Absolutely.
Top Three Dribblers of All-Time
- Thread starter Physiocrat
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Best, Messi and Ronaldinho.
Obviously not top 3 but Juan Riquelme was a great dribbler. Had unbelievable close control.
Also Pablo Aimar was sensational.
Also Pablo Aimar was sensational.
George Best..... Just beautiful to watch, some of the tackles were bordering on assault
Also includes his own favourite.... for San Jose Earthquakes.
The Maradona video in the OP was not a peak Maradona....it was a VERY young Maradona. This was 1980 so he was about 20 years old. Maradona at his peak NEVER lost the ball the amount of times as seen in that video. You can still see his playmaking brilliance and his passing range which is incredible for a 20-year old, but he was still lightweight at that time and made mistakes.
For the record I would have Maradona at quite some distance from the rest. Messi is a better goalscorer than Maradona but not a better dribbler or passer. Diego made it look easy in a way that I've never seen.
For the record I would have Maradona at quite some distance from the rest. Messi is a better goalscorer than Maradona but not a better dribbler or passer. Diego made it look easy in a way that I've never seen.
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Loved him, the slowest player to be able to dribble his way past a team ever.
oh come on.....
I know he wont make the top lists but Jimmy Johnstone was hugely entertaining
Phil Neville..best step overs in the business
At Barcelona Neymar has a better record than Messi too, but not many would say he is a better dribbler. Messi still is the best at beating multiple players at once. He has multiple goals scored this season alone were he beats 2/3/4 players. Messi still is the best dribbler. Still has the best close control and still makes the best decisions in his dribblings.
Maradona, Messi, Best
In terms of consistency it's gotta be Messi. But he's dribbling evolves around he's sick left foot control and acceleration. In terms of pure magic I don't think I've ever seen somebody like Ronaldinho between 2004-2006.
Maradona … and when you think, he had to do it in Speedos too, wow!
Maradona, Messi are given.
I would say next one is Iniesta.
I would say next one is Iniesta.
haha
Ronaldinho / Best / Crujff / Robben to name a few are better dribblers than Iniesta. He's a great player, don't get me wrong, but not the 3rd best ever
The players you mentioned rely on their technique + speed to dribble past others.
When I see Iniesta dribble past others, it seems like he rely on technique + IQ. It just seems so easy because he is above others in terms of intelligence.
I haven't seen any other players dribble like Iniesta. Maybe his unique style of dribble seems more special to me.
Ronaldinho Eva use he would do it at breakneck speed
Ronaldinho at his best has to be up there for me. It's one thing to go past a player, but he would leave them behind like stone statues falling over in slow motion when he was in full flow.
Jay Jay Okocha
Luís Ronaldo
Maradona
Special mentions: Ronaldinho, Denilson.
Luís Ronaldo
Maradona
Special mentions: Ronaldinho, Denilson.
There's only one correct answer: Mané Garrincha
George Best has to be there.
Messi isn't the best dribbler ever, he's just brilliant at attacking the space.
Still not as good as Anderson though
No particular order but Maradona, Garrincha and Best for me.
Worthy mentions to Messi, Cruyff, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo.
Worthy mentions to Messi, Cruyff, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo.
Maradona
Best, Maradona, Messi in that order
A top 5 would have make the choice more easier
Go top 5 then. I'd be interested to see it
El Trinche! for those who have heard of him....let the legend continue. there are not many videos of him cause he never wanted to move from his club.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomás_Carlovich#Recognition
interesting videos on youtube in Spanish but subtitles can be added
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomás_Carlovich#Recognition
interesting videos on youtube in Spanish but subtitles can be added
- I will mainly rank the players named here and I can't comment players like Schiaffino, Moreno, Sivori, Meazza, Pedernera..
- I discount dribblers who play mainly on the wings (less density)
#1: Maradona who can dribble a team in very diverse ways with very different purposes
#2: Messi can also dribble a team but is less explosive than Marado
#3: Best dribbles a team essentially thanks to his speed and bodyswerves
#4: Powerful dribbler: Ronaldo, maybe better than everyone in 1 vs 1. He could have been my #2 or 3
#5: Zico
#5: Provocative dribbler: Garrincha
#6: Artistic dribbler: Ronaldinho
#7: Collective dribblers: Laudrup who dribbles with his brain given is limited pace wih the goal of providing assists, Platini...
#8: Explosive/Pragmatic dribblers: Cr7, Robben, Futre...
--------------------------------------------
Useless dribblers: Okocha (one out of 10 of his 'Jay-Jay works), Denilson
Head dribbler: Kerlon Foquinha!
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Not a top 3 but Baggio deserves a mention
Iniesta has to somewhere close
Honestly only one that stands out properly for me, of the ones I've seen, and that's Ronaldinho.
Robben, Messi, Ronaldo, C. Ronaldo, Giggs, Iniesta etc.
There has been a lot of top dribblers, but I've only seen one like Ronaldinho.
Robben, Messi, Ronaldo, C. Ronaldo, Giggs, Iniesta etc.
There has been a lot of top dribblers, but I've only seen one like Ronaldinho.
You're not wrong in your opinion but at the same time that's what makes them 'better' dribblers. They do it faster, with penetration and more effectively.
They use their physical intuition and intelligence to channel their dribbling to be more direct. Likewise, Iniesta uses his intelligence because he has to rely on ball control, his first step and body feints to go past players.
Stylistically you can argue, which you prefer but football games are to be won (and obviously entertained but this would be a moot point if you're not doing the former) so by definition those players mentioned are better dribblers.
Juninho. He was incredible at his peak.
I don't know if he was the best ever, but I do think he was the most spectacular. Never seen anyone who could shift the ball as quickly as he did or in so many different ways.
This is such a generic question. What kind of dribbling is it because different parts of the pitch require different types of movement.
Also, comparing dribblers from different eras directly is disingenuous. Different rules, different pitches, different ways of defending.
As for the different types of dribbling I narrow it down to 3 types. Obviously players will cross over all 3 but I'm being very general here:
Type 1: Press resistant players that are superb with dribbling when face with back to goal. They usually operate in the midfield and use feints and positioning to escape man marking and are strategic with their dribbling due to operating in a more dangerous area (for their team).
Type 2: players that once they face opposition goal they use their technique and ball control, more so than their athleticism to evade markers and are exceptional in tight spaces.
Type 3: usually explosive players that require the use of mainly their athleticism to evade a marker and usually are more effective with space in front of them
As I said players usually are a mix of all types but I am breaking it down to illustrate the players that use more of the others.
The best I have seen in each category are:
Type 1 Xavi, Modric, Iniesta, Maradona (later career), Gundogan, Osvaldo Ardiles, Johan Cruijff (later career), Didi, Rivelino.
Honorable mentions. Messi (last few seasons), Bergkamp (later career)
Laudrup was weak in this area and Zidane was effective but not as good as the players mentioned. He tried to use his body more than technique and when he couldn't escape he dived or got dispossessed similar to Busquets. Pirlo was good in this area but not excellent which is why he was relatively easy to man mark out of games compared to the top players in this category.
Players today have to be more press resistant than at any point in football history due to the improved vertical and horizontal compactness.
My top 3: Xavi, Modric and Iniesta.
Type 2: These are the types that are seen as classically great dribblers and mostly over represented in discussions.
Messi, Maradona, Johan Cruijff, Zidane, Zico, George Best, Ronaldo (inter), Ronaldinho, Pele, Ribery, Del Piero (pre injury), Bobby Charlton, Figo, Okocha, Dejan Savicevic, Denilson, Romario, Zola, George Weah, Laudrup, Jesper Olsen (Messi before Messi), Hazard, Rui Costa, Bergkamp, Gianni Rivera, Gascoigne, Omar Sivori, Platini, Roberto Baggio.
The mentioned players usually had the acceleration to go past in addition to their excellent ball control. They don't necessarily have the top speed to cover space so might be caught up but they keep the ball superbly when facing the opposition goal. Honorable mention goes to Iniesta and Modric who are more strategic with this but don't have the physical capacity to extend this over distances. van Basten was not on the level of the mentioned but he had excellent technique before his ankle injury when he played for us.
Top 3: Maradona, Sivori and Messi
TYPE 3 Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Preben Elkjaer, Gaarincha, Gento, Kubala, Pele (earlier career), Johan Cruijff ( earlier career), Ronaldo (PSV & Barcelona), Piet Keizer, Kaka, Michael Owen, Ryan Giggs,
Top 3: Cristiano Ronaldo, Gaarincha, Ronaldo de Lima.
Also when comparing players, most change their style of dribbling as they get older. The players that are slow are usually type 2 from the start throughout and then you have players that are type 1 mostly thay start to be type 2 as their physical faculties decline. For example, Johan Cruijff started out as mostly type 3 because he was one of the fastest forwards of his era but as got injured he became a type 2 and 3 because he dropped deeper and could no longer just rely on his speed. The transition requires the player to already have exceptional technical ability so dropping deeper means your technique and ball control have to be excellent.
These different types of dribbling are effective in different areas but if I was to pick an overall player that is complete in all 3 at any point in their career it would have to be Diego Armando Maradona
Also, comparing dribblers from different eras directly is disingenuous. Different rules, different pitches, different ways of defending.
As for the different types of dribbling I narrow it down to 3 types. Obviously players will cross over all 3 but I'm being very general here:
Type 1: Press resistant players that are superb with dribbling when face with back to goal. They usually operate in the midfield and use feints and positioning to escape man marking and are strategic with their dribbling due to operating in a more dangerous area (for their team).
Type 2: players that once they face opposition goal they use their technique and ball control, more so than their athleticism to evade markers and are exceptional in tight spaces.
Type 3: usually explosive players that require the use of mainly their athleticism to evade a marker and usually are more effective with space in front of them
As I said players usually are a mix of all types but I am breaking it down to illustrate the players that use more of the others.
The best I have seen in each category are:
Type 1 Xavi, Modric, Iniesta, Maradona (later career), Gundogan, Osvaldo Ardiles, Johan Cruijff (later career), Didi, Rivelino.
Honorable mentions. Messi (last few seasons), Bergkamp (later career)
Laudrup was weak in this area and Zidane was effective but not as good as the players mentioned. He tried to use his body more than technique and when he couldn't escape he dived or got dispossessed similar to Busquets. Pirlo was good in this area but not excellent which is why he was relatively easy to man mark out of games compared to the top players in this category.
Players today have to be more press resistant than at any point in football history due to the improved vertical and horizontal compactness.
My top 3: Xavi, Modric and Iniesta.
Type 2: These are the types that are seen as classically great dribblers and mostly over represented in discussions.
Messi, Maradona, Johan Cruijff, Zidane, Zico, George Best, Ronaldo (inter), Ronaldinho, Pele, Ribery, Del Piero (pre injury), Bobby Charlton, Figo, Okocha, Dejan Savicevic, Denilson, Romario, Zola, George Weah, Laudrup, Jesper Olsen (Messi before Messi), Hazard, Rui Costa, Bergkamp, Gianni Rivera, Gascoigne, Omar Sivori, Platini, Roberto Baggio.
The mentioned players usually had the acceleration to go past in addition to their excellent ball control. They don't necessarily have the top speed to cover space so might be caught up but they keep the ball superbly when facing the opposition goal. Honorable mention goes to Iniesta and Modric who are more strategic with this but don't have the physical capacity to extend this over distances. van Basten was not on the level of the mentioned but he had excellent technique before his ankle injury when he played for us.
Top 3: Maradona, Sivori and Messi
TYPE 3 Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Preben Elkjaer, Gaarincha, Gento, Kubala, Pele (earlier career), Johan Cruijff ( earlier career), Ronaldo (PSV & Barcelona), Piet Keizer, Kaka, Michael Owen, Ryan Giggs,
Top 3: Cristiano Ronaldo, Gaarincha, Ronaldo de Lima.
Also when comparing players, most change their style of dribbling as they get older. The players that are slow are usually type 2 from the start throughout and then you have players that are type 1 mostly thay start to be type 2 as their physical faculties decline. For example, Johan Cruijff started out as mostly type 3 because he was one of the fastest forwards of his era but as got injured he became a type 2 and 3 because he dropped deeper and could no longer just rely on his speed. The transition requires the player to already have exceptional technical ability so dropping deeper means your technique and ball control have to be excellent.
These different types of dribbling are effective in different areas but if I was to pick an overall player that is complete in all 3 at any point in their career it would have to be Diego Armando Maradona
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