Top Three Dribblers of All-Time

My updated ranking

1. Diego
2. Armando
3. Maradona
4. Luis
5. Nazario
6. Da Lima
 
totaalvoetbal said:
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
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Great post as usual. My caricatural typology would be slightly different:

1. Pace/Speed-centric: example of Cristiano Ronaldo/Bale who are looking for space and acceleration to circumvent players in a curved path. Ronaldinho would be the #1 here given his superior technical skills
2. 360 degrees dribbler: Maradona, Messi, Zico... They like to dribble 4-5-6-7 players at the heart of the game in a Zig Zag way and near/in the penalty area and make fun of the opposing team. Zig Zag shape
3. Powerful and straight-forward dribblers: Ronaldo, Pelé, Weah...
4. those who dribble with their brain: Laudrup, Xavi, Iniesta, Modric >>> they can't rely on their pace or strength. They are not pure dribbler

Best would be #1 and #2
 
Jason Becker, Steven Hawking, Christopher Reeve.

EDIT: Hang on i meant Messi. His close-control whilst dribbling is second to none.
 
Adisa said:
Never saw him but my father says Garrincha was quite good.
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From his videos, by modern standards he doesn't look anything special. Genuinely, Nani is a better dribbler.

Of course, he was probably the best dribbler of his time and that needs to be count for something, but football was so much worse than it is now. Even just counting the sixties, I would have Best above him.

I would say that Maradona is easily the best I have seen. Messi probably second. Ronaldinho maybe third.
 
Stack said:
I know he wont make the top lists but Jimmy Johnstone was hugely entertaining
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Best I've seen.
On this day when Scotland play England at Hampden Park lovers of football should raise a glass to Wee Jinky.
 
Yes, Jimmy Johnstone was quite something.

I'll nominate Prosinecki, Futre, Eddie Gray & Michael Laudrup if they haven't been done already.
 
totaalvoetbal said:
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
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I would probably put Isco in Type 1/2. His close control and dribbling when driving into space is up there with the very best. Bar that the list is top.
 
I think its impossible to compare players from different era's and how can one objective define who's "the best". But one of the finest dribblers I've ever seen was Jesper Olsen. He seems to be forgotten and hardly gets mentioned. But in his prime he was almost unstoppable

Unfortunately I've not seen many games of George Best.
But for me the biggest authority in football is Johan Cruijff, and he said that the only time he really was completely outplayed and blown away was by George Best in a international match between Holland and Northern Ireland.
 
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