TemporaryFan
Well-known member
Except that our sense of quality is often determined by nothing else but the sense of aesthetics and that's elusive in terms of providing the key to success. It matters only in gymnastics, figure skating or diving.That's true.
However, guys like Maradona and Cruyff transcend stats. I know that sounds pretentious but it is true.
Football is a qualitative sport as well as quantitative, maybe even more so. It can't be measured in pure statistics like the 100 metres can because it is a team game, and unlike basketball is not small-sided so is less reliant on stats.
I am not saying Lewy is not one of the best strikers of the last 30 years, maybe even all time. But Maradona is another level entirely. For me (and many others) he's the equal best player of all time. There's no shame in not being near that level.
I am sure that with the advances of technology, more metrics: player attributes and game tactics attributes, will become identified and available, so that football can be encapsulates in some formula, that would provide answers as to why quite often quality is surpassed by "anti-football" tactics.
So we know why we have Germany, not Holland or Poland winning WC 1974. Ugly playing Italians, not the best ever Brazil NT, winning Espana 1982 WC, or Mourinho's Inter taking CL...not to mention such oddities like Greece or Denmark winning Euros.