Zidane is a bit like Wenger, not the greatest tactically, but knows how to manage characters, and picking the right players.

For my view of what world class is; amongst the very best players in the world in their position, I reckon on the pitch today these qualify:

Real Madrid - Ramos, Marcelo, Modric and Ronaldo.

Juventus - Buffon and Chiellini. (I'm no expert on most Juve players though!).

Bryant wrote:

Ronaldo apparently has 600 goals for club and country now.

Wow!

Best goalscorer I've seen. Hands down.

Ricky1985 wrote:

Bryant wrote:

Ronaldo apparently has 600 goals for club and country now.

Wow!

Best goalscorer I've seen. Hands down.

Messi is only 35 behind 600 and he's 3 years younger.

Ray wrote:

Ricky1985 wrote:

Wow!

Best goalscorer I've seen. Hands down.

Messi is only 35 behind 600 and he's 3 years younger.

2 years and 4 months but I get your point. Although it is only 100 or so professional games too.

Messi is the much better player, in my view, or at least he was until he lost a yard of pace about 18 months or so ago, but Ronaldo is the better goalscorer. He can score every kind of goal, in any game, against the best opponents. His instinct for space, his movement and timing, and the technical ability and variety in his finishing is beyond anyone else I've personally seen.

Ramos just got pissed for some reason and pushed a guu during the celebrations.

On BT they keep praising Zidane for not spending money as if he's making do with an average team!

Ronaldo can't move with so much papparrazzi around him.

Showing replays of the goals, Khedira turning his back for Casemiero's deflected goal. Tut tut tut. Ronaldo's second is all him, Modric's cross isn't even a good one, Ronaldo just so sharp.

Replay of Cuadrado's red... Ramos is just the worst kind of modern footballer. What a cheating tosser.

Clrnc wrote:

Mirth wrote:

Zidane's underrated, sure, but he's not the sole architect behind this Madrid team.

I don't quite agree there, Madrid is a tough club to manage as many top managers has found out and even harder to find the right balance with their attacking talents. He hasn't got a distinct style, but he has made many key changes to bring Madrid to the level they are at right now. Tactically, he has always gone into big games really well and rotated the team for small games to great effect. I don't really rate Enrique, but Zidane for me has proven himself to be a really good manager.

I guess we will find out his true level even more when he manage another club.

I think this is very important. He managed to get Ronaldo to listen to him and to get Ronaldo to sit out games. 

Article: http://www.espn.in/football/uefa-champions-league/2/blog/post/3136480/cristiano-ronaldo-and-real-madrids-stars-expertly-managed-by-zinedine-zidane

Try getting Ronaldo to agree with that 3 years ago though. He knows his body needs more looking after than previously. It's probably more his doing than it is Zidane's.

And it's very easy to rotate through a season when you have a squad so good James Rodriguez can't make the match day squad!

We basically won't know too much about Zidane until he manages a team that isn't considerably better than everyone else and with the best player in the world in it and banging in 40+ goals a season and Champions League hattricks like it's nothing.

Ricky1985 wrote:

Try getting Ronaldo to agree with that 3 years ago though. He knows his body needs more looking after than previously. It's probably more his doing than it is Zidane's.

And it's very easy to rotate through a season when you have a squad so good James Rodriguez can't make the match day squad!

We basically won't know too much about Zidane until he manages a team that isn't considerably better than everyone else and with the best player in the world in it and banging in 40+ goals a season and Champions League hattricks like it's nothing.

You praised Pep and Barça a lot from 2009 to 2011 despite Messi 

Clrnc wrote:

Mirth wrote:

Zidane's underrated, sure, but he's not the sole architect behind this Madrid team.

I don't quite agree there, Madrid is a tough club to manage as many top managers has found out and even harder to find the right balance with their attacking talents. He hasn't got a distinct style, but he has made many key changes to bring Madrid to the level they are at right now. Tactically, he has always gone into big games really well and rotated the team for small games to great effect. I don't really rate Enrique, but Zidane for me has proven himself to be a really good manager.

I guess we will find out his true level even more when he manage another club.

I don't see what's so controversial to say Zidane isn't the sole architect. Most of these players aren't his, so obviously others have brought them together.

Tony Montana wrote:

Ricky1985 wrote:

Try getting Ronaldo to agree with that 3 years ago though. He knows his body needs more looking after than previously. It's probably more his doing than it is Zidane's.

And it's very easy to rotate through a season when you have a squad so good James Rodriguez can't make the match day squad!

We basically won't know too much about Zidane until he manages a team that isn't considerably better than everyone else and with the best player in the world in it and banging in 40+ goals a season and Champions League hattricks like it's nothing.

You praised Pep and Barça a lot from 2009 to 2011 despite Messi 

True, but Barcelona were an absolutely incredible team under Guardiola. Like nothing I've seen before or since.

Bottom line I suppose is football is much more about players than it is managers. Allegri is probably a better manager than Zidane, for example, but he doesn't have Ronaldo, Marcelo, Modric....

It's funny how Real Madrid won 3 CL's after Özil left them.

two deflected goals ruining the final. Football back to being boring-money team monopolizing the CL.
Btw, how about that bullshit merchant called Higuain?!

Jed wrote:

It's funny how Real Madrid won 3 CL's after Özil left them.

Insignificant that Mourinho also left and they've also added tons of players in the same time. 

arsedoc md wrote:

two deflected goals ruining the final. Football back to being boring-money team monopolizing the CL.
Btw, how about that bullshit merchant called Higuain?!

Wait, all that because of two deflected goal? I suppose if Juve got the d3flected goals the same rhetoric would have been applied? Plus they've spent a whole lot of money themselves hijacking the best players of their league rivals.