - Stanley Matthews
Estonia - Mart Poom
Finland - Jari Litmanen
France - Michel Platini
Georgia - Revaz Dzodzuashvili
Germany - Franz Beckenbauer
Greece - Vasilis Hatzipanagis
Hungary - Jozsef Bozsik
Iceland - Gylfi Sigurdsson
Ireland - Roy Keane
Italy - Franco Baresi
Kosovo - Fahrudin Jusufi
Luxembourg - Louis Pilot
Montenegro - Dejan Savicevic
Netherlands - Johan Cruyff
North Macedonia - Goran Pandev
Northern Ireland - George Best
Norway - Rune Bratseth
Poland - Zbigniew Boniek
Portugal - Cristiano Ronaldo
Romania - Gheorghe Hagi
San Marino - Massimo Bonini
Scotland - Denis Law
Serbia - Dragan Dzajic
Slovakia - Jan Popluhar
Slovenia - Jan Oblak
Spain - Francisco Gento
Sweden - Nils Liedholm
Switzerland - Xherdan Shaqiri
Turkey - Rustu Recber
Ukraine - Oleh Blokhin
Wales - John Charles
 
Samid said:
He'd do well to even make the starting XI.
Click to expand...

What?! One of the best finishers in football history who played an important part for one of the best club teams of all time would do well to make an all time Norway XI? As a Norwegian myself: no way.

Whether Solskjær is the best Norwegian player of all time is up for debate. It all comes down to what you value(strength of the team, consistency, playtime, trophies, "x factor" etc). I personally think that he is, but I can understand it when people disagree.
 
Moby said:
I would have Gerets probably as their best player. It is weird to have a fullback as the GOAT for a country, but he was ever present for them during their golden generation in the 80s. In terms of ability he was up there with some of the best defenders of that generation, great athleticism and stamina, and was a proper leader with great mental toughness. Somewhat like a Maldini'esque presence for them. He then captained PSV to a European Cup win in 1988, defeating Madrid in the semis. PSV won 6 league titles in 7 years from 85 to 92 and he was captaining them during that era, so I think he has the best credentials out of the lot.

Cuelemans and Van Moer were their heroic players during the 1980 Euro win. I think KDB has a chance of going down as the best, he needs a CL win and/or maybe a good run in Euros but with a CL win he would be up there.
Click to expand...
:nono:
 
Vooon said:
As pointed out earlier Ole would probably struggle to even make it in a best ever Norway national team to be honest. I'd rate Tore Andre Flo above him.
Click to expand...
That's an interesting one. What's it based on?

I had assumed National football, because at club level Ole played twice as many games at what I would consider a top club - and scored 3 times as many goals.
But when I checked their national team records, they have the exact same number of goals scored but Ole did it in less games.

Of course that's entirely stats based. But my memory of them both playing in the Prem had me rating Ole much higher (as a United fan admittedly!)
 
Hello Guys!
Lurked for some time, first post now... you know, lockdown boredom and all.
Josh 76 said:
France: zidane. Platini . Henry

Is there a country that can beat this 3?
Click to expand...
Nice question, already answered but lets spice it up... per your original trio, only playmakers, offensive midfilders, forwards and wingers, from Platini's generation onward, are allowed:

Better:
Zico, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho
Maradona, Batistuta, Messi
There:
Falcao, Bebeto, Romario
Gullit, Van Basten, Bergkamp
Almost there:
Baggio, Totti, Pirlo
Raul, Xavi, Iniesta
Rumenigge, Matthäus, Kroos
Futre, Figo, Ronaldo
Scholes, Lampard, Gerrard
Not quite there but sexy:
Ceulemans, Hazard, De Bruyne
Rush, Giggs, Bale
Prosinečki, Boban, Bokšić
Seedorf, Van Persie, Robben
Socrates, Rivaldo, Kakà
Francescoli, Forlan, Suarez
Mancini, Zola, Altobelli
Michel, Butragueno, David Silva
Šuker, Modric, Mandžukić
Schuster, Klinsmann, Ballack
Lineker, Shearer, Rooney
Brolin, Larsson, Zlatan
Drogba, Yaya Touré, Kalou
 
Argentina: Messi
Uruguay: Francescoli
Chile: Salas
Paraguay: Chilavert
Perú: Teófilo Cubillas
Colombia: Valderrama
 
BootsyCollins said:
Erik ”Myggen” Mykland. Easily.
Click to expand...
Grande said:
Looking at Norwegian history, Arne Brustad and Henry ‘Tippen’ Johansen were the stars of the best NT ever, who came third in the ‘nazi’ Olympics in 36 (sending Hitler’s hopefuls out crashing first...), and QF in the 38 WC losing marginally to champions Italy.

Harald ‘Dutte’ Berg was Norway’s best player in the 60’s/70’s, when His half of the country were still excluded from the National League because of centralization issues(!). Those who saw him, claim he was better than Lund and Thoresen.

Tom Lund and Dutte Berg were victims of home/faeropøane sickness and cultural oppression, but probably also overrated by some because they never got to show ‘what could have been’.

Rune Bratseth or Hallvard Thoresen are probably more realistic candidates. ‘The Elk’ Bratseth was a star at the very good Werder Bremen side of the 80’s, were known as The Last of the Libero’s and drew comparisons with Beckenbauer in Germany. Thoresen was captain of the PSV team that beat Cruijff’s Barcelona in the champions league, and a star in Eredivisie when players like Van Basten and Gullit played there.
Click to expand...

Agree. Lund was probably the best one we had, plus the ones who played in Germany. Career wise i guess Ole wins it by quite some margin.
There has to be some Berg up there too, too bad some of them had lots of injury problems - thinking about the ones from the 90s-00s, too young for the older generations.

Honourable and hipster mention for Myggen, was unplayable on his day.
 
Grylte said:
Agree. Lund was probably the best one we had, plus the ones who played in Germany. Career wise i guess Ole wins it by quite some margin.
There has to be some Berg up there too, too bad some of them had lots of injury problems - thinking about the ones from the 90s-00s, too young for the older generations.

Honourable and hipster mention for Myggen, was unplayable on his day.
Click to expand...

Myggen was a great character, great technique and a cool head. Slow, weak, no shot, and never really rose above 1860 München and dominating Zweite Bundesliga at club level. I remember him coming drunk onto the pitch at my local club Vålerenga for his stag do,getting a mike shoved into his face and promising that he would returned to play for the club of Bohémes in Oslo. Never happened, but it was one of those perfect moments.

myggen was known to be a bit artistic, altrrnative and intellectual becuse of his hippie hair and beard and an interview were he said his favourite book was Ingvar Ambjørnsen’s bohemian travesty ‘White Niggers’.

He later revealed that he was a straight boring guy who had read that book for a school project, tjat he hadn’t opened another book in his life, and that he just couldn’t be arsed shaving or going to get his hair cut. (How do you like them apples, Paul ...).

Like I said in another post, if pressed, Inthink I’d still opt for Solskjær as best ever Norwegian player, in spite of his carreer rather than because of it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.