Coppa Italia final. Thought that would be obvious by the pace of the match.
Has there been a player with a better first touch than Berbatov?
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Cantona had a better touch as well and he used it far better than Berbatov as well. This is a ridiculous thread
I don't think the discussion is about touching WOMEN ;P
This is just INSANE!
WOW
Fantastic player Stojkovic, could have been a world beater had it not been for the injuries.
Juan Mata has the best first touch in the Prem right now.
He should have been booked for unsporting behaviour.
I think it even drew applause.
I'd have David Silva above him but yeah Mata is up there.
Zidane and Bergkamp.
A good first touch isn't just trapping high balls on your foot with ease. Forwards lime Ruud and RVP probably had a better touch anyway, they play further up the pitch and receive passes that are way more difficult to control.
Cruyff wasn't bad. This first touch is ridiculous.
Not first touch wise IMO, i'd go as far as saying he may even have the best first touch in Europe (Messi aside). van Persie is definately up there too.
I remember that goal and game well. What a goal and what a performance from Madrid that was.
To say all Berbatov did was kill high balls/against weak teams/in acres of space with his touch is simply wrong.
His hold up play was quite simply the best I've seen- he didn't always find (or even look for) the killer pass but he was almost impossible to dispossess. Many have said that Rvp is better at this than Berba- no.
He had superb upper body strength and great balance. I don't think I've seen him pressured into giving the ball away by less than 2-3 defenders. He had a brilliant ability to kill passes fizzed in at him dead and then use his strength to hold off the defender till he found a safe pass.
The one time I've seen Rvp reach and perhaps surpass those levels of hold-up play were at the Bernabeu, where he gave the quintessential Berba big game performance of holding the ball up while isolated, relieving the pressure on the defence- and then missing the big chance that comes your way.
These are the touches you don't see in youtube, it's only when you're paying attention to the player across matches (which I did for Berbatov, every single match he played) that you realise how good/bad he is at this.
*-Though I do think these match compilations give a decent indication of what I am talking about.
http://vbox7.com/play:e4a9579e
That's 180 minutes of football against top-4 opposition in which he is dispossesed once, when surrounded by 4 Liverpool players while trying to juggle a ball in mid air. He evades 3 before being tackled. He also misses 1 simple pass down the flank. Other than those 2 moments, he simply doesn't lose the ball.
Also, Silva > Mata for 1st touch. And timing and weight of pass. He is perfect.
His hold up play was quite simply the best I've seen- he didn't always find (or even look for) the killer pass but he was almost impossible to dispossess. Many have said that Rvp is better at this than Berba- no.
He had superb upper body strength and great balance. I don't think I've seen him pressured into giving the ball away by less than 2-3 defenders. He had a brilliant ability to kill passes fizzed in at him dead and then use his strength to hold off the defender till he found a safe pass.
The one time I've seen Rvp reach and perhaps surpass those levels of hold-up play were at the Bernabeu, where he gave the quintessential Berba big game performance of holding the ball up while isolated, relieving the pressure on the defence- and then missing the big chance that comes your way.
These are the touches you don't see in youtube, it's only when you're paying attention to the player across matches (which I did for Berbatov, every single match he played) that you realise how good/bad he is at this.
*-Though I do think these match compilations give a decent indication of what I am talking about.
http://vbox7.com/play:e4a9579e
That's 180 minutes of football against top-4 opposition in which he is dispossesed once, when surrounded by 4 Liverpool players while trying to juggle a ball in mid air. He evades 3 before being tackled. He also misses 1 simple pass down the flank. Other than those 2 moments, he simply doesn't lose the ball.
Also, Silva > Mata for 1st touch. And timing and weight of pass. He is perfect.
It sure was but Berba had that in his locker as well. Again, finiding his stuff on youtube is a bit hard, but for me it's a pleasure searching
So here:
Beating his marker by a smart 1st touch at 0:36 and 0:45
A touch and spin - and then follow-up pace- that Giggs would have been happy with at 3:16
0:40 and 1:41 on this- markers are left befuddled.
There's another I remember clearly but can't find a video- it was an assist to Rooney vs Fulham on 2009/10, probably Feb-March '10. He took a high ball on the wing and beat the fullback with his 1st touch before cutting it back for a tap-in. It was during a big dry spell for Berba in front of goal and I think he later scored in the same game.
What?
I'm sorry but Berba was constantly shite for us in the big games. His record will speak for itself.
The berba love fest never ceased to amaze me. In the grand scheme of things he was insignificant and a poor signing.
There's a reason why he got benched in 08/09 CL final despite being a new 30m pound signing. Suffered worse humiliation when he got left out of the squad in the 10/11 CL Final.
Golden boot winner or not, he's a poor signing and Fergie realised his mistake. Overall, not a player you would want for a team challenging for honours. Spurs was just about his level.
Golden boot winner or not, he's a poor signing and Fergie realised his mistake. Overall, not a player you would want for a team challenging for honours. Spurs was just about his level.
How can you say that when we all know how important his contribution to the title winning season was ?
Bergkamp was better. Technique-wise it doesn't get better than Bergkamp.
Saw him yesterday at Nice airport (France), at the baggage security area thingee. Think he was dropping someone off, or something like that, proper gentleman that guy was. Had a quick chat with him, and he seemed to be alright with life in Monaco.
I personally was part of the Berbatov love fest while he was in our squad. Had a chuckle when I asked him whether he was still a lazy footballer for his new team as he was for us
Good banter, very decent fella this one.
I personally was part of the Berbatov love fest while he was in our squad. Had a chuckle when I asked him whether he was still a lazy footballer for his new team as he was for us
Good banter, very decent fella this one.
I will let it.What?
I'm sorry but Berba was constantly shite for us in the big games. His record will speak for itself.
His debut was vs Liverpool - assist for our only goal at Anfield. Next game was at Stamford Bridge- assist for our only goal. IIRC the next 'big game' he was picked for was Chelsea home, where he scored the 3rd in a generally good performance. He missed a big chance vs Inter. Next came the 4-1 loss to Liverpool where he was as bad as the rest of the team. He was very good in the crucial 5-2 comeback vs Spurs (not really a big game but it was crucial to the title), with a hand in 3 of the goals.
Next season he dropped a level, and wasn't generally picked for the big games. He wasn't great vs Chelsea but was super isolated all game and up against Terry and Carvalho; also, he hadn't been starting games for some time before that. None as a lone striker for sure.
Next season was easily his best season. Of course there was the hattrick vs Liverpool, which was one of the best recent performances by a United player in a 'big game'. He was average vs Arsenal at home. He was again average at City away but had no service and held the ball well enough. He won the penalty for our only goal vs Liverpool in the FA Cup. He was brought on vs City at home when it was 1-1 and IMO improved our play just as we were losing control of the game. Of course, Rooney won us that game. He was anonymous in a sea of shitness at Anfield, not helped by a baffling midfield selection. He missed a sitter vs City in the FA semi.
He was not picked for another big game after that.
Anyway, my point is that he had a below average scoring record in the big games- but his hold up play was almost always excellent- which is why I was comparing his performances to RvP at the Bernebeu.
And we played so wonderfully well in those finals in his absence!
Fwiw, I didn't want him to start in 2010/11 but to keep him of the bench was wrong. I would've preferred to have a 4-5-1 with Rooney alone up top and a blanket 5 man midfield. Berba would be an option if we were cramped in our own half and needed someone to hold the ball up and bring others into play. It's what he did when he came on in the 09 Final, and it led to our best chance he made (Ronaldo missed a 1v1 from Berba's cutback)
Might want to get a reaction like that checked out.
Apart from his touch, the thing that impressed me about Berba was how strong he was (he probably still is, but I don't watch him anymore). A number of times I saw him get the ball with a defender leaning against him, almost trying their hardest to push him over, but I don't remember seeing them actually succeeding very often.
RVP 11/12 was not only great at holdup play. His finishing was beastly, had fantastic movement and could play well with our attackers. All of those which Berba has never or seldom showed us. He plays best when he's deeper in midfield. He's not someone who could occupy the CBs and put up a battling display.
We thought we bought a great target man who could offer us something different from Rooney and Tevez. In the end he's more similar to the both of them than someone like Ruud or Saha. It was just a bad purchase at that time and he never fitted in.
I guess this is not the thread to discuss his success and failure here but just a thread to
over his best moments- anywayAbout RvP, all I'm pointing out is the Bernabeu game where his finishing was the opposite of beastly. I'm criticising Berba saying his standard big game usually ended up like that.
About playing better deeper- I disagree he couldn't do the job upfront. He didn't battle too well for headers but any ball on the ground was his and he wouldn't lose it. I saw RvP lose it with a bad touch (comparatively) a LOT today. (I was pathetic enough to be looking out for it having read this thread). Berba 09/10 vs Spurs was a beautiful job vs an in-form team (they had beaten Chelsea and Arsenal) as a lone striker bullying CBs and linking up. Also, his best football came in 2010/11 when he was upfront with Rooney, Nani and Park behind him. A time when he fitted in well enough to be Golden Boot winner. He was like Rooney in a sense- his stats was better as a #9 but even when played upfront he liked dropping deep to get the ball.
These are his stats:
08/09 (as a proper #10)
36 starts, 13 goals
09/10 (worst year, playing behind Rooney)
28 starts, 12 goals
10/11 (Golden Boot, playing upfront as the #9)
32 starts, 19 goals
11/12 (dropped, mostly playing smaller games as the #10 behind Hernandez)
12 starts, 9 goals
11 goals in 3 games against Liverpool, Blackburn and Birmingham. Sometimes statistics can be very deceiving. Take that 11 goals in 3 games away and it becomes 11 goals in 39 games and 0 goals in the CL. After the hattrick against Liverpool, he went 2 months without scoring and then popped up with 5 goals against Blackburn. Compare that with Hernandez who had a wider spread of goals despite playing lesser minutes and managed only 2 goals lesser than Berba. Point here I'm trying to make is that even in his best season for us, he was still a hit and miss, and generally didn't fit our play. We played our best football when Hernandez was in the team, as evident by our CL performances, which Berba was omitted from.I guess this is not the thread to discuss his success and failure here but just a thread to
About RvP, all I'm pointing out is the Bernabeu game where his finishing was the opposite of beastly. I'm criticising Berba saying his standard big game usually ended up like that.
About playing better deeper- I disagree he couldn't do the job upfront. He didn't battle too well for headers but any ball on the ground was his and he wouldn't lose it. I saw RvP lose it with a bad touch (comparatively) a LOT today. (I was pathetic enough to be looking out for it having read this thread). Berba 09/10 vs Spurs was a beautiful job vs an in-form team (they had beaten Chelsea and Arsenal) as a lone striker bullying CBs and linking up. Also, his best football came in 2010/11 when he was upfront with Rooney, Nani and Park behind him. A time when he fitted in well enough to be Golden Boot winner. He was like Rooney in a sense- his stats was better as a #9 but even when played upfront he liked dropping deep to get the ball.
These are his stats:
08/09 (as a proper #10)
36 starts, 13 goals
09/10 (worst year, playing behind Rooney)
28 starts, 12 goals
10/11 (Golden Boot, playing upfront as the #9)
32 starts, 19 goals
11/12 (dropped, mostly playing smaller games as the #10 behind Hernandez)
12 starts, 9 goals
During the Ferguson era, who had the better "first touch" than Berbatov?
Cantona
Giggs
Ronaldo
That's probably about it, although Scholes was equally immense.
If we're talking only about killing a ball out of the air, then Berbatov. But if we're talking about the entire range of balls that come to a footballer, then those three.
Cantona
Giggs
Ronaldo
That's probably about it, although Scholes was equally immense.
If we're talking only about killing a ball out of the air, then Berbatov. But if we're talking about the entire range of balls that come to a footballer, then those three.
Why would you penalise his 2 best performances of the season (the Liverpool one should get more credit than it does given the rivals, given the quality of the 2nd goal and the timing of the 3rd, and 5 goals a game is genuinely rare)?
(I don't rate Birmingham that high, his 3rd best performance that season was in the comeback away at Blackpool when he scored 2 of the 3 within some 20 minutes, and also away at Goodison where he played as a bruising #9, scored a pretty great goal for 3-1 but defensive messups cost us in the 90th minute)
Our 3 best performances v Chelsea for sure. He stretched that slow defense beautifully, making space for Rooney to kill them with.
The matches involving Rooney- Hernandez as the starting front 2 during the run-in (when Berba was properly and finally dropped) involved away losses to Chelsea and Arsenal (1-2, 0-1), away draws vs Newcastle and Blackburn (0-0 and 1-1) , a 1-0 win at home vs Everton, a good away romp at Wigan (4-0), and a 2-1 home win over Chelsea, easily the best game of that lot.
That's an unexceptional run-in and could have cost us had we not built such a big lead earlier.
Berba started 2 games during this run in (both wins, 2-0 Fulham and 4-2 Blackpool), he came on for Hernandez at half time vs Bolton and scored a 90th minute winner, and both he and Hernandez came on vs West Ham and a 2-0 loss became a 4-2 win.
In the CL, we beat Marseille 2-1 and Schalke 2-0 away, the 2nd was a great performance-but then, our '2nd string' (Berba as the lone forward) also demolished them 4-1 at home. Hernandez was at his best over the 2 legs vs Chelsea (1-0, 2-1) And of course the CL Final (1-3 loss)
Our records that season (for matches they started)
Berbatov:
19 wins-10 draws-3 losses
Hernandez:
17 wins-6 draws -4 losses
Hernandez did start more big games than Berba-
10 games, Chelsea*4, Arsenal*2, Liverpool, Barcelona, Marseille, Schalke (7-0-3)
vs
6 games, Liverpool*3, Marseille, Schalke, City (FA Cup semi) (3-1-2)
But Hernandez also did start 3 games against lower league opposition- Crawley Town, Scunthorpe, Southampton (3-0-0). Berba didn't have any such games- apart from 3 CL games and 1 in the FA Cup, and all the rest of his starts were PL games.
Anyway, more pertinent to this thread, I've heard that Berba 1st caught SAF's eye after a good performance vs us for Leverkusen- does anyone have highlights?
Can't find them anywhere
Can't find them anywhere
a.k.a. God
I'm not penalising him. I'm just showing how inflated his goal tally was from that 3 games and generally how much of a hit-and-miss he was for us. Hernandez, on the other hand, started 5 games lesser and had 18 starts from the bench compared to Berba's 10, yet he still had a more consistent scoring rate. He even equalled Berba's goal tally in the CL from three seasons in just one. This was a 23-year old guy plucked from some obscure Mexican Club we are talking about here.
Chelsea and Arsenal away was always going to be tough. Both matches were very tight and could have gone either way. If I recall correctly Chelsea was also given a very soft penalty. Fergie seldom trusted Berba in the big games because he always so typically shite in them. Apart of that hattrick against Liverpool, I'm really struggling to remember any big games where he had an actual impact. And this was a 30m pound signing we are talking about. He played as the main forward for us several times that season when Wayne was mysteriously "injured" following the events of Rooney-gate and he failed spectacularly by scoring absolutely nothing.
Funny that you'd bring up that 90th winner against Bolton because the amount of times Hernandez rescued us that season bordered on the ridiculous. By the way, when we played Blackburn, we already had the title wrapped up.
86th minute winner against Stoke
77th minute winner from the bench against Wigan
75th minute winner from the bench against West Brom. Berbatov was subbed for him.
74th minute Equaliser against Blackpool. Again from the bench.
84th minute winner against Everton. This was the game after the Newcastle draw.
Goal against Chelsea in 36 seconds to effectively destroy their morale. Title was on the line.
In the CL:
85th minute winner against Valencia. Came off the bench to rescue us in a match where Berbatov played as the lone forward and was typically ineffective.
Sent us to the quarter-final by scoring two goals to end Marseille. First Leg was another useless performance from Berba.
Ran the Chelsea defence ragged and scored the first goal. By then Fergie already realised Berba's not the player for us.
And I haven't include his performances for us in the FA cup and League where he scored two late winners.
I don't deny that he is a great technician, but being a forward is more than that. Berbatov has the frame of a #9, but his playing style is more akin to a #10. His holdup play looks good because he is so languid and always plays with his back facing the opposition, but the thing is that he generally tries to receive the ball to his feet deep in midfield where he can hold off challenges by shielding it with his large frame, and then lay it off to another player. You compare that with someone like Ruud or RVP both pure #9 who plays the furtherest up the pitch and posts himself onto on a CB. For team like us who don't dominate possession as much, they receive passes that are hit from distance with pace and control them under extreme pressure from sometimes not one but two CBs. RVP against Real Madrid is a good example of that. We played predominately on the counter in that match and most of the time he fighting for scraps and loose balls against Pepe and Ramos and yet he succeeded in playing our players in a few times. If we had Berbatov instead of RVP, I'm 100% sure the system would have failed. In and around box, I can say their first touch is better than Berbatov, whether be it a first time shot or the correct control for the pass. This is part where Berbatov, like Welbeck, is terrible at. They lack the killer instincts and composure in the box. He might be a very aesthetically pleasing player, but I believe players like him are obsolete in today's game. Ibrahimovic and Lewandoski are probably closest type. However, they knew how to play a pure centre-forward and they can score goals.
Then by the same token Hernandez's big-game performances were inflated by those 3 wins vs Chelsea- he was terrible vs Arsenal and abysmal vs Barca.
He's a great super sub and was perfect for Chelsea- I did not deny that. I contested that we "played our "best football" that season when we dropped Berba. The drop in goals scored is quite drastic in that run-in (9 goals in 7 games of Rooney-Hernandez) , I've listed all the games in my previous post.
We were awful vs Arsenal, Hernandez included. We started with virtually the same lineup vs Barca who were tactically and technically, a hugely upgraded Arsenal, and the awfulness was multiplied. It was predictable and avoidable if we had stuck with Rooney as a lone striker. Arsenal and Barca found it easy to trap Hernandez offside and removed the main weapon that damaged Chelsea- runs in behind that stretched the defence.
Chelsea was a tight game and tough to lose, agreed.
As I pointed out in my 1st post, his 1st season had 3 assists and 1 goal in 6 "big game" starts (we scored 9 goals in those games, he had a hand in 4). Next season I don't recall him starting a single big game apart from the disaster vs Chelsea.
2010/11 was the hattrick and an assist vs Liverpool in the FA Cup an another assist vs Schalke in the CL semi - 3 goals, 2 assists in 6 starts (from a total of 9 goals)
SAF surely did not trust him- undeniable. But this record isn't "shite" by most measures.
Another thing- he was great for both Spurs and Fulham in the big games- he was MotM vs us once and scored once, scored thrice + 1 assist vs Chelsea, a goal and 2 assists vs Arsenal, a goal and 2 assists vs Liverpool over 2 seasons for Spurs.
For Fulham, he scored the winner at White Hart Lane, a goal vs Liverpool, MotM in a goalless draw vs Chelsea, and 2 goals, an assist, and MotM at the Emirates in his 1st season.
Maybe as the main man (which he undoubtedly was at Spurs and Fulham) his big game performances would get better? After all he only played 2 "big games" for us as the principal focus of attack- one was an average performance in an average draw to Marseille, the other was an awesome hattrick vs Liverpool.
I think the same applied to his time at Leverkusen too- I read that he had a great game vs us that caught SAF's eye, and he did play a great match vs Bayern which saw Leverkusen beat Bayern 4-1 (2 goals for him). Unfortunately not many videos of that team floating around.
Right now he had an assist for the only goal vs Leverkusen playing for Monaco as a very isolated #9.
He was our top scorer! He and Nani carried that attack till end January, pretty much on their own. The only additions were supersub goals by Hernandez and some unexpected goalscoring from Park. Berba is also the only non penalty taking golden boot winner I can remember, and, apart from that shite he served vs Everton in the FA Cup, he has scored 14 of 14 for his his 3 clubs in England.
Throughout SAF's time, we tended to dominate possession. I don't know where to look for those stats but am 100% sure it is true.
Anyway RvP vs Madrid was what started this comparison- I said it was the best holdup play I had seen at United but also a poor display of finishing and thus compared it to a Berba performance. I don't think he would've managed some of the tricks RvP did to get us out of pressure on the touchline but he surely could've "done a job" in that role. Having said that, I haven't seen another game on that level of holdup play from RvP. IMO he does tend to get dispossessed more than Berba.
Again, agreed that Berba lacks the killer instinct which would have made him a great. But this discussion originally started about his hold-up play. Then it spread to the notion that Hernandez replacing him improved our football. I have never argued that he is anywhere close to being RvN/RvP.
And the bolded part- never going to convince me about that
I see the comparison with Ibra but not with Lewandowski-
anyway, about "obsolete"- I think that is what pure poachers are- Benzema, Costa, Lewandowski, Drogba, Muller are the strikers of the last few CL finalists- Benzema is terrible at finishing but awesome at buildup, Costa and Drogba are stereotypical "big men" but with added skill, Lewandowski is a complete #9 with delicious linkup play.
All are technically at least good, at most excellent. The only exception is Mandzukic, but Pep has ditched him now...I think Hernandez and others like him (can't think of any such players though) are awesome off the bench but shouldn't start for big teams, they harm the playing style too much unless off their off the ball movement gets calibrated perfectly to the rest of the team's passing.
One of his "assist" was his shot spilled by the keeper and got tapped in. The other was a near post flick which got headed in. An assist is still an assist but those were not most convincing and they don't really do much to highlight his ability.
Don't kid yourself. He played more than 2 games as the "main man" and he was average in most of it.
During 10/11 he played in the 4-3 against Citeh and didn't really do much except watch Tevez, the guy he replaced, score two against us. Got subbed off for Owen and the substitute scored the winner. Started against Liverpool and we lost 2-0. The title deciding match against Chelsea was probably the game was probably the final straw for Fergie. Rooney was injured and Berba was expected to carry us. As usual he was not up to the task of being the lone striker. I think what killed everyone was how blunt our attack look with him playing. We needed cutting edge in the final third and it was sorely lacking from him. Macheda came on as a sub as scored with like his second touch of the ball.
The same trend would continue next season when Rooney got himself injured. Played as the lone striker against Valencia and Man City and was utter gash.
He had good spells at Spurs, Fulham and Monaco because they tailor made the system to give him complete freedom. At United, he was obviously not going to be given that kind of luxury and he suffered as a result.
Berbatov was terrible for us in the lone striker role. He's doesn't occupy the CBs, is shit in the air and his lack of movements generally kills any counterattack. He is a forward but thinks like a playmaker. Someone like RVP with his playing style will obviously get dispossessed more. Playing upfront alone against an entire defence is probably the hardest role to play in football. That performance from RVP against Real Madrid is something you don't get to see from Berbatov. He has his best games when he plays behind a "battering ram" kind of striker who can push back the opposition's defence line and let him work his magic between the lines. At Spurs he had Robbie Keane, at Fulham he had Rodallega.He was our top scorer! He and Nani carried that attack till end January, pretty much on their own. The only additions were supersub goals by Hernandez and some unexpected goalscoring from Park. Berba is also the only non penalty taking golden boot winner I can remember, and, apart from that shite he served vs Everton in the FA Cup, he has scored 14 of 14 for his his 3 clubs in England.
Throughout SAF's time, we tended to dominate possession. I don't know where to look for those stats but am 100% sure it is true.
Anyway RvP vs Madrid was what started this comparison- I said it was the best holdup play I had seen at United but also a poor display of finishing and thus compared it to a Berba performance. I don't think he would've managed some of the tricks RvP did to get us out of pressure on the touchline but he surely could've "done a job" in that role. Having said that, I haven't seen another game on that level of holdup play from RvP. IMO he does tend to get dispossessed more than Berba.
Again, agreed that Berba lacks the killer instinct which would have made him a great. But this discussion originally started about his hold-up play. Then it spread to the notion that Hernandez replacing him improved our football. I have never argued that he is anywhere close to being RvN/RvP.
And the bolded part- never going to convince me about that
I see the comparison with Ibra but not with Lewandowski-
anyway, about "obsolete"- I think that is what pure poachers are- Benzema, Costa, Lewandowski, Drogba, Muller are the strikers of the last few CL finalists- Benzema is terrible at finishing but awesome at buildup, Costa and Drogba are stereotypical "big men" but with added skill, Lewandowski is a complete #9 with delicious linkup play.
All are technically at least good, at most excellent. The only exception is Mandzukic, but Pep has ditched him now...I think Hernandez and others like him (can't think of any such players though) are awesome off the bench but shouldn't start for big teams, they harm the playing style too much unless off their off the ball movement gets calibrated perfectly to the rest of the team's passing.
Overrall, he's just a poor purchase from us. Felt like our scouts didn't do their homework and we just thought we should buy someone expensive after our 07/08 success.
Players like Messi and Ronaldo have outrageous first touches but there are a clutch of players who had an other worldly ability to bring the ball down when it came from insane angles, at insane trajectories and at all sorts of speeds. And to not only bring it down but control the direction in which they did so. Berbatov was definitely one of those. Ronaldinho, Maradona and Zidane all did it too. But no-one had a better touch than Bergkamp.
Will always have a lot of time for Berbatov, he splits opinion and probably rightly so but any person who understand the game realises just how good some of the things he could do were.
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