There was some discussion on here, or probably A-M, that for all his great ability with a ball and silky skill, Zidane was pretty ineffectual and didn't influence games enough. I think I recall a top manager saying something similar, perhaps Ferguson?

It's not something I'd say I particularly agree with, though I personally rated Rivaldo higher, but no matter what you think, calling him the most overrated player of all time is hyperbolic nonsense.

Volante wrote:

Pele was better than Maradona.

And how man live games did you see either of them play?

None.

So you weren't around even for the '94 World Cup?

Diapers innit?

flobaba wrote:

Zidane is definitely not "the most overrated footballer of all time".

That's a dumb statement to make, and even you, ridiculous as most of your assertions are, should know better.

I think the Zidane and Bergkamp compilations are very interesting to compare. While Bergkamp's skills always had a point, the Zidane video is filled with random sillyness on the halfway line.

Zidane was ultimately a very selfish player. For example, he never provided an assist for Henry until the 2006 WC. Fantastic footballer nonetheless, but not better than Bergkamp in a million years. The reason people think he is, is that he scored in a WC and CL final.

Pretty much. He was technically perfect but plenty of players were. The likes of Dennis, Laudrup and Baggio were better players in my opinion, not to mention Henry who belonged to the same generation.

In many big games Zidane showed up and put in big performances, a lot of his reputation is built on that. But if you compare him to say Messi/C.Ronaldo those guys near enough score or assist in every game they played and Zidane never got close to that kind of consistency.

Klaus wrote:

Pretty much. He was technically perfect but plenty of players were. The likes of Dennis, Laudrup and Baggio were better players in my opinion, not to mention Henry who belonged to the same generation.

Baggio could have been Pele/Cruijff/Maradona level. Great player obviously. but isn't the general feeling is he didn't get the most out of his ability?

Timothy wrote:

So you weren't around even for the '94 World Cup?

Nope but I've seen quite a few matches. Romario was unplayable but Baresi had him in pocket.

Gurgen wrote:

flobaba wrote:

Zidane is definitely not "the most overrated footballer of all time".

That's a dumb statement to make, and even you, ridiculous as most of your assertions are, should know better.

I think the Zidane and Bergkamp compilations are very interesting to compare. While Bergkamp's skills always had a point, the Zidane video is filled with random sillyness on the halfway line.

Zidane was ultimately a very selfish player. For example, he never provided an assist for Henry until the 2006 WC. Fantastic footballer nonetheless, but not better than Bergkamp in a million years. The reason people think he is, is that he scored in a WC and CL final.

That he didn't provide Henry specifically with loads of assists doesn't make him a "selfish player"? He does have one of the best, if not the best assist to game ratio in Europe.

Zidane is noted for his absolutely masterful technique and control of the ball. He had unmatchable grace, elegance and balance in possession and was so influential in many big games because he had the rare ability to totally control and dictate the pace of the game in the midfield and attack. A classic play maker.

Apart from Maradona, he is the only player that I would credit with basically single handedly winning a World Cup for his country.

Top, top player.

Won't get into the comparisons with Bergkamp as I don't see the point. Both players had different positions and roles in their teams. Zidane was a master of his, same with Bergkamp.

flobaba wrote:

Apart from Maradona, he is the only player that I would credit with basically single handedly winning a World Cup for his country.

Love me some Zizou, but this shit isn't true.

Fabregas' abilities seem to have regressed since he left us.

He's been pretty fucking good at Barca to be fair. He's just useless when he has to cover for Messi at #9.

He has been excellent for Barcelona, all things considered. Personally, I think he is a better footballer today than when he left.

flobaba wrote:

Apart from Maradona, he is the only player that I would credit with basically single handedly winning a World Cup for his country.

Zidane did fuck all except for the Final.

Bergkamp and of course Ronaldo and Rivaldo had much better tournaments than him. They needed their RB to produce 2 goals in the semi-final against Croatia. Needed extra time to get past Paraguay and penalties to beat Italy. I remember that World Cup very vividly because it was my first football World Cup that i had watched from start to finish.

And I remember saying to myself even then that, although Zidane was aesthetically very pleasing he wasn't as effective as a lot of top players who played in that tournament.

P.S. - He also got a red iirc, and hence didn't play 2-3 games. So him single handedly winning France anything is a myth.

Same for the 2006 World Cup where they reached the final. He had a great game against Brazil and that was about it. France reached wherever they did because of Vieira and Henry IMO. And eventually lost it due to the dumbfuck manager they had.

Zidane took all the headlines for the 2006 World Cup, but Pirlo was so much better than him in the tournament it's not even funny.