Hail C. Ronaldo

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Brilliant hatrick last night to be fair.

See link.

http://espnfc.com/video/espnfc/video/_/id/1621494?cc=5739

I think that makes 38 goals in 27 games this season.

Such a modest fella, if only he showed a bit more swagger.

davewebber65 wrote:Matthews never smoked and i think drank, he was the footballer that ushered in the age of fitness and he played his last match for England at the age of 42

......and, I think, played for Stoke at aged 50....... 

The TV coverage is much more widespread now than in previous eras so Ronaldo and Messi's exploits are hard to miss. Albeit their goal-scoring stats alone surpass anything done before.
I would put Messi slightly ahead, since I think Ronaldo is slightly more reliant on service from his team mates. Those 2 aside, in my lifetime I would say these players are among the greatest:

Zico
Michel Platini
Maradona
Michael Laudrup
Roberto Baggio
Zinedine Zidane
Ronaldo (the fat Brazilian one)

Apart from the those, defenders such as Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Cafu and Fernando Hierro are worth a mention too.

TDA wrote:

davewebber65 wrote:Matthews never smoked and i think drank, he was the footballer that ushered in the age of fitness and he played his last match for England at the age of 42

......and, I think, played for Stoke at aged 50....... 

you are right, he was 50 when he played his last match for stoke

ballon d'or??????????? ah yes the trophy that Stan Matthews won in 1956 at 41

davewebber65 wrote:ballon d'or??????????? ah yes the trophy that Stan Matthews won in 1956 at 41

FA cup aside though, Matthews won virtually nothing for his club side. His personal records don't compare , his awards don't compare, and what he did for his team doesn't compare.

No doubt a great player, but outclassed by many, many others past and present I feel.

true. not disputing that, but would dispute that he was in his day outclassed by many. no one can compare past with present, whether it be football, cricket or any other sport, but in his day he was without one of the greatest. at 46 he filled ninian park and a highly partisan crowd applauded his football skill

Worth remembering that the Second World War took out the seasons 39/40 - 45/46 when Matthews would have been 24 - 31 and in his prime. If not for that minor distraction, he may well have won far more than he did.

[quote="TDA"]Worth remembering that the Second World War took out the seasons 39/40 - 45/46 when Matthews would have been 24 - 31 and in his prime.  If not for that minor distraction, he may well have won far more than he did.[/quote

Unfortunately if we go by maybes, Ronaldo MAY be the best player ever if Messi didn't exist. If neither existed we could be praising Iniesta as the best ever.

Likewise with other sports. Tiger Woods may of been the best the worlds ever known if it wasn't for the scandal. Ayrton Senna may of gone on to be the best F1 driver ever if he hadn't died so young. I don't feel that maybes, no matter how plausible, can really dispute solid evidence.

Still I personally think Ronaldo is better. People like Messi more because he's humble whereas Ronaldo doesn't come across that way.

scoring x number of goals does not make this or that player the best there is in an particular year. the goals depend on many factors, some of which belong to the opposition.

it has been argued that scoring goals with a modern football is a lot easier than with a water soaked leather ball with a liner, which on a rain soaked pitch must have felt like kicking lead.