₦airaland Forum

Ibime:
Kanu finished 6th in WPOTY in 1996

Okocha probably never made shortlist

raumdeuter:
Like City bought Grealish too but quickly found out that he was more of an entertainer than a result oriented person. Players like KdB have been using quick decision making to split deep defence for years

raumdeuter:
Not everyone can send a 40yars pass on the field to reach a strike, it takes vision and high IQ. Its why some players are called exceptional passers of the ball like KdB Fabregas Kroos

Ibime:
Lacroix is not faster than Van Hecke, no let skin colour deceive you

Say we are selling Chalobah for £20m and buying Lacroix for £45m, I can tell you there is not much difference between them as seen when they were both at Palace together

raumdeuter:
Kanu - 2 times African POTY

Okocha - Made Oliver Kahn chop grass

AirBere:
It seems like you don't know Lacroix. He's one of the fastest defenders in world football. He's faster than Araujo for example and Araujo is very fast.

He's in the league of Van der ven in terms of top end speed. But with all that said, I'm not his biggest fan. I prefer intelligent defenders not pace merchants.

Ibime:
Lacroix is not faster than Van Hecke, no let skin colour deceive you

Say we are selling Chalobah for £20m and buying Lacroix for £45m, I can tell you there is not much difference between them as seen when they were both at Palace together

Ibime:
Lacroix is not faster than Van Hecke, no let skin colour deceive you

Say we are selling Chalobah for £20m and buying Lacroix for £45m, I can tell you there is not much difference between them as seen when they were both at Palace together

raumdeuter:
OKOCHA as in which one? See as he slide the useless player into conversation

What did Okocha do as a teenager and what did he do as a fully grown player

I think Okocha is an African "generational talent".

Ibime:
Maybe it's because Palace always park bus so I never get to see it used

Illimitable:
Grealish can’t make the England squad

Cherki is planted in the multi-talented French squad.

Dribbling is not just entertainment. Maradona was dribbler and he won the WC with it.

Godx:
Average players can send a 40yard pass, an average player can't dribble 6 players constantly. This example doesn't help your argument.

Godx:
Not everyone can do it constantly but everyone could do it.

Godx:
What equates natural talent when it comes to football?

Illimitable:
Okocha made FIFA 100(all time list).

He’s the only Nigerian on the list.

Like I said, Okocha gets more respect outside the country than Kanu Nwankwo.

He’s the better talent.

raumdeuter:
Same with dribbling 6 people, every footballer can dribble 6 people but not all can do it consistently or think its an effective way to play

Potvalor:
In football, there are different skills, e.g for attacking players: technique, shooting, pace, dribbling, passing, creativity, ball heading, spatial awareness, crossing (for wingers) etc.

A player can be insanely good with some of these attributes e.g Kroos was god-tier in Technique and Passing, but an average dribbler yet any good footballing head would see his "natural talent". Same thing for KDB with god-tier creativity and average dribbling. Anyone who watches Mbappe enough since his breakthrough and still doesn't see the god-tier "natural ability" in him obviously leans towards close-control/ball-hugging dribblers, so there isn't much point debating against such a person (football rating is mostly about preference at the end of the day).

My main issue is when the same category expects their opinion to hold as facts. As a Madrid fan, I typically use this 2 matchups against PSG to compare Neymar vs Mbappe: 2017/18 UCL RO16, Neymar dribbled our defenders countless times (maybe up to 10 times), yet we won 3-1 that first leg and qualified quite easily. Compared to 2021/22 RO16 vs the same PSG, where Mbappe delivered arguably the best individual performances against Madrid in UCL ever (for me, that remains my number 1). We still qualified, but only by luck IMO. Now ask most casual football fans to rate those two players' performances, and you won't be surprised if Neymar's fancy flicks top.
The summary: The majority of football viewers put more emphasis on dribbling than they should when rating football ability.

popizaino:
Your Kylian Mbappe.

Stats will never show this misses.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZX491cC140/?igsh=MTVmdXRscHgzdWRoOA==

raumdeuter:
David Beckham gets more respect outside Europe than say Zidane

raumdeuter:
Maradons dribbling got results, like goals and asissts at key moment. So his talent = results

Illimitable:
He didn’t win CL.
In 50 years time, People will tell you Kroos or Xavi are better players than Maradona because they won more trophies.
Maradona won 11 trophies
Kroos won 34 trophies.
Is Kroos the better talent because he’s more successful?
Your argument is not logical.

Illimitable:
Not for his football ability.
They respect him because he married a Spice Girl.
Okocha is respected for what he did on the pitch.

Illimitable:
He didn’t win CL.

In 50 years time, People will tell you Kroos or Xavi are better players than Maradona because they won more trophies.

Maradona won 11 trophies
Kroos won 34 trophies.

Is Kroos the better talent because he’s more successful?

Your argument is not logical.

raumdeuter:
Okocha is respected for his entertainment factor and not winning

raumdeuter:
Maradona and Kroos played in different eras. Kroos played at a time when 4 teams were playing in the CL, In the post Bosman era where you can build super teams

Kroos never dominated football and world cup like Maraona did

raumdeuter:
The biggest trophy Nigeria ever won in football was won by Kanu. The olympics of 1996 beating R9, Carlos, Rivaldo Bebeto etc

أكثر من 300 تمريرة حاسمة أُهدرت على ميسي !! pic.twitter.com/jrHrp1ozco

— نمر (@Namr_7) June 25, 2026

andrewbaba44:
Na Senegal of all people no qualify

While the likes of Ghana Southy Ivory Coast even Algeria and capeverde might scale through

iamoyindamola:
They didn't try at all not getting a point against norway might cost them