TC Poll: Best footballer of all time?

Maradona........ he performed in an era of proper challenges and tackles,there was no such thing as the Champions League then,and he did the ultimate on the World Stage.

 

I can only go by players I've seen multiple games of so for me it would be.

Messi
Zidane
Ronaldhino
Fat Ron

 

Maradona, if anyone hasn't seen the Mexico 86 film Hero give it a watch , greatest player ever in my opinion

 

without a doubt the best player ever and his level in that world cup will never be touched, also the best world cup I've ever seen.the Russia v Belgium game is amazing.

 

The vote is going to be heavily influenced by the age group of those voting and the players they've seen.

Maradona for me. The guy was immense, even during an era where defenders were allowed to knock the living * out of attacking players.

 

I can get people making the case for Maradona, but how many people here are actually of an age where they saw him play regularly as opposed to just watching highlight clips on youtube?

I said before that Messi is head and shoulders above any player I've ever seen. People talk about the likes of Ronaldo (Braziliain and Portugese), Zidane etc being up there with him, but in all honesty Messi is far, far ahead for me. There are very few sportsmen who transcend the sport in the sense he has, and he's a player who has achieved so much on both an individual and team level.

Back in May this year he had an all time club record of 524 appearances, 449 goals and 170 assists and an internation record of 107 caps, 50 goals and 31 assists. I don't think words can convey how unbelievably impressive that is, and I can't understand the logic of the 'he's never won the world cup argument'. The World Cup is not the pinnacle of football in terms of quality, and it hasn't been for some time.

 

In that case there can be no solid argument for any player from before the era of widespread television coverage. We can only consider players from that era and after?

I've said in discussions of this type before that there are a few reasons why Maradona comes ahead of Messi for me.

The first is that he managed to come back from a serious bout of hepatitis, and also a badly broken ankle during his time at Barcelona, which brings me to point two, which was indicative of the treatment he received throughout most of his playing career.

Would Messi or Ronaldo have been so effective in that era where tackling was still permitted and referees weren't quite so protective? Maybe, but we'll never know. I do find it hard to believe a player so small and light not named Jimmy Johnstone would have been as effective in that era, and I simply don't think Ronaldo would have been anywhere near as effective.

What we do know is that Maradona was effective in that era despite the way the game was played.

In fact, to this day Maradona still holds the record for most fouls committed against a player in a single world cup match (23), and most fouls committed against a player during a world cup tournament (50).

Also, Maradona played in good teams, but never played in great teams, unlike Messi and Ronaldo.

Sure, Napoli, Argentina & Barcelona at the time weren't rubbish by any stretch, but they weren't a patch on the sides that Messi or Ronaldo has played in. The quality of player that Maradona played alongside wasn't anywhere near what Messi and Ronaldo have played alongside.

And yet, he still managed to win an Argentine Primera División, 2 Spanish cups and a Supercopa, 2 Serie A titles, a Copa Italia, and a World Cup.

It's certainly close between Messi and Maradona, but I give the nod to Maradona.

 

I'd say the quality of player Maradona played against wasn't as high as what Messi and Ronaldo face though. Defences are much more organised these days. Watching Maradona's 'goal of the century' v England, some of the defending for it was absolutely terrible. I don't think players get anywhere near as much time on the ball now.

 

Agree with that

 

Definitely, it's all subjective really. The circumstances involved are all vastly different now from what they were 20 or 30 years ago.

It's for that reason that there'll never be a definitive answer, just opinions and a group of players who are considered the best in their own era.

 

Daibhi - what I mean by the youtube comment isn't that we can't say a player from the 1970's is better than a player from the modern era, it's that realistically it's very difficult for the average football fan to have a well-informed opinion on players they never really saw play. Maradaona isn't the best example because there will no doubt be a few here who did grow up watching him, but we've got suggestions like Garrincha and Puskas too, and I have to wonder if anyone here is old enough to have really seen these guys play regulalry.

I won't argue against anyone saying Diego is better, at some level in sports you tend to get to the point where the level is so high that it really comes down to personal opinion. I tend to give modern players the benefit of the doubt that they could've adapted to the more physical side of the game back then, just like I tend to give historic players the benefit of the doubt that they could've adapted to the more athletic side of the game today.

 

This

 

Larsson

Then Messi, Maradona, Ronaldo(Bra)