Just imagine how that transfer window (also including Benzema, Xabi Alonso and a couple others like Arbeloa, Albiol) would be remembered if Kaka hadn't struggled like that.
How good was peak Kaka?
- Thread starter Edgar Allan Pillow
- Start date
It was pretty clear from the get-go. Ronaldo scored 5 goals in his first 4 games and genuinely looked like he’s been there for years. Kaka struggled to fit in the team throughout it all.
Going by this thread, he’s really underrated.
He was already done when Messi & CR trully stepped on the spotlight. Even the last Ballon D'or he won I thought Ronaldo deserved it more but that game vs Utd and them winning the UCL title was probably the final factor.
What? How old are you? That is the trademark Kaka play, running with the ball at high acceleration.
Identical goal, in Champions League (is this friendly too?)
He was deceptively fast with and without the ball, and strong so was hard to tackle or win the ball from easily. His peak was too short but was fun to watch, especially with Brazil team alongside Ronaldinho, robinho, adriano, ronaldo around 2005-6.
Maybe I am the only one here but I think peak Adriano was better than peak Kaka.
Also, it was expected that he'd struggled.
Common wisdom here in Italy was that Kakà was declining and Milan was eager to cash in on him before the rest of the world caught up to the fact that he was entering past-it pastures.
I've read the post about City trying and failing to sign him that January, it was more like Galliani trying hard to sell him, despite all the posturing on the media, and Berlusconi vetoing the transfer last-minute, to his CEO consternation, due to Silvio's romanticism as a patron and populism as a politician (a fun fact is that Kakà actual sale to Real in the summer was announced in the morning the day just after the elections).
What ? No...NO...NONO just NO
Kaka = the best of both Bruno and Pogba combined but faster.
It’s not an outlandish claim given just how outrageous Adriano was for about 12-15 months or so in 2004 and 2005. Fair to say he was better than Kaka during that period and was Brazil’s leading man in the Copa and Confederations tournaments. But it’s a really short peak compared to just about everybody else who has performed at that level.
We're talking real football, not Pro Evolution Soccer.
That Inter squad. Found out later that one of the game editors was a big Inter fanboy - gave almost every player +10 stats
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At the time he was behind only Ronaldo and Messi. Truely world class.
Struggle to imagine what position he’d play in the modern game. He wouldn’t suit a midfield 3 nor wide forward in a 4-3-3. He would probably have to take on a more muller role behind the striker with his skill-set but don’t know if he has Mueller’s work-rate off the ball. Players of his style are more a thing of the past and difficult to accommodate tactically in today’s game.
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He had unbelievable physical attributes. He was one of the fastest players I’ve ever seen and also very strong.
His technical ability, passing and vision was also elite.
Kaka was a hybrid of KDB and Bale.
His technical ability, passing and vision was also elite.
Kaka was a hybrid of KDB and Bale.
Like most other Brazalian, his peak was sweet and short,
He had the most beautiful first touch and turn... made it look so simple and effortless.
His peak was really short but it was unreal. He had the perfect mix of balance, speed and passing. It was a very unusual style and difficult to compare to any modern player. He complimented the entire team. The thing that made Kaka special is this. You couldn't man mark him. He would either exploit the space through teammates or destroy you himself when underestimated. It was a very short peak but memorable player, top level technical ability. Couldn't be pinned down by one attribute like pace or shooting ability. Like a mix of everything with no obvious weakness. Put it this way, he wasn't bad at any aspect of the game. Physicality, balance, heading, passing, finishing, defending if needed. Real Madrid wrecked it all, was built for AC Milan. The Galictico shit just threw names together with no chemistry and then injuries.
Kaka was a true and great trequartista
Yup hence I mentioned only the peak. In terms of length of elite form no doubt Kaka was better. No idea why some posters had go be so sarcastic of that opinion, peak Adrian was avery very scary player to play against
Best player i've seen live. A one man counter attack.
That was sonething else. Looked like an effortlessly superior gliding motion initially. Replay really showed Kaka's uniquely powerful momentum in action.
Very similar player to R9 in some respects. Perhaps not quite as good or terrifying, but a joy to watch.
His inertia is freakishly good.
Ridiculous balance and high accelerating pace.
Defense almost always cannot stop his accelerating momentum.
Could go from one end to the pitch in his team own half to the far end at the other half in less than a minute.
That's how good he is physically during his peak. Couple that with his ability on the ball as a playmaker, ballcarrier, goalscorer, dribbler and distance shooter and you get a one hell of a unique player. Alas, his peak are too short but an amazing peaks it was. As soon as he decline, he's just so bad. I recall he had strong injuries right? Before his obvious declines.
His peak.. was it 3 years or something? He proved it in the two biggest stages - World Cup and CL consistently in those period, which is amazing and pure entertaining.
Ridiculous balance and high accelerating pace.
Defense almost always cannot stop his accelerating momentum.
Could go from one end to the pitch in his team own half to the far end at the other half in less than a minute.
That's how good he is physically during his peak. Couple that with his ability on the ball as a playmaker, ballcarrier, goalscorer, dribbler and distance shooter and you get a one hell of a unique player. Alas, his peak are too short but an amazing peaks it was. As soon as he decline, he's just so bad. I recall he had strong injuries right? Before his obvious declines.
His peak.. was it 3 years or something? He proved it in the two biggest stages - World Cup and CL consistently in those period, which is amazing and pure entertaining.
A bigger version of Zico, sans the free-kicks. An engine of destruction in the champions league at age 22.
It's an interesting exercise ranking him against the greatest brazilian attacking midfielders to see where he actually lies in the pantheon.
My opinion would look something like this - counting players like rivellino/jairzinho/pele/tostao as midfielders rather than wingers/forwards because of the way they all frequently occupied the no 10 position in an interchanging fashion despite being set up as the four forwards in a nominal 4-2-4 for that brazil 1970 side. For the same reason I haven't included players like garrincha who were specialist wingers.
I've excluded purely defensive midfielders like clodoaldo but included deep lying playmakers like gerson/falcao because of their instrumental short and long passing which were at the heart of everything those brazil sides of 1970 and 1982 did.
So here goes -
Pele
Gerson - Zico
rivellino - tostao
ronaldinho - socrates
falcao - jairzinho
kaka - rivaldo - didi
My opinion would look something like this - counting players like rivellino/jairzinho/pele/tostao as midfielders rather than wingers/forwards because of the way they all frequently occupied the no 10 position in an interchanging fashion despite being set up as the four forwards in a nominal 4-2-4 for that brazil 1970 side. For the same reason I haven't included players like garrincha who were specialist wingers.
I've excluded purely defensive midfielders like clodoaldo but included deep lying playmakers like gerson/falcao because of their instrumental short and long passing which were at the heart of everything those brazil sides of 1970 and 1982 did.
So here goes -
Pele
Gerson - Zico
rivellino - tostao
ronaldinho - socrates
falcao - jairzinho
kaka - rivaldo - didi
Bucket*
don't wanna be that guy, but... one end of the pitch to the other in less than a minute is walking gait =D
A player I simultaneously adored and hated. Genuinely one of a kind.
Just thinking about this man. It’s incredible that he always looked like he touched the ball too far but yet he completely had it under control.
He used to operate at incredible speed in the middle of the pitch - driving forward. He attacked the space.
He used to operate at incredible speed in the middle of the pitch - driving forward. He attacked the space.
He's amazing, but this is easily doable by any professional player
Zidane was more pleasing on the eye but Kaka is a close 2nd to being one of my favourite traditional number 10 from that era.
He was fecking unplayable in the champions league for a good few years in the mid to late 00s. First time I truly felt jealous that a club had a player we couldn't get.
I wonder if in the modern game if he would have played as a False 9 - let him dribble to take on the defenders from deep and see whether to make a pass to inverted forwards or shoot from there.
For a good 4-5 years he was genuine world class.
Up there with Rui Costa as my favourite player in that role
Up there with Rui Costa as my favourite player in that role
He would have made my Sunday Pub team.
He was absolutely fecking insane at his peak. Like Zidane tier.