Who is/was the best footballer in the World past or present

[Uncle Spielberg]

***Warning football related topic***

Who is the best footballer ever to grace this planet present or past. For me Ronaldo is by far the best player in the World and in the past its got to be Maradona.

Nominations will be put into an ultimate Greatest footballer of all time NSC poll with the top 10 going forward.

Put your nominations with a brief reason here.

 

[Kylies Stunt Arse]

Richard Tiltman. He had everything. Flair, tricks galore, strong in the tackle, lightening pace, quick feet, superb vision, huge range of passing, hammer shot, and a footballing brain the likes of which will never be seen again.

 

[itszamora]

At the moment, probably Ronaldo. All-time, Pele.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Tiltman is now in my industry I believe

 

[Monsieur Leclerc]

Nii Lamptey.

 

[ali jenkins]

Kerry Mayo and Doug Loft!

 

[DIFFBROOK]

I would say Maradona. He had so much poise on the ball, could dribble around numerous players (that 2nd goal against against England in WC 86!!) and also single handedly tale the game by the scruff of the kneck. He turned a talented Argentian side (but without him, no more so than say England) in 86 to win the world cup.

Yes he cheated against us and all the other stuff outside football would mean that he wont get to the level of Pele in being an ambassador for the game, but for purely football, he is the best I have ever seen.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

Luke Chadwick

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Old git alert


I'll go with the verdict of Matt Busby and Bobby Charlton ...

Duncan Edwards.


Of players I have seen play (other than on TV) ...

Stanley Matthews.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Someone else's Top 25 of all time:-

THE WORLD'S TOP 25

1 Pele (Brazil)
2 Ronaldo (Brazil)
3 Romario (Brazil)
4 Luis Figo (Portugal)
5 Zinedine Zidane (France)
6 Diego Maradona (Argentina)
7 Lothar Matthaus (Germany)
8 Gerd Muller (Germany)
9 Franz Beckenbauer (Germany)
10Cafu (Brazil)
11Roberto Carlos (Brazil)
12Marco van Basten (Holland)
13Michel Platini (France)
14Rivaldo (Brazil)
15Paolo Maldini (Italy)
16Zico (Brazil)
17Raul (Spain)
18Ruud Gullit (Holland)
19Eusebio (Portugal)
20Ferenc Puskas (Hungary)
21Johan Cruyff (Holland)
22Alfredo di Stefano (Argentina)
23Bobby Charlton (England)
24Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany)
25Kenny Dalglish (Scotland)

 

[hans kraay fan club]

These lists always seem to me, to be unfairly biased either towards current players OR against current players.

Those 25 are undoubtably all fantastic footballers, but given that present day football is as fast and physically demanding as it has ever been, are players like Kaka, C Ronaldo, etc really nowhere near them?

 

[Trufflehound]

1: Pele
2: Cruyff
3: Maradona


Best English player ever must be Roy Race. Won everything many times over. Who knows how long that glittering career would have lasted, had it not been tragically cut short after only 39 years when he had his foot amputated following that helicopter crash...?

 

[crodonilson]

Lev Yashin, the great Russian goalkeeper would be my pick. Of the English players then you can't look much further than the awesome Gordon Banks.

 

[Albion Dan]

Someone else's Top 25 of all time:-

THE WORLD'S TOP 25

1 Pele (Brazil)
2 Ronaldo (Brazil)
3 Romario (Brazil)
4 Luis Figo (Portugal)
5 Zinedine Zidane (France)
6 Diego Maradona (Argentina)
7 Lothar Matthaus (Germany)
8 Gerd Muller (Germany)
9 Franz Beckenbauer (Germany)
10Cafu (Brazil)
11Roberto Carlos (Brazil)
12Marco van Basten (Holland)
13Michel Platini (France)
14Rivaldo (Brazil)
15Paolo Maldini (Italy)
16Zico (Brazil)
17Raul (Spain)
18Ruud Gullit (Holland)
19Eusebio (Portugal)
20Ferenc Puskas (Hungary)
21Johan Cruyff (Holland)
22Alfredo di Stefano (Argentina)
23Bobby Charlton (England)
24Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany)
25Kenny Dalglish (Scotland)

Whoevers list that was has clearly only recently been let out of the funny farm.

Diego Maradona, the only player to more or less win a world cup on his own behind Zidane, Figo, Romario adn Ronaldo?

In my book Diego is head and shoulders above any player during my lifetime, I never saw Pele so can only go on the odd bit of footage Ive seen.

 

[withdeanwombat]

My big brother was easily the best of all time,and he would a) hit me,b) take his ball home,or c)both,if I said otherwise.

So c),obviously.

 

[house your seagull]

in my life time (24 years) zinedine zidane is by far and away the best footballer i have ever seen, alas never saw him live.

 

[fatfingers]

Someone else's Top 25 of all time:-

THE WORLD'S TOP 25

1 Pele (Brazil)
2 Ronaldo (Brazil)
3 Romario (Brazil)
4 Luis Figo (Portugal)
5 Zinedine Zidane (France)
6 Diego Maradona (Argentina)
7 Lothar Matthaus (Germany)
8 Gerd Muller (Germany)
9 Franz Beckenbauer (Germany)
10Cafu (Brazil)
11Roberto Carlos (Brazil)
12Marco van Basten (Holland)
13Michel Platini (France)
14Rivaldo (Brazil)
15Paolo Maldini (Italy)
16Zico (Brazil)
17Raul (Spain)
18Ruud Gullit (Holland)
19Eusebio (Portugal)
20Ferenc Puskas (Hungary)
21Johan Cruyff (Holland)
22Alfredo di Stefano (Argentina)
23Bobby Charlton (England)
24Jurgen Klinsmann (Germany)
25Kenny Dalglish (Scotland)

no George Best , what kind of list is that?

 

[Simster]

Maradona was an incredible player and he wins my vote. As Dan says, he won 1986 on his own - Argentina were fairly ordinary without him in the side. And in that one tournament, he also scored not one but two of the greatest goals that have been seen at a World Cup.

Obviously I never saw Pele play but he was always surrounded by players of the highest calibre. It's also worth remembering that football's popularity has increased steadily virtually every year since 1958, so being the world's best player should have more gravitas that it did in Pele's era.

Cracking top 25 list there Lord B, but the ordering is VERY suspect. Honourable mentions also to Enzo Schifo and Michael Laudrup - I think I'd have them both in ahead of Rivaldo and Cafu.

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

Pele. End of.

 

[crodonilson]

I would also have Romario and Bebeto high up.