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Greatest soccer player of all time (1 Viewer)

At the peak of their ability, which player was the greatest of all time?

  • Pele

    Votes: 129 58.4%

  • Diego Maradona

    Votes: 24 10.9%

  • Lionel Messi

    Votes: 40 18.1%

  • Johan Cruyff

    Votes: 2 0.9%

  • Franz Beckenbauer

    Votes: 9 4.1%

  • Other

    Votes: 17 7.7%
  • Total voters
    221
The Gator said:
If Argentina get to the final and messi has important(like today) goals and has at least a handful of them...then yeah, it's got to be him imo.

Same goes for Cristiano...If he carries Portugal to the finals, it's an interesting conversation
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Kind of hard to judge considering few of us really saw Pele play the way we got to see Messi play.

 
that goal was perfect, went around 2 defenders, shot the ball to curve around the goalie, then have it bounce off two goal posts.

 
SaintsInDome2006 said:
Any new thoughts here with the passage of time?
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his missed PK at the copa... if that's his last kick for argentina.. doesn't do him any favors in terms of his legacy. nor does not winning anything with his country at the senior level. 

that said- his play for club puts him into the pele and maradonna discussion for me. he is just... unbelievably good. but fair or not- if you compare those three, the international success is easy to use as a distinction.

 
Across a full career it's Messi IMO. And I don't think it's close.

He didn't do it in a league where no one defends (at least not until the last couple years), and he did it against modern athletes. And did it for a long long time.

With the exception of Beckenbauer, all of the others fail at least one and sometimes two of those tests.

There are some modern-era folks who matched Messi for goals (not Ronaldo, he trails Messi 426-400 once you back out PKs -- despite playing almost 100 more professional matches), but no one matches Messi for goals + assists. Like #2 isn't in view.
 
CletiusMaximus said:
The argument for anyone else is quite a bit harder after today.
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Feels like he put the ghost of Diego to bed for sure. Especially given the circumstances around Diego's two wins.

Pele played in Brazil his whole career. Cruyff was in the Eredivisie for most of it (and was no where near as prolific in Spain). It'd be like Mbappe staying in France.

If someone wanted to die on Franz Hill I wouldn't really know enough to argue, but generally scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in soccer so I'd limit my own search that end of the field.

And OG Ronaldo, PR Ronaldo, Suarez, Zlatan, Lewandowski, Neymar, etc just aren't in the same category.
 
Dinsy Ejotuz said:
CletiusMaximus said:
The argument for anyone else is quite a bit harder after today.
Click to expand...
Feels like he put the ghost of Diego to bed for sure. Especially given the circumstances around Diego's two wins.

Pele played in Brazil his whole career. Cruyff was in the Eredivisie for most of it (and was no where near as prolific in Spain). It'd be like Mbappe staying in France.

If someone wanted to die on Franz Hill I wouldn't really know enough to argue, but generally scoring goals is the hardest thing to do in soccer so I'd limit my own search that end of the field.

And OG Ronaldo, PR Ronaldo, Suarez, Zlatan, Lewandowski, Neymar, etc just aren't in the same category.
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Maradona only won one World Cup. But like Messi, he twice won Golden Ball (86,90) and went 1-1 in Finals.
 
prefontaine said:
Maradona only won one World Cup. But like Messi, he twice won Golden Ball (86,90) and went 1-1 in Finals.
Click to expand...
Wow. I actually always just looked at his career years and assumed he was there.

"Maradona was left off the Argentine squad for the 1978 World Cup on home soil by coach César Luis Menotti who felt he was too young at age 17."
 
Dinsy Ejotuz said:
prefontaine said:
Maradona only won one World Cup. But like Messi, he twice won Golden Ball (86,90) and went 1-1 in Finals.
Click to expand...
Wow. I actually always just looked at his career years and assumed he was there.

"Maradona was left off the Argentine squad for the 1978 World Cup on home soil by coach César Luis Menotti who felt he was too young at age 17."
Click to expand...

Left off
Kicked into submission (the famous game that would have had 5 red cards today)
Won it
Lost in finals
Got kicked out for a drug test during the tournament
 
NewlyRetired said:
Dinsy Ejotuz said:
prefontaine said:
Maradona only won one World Cup. But like Messi, he twice won Golden Ball (86,90) and went 1-1 in Finals.
Click to expand...
Wow. I actually always just looked at his career years and assumed he was there.

"Maradona was left off the Argentine squad for the 1978 World Cup on home soil by coach César Luis Menotti who felt he was too young at age 17."
Click to expand...

Left off
Kicked into submission (the famous game that would have had 5 red cards today)
Won it
Lost in finals
Got kicked out for a drug test during the tournament
Click to expand...
Never dull that one
 
NewlyRetired said:
Dinsy Ejotuz said:
prefontaine said:
Maradona only won one World Cup. But like Messi, he twice won Golden Ball (86,90) and went 1-1 in Finals.
Click to expand...
Wow. I actually always just looked at his career years and assumed he was there.

"Maradona was left off the Argentine squad for the 1978 World Cup on home soil by coach César Luis Menotti who felt he was too young at age 17."
Click to expand...

Left off
Kicked into submission (the famous game that would have had 5 red cards today)
Won it
Lost in finals
Got kicked out for a drug test during the tournament
Click to expand...

One thing Diego still has on Messi is coaching Argentina at the 2010 World Cup. Absolutely bat-#### crazy and fantastic experience. Maybe someday Leo will drive over a reporter's leg then call the guy an ###hole while he's being loaded into the ambulance. Some of the greatest press conferences in world cup history.
 
Is Maradona in ‘86 the best performance in World Cup history? I’ve always assumed it was, and still is, but not sure if that’s a universal opinion.
 
I was reading an article some time ago about GOATs and the writer made a good point that when evaluating greatness it's best to compare how much better a player was than their peers, rather than try to compare players across different eras. He used Babe Ruth as the gold standard for this evaluation technique.
I feel like it can be similar between Pele and Messi. I don't have all the knowledge I need to make a complete evaluation but my general understanding is that Pele was unlike anyone ever seen in Soccer during his time, while Messi has less distance between himself and some of his peers.
Not sure if that's true, but I do like using that method when discussing GOATs.
 
It's certainly possible to make an argument for Landon Donovan as the greatest soccer player of all time. Here are a few points that could be included in such an argument:

  1. Accomplishments: Donovan won numerous accolades and titles during his career, including six MLS Cups, two Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cups, and the Golden Ball as the best player at the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He also won the MLS Most Valuable Player award twice and was a seven-time MLS Best XI selection.
  2. National team success: Donovan played a key role in helping the U.S. national team qualify for three World Cups and reach the knockout stage twice. He is the all-time leader in goals and assists for the national team, and his five goals at the World Cup are the most in U.S. history.
  3. Longevity: Donovan played professionally for nearly two decades, making him one of the most durable and consistent players in the history of the sport. He was a regular contributor for both club and country throughout his career.
  4. Leadership: Donovan was known for his leadership skills and was often a captain for both club and country. He was respected by his teammates and coaches and was able to inspire those around him to perform at their best.
  5. Skill: Donovan was a technically gifted player with excellent dribbling, passing, and shooting ability. He was also a smart and creative player, able to make difficult plays look easy.
While it's ultimately up to individual interpretation, these are some of the factors that could be used to make a strong case for Landon Donovan as the greatest soccer player of all time.
 
I voted other.
We had a German exchange student in high school. Easily the best soccer player I've seen in person. He had an absolute rocket for a leg and made the rest of us look worse than pathetic.
 
kaso said:
I voted other.
We had a German exchange student in high school. Easily the best soccer player I've seen in person. He had an absolute rocket for a leg and made the rest of us look worse than pathetic.
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Did he have a weird name for a German? Something like Meeroslab?
 
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