Volante wrote:

Wasn't he was suffering from depression? Had a drinking problem too.

Yeah, but before that. Back when he was doing well for Inter. He probably put on 30 pounds of muscle mass in the span of two or three years.

I read an article a few years ago which compared his physical evolution in Italy to Ronaldo's. Inter have been blamed for a lot of the injuries Ronaldo were plagued with because of the muscular imbalance in his body. It's my feeling that the same was true with Adriano to some extent. You can't make a 6 ft 2 player bulk up like that in a sport where the joints in knees and ankles already have to endure so much strain due to the start-and-stop nature of the running.

So you're saying Inter ruined both of them?

I don't know, but it has been suggested. Ronaldo used to be so bloody quick too. The idea was that his knees couldn't handle the stress from all that weight when his movement was altered too much or brought to a sudden stop.

Inter weren't the only factor though. It was just as much about the lifestyle choices he made. Just look at him today. He looks like a balloon. I think it was Beckham who claimed that Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos used to throw barbecue parties every week in Spain. It doesn't surprise me at all.

Makes you appreciate how much of a machine CR has turned himself into. He's not got the pure football ability R9 did but his dedication to his body and the way he prepares is second to none.

Yeah, Cristiano Ronaldo is the ultimate footballing machine. Everything is trimmed down to the smallest detail. He even adjusted his teeth to be able to clamp his jaws together better (separate procedure from the purely cosmetic one he underwent all those years ago).

Klaus wrote:

He even adjusted his teeth to be able to clamp his jaws together better (separate procedure from the purely cosmetic one he underwent all those years ago).

Really? What does this achieve in terms of performance? Would appreciate a link if you've got one.

It was in a Swedish paper interview three or four years back. He had his wisdom teeth removed at the same time and talked a bit about how statistics showed that they could cause a problem later on in his career, so he had them pulled as soon as his schedule permitted it and then spent most of the summer lying in bed. I'll see if I can find it.

I'm not sure the adjustment as such achieved much at all in terms of performance. I think it was more of a comfort thing, possibly related to heavy training where you tend to clench your teeth together.

Was it not reported Ljungberg had something like that done too?

Loads of footballers have the procedure done.

I always thought it was fucking bizarre

counterintuitive science

always hated Milan for being dire even with Bergkamp in. I just wanted to watch Bergkamp, but they made me hate even that.

Blocked!

The moment in that comp which gave me goosebumps was Henry v Leeds. That moment, is exactly what being a fan is about for me.

Love the Parlour shout too

It's not in there but Freddies goal against Chelsea was ace too. I love how he left John Terry on his arse.

Funny seeing Arteta in there. I had forgotten how long he's been around in Premier League.

Edit: Henry's skill at 9m 09s :drool:

Maradona with the same protection the stars of today get would have been a sight to behold.

I prefer the Maradonna we got. Boring shits like Messi are no fun.

Ronaldo (Brazilian) is the best player I've ever seen. Had it not been for his knee injury I'm in no doubt he'd have been the undisputed best player in history.

qs! wrote:

I prefer the Maradonna we got. Boring shits like Messi are no fun.

I don't think it's the players faults Qs, it's the way things are nowadays.
Due to corporatising and a conservative risk aversion at all costs attitude from the games governing powers all the characters and fun is gone from the game, you saw Koscielny getting carded for "over celebrating" a goal- That's typical of fools that run the game now.

Bold Tone wrote:

Maybe it's old age but i don't get that frisson i used to with players of old (Maradona, Laudrup, Gullit, Van Basten, Romario, Hagi, Baggio, Ronaldo, etc) whether you supported them or not.
Apart from Napoli, i always hated all the teams Maradona played for but i wouldn't miss watching him whenever i could.
Messi, Ibra, Cronaldo, etc just don't do it for me.

Think that's the key.

Those guys were seen sporadically and their legend spread alot easier by word of mouth and growing reputation. These days everyone knows everything about every player and there's no mystique.

Yeah Maradona was a shadowy chimeric figure who shyed away from publicity and controversy.

My affiliation with Arsenal was a lot weaker when I was a kid. We were privileged in Sweden I guess since we had pretty extensive coverage of the top Italian teams from early on. Meant I could watch almost every Milan game of the Gullit/van Basten/Rijlaard era. I was madly fond of them, and Gullit was my fave for years.

We have had English top flight gamea since the seventies too. The guy who made that possible is a fucking legend. Basically, he worked in television in Sweden, but on a random trip to England he went to a game. He was completely captivated by the atmosphere and wanted to bring that to Sweden. He came home, talked to his bosses, and they were dead against the idea. They didn't see how anyone here would want to watch ENGLISH football. He didn't give up though, and after a massive nagging campaign they gave in and said that if he could set it up they would try it (they never thought he could pull it off). He went to England and met with the FA and the tv company. They didn't believe in the idea either really, and couldn't understand why on earth Swedes would want to watch their footy. It was possible though, with how far broadcasting had got, and he bought the rights to broadcast live the game they themselves would show on Saturdays at 3 for almost nothing at all. The rest is history, and Saturdays at 3 (4 in Sweden) has become synonymous with English football. What a man! That was the beginning of selling broadcasting rights btw, and that has somewhat taken off...

Good story Rex, what was his name?
Everyone loved that Milan side of the late 80s early 90's, Baresi Maldini........

Lars-Gunnar Björklund! Swedish legend.

I've seen him play live, he scored from a free kick for Argentina V Australia, I was right in line of the flight of the ball, superb.

Gives the 'anyone can be made to look good on Youtube' a whole new meaning.

Ronaldo, Messi and Cristiano will always sit at high table amongst modern footballers.

But no player can delight like the jailbird Gaucho.

Still the best footballer I've ever seen.

I miss him.