Foootballers of the week - Peter Schmeichel and Ryan Giggs

[thilak4life]

Hi guys,

Let's discuss, criticize, and dismiss the qualities of the footballers for that week.

We'll have a pair, it would be wider for different opinions.

It could be anything related to 'em or the teams (club and country) in context of the player.

Let's start with:
Zizou (the best player of last generation), and
Messi (the next best player of our generation if he doesn't get injured)

Why 'em? They celebrated their birthdays past two days (23rd june 1972, and 24'th june 1987). :P

Next:

Peter Schmeichel, (Euro 92', 5PL, 99' treble)
Ryan Giggs (10 PL, 2UCL)

[ThalaNass]

Thilak...

Zizou - Skill

Messi - Pace

I'll write about 'em later... Anyday, i'll prefer Messi over Kaka or Ronaldinho :P

[ajithfederer]

I havent seen Messi play much but i was a fan of zidane during his real madrid days. His goal to win the 2001(?) edition of champions league is a treat

[Sid_316]

Zizou is my best player of all time ! i havent seen much of maradona or pele.. Though Zizou didnt hav much pace he had brilliant ball control and skill... He can simply destroy a team. The only thing i dont like about him is his temper. No of occasions he had lost his temper for silly reasons .i dont know y i thot about this now :P but Some Ppl dont understand wats effective skill and "show" buisness. Bloody Alex F****** once said zidane is just a mere showman! and is hailing that little brat that bloody disgrace as a great player!

Messi on the other hand is slowly shaping up to be a great player. in my opinion he is underhyped :P compared to that bloody rooonaldo i hope he becomes a great player as he shows lots of promise... but i will prefer kaka than him and i will never ever prefer ronaldo

[Thalafanz]

Guys, who is better (current generation)???

Messi or Robinho???

[thilak4life]

Robinho? Came with a big expectation, and hasn't quite lived up to it. In fact, he doesn't deserve the hype by any means. On his day, quite good, but doesn't match the creative skills and talent of Messi, or Kaka, neither does he score as much as Cristiano Ronaldo. But he's got a future, we'll wait and see. I'd easily pick Robben over him for Madrid's main attacking threat.

Messi is the best under-21 attacking midfielder* I've ever seen. (I haven't seen Maradona at that age, except for the clippings, and he looked great as well. Ditto Cruyff.) At 18, he terrorized the whole world, and at 19, he drew comparisons with Diego maradona (I mean, there are plenty others who are named that, but he's as closest as it gets). He has few similarities with Diego, like small height, but low center of gravity, incredible ball retention, crazy dribbling speed, and tenacity. Hardly good headers of the ball (basically because of the height), both play similar position (Diego more central). Messi's right foot is as good as Maradona's, if not more used for juggling by the kid. Let's not speak about their left foot please, it's just too crazy. Both of 'em injury prone (Messi much more), and in both their cases, it was because of the pressure on right footing as they keep using their left predominantly. This extra pressure on the other foot to hold the balance, and flexing it all over the place, is really a cause of their frequent hamstring pulls, and other complications. And both go down to the ground easily. :P

But what sets them apart is, Diego has done it all, while Messi has to do it in the pitch. I think he will Messi is much more mature than Diego was in his age, and is humble learner. He's not a big mouth egomaniac, and he's loyal to his club and country. Messi is endearing and lovable, while Diego is an universally repulsed notorious midget (if you thought Ronaldo is one big winker, then Maradona is a bigger daddy in terms of sly cheating job). His personal life is intact (so far), and I'm sure it could never become as worse as Diego's. No addictions so far. Messi plays in a more "athletic world", while Maradona played in a "more creative era". Messi and Maradona have both got pace, and could be unstoppable if you're a yard back.

End of the day, I have massive expectations of Messi.

*The "attacking midfielder" disclaimer is because of player with the name Luiz Ronaldo, he's simply the most ridiculously talented under-21 striker I've ever seen.

P.S: I'd look like a Diego hater from aforementioned, not at all. I'm a crazy Maradona fan, and would accept being a hypocrite for overlooking his baggage of malevolence.

[thilak4life]

Sid,

Zizou lost his temper more famously in 2006 WC final. Maybe couple of times in La liga from what I've seen. But I think he's quite laidback otherwise. The WC incident painted an ever lasting picture, until then we thought Zizou is quite cool.

[thilak4life]

More of Zidane later.

[Sid_316]

hey i remember a couple of incidents he was red carded while in juventus! and during 1998 wc he was suspended for something right? Saudi arabia match he did something i dont quite remember

[thilak4life]

hey i remember a couple of incidents he was red carded while in juventus! and during 1998 wc he was suspended for something right? Saudi arabia match he did something i dont quite remember

Sid, you're right. I remember reading about his cards ratio in some article as well. But red cards, and couple of headbutts aside, I thought he's okay. Not reading too much into stats, as it's misleading about him in general. For example, we have no reservations in saying Vieira or Roy keane lost their temper way too often. Right? Zidane OTOH is an advocate of fair play in general. But I agree he has been succumbed into provocations, and has also got cards for reckless "striker's tackles".

Let me put this way, take Thierry henry. He has been sent off in 02WC (I think that was a part of the reason for their downfall that year), and has behaved like an Insane brat after uefa cup final vs Galatasaray. I'm pretty sure if he had headbutted in an important final like Zizou, he'll be also referred as a hot head, but you and I know he's not one. Remember kuruthipunal, and "breaking point". It's for everyone. And, a psycho like Materazzi is one of his kind in provocations, and has a prolific record in rubbing the wrong side.