Zinedine Zidane

[footyfan]

One of the maestros of modern football, unmatched elegance and control.

A must watch video:

 

[Semi-Neutral]

meh

nothing to see here

basically Iniesta

B/10

 

[CatalinR10]

 

[raskolnikov]

How do you guys feel about Zidane nowadays? overrated or underrated?
I feel the guy was great yet less consistent than he is getting credit for nowadays.
His stats aren't all that but thats similair to Iniesta, we can all see how great he is.

What I like most about Zidane is his ability to make the whole team play better just by being there, France always was so much better with him controlling the play, when he retired it fell apart.

 

[footyfan]

I think he was the best player of his generation, along with Ronaldo and that will always elevate him to a status that only other best players of their generations can reach. So yes, he was slightly overrated because there have been players who were/are as good as him, yet will never reach his stature.

Personally, as an overall player, he is extremely similar to Iniesta but less consistent. I've never really heard anyone praise him for his consistency, only for his aesthetics or his impact in the most crucial moments. However, he also wasn't always part of a well balanced team like Iniesta has been majority of his career. A few months ago, I would've put Iniesta much ahead of him but now I feel they're a bit more equal than I'd previously thought. The major factor being that when important players like Busquets and Messi were injured or not playing, and with Xavi below his best - Iniesta could not stamp his authority the way you would expect of someone of his stature (i.e of a stature similar to Zidane's). Obviously, a few games in one season is not enough evidence but this is just the subjective me talking. The Barcelona team is composed of players who are much more system based than I'd previously expected.

Zidane played just as well as Iniesta when he has a balanced team (like France 1998 or 2006).

 

[footyfan]

Another great one, if anyone finds anymore, please do post:

 

[Ursegor]

The major factor being that when important players like Busquets and Messi were injured or not playing, and with Xavi below his best - Iniesta could not stamp his authority the way you would expect of someone of his stature (i.e of a stature similar to Zidane's). Obviously, a few games in one season is not enough evidence but this is just the subjective me talking.

I'm 100 % certain Zidane had a shitload more games in which he didn't "stamp his authority". Difference being that no one remembers those anymore because it was over a decade ago whereas Barcelona's failure are just a few months old. That's the world of football. 12 months ago Bayern were the uber chokers who bottled every cometition they entered, now they are the best thing since sliced bread who will win 5 CLs in a row with Ribery being Ballon d'Or contender.

 

[raskolnikov]

By consistency I meant I have talked to people who say he was bossing the game with Ronaldo from the late 90's till 2006, thats clearly not the case.
The guy is a big game player as is Iniesta, was a quality inconsistent player till he stepped up in the world cup final against Brazil.
Thats when he became one of the best in the world, with being the best around the euro's in 2000, around 2003 he started to fade and was very inconsistent for Madrid.

Around that time you have a lot of great players: Henry, Nedved, Sheva, Figo, Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Dinho.
He turned the clock back in that game against Brazil only to go out with a bang against Italy.
In the end out of that whole generation I have trouble where to put him, I feel the top 3 is between him, Ronaldo and Dinho but Dinho kind of started when Zidane was already fading.
I dont know if I would put him above him above Ronaldo though who was brilliant before getting injured and also won a world cup.

I agree with Iniesta not putting his stamp on the game when Messi not playing, to be honest he was in Martinez' pocket two games.
Probably happened to Zidane as well in certain games.
I still rate Zidane slightly higher than Iniesta, maybe its nostalgia on my part.

There is a move im looking for that I remember from Zidane, a double roulette in a row, one starting with the right the other with the left, I cant find it and since its not in the highlight vids im maybe mistaking him with somebody else or remembered it wrongly.

 

[DonAndres]

How do you guys feel about Zidane nowadays? overrated or underrated?
I feel the guy was great yet less consistent than he is getting credit for nowadays.
His stats aren't all that but thats similair to Iniesta, we can all see how great he is.

What I like most about Zidane is his ability to make the whole team play better just by being there, France always was so much better with him controlling the play, when he retired it fell apart.

Amazing player, but there are so many stupid childish football fans who act like hipsters thinking they are of "superior knowledge" because they glorify previous players like Zidane, Ronaldo, etc. over modern ones like CR or Messi. As if you have to be old and retired to be classified as a true "legend" and that WC quality has somehow declined over the past few years in comparison to the old "glory days". Those kinds of people are very ungrateful for the fact that they get to watch sheer phenomenons like Messi or Ronaldo play today, when they are miles ahead of most previous footballers (if not all in Messi's case).

As for judging him as a player instead of reputation, he was extremely clutch and his aesthetic play made him more likable. By football fans with common sense, he's rightfully rated. His direct impact was huge and he was more dynamic than Iniesta, but he lacked the consistency and some technical qualities in comparison. Still has had a better career than Iniesta, but that's because the latter hasn't even hit 30 and still has a long ways to go.

 

[footyfan]

It actually has happened quite often with Zidane (I'm talking about not stamping his authority), I always used to watch Madrid games then just like I do now. He would go missing against the likes of Real Murcia in the Liga or in the round of 16s in the CL.

That was one of the major reasons why I'd previously put Iniesta ahead of him. Recent developments that showed that this happens with Iniesta too is what makes me consider them more equal than previously expected.

Again, Madrid had a very unbalanced squad at that moment, they were very top heavy, their defensive midfield was terrible and their defence never seemed like a collective unit. Managers went in and out of a revolving door at that time which meant that it was impossible to have the kind of continuity and stability required to implement a proper philosophy or game plan.

Whereas Barcelona have recently been the epitome of continuity, all levels of the club play the same style and are taught the same thing. Even in terms of personnel, this Barcelona team (and also Spain team) outranks any team that Zidane has been a part of. Not to say that Zidane was part of only average teams. He has been part of great teams (although not as good as Spain/especially Barca) - and has been a great success. He has also been part of average teams - and he has generally failed in them.

Edit: Of course, you can never go by memes etc. that will always put older players on an unreachable pedestal. Zidane was certainly not that great.

 

[footyfan]

@DonAndres: Those childish fans are childish because that's exactly what they are, children. I would've expected nothing different, I was probably the same at that age.

 

[UEFA_Barça_Chris]

bang against Italy.

 

[raskolnikov]

Amazing player, but there are so many stupid childish football fans who act like hipsters thinking they are of "superior knowledge" because they glorify previous players like Zidane, Ronaldo, etc. over modern ones like CR or Messi. As if you have to be old and retired to be classified as a true "legend" and that WC quality has somehow declined over the past few years in comparison to the old "glory days". Those kinds of people are very ungrateful for the fact that they get to watch sheer phenomenons like Messi or Ronaldo play today, when they are miles ahead of most previous footballers (if not all in Messi's case).

As for judging him as a player instead of reputation, he was extremely clutch and his aesthetic play made him more likable. By football fans with common sense, he's rightfully rated. His direct impact was huge and he was more dynamic than Iniesta, but he lacked the consistency and some technical qualities in comparison. Still has had a better career than Iniesta, but that's because the latter hasn't even hit 30 and still has a long ways to go.

Brings up another interesting question, can football fans judge players they have not seen live only based on youtube highlight or a few games they downloaded where they already knew the score?
I never saw Maradona play, can I really judge him to be better than Iniesta? eventhough I know its likely to be the case.

Since I start watching football I would say Messi is by far the best player I have seen, before that it was someone of Ronaldo,Zidane, Dinho and Henry for me.
I also feel Rivaldo (the reason why I became a Barca fan) is greatly underrated nowadays.

Never thought I would see players put up numbers like Messi and Ronaldo though nor could I ever imagine a player like Messi.
Actually one of my worst predictions as a fan was Robinho being more gifted than Messi and Madrid being more lucky than us.
The other one was Mido being better than Zlatan based on how both played for Ajax.

I wonder how Iniesta's legacy will hold up when he is finished, currently Zidane dominates if you make a poll but who knows in a decade when Iniesta will be looked upon with much more respect and bias than they currently do with recent games in mind.

 

[Ursegor]

Again, Madrid had a very unbalanced squad at that moment, they were very top heavy, their defensive midfield was terrible and their defence never seemed like a collective unit. Managers went in and out of a revolving door at that time which meant that it was impossible to have the kind of continuity and stability required to implement a proper philosophy or game plan.

What happened to Barcelona last season was worse than any of that. With Messi injured the frontline was reduced to Pedro + Alexis who had something like 5 goals combined in the first half of the season in La Liga + Fabregas who is not a striker. At the back there was not a single defender who deserved to be labeled as such. While the midfield (Xavi + Busquets) was fighting with physical problems. Both Xavi and Busquets played through injuries. And on top of that the coach wasn't even there for months. Expecting Iniesta to step it up with no defenders, no goalscorers, 2 depleted midfield partners and a huge tactical disadvantage against a team like Bayern? And that's actually the only season in which Iniesta's performances while being a senior player can be criticized. Quite astonishing if you think about it.

 

[footyfan]

Yup that's exactly what I'm saying. Iniesta was finally in a position that resembled Zidane's during the mid 2000's.

Madrid's defence was actually just as bad as Barca's is right now. They had the likes of Thomas Gravesen at DM, while upfront they were struggling with Ronaldo's weight issues and Raul's unhappiness at being second fiddle. They played Beckham at CM, Figo was past his prime etc etc and there was the constant unrelenting untenable pressure from the media for GOALS GOALS GOALS. I'm fairly certain the turnover ratio of managers was > 1 per season.

And yes, this is actually Iniesta's first season that can possibly be criticized. Even then, he has pulled out some outstanding individual performances and has probably been at his most magical this season (against everyone bar the best), but without a concrete end product (I don't mean final passes) to his play like in previous seasons.

People forget the issues with older teams just like they overrate performances from older players.