akwesenana: How did you know he played those finals? Did you watch him play?
I read a book about the World Cups when I was in secondary school. He was one of the most colourful characters in the book. He once told his coach to drop him for a pending match because there was a player in the opposition team that he hated, and he was sure he was going to kill the opponent on the pitch. His manager knowing the kind of person he was, dropped him from the match.
They called him Double Ancho (Double broad ) because it was nearly impossible to pass him in defensive midfield.
Nostradamus1: The parameters all fit Suarez except the Champions League. I didn't remember that he won it with Barca in 2014 season. In my mind, he joined Barca in 2015
Champions League parameter is key na.
And to be honest Suarez was a great player but you won’t see him in any serious greatest of all time debate. At least not a Top 10, a Top 20, or likely not even a Top 30. So that one is excludes him as well.
TrebleChamp: Very simple puzzle ; His name is Ronaldo de Lima (R9), he played for Barcelona and then Real Madrid. A Legend of the game....
Try this one.
Regarded as one of the greatest players of his era especially in his position and one of the hardest players probably of all time. He played 2 World Cup final matches for 2 different countries.
Johan Cruyff was the best player of the 1974 World Cup. Losing in the final dealt his reputation an immediate and short term blow. If he had won he might be higher in the GOAT conversation.
Arizoner: Guess the riddle correctly. Lets go Nickname o f........... He's was a prolific striker. Played for two great clubs in spain. He is regarded as one of the greatest of all time. Never won a champions league. His country is in south america. Who is he?
This is too simple.
R9.
He played for Barca and Real, is regarded as one of the GOATs, famously never won the Champs league, and is Brazilian.
raumdeuter: I like your ways and how you give creative excuses when you're shown evidence of worse things happening in the SE
When talking about other regions its because they are easily controlled
When talking about SE with similar or worse evidence it's because elections are rigged, they are chameleons
Oyo went to AD to PDP to ACN to PDP its because they are easily controlled. Enugu has been with PDP since 1999 its because they vote on credibility and don't follow sheepishly
Presidency Oyo has voted AD PDP APC PDP. It's because they are easily controlled by one person
Presidency Enugu has always voted one party PDP. It's because they follow credibility and don't follow sheepishly
So they don't rig in other regions or chameleons don't exist in other regions
A40: You know these French folks can have a flair for the dramatic sometimes
But reason this thing well oh. Why and what are the odds that all the French players are suddenly falling sick. This is not even like France 98 where it was just one guy. It's a gang of people falling ill like anthrax was unleashed in their camp. They're not even disclosing the exact nature of the illnesses. I've never seen anything like it
I am not one to be a conspiracy theorist so it is possible. I fell sick with viral symptoms in that same Doha my last few days there. Everywhere indoors is air conditioned and sealed tight cos of the heat and even the stadia are air conditioned. Very ripe environment for viral respiratory infections to spread, and these players are in close proximity at all times.
A40: Seems there is a bit of tension between Benzema and Deschamps. Not sure bringing him would be a good idea. Mere looking at their body language when his name is brought up it's not screaming we're missing him and sad he's not able to play so far.
I think Giroud, Thuram and Muani are enough in the attack and hopefully Coman is also fine. Getting Benzema back doesn't guarantee anything
The worry is in defense. A Saliba or Upamecano against tricky players like Messi and Alvarez is recipe for disaster.
I'm not under any illusions that these refs will not blow PK at the slightest fvck up by France. They've given away 3 already and Argentina has won 4. So that's something to look out for
Coman is sick now. If Giroud or Thuram fall also sick before the final then it’s slim pickings. Tension or not it would be advisable to have Benzema on standby in Doha.
If 2 adult men with bia bia can’t get along for a couple of days to achieve their ultimate goal then they are both unserious.
Roland17: I understand Rabiot trained on Thursday and today while Coman/Konate/Varane are now isolated from the team because of the illness. I guess we have to wait until Saturday to know who is a go for Sunday.
It might have to be Upamecano and Saliba. Saliba is a like for like replacement for Varane but the problem is that he has been cold for a month.
There are replacements in defence. The place where we can’t afford illness is in attack. Mbappe, Griezmann, Dembele should be wrapped in cotton wool and they should activate Benzema if he is partially fit. He should be in Doha at least just in case things get worse.
Ibime: Freekick killer. Seen him play in my first ever match I attended live which was Cup Winners Cup final between Lazio and Mallorca at Villa Park in 1999
Another thing to add, he could not have played in modern football without being chased from Europe cos nigga was a bloody racist, always abusing black players on the pitch
Yeah Sinisa was a recalcitrant and racist P.O.S which is why he was so at home in Lazio’s racist and fascist culture.
Nirvana101: But we agree that Rossi dominated in 1982 because of the goals he scored and not anything else. Just like sucker in 1998. I mean Rossi didn't score a single goal in his first three games in ESP-82. Without his eventual six(6) goals, nobody dead or alive will say he dominated 1982 world cup.
It has always been about stats then who eventually won the whole thing.
Zidane did great in 1998, but dominated? I'm not so sure.
You made good points but the world wasn’t stats crazy in the 90s. For instance George Weah a striker that was scoring 11 and 17 league goals would not smell WPOTY or Ballon d’Or in this current climate. Eye test won him those awards.
Now people just count how many goals and assists before deciding who did well in any tournament. Eye test ti lazzident.
Kilishihunter: If France had won the 2006 world cup im sure he would have been mentioned in the same breath as Pele and maradano cause he would have also won the ballon d'or over cannavaro for sure, I believe his very dominant performance before his sending off was even better than in 1998 but as always History recognizes only the winners
I agree that his 2006 performance was even better. The guy showed Brazil, Spain and dem real pepper.
He was great but i would still give Juninho Pernambucano the edge. Mihaijlovic was so good that even after his legs were gone they were still putting him in the line up in case of free kicks.
raumdeuter: vs South Africa Henry and Djorkaeff looked more exciting to me. vs Saudi 4-0 Zidane no goal no assist and got a red card
Retrospectively we can use stats to knock him, but this was before the era of focusing on stats. He was the most dominant player on the pitch until his red card against Saudi and the same against. Like i said it was not Maradona levels, but he was the one who made that French team tick.
raumdeuter: Was Zidane a dominant performance though? He missed about 3 games of 7. He showed up in the final BIGLY
That’s why he is the lowest on that list. He missed 2 games not 3 though and was the best player in 3 of the games he played in and one of the top performers in the 2 others. Additionally, like you said he showed up big in the final.
Maradona’s 86 is unparalleled though. It was an annihilation of all his possible rivals.
Amoto94: A001 is partially correct for mentioning Iran as Arab state because there are Arabs in the Ahwaz region of Iran and that's where they even get majority of their oil deposits.
Arabs are about 2% of Iran’s population. If Iran with 2% Arab population is an Arab country, is Canada with 4% Han Chinese population also a Han Chinese country?
Or is France an Arab country with its 5% Arab population.
He is 100% wrong. Let’s not encourage bad behaviour.