Comment: A Response To Readers – Why There Are 100 Players Better Than Cristiano Ronaldo
Goal.com’s Carlo Garganese answers the questions/complaints of readers and explains his controversial feature that listed 100 better players than Cristiano Ronaldo.
By Carlo Garganese
Jan 24, 2011 8:30:00 AM
A fortnight ago – in response to agent Jorge Mendes’ claims that “Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest player of all time” - I constructed a list of 100 footballers since 1960 who I believed were/are better than the current Real Madrid star.The article sparked an incredible reaction, with 1400 comments and more than 90,000 unique pageviews.
I will now take the opportunity to respond to much of the feedback, also by explaining the criteria I used to draw up the ‘Cristiano Ronaldo 100’.
First of all, it is important to note that these are not the 100 greatest players of all time as some readers have mistakenly understood. The selection is a fast-food list of 100 footballers since 1960 who I would place above Ronaldo. Nor does this mean that CR7 is superior to those not on the register – indeed there are many others who can be considered finer such as Andrea Pirlo, George Weah and Thierry Henry.
Secondly, the feature was not intended as an attack on Ronaldo. The former Manchester United man is a world-class attacker and unquestionably one of the top five players in the world today. Only the Barcelona trio of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta are, without argument, better than the Madeira-native.
The main reason I decided to create the list is due to a general disinterest/ignorance among younger fans about the history of the game. An ignorance that is only amplified via comments such as Mendes’. Ask your average pre-teen supporter who the best of all time is and often the answer will be Messi, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zidane, Maradona or Pele. No one else from the past even exists. Since a young age, this author’s passion has been football from the 1960s, 70s and 80s. There is no doubt that the game was far superior 20, 30, 40 years ago. For starters, you can name on one hand the number of world class defenders today. Fitness and physical attributes have improved over time, but technical, mental and defensive qualities have declined massively. There are many reasons for this – including the use of disgraceful plastic balls – but that is a topic for another day.
So, my preference of older football must be taken into account when you analyze my list. Some readers ask how I can possibly possess the knowledge of football 20 years before I was even born. The answer is I have been compiling a database of past matches, documentaries, video footage and literature for the best part of a decade. I have watched the entire 90 minutes of every World Cup and European Championships tournament game since the early 1960s, 90 per cent of European Cup quarter final, semi final and final ties, and hundreds of other continental, international and domestic matches.
The scarcity of 90-minute footage available from the 1950s and earlier is the reason why the cut-off was 1960, meaning legends such as Nandor Hidegkuti and Raymond Kopa were not included in the 100. Highlight reels are no way of judging how good a player is, you must study numerous 90-minute games for club and country on the biggest stages over a long period of time. This was done for all those chosen, and wasn’t possible for a Hidegkuti or Kopa.
Another criticism of the feature by readers was the decision to include defenders in the list. Granted, it is extremely difficult to compare players from different eras – let alone players from different eras in different positions. Speed and styles have changed so much, and football still remains a team game, so there is always going to be room for interpretation and hypothesis.
Nevertheless, defenders and goalkeepers are just as important as midfielders or attackers. This prejudice towards flair players is the reason why greats such as Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini never won the Ballon d’Or, despite the fact both would make an all-time greatest world XI. The best way of comparing Ronaldo to these defenders is by asking yourself who was better at his own job or position within the overall context of ability and success. Those in the 100 were better at their jobs than the Real Madrid forward was/is at his.
Considering his career so far, Ronaldo has not yet done enough to make the 100. His general club level of performance and goalscoring stats over the last four seasons (49-42, 53-26, 35-33, 31-32) – since exploding in 2007 – have been astounding. But there are still weaknesses he needs to treat before he can be considered an all-time great.
While labeling Ronaldo a big-game flop may be overboard, until now he has certainly been a big-game under-performer. The Portuguese’s only real saving grace, out of dozens of important matches, was his goal in the 2008 Champions League final against Chelsea, a game in which he was anonymous for large spells and, having missed a penalty in the shootout, would have been the villain had John Terry not slipped on his match winning spot-kick.The idea of Ronaldo freezing on the big occasion is not a myth, it is a reality dating back almost five years now. In the Champions League, Ronaldo offered turgid displays in successive semi-finals against Milan and Barcelona, overshadowed in both legs by Kaka and Lionel Messi, and man-marked by Rino Gattuso and Gianluca Zambrotta respectively. This has not improved since joining Real Madrid, as he has been second-best in his Clasico clashes against the only other ‘big’ team in Spain – Barcelona.
Internationally, Ronaldo’s record is not too smart either. In the 2006 World Cup, when the big knockout matches against England (quarter final) and France (semi final) came along, Ronaldo went missing. At Euro 2008 it was much of the same. When it really mattered in the last eight against Germany, Ronaldo disappeared once again. For those who argue that Portugal are not a big side, well there wasn’t a more talented team on their side of the draw in Austria and Switzerland. At the 2010 World Cup, Ronaldo was panned by the world media for his sorry performances.
Ronaldo has scored 25 goals in 79 international appearances - a decent record. But take a closer look at who these goals were against. Latvia, Estonia, Russia (2), Luxembourg, Slovakia, Estonia, Greece, Saudi Arabia (2), Iran, Azerbaijan (2), Kazakhstan (2), Belgium (2), Armenia, Czech Republic, Poland, Finland, North Korea, Denmark, Iceland and Holland. With the exception of the Netherlands, it is no coincidence that Ronaldo has failed to score against the superpowers of world football – the Brazil, Argentina, Italy, England, France, Spain and Germany’s of this world.
Once again, this critique of Ronaldo is not intended as an assault on his footballing brilliance. Whatever happens over the next few years, he will go down as one of the best players of this era. Ronaldo turns 26 next week, and still has a number of seasons at the very top left in his locker. If we revisit this subject in four years time, it is very possible that he will have broken into the 100 and even occupy a high ranking. But this isn't the case yet.
Please note: The only way I could possibly answer every reader question would be to compare with Ronaldo the merits one-by-one of every player in the 100. Depending on the response to this editorial, this is something we could do in the form of a live twitter debate in the near future.
