Most Talented Player Of Our Times
- Thread starter NewGlory
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The one who is the most flashy is the most talented.
Messi, with a guargantuan margin.
It depends what you understand by "our times". If you were born in the late 90's-early 00's, it's normal for you to choose him.
If, like some of us, you are way older, it's between R9 and R10. I'd even add Baggio in the mix, he was incredibly gifted as well.
Messi does nothing for me, he's just too simple a dribbler, can't do any tricks at all.
Ronaldo does not really do any "tricks" either and he and Messi are almost unanimously considered the top 2 talented currently playing.
Who do you rate above those two in terms of trickery/talent, currently playjng?
Messi, comfortably.
Off the top of my head in my last 35yrs of watching football
in no particular order:
Messi
Ronaldinho
Maradona
Ronaldo
Baggio
Zidane
Cristiano Ronaldo
in no particular order:
Messi
Ronaldinho
Maradona
Ronaldo
Baggio
Zidane
Cristiano Ronaldo
I was born in the early 80's. I stand by my point.
Your last sentence is mental, come on man, just a simple dribbler is selling him a tiny bit short. It's like saying sliced bread is just a simple division of rectangular pieces of grain.
Dont get me wrong I much prefered Ronaldinho and think Messi is a boring cnut, but his talent is undeniable. Even Ronaldo's best ever season is nothing compared to his and while I agree football from the 90s is different from football now, you cant summarily exclude Messi from a list of most talented ever.
In the order from beginning of time I’ve watched football:
Maradona
Baggio
L.Ronaldo
Zidane
Ronaldinho
Cristiano
Messi
Neymar
Maradona
Baggio
L.Ronaldo
Zidane
Ronaldinho
Cristiano
Messi
Neymar
Why do you equate talents and trick? Do you consider Freestyle fooballers to be more talented than actual professional footballers?
Talent and 'I like to watch him and the nostalgia makes me feel good things that I haven't felt since I became empty inside' get mixed up regularly in these threads.
It really doesn’t matter when you were born. The answer is Messi.
Baggio was a superb player but nowhere near Messi category. Nobody is.
Cristiano Ronaldo is comfortably second.
Hahahahaha
Talented by definition for me is who was the best by putting in the least amount of hard work. For that reason C.Ronaldo shouldn't be on the list.
Messi was also trained in the Barcelona academy in an era where every part of football is much more professional and structured so it wouldn't be fair to pick him.
It has to be Maradona or R9 for me. Maradona had drug problems and was still one of the best, R9 had thyroid trouble and was the best in the world at 19.
Messi was also trained in the Barcelona academy in an era where every part of football is much more professional and structured so it wouldn't be fair to pick him.
It has to be Maradona or R9 for me. Maradona had drug problems and was still one of the best, R9 had thyroid trouble and was the best in the world at 19.
For me it's either Ronaldo (not Cristiano) or Messi, both freaks of nature in their own way.
Croatia had some great players over the years (my favorite being Zvonimir Boban) but when it comes to natural talent no one comes close to Robert Prosinečki. He was smoking 2 packs of Red Marlboro a day from the age of 17 and yet managed to play for both Real and Barcelona. When he returned to Dinamo back in 1997. he could barely run yet he was dribbling people while walking and his passing was out of this world. Shame he always liked cigars and booze, he could've been something special.
Croatia had some great players over the years (my favorite being Zvonimir Boban) but when it comes to natural talent no one comes close to Robert Prosinečki. He was smoking 2 packs of Red Marlboro a day from the age of 17 and yet managed to play for both Real and Barcelona. When he returned to Dinamo back in 1997. he could barely run yet he was dribbling people while walking and his passing was out of this world. Shame he always liked cigars and booze, he could've been something special.
Messi. He generally makes it all look so easy.
Peak R9
Ronaldinho
CR7(maybe ought to be 2nd).
Zidane deserves a mention.
"Our times" is relative to your age though.
Peak R9
Ronaldinho
CR7(maybe ought to be 2nd).
Zidane deserves a mention.
"Our times" is relative to your age though.
Ronaldinho, Messi
Maradona and R9.
Correct.
CR7
Feck Messi!
Feck Messi!
Pure raw football talent that I've seen, Ronaldinho.
Special mention for Beckham.
Based on pure technique Beckham is one of the most uniquely talented players I've seen. He had such a unique kicking style for his shooting, passing and crossing , the weight of pass, whip, bend and spin he could get on the ball was unbelievable at times.
Special mention for Beckham.
Based on pure technique Beckham is one of the most uniquely talented players I've seen. He had such a unique kicking style for his shooting, passing and crossing , the weight of pass, whip, bend and spin he could get on the ball was unbelievable at times.
When I think of the sentence "there are some things you just can't coach", Messi is the first player that pops up in my head. Of course he's a hard worker as well, but at the end of the day it's his incredible talent that puts him above the rest.
The Ronaldo vs Messi debate is hated for good reason, but the core of the discussion is still interesting. The two players are so similar and so different at the same time. It really is an example of hard work vs talent. It's almost poetic. For proponents of hard work it's a tough pill to swallow how talent so often trumps hard work. Especially at the very top.
I'm not the biggest fan of anime, but I love this Haikyuu video essay(it's an advantage to have seen the anime, but definitely not necessary):
The Ronaldo vs Messi debate is hated for good reason, but the core of the discussion is still interesting. The two players are so similar and so different at the same time. It really is an example of hard work vs talent. It's almost poetic. For proponents of hard work it's a tough pill to swallow how talent so often trumps hard work. Especially at the very top.
I'm not the biggest fan of anime, but I love this Haikyuu video essay(it's an advantage to have seen the anime, but definitely not necessary):
Van der Vaart was also an insane talent (yes, here I go with the Dutch thing again). What he did when he was 16/17 was mental. Too bad he enjoyed his broodje kroket en biertje so much and lost his legs when he was about 25. Never really broke through as a world class player.
Hell, his career is hardly better than Kuyt's. And kuyt was fecking shite.
Hell, his career is hardly better than Kuyt's. And kuyt was fecking shite.
Define "talented"?
Ronaldinho was more entertaining but I doubt you can use any metric to suggest he was more "talented" than Messi. Depending upon your definition of talent.
Ronaldinho was more entertaining but I doubt you can use any metric to suggest he was more "talented" than Messi. Depending upon your definition of talent.
Cassano
Ozil
Recoba
Quaresma
Ozil
Recoba
Quaresma
Ronaldinho is the most entertaining for me, that doesnt equal the best. The consistency of Messi and CR7 is an outlier. It just doesnt normally happen. The elite players have a few years of absolute peak performance before dropping off to very very high standards. Messi and CR7 have helped each other maintain such standards and we might not see such standards again. Do i find either player entertaining like Ronaldinho? No.
Zidane was entertaining in a different way because the way he controlled a ball and moved around the pitch was different to others.
Zlatan was entertaining for his ego and quotes but also his play and his ability to use what he learnt in taekwondo to help him with his finishing.
Djalminha was entertaining. Kanu at arsenal was entertaining. The point i am making badly, is that those who are entertaining do it because its how they play football or learnt to play football. I dont find CR7 or Messi entertaining to the same degree as names mentioned, just brutally consistent and efficient.
If we are talking talented = consistency then its Messi and CR7 of this generation of players.
If we are talking talented = entertaining without necessarily conquering world football (or fulfilling your potential) then the likes of Ronaldinho etc is my answer.
Zidane was entertaining in a different way because the way he controlled a ball and moved around the pitch was different to others.
Zlatan was entertaining for his ego and quotes but also his play and his ability to use what he learnt in taekwondo to help him with his finishing.
Djalminha was entertaining. Kanu at arsenal was entertaining. The point i am making badly, is that those who are entertaining do it because its how they play football or learnt to play football. I dont find CR7 or Messi entertaining to the same degree as names mentioned, just brutally consistent and efficient.
If we are talking talented = consistency then its Messi and CR7 of this generation of players.
If we are talking talented = entertaining without necessarily conquering world football (or fulfilling your potential) then the likes of Ronaldinho etc is my answer.
great shout. enigmatic figures too
Jay-Jay Okocha
It's interesting how often people downplay Messi and CR7 in favour of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and the like. Their individual awards, numbers, and general careers are obviously leaps and bounds ahead of the others, and yet they still don't seem to do it for a lot of people.
For all their machine-like dominance in an age where stats and productivity is everything, deep down we really just want to see some flashy stepovers and someone absolutely rinsing defenders. We want to be entertained by the beautiful game
For all their machine-like dominance in an age where stats and productivity is everything, deep down we really just want to see some flashy stepovers and someone absolutely rinsing defenders. We want to be entertained by the beautiful game
Yep. I always tend to lean towards these type of individuals. The cult figures. The enigmas of the footballing world.
I greatly respect the Messi's and C. Ronaldo's of this world but I will always end up choosing players of this ilk if I were to watch a live match knowing full well that they may not even turn it on.
In some ways, they're more reachable. More identifiable. More human.
Neymar is up there. GIfted.
Caf says it’s Ravel Morrison... true story
Yup, I also think it has to be Ronaldinho from the players I've seen his skills, spatial awareness, control and physical explosiveness made for quite a unique player who was able to do some insane things at the highest level. Unfurtunately his peak didn't last for long.
Also I want to say Zidane he was pure class and always admired his style to the day he retired, in that sense he has always been my favorite player and rate him as the best ever.
Also I want to say Zidane he was pure class and always admired his style to the day he retired, in that sense he has always been my favorite player and rate him as the best ever.
Yeah, neither of them do tricks, at least if you're comparing them to Ronaldinho or R9, even Neymar is more skilled in that regard although Ronaldo used to be more of a flashy player earlier on his career. They're still skilled and rely more on their ball control while running and changing directions and both are top athletes that have maintained their fitness all this years to be able to maintain that standard. I think Messi in particular is quite remarkable in terms of his balance and how he can change direction so easily and feint players just by shifting his body weight and it's something he can only do with that low center of gravity.
In terms of talent, I have at least 3 or 4 players ahead of Messi.
And Cristiano is not even top 10 if we are judging by talent.
Nobody said he lacks talent, but Ronaldinho had far more.
And if by Ronaldo you mean R9, then I don't see how Messi's best season is that much better. You are probably just using stats to compare, which is kind of silly, given that they played in different eras and given that Messi has played with a far superior team to that of R9. Swap them, and I see R9 easily matching Messi's goal ratio.
Great post, I agree completely with your definition of talent.
What he does/did with a ball shows he was more talented than Messi.
The title of the thread is "Most Talented Player Of Our Times". So by that I understand those that I have seen live during my time, not those who are currently playing. But since you asked, from those currently playing, it's Neymar by a long shot, he is far more skilled than both Cristiano and Messi.
Like I already said, in terms of pure talent, Cristiano is not even top 10 for me.
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Yes, some of them I do.
Messi, comfortably.
All-time great in dribbling, passing, finishing, first touch.
All-time great in dribbling, passing, finishing, first touch.
Lubo must be up there
Shout for Di Canio
Riquelmie (sp )
Ronaldinho
Zidane
Cantona
Berbatov
Figo
Shout for Di Canio
Riquelmie (sp )
Ronaldinho
Zidane
Cantona
Berbatov
Figo
There’s nobody more talented than Messi. He doesn’t even really try or train very hard. Yet he is the best player ever and has been the best player in the world for the majority of the last 15 years.
If this isn’t talent, I don’t know what is.
I can’t stand him, though.