Third Best Player this Generation

RedDevilCanuck

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Gotta be Iniesta. Similar club trophy count to Messi and Ronaldo and an international career that destroys them both.

Robben? Stats wise and trophy count good but nowhere near Messi and Ronaldo but has international performances better than Ronaldo and maybe even Messi.

Thoughts?
 
Neymar for me.

Suarez should be up there but I wouldn't vote for him unless it was an I'm a celebrity challenge where he had to be pissed on by a load of Aids infested monkeys.

As much as I think Iniesta has immense talent, he was never a real game changer and he really should have scored a few more goals being in teams like peak Barca and Spain. I don't even think he was as good as peak Scholes, and that's not easy to admit being a Liverpool fan.
 
That's really a difficult one, mainly as Ronaldo and Messi are on a completely different level to anyone else. Hard to think who's closest to them. I'd probably go with Iniesta too, or Xavi.
 
Very subjective.

Xavi and Iniesta both deserve a shout.

De Gea? Neuer?

In very different ways, Ramos and Pique are up there, but like DDG, because of their positions, can't be compared fairly.
 
Hullyback said:
Neymar for me.

Suarez should be up there but I wouldn't vote for him unless it was an I'm a celebrity challenge where he had to be pissed on by a load of Aids infested monkeys.

As much as I think Iniesta has immense talent, he was never a real game changer and he really should have scored a few more goals being in teams like peak Barca and Spain. I don't even think he was as good as peak Scholes, and that's not easy to admit being a Liverpool fan.
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Oh come on! For a long period, he was an even more decisive game changer than Ronaldo. Just because it was not in the form of goals, it doesn't mean he wasn't making game changing passes and dribbles.
 
Iniesta

I’m not sure if Xavi counts as the same generation as Ronaldo and Messi since he is a fair bit older, but if he does, then it’s him.
 
Snow said:
What is this generation? Where is the cut-off?
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Good question. I guess when Ronaldo, Maldini and zidane stopped dominating because I think they were the best of their generation.
 
RedDevilCanuck said:
Good question. I guess when Ronaldo, Maldini and zidane stopped dominating because I think they were the best of their generation.
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I'd say it begins with the decline of Ronaldinho and the rise of Ronaldo and Messi. About 2006 on.
 
Hullyback said:
he was never a real game changer
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Apart of course, from the man of match - game winning performances in the 2015 Champions League Final, 2008 European Cup Final, 2012 European Cup Final and 2010 World Cup final.

If you forget about those performances he was totally overrated.
 
Snow said:
What is this generation? Where is the cut-off?
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1985 - year of Ronaldo's birth seems fine.

I go with our Wayne. Talent, trophies, fame, goals, club icon,... Wazza once had everything needed to be a real rival. 2010 should have been his year if there had not been that fecking injury at Allianz Arena
 
Probably Iniesta, but I do think that Robben has been underrated for the last decade, probably Messi-Ronaldo-Iniesta-Robben-Ibra would be my top 5 for the last 10 years, if we go for the last 7 or 5 then Modric should be there too, above Ibra and Robben maybe

Edit: I'm leaving Xavi out because he was already playing almost 10 years earlier, same think with Neymar being too young to be put in the same generation
 
Xavi, when he was playing.
 
Xavi for sure.

..wait, when we consider Xavi then Ronaldinho is also part of this generation as he was born in '80 too....
 
diarm said:
Apart of course, from the man of match - game winning performances in the 2015 Champions League Final, 2008 European Cup Final, 2012 European Cup Final and 2010 World Cup final.

If you forget about those performances he was totally overrated.
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He was never the man who had all the pressure to carry his team though if you compare him to Zidane. If he had fantastic performances - great. If he was poor and Barca lost Messi still faced the blame, Spain was more of a collective effort (they hardly lost and he nearly always showed upfor the NT to be fair).
 
Schneckerl said:
Xavi for sure.

..wait, when we consider Xavi then Ronaldinho is also part of this generation as he was born in '80 too....
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Generations in football are generally short. They way i see it it was the late 90's early 00's generation( Zidane, Ronaldo), the mid 00's(Dinho, kaka, Shevchenko). the late 00's to today(Ronaldo, Messi). Can't consider Dinho as in his generation there really wasn't a better player than him.
 
Iniesta, Robben, Xavi, Neymar, Neuer, Suarez. Something like that. Probably an unpopular opinion but Neymar has been outperforming both of them already this season and he'll end his career up there with Ronaldinho among the greatest ever.

Ibra should be in there too but didn't really do enough in the Champions League.
 
Varies with how you interpret the term generation. Gen Y typically ranges from 1981 to 1996 or 1977 to 1994 for demographers. If we stick with the former, there's no room for Xavi, Ronaldinho, Henry and the likes. I'd probably rank the Top 10 as:

1. L Messi
2. C. Ronaldo
3. A. Iniesta
4. A. Robben
5. P. Lahm
6. L. Modrić
7. Neymar
8. Z. Ibrahimović
9. L. Suárez
10. D. Alves

Followed by the likes of Kaká, Ribéry, Neuer, Fußballgott. Neymar could very well end up as a Top 3/4 player for that generation over the coming years, especially considering his Brazil career in terms of being THE point of reference.
 
Robben. Xavi and Iniesta could never carry a team the way he did, a team with robben and 10 scrubs is better than one with Iniesta/Xavi and 10 scrubs...

It's Robben-Zlatan-Suarez, Xavi/Iniesta come after those guys. Even all time great midfielders just can't compare with all time great forwards...
 
If we count Xavi in the same generation, then him. The best central midfielder I've seen. Otherwise it's hard to say, as there's quite a few players of a similar level who have sort of taken turns as to being the best that season.

T A said:
There was still a short gap in which Kaka ruled the world.
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Kaka gets somewhat overrated. His best season was 06/07, but even then he wasn't really 'that' good. He had a great Champions League that season, but that was about it. Overall Cristiano had a much better season and should have won the Ballon d'Or ahead of him. Ronaldo was far better in the league and also in international performances that year.
 
MadDogg said:
Kaka gets somewhat overrated. His best season was 06/07, but even then he wasn't really 'that' good. He had a great Champions League that season, but that was about it. Overall Cristiano had a much better season and should have won the Ballon d'Or ahead of him. Ronaldo was far better in the league and also in international performances that year.
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Keep seeing people repeat this. I don't think you know what you're talking about. I don't think you even know what kind of season Kaka had. And no, Cristiano 100% wasn't better than him that season. He was neither a better player, nor was he more consistent overall
 
giorno said:
Keep seeing people repeat this. I don't think you know what you're talking about. I don't think you even know what kind of season Kaka had. And no, Cristiano 100% wasn't better than him that season. He was neither a better player, nor was he more consistent overall
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Aye. Ronaldo had a fine season to be fair, but a lot came down to Kaka stepping up and knocking United out in the Champions League. And that decisiveness in the business end of the Champions League is the same reason that has swung the Ballon D'Or for Ronaldo in other seasons. I thought Totti was number one that season with that heavy goalscoring campaign blended with his overall class as the false 9 for Roma. But there wasn't a lot in it between the top boys that year.
 
giorno said:
Keep seeing people repeat this. I don't think you know what you're talking about. I don't think you even know what kind of season Kaka had. And no, Cristiano 100% wasn't better than him that season. He was neither a better player, nor was he more consistent overall
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Kaka didn't have the best season in the league. A good one, but not great. He did have better seasons when it comes to league. CL decided that year where Kaka was unplayable. I would also give that one to Kaka, but overall, small margins between them.

For OP question, if there is no room for Xavi, would go for Robben. Behind him Iniesta, Lahm, Modrić, Lewandowski.

Neymar, Hazard, Dybala go into the next generation for me.
 
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Iniesta or Xavi.

I'd tend to lean towards Iniesta given he was such a clutch player but then I think of the 08/09 season where Xavi racked up 30+ assists whilst also controlling games from midfield.....

Nobody else belongs in the conversation imo, clear daylight between them and the rest.
 
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Robben on form is second only to the big two imo, but I'm probably a bit biased so I'll be a good boy and say Iniesta with his stupid deciding goal in the workd cup in 2010
 
After the Big Two, there is no one single third best player. Or he would already have been part of Big Three. Zlatan, Robben, Iniesta - they are all in a bracket.
 
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