General discussion thread

To be honest, I rarely watched AC Milan except if they were up against Juve/Inter/Lazio/Sampdoria.

They were no longer the Dutch trio Milan. What remained was that fabulous backline which served up the exact same "art of defending" show at the 1994 World Cup.

Pretty sure that was the last season with two points for a win. Not that it really mattered because it's not like they drew more but just didn't concede so won games more often than their rivals anyway.

The CL final that year is a complete outlier. They weren't playing anywhere near that standard, it was a mix of Cruyff cocking it up with no Laudrup and Capello doing the opposite and taking a risk with Savicevic, who decided to show up and piss all over them. Barca were knackered, Milan well rested, but it was yet another example of how the WC panned out: no Baresi, no problem, still impenetrable.

Their ability to keep clean sheets was just fecking insane.

Cheers for the quick thoughts mate.
 
I've watched a decent amount of that team, though i didn't see much of it until years later when i used to collect and trade VHS/DVD.

It was basically Capello's bleak masterpiece. His rigid, focus on solid defence first tactics, the great backline + Desailly after his transfer and Albertini holding in front for extra cover. immensely difficult to break down, with a mix of elite clean defending class and cynical fouling whenever needed. I've always thought the Sacchi/Capello Milan teams were dirty even by the standards of that era...with Berlu they had the connections to get away with a lot of it in domestic football and weren't shy in kicking teams/players off the park that gave them trouble. Most of the attacking players seemed inhibited by capello's setup, which was strict in it's allowance of supporting creative players being given a big role, even by Italian standards of the time.

They were heavily reliant on Savicevic being fit for any spark of flair and creativity in the final third that wasn't crosses or long balls from defence. Boban was limited in that respect by a workhorse side-midfielder role in most of his games, but played well. Donadoni declining, laudrup never integrated into the team and held back by the foreigner restrictions. Albertini only occasionally effective creatively at this point.

Savicevic finishing boots going missing in the league, Papin relative flop and Marco Simone (who i thought was talented) not producing when given a chance means a lot of the finishing had being carried by veteran workhorse Massaro. he was a favourite supporting player in the Sacchi/Capello era, but not exactly an expansively gifted player. Playing to his strengths tended to mean direct and simple. His goals during the second half of the season were vital to winning the league.

In the CL Savicevic was key in the groups with his three assists against Porto and winning/equalising goals against Werder Bremen getting them through. in the semi-final set pieces against Wenger's Monaco (with Scifo, Klinsmann, Djorkaeff, Thuram, Petit) put them into a commanding position, and an excellent Panucci to Massaro goal finished it off, however 3-0 was harsh on Monaco (from my recollection at least).

The final was a shock. Not that barca looked invincible...they had been winning leagues and some big games by the finest of margins, but the narrative was set of the slick passing and attacking team vs defensive streetwise Italian football missing its leader Baresi. Not many expected Milan's flair players savicevic, Boban and older Donadoni to out-finesse them alongside the defensive masterclass from Desailly and partners.
 
Good breakdown of what a dour show they served up "creatively" @Demyanenko_square_jaw

While I love a defensive masterclass, being Uruguayan I already had enough defensiveness and dirtiness to appreciate on a regular basis :p On any given weekend there was a no-brainer choice between watching the Dream Team play basketball or Milan holding stalemates :D
 
I've watched a decent amount of that team, though i didn't see much of it until years later when i used to collect and trade VHS/DVD.

It was basically Capello's bleak masterpiece. His rigid, focus on solid defence first tactics, the great backline + Desailly after his transfer and Albertini holding in front for extra cover. immensely difficult to break down, with a mix of elite clean defending class and cynical fouling whenever needed. I've always thought the Sacchi/Capello Milan teams were dirty even by the standards of that era...with Berlu they had the connections to get away with a lot of it in domestic football and weren't shy in kicking teams/players off the park that gave them trouble. Most of the attacking players seemed inhibited by capello's setup, which was strict in it's allowance of supporting creative players being given a big role, even by Italian standards of the time.

They were heavily reliant on Savicevic being fit for any spark of flair and creativity in the final third that wasn't crosses or long balls from defence. Boban was limited in that respect by a workhorse side-midfielder role in most of his games, but played well. Donadoni declining, laudrup never integrated into the team and held back by the foreigner restrictions. Albertini only occasionally effective creatively at this point.

Savicevic finishing boots going missing in the league, Papin relative flop and Marco Simone (who i thought was talented) not producing when given a chance means a lot of the finishing had being carried by veteran workhorse Massaro. he was a favourite supporting player in the Sacchi/Capello era, but not exactly an expansively gifted player. Playing to his strengths tended to mean direct and simple. His goals during the second half of the season were vital to winning the league.

In the CL Savicevic was key in the groups with his three assists against Porto and winning/equalising goals against Werder Bremen getting them through. in the semi-final set pieces against Wenger's Monaco (with Scifo, Klinsmann, Djorkaeff, Thuram, Petit) put them into a commanding position, and an excellent Panucci to Massaro goal finished it off, however 3-0 was harsh on Monaco (from my recollection at least).

The final was a shock. Not that barca looked invincible...they had been winning leagues and some big games by the finest of margins, but the narrative was set of the slick passing and attacking team vs defensive streetwise Italian football missing its leader Baresi. Not many expected Milan's flair players savicevic, Boban and older Donadoni to out-finesse them alongside the defensive masterclass from Desailly and partners.
Excellent post, Demynaneko
You already answer everything in my mind.
 
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We should do a best 11 of each decade starting from 50's or 60's. It's a lot more interesting than you might think.

For example, I was looking into a bit on Germano today based on a Portugal football related thread from the football forum and trying to see where I rank him among the 60's centre backs and I ranked him 2nd behind only Moore ahead of a young Kaiser and Figueroa. Was pleasantly surprised by my ranking of him which triggered this idea.

P. S: This is not a subtle endorsement for Germano as he is in my current draft team where he is unfortunately relegated to the bench and will remain there unless Edgar adds surprise injuries. I am just hopeful more decades lead to a few more surprises like this one. And it should be less cumbersome like the lists harms was helping us combine for positional rankings.
 
@GodShaveTheQueen

Fire up an all time decades thread. One restriction we should have is a player can only appear in one decade (the one most closely aligned with his peak, so Pele is 1960s, Der Kaiser 1970s) to make use of more players.
 
For example, I was looking into a bit on Germano today based on a Portugal football related thread from the football forum and trying to see where I rank him among the 60's centre backs and I ranked him 2nd behind only Moore ahead of a young Kaiser and Figueroa. Was pleasantly surprised by my ranking of him which triggered this idea.
Interesting. I’d certainly rank Schulz somewhere near the top (below Moore but that’s probably about it).
 
Interesting. I’d certainly rank Schulz somewhere near the top (below Moore but that’s probably about it).

Yea, that's a good shout. Giving it more thought, the top 4 contenders would be Moore, Germano, Schulz and Vasovic (had great stints with 2 clubs).
@GodShaveTheQueen

Fire up an all time decades thread. One restriction we should have is a player can only appear in one decade (the one most closely aligned with his peak, so Pele is 1960s, Der Kaiser 1970s) to make use of more players.

Will do post the draft
 
We should do a best 11 of each decade starting from 50's or 60's. It's a lot more interesting than you might think.

For example, I was looking into a bit on Germano today based on a Portugal football related thread from the football forum and trying to see where I rank him among the 60's centre backs and I ranked him 2nd behind only Moore ahead of a young Kaiser and Figueroa. Was pleasantly surprised by my ranking of him which triggered this idea.

P. S: This is not a subtle endorsement for Germano as he is in my current draft team where he is unfortunately relegated to the bench and will remain there unless Edgar adds surprise injuries. I am just hopeful more decades lead to a few more surprises like this one. And it should be less cumbersome like the lists harms was helping us combine for positional rankings.
Very interesting idea, I rate Germano pretty high too, probably in top3 with Bobby Moore and Jan Popluhar ( in first half 1960s). Also if you consider Schnellinger as sweeper( he had played cb/sw and lb), I think his profile can be in top 5 too.
 
Very interesting idea, I rate Germano pretty high too, probably in top3 with Bobby Moore and Jan Popluhar ( in first half 1960s). Also if you consider Schnellinger as sweeper( he had played cb/sw and lb), I think his profile can be in top 5 too.

Aye, Schnellinger and Picchi probably with a shot too
 
Will actually create threads for squad of the decade, maybe 23 players to have a nice rounded pool
 
What about a top 3-5 or so for each position per decade? Threads where it's just about best 11 or best player of x decade tend to end up conservative with same names being mentioned over and over. Not that many of those consensus players haven't earned that with their talent and team accomplishments, but extending things slightly gives more chance to maybe highlight a less known player someone rates highly.
 
build one or two XIs of the decade, block them all and then start over to get to yours Germano's, Gabi's etc.
 
Offshoot from the draft thread:

Don't know if you guys have seen it already, but there's a digitally enhanced version of the 1953 HUN-ENG match on footballia. Looks fantastic, so one can now watch this legendary game in good quality.
 
Offshoot from the draft thread:

Don't know if you guys have seen it already, but there's a digitally enhanced version of the 1953 HUN-ENG match on footballia. Looks fantastic, so one can now watch this legendary game in good quality.

Is this the one you are talking about? Think this version has been there around for ages at least based on what I remember watching, not sure if its significantly enhanced to know the difference

https://footballia.net/matches/england-hungary
 
Is this the one you are talking about? Think this version has been there around for ages at least based on what I remember watching, not sure if its significantly enhanced to know the difference

https://footballia.net/matches/england-hungary
Not sure which of the 3 parts you mean - the first one is the old, barely watchable footage. If you jog on with the arrows in the vid menu, you get to the enhanced videos.

At least for me that was new. Perhaps I've just never noticed.
 
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Offshoot from the draft thread:

Don't know if you guys have seen it already, but there's a digitally enhanced version of the 1953 HUN-ENG match on footballia. Looks fantastic, so one can now watch this legendary game in good quality.
I seen a Twitter thread last year where some people were planning to release an enhanced and colourised version of the footage IIRC - would that be it?
 
I seen a Twitter thread last year where some people were planning to release an enhanced and colourised version of the footage IIRC - would that be it?
I have no idea; comments indicate it's been there for at least 1,5 years, text says it's a Hungarian TV production. I somehow must have missed it several times visiting that page, only ever saw the old footage. But what a great thing to discover in any case.
 
I have it in DVD quality somewhere, I'm guessing it's the same version. It's not colorised though.
 
I have it in DVD quality somewhere, I'm guessing it's the same version. It's not colorised though.
Probably the same basic version, but in the footballia one the goal sequences are colourized. Which means when the whole world suddenly shifts into colour, you know something big is about to happen :D
 
I see some interesting fact today: Despite being only 173 centimeters, Daniel Passarella had averaged 4.6 aerial duels won per game in World Cup 1978, which was probably the most in that world cup.
 
I found an interesting channel — he uses AI to enhance the quality and even to colourise some games, like the 1954 World Cup final in this case

 
That looks really impressive. Being able to use AI to colourise old games would make making all-touch comps a hell of a lot easier.
 
-3hVFk.gif


Tigana was a class act. Also, was struggling through this match on footballia with a dismally poor video quality, only to realise halfway through that it's on Youtube in pristine quality :mad:
 
I was looking through some folders of old articles/lists and stuff i had saved, and saw this list again, which i thought might be of interest to some here. As far as i know it was the only one that attempted something like it.

The East German ADN (state news agency that controlled all the print and broadcast media) Eastern European Footballer of the Year award. Compiled from 1960 to 1991, which also had a spiritual successor continued on former East German based radio programmes until 2012. Looking over it again in its original incarnation, plenty of debatable choices, but one thing for sure...these guys loved their goalkeepers.


1960 - 1. Yuri Voynov (USSR) 2. Lev Yashin (USSR) 3. Bora Kostic (Yug) 4. Ivan Kolev (Bul) 5. János Göröcs (Hun) 6. Blagoje Vidinic (Yug)

1961 - 1. Georgi Naydenov (Bul) 2. Gyula Grosics (Hun) 3. Lev Yashin (USSR) 4. Josef Masopust (Cze) 5. Dragoslav Šekularac (Yug) 6. Mikhail Meskhi (USSR)

1962 - 1. Josef Masopust (Cze) 2. Milan Galic (Yug) -3. Viliam Schrojf (Cze) 4. Andrej Kvašňák (Cze) 5. Lajos Tichy (Hun) 6. Dragoslav Šekularac (Yug)

1963 - 1. Lev Yashin (USSR) 2. Josef Masopust (Cze) 3. Svatopluk Pluskal (Cze) 4. Aleksandar Shalamanov (Bul) 5. Flórián Albert (Hun) 6. Manfred Kaiser (DDR)

1964 - 1. Valeriy Voronin (USSR) 2. Ferenc Bene (Hun) 3. Flórián Albert (Hun) 4. Lev Yashin (USSR) 5. Klaus Urbanczyk (DDR) 6. Nikola Kotkov (Bul)

1965 - 1. Ján Popluhár (Cze) 2. Georgi Asparukhov (Bul) 3. Valeriy Voronin (USSR) 4. Flórián Albert (Hun) 5. Slava Metreveli (USSR) 6. Ferenc Bene (Hun)

1966 - 1. Ferenc Bene (Hun) 2. Flórián Albert (Hun) 3. Josef Masopust (Cze) 4. Nicolae Dobrin (Rom) 5. Velibor Vasovic (Yug) 6. Dragan Dzajic (Yug)

1967 - 1. Flórián Albert (Hun) 2. Igor Chislenko (USSR) 3. János Farkas (Hun) 4. Anatoliy Byshovets (USSR) 5. Nicolae Dobrin (Rom) 6. Eduard Streltsov (USSR)

1968 - 1. Dragan Dzajic (Yug) 2. Antal Dunai (Hun) 3. Georgi Asparukhov (Bul) 4. Jozef Adamec (Cze) 5. Lajos Szűcs (Hun) 6. Simeon Simeonov (Bul)

1969 - 1. Vladimir Muntyan (USSR) 2. Petar Zhekov (Bul) 3. Ladislav Kuna (Cze) 4. Dragan Dzajic (Yug) 5. Jozef Adamec (Cze) 6. Alexander Vencel (Cze)

1970 - 1. Dragan Dzajic (Yug) 2. Albert Shesternyov (USSR) 3. Włodzimierz Lubański (Pol) 4. Josip Skoblar (Yug) 5. Anatoliy Byshovets (USSR) 6. Cornel Dinu (Rom)

1971 - 1. Eugeni Rudakov (USSR) 2. Josip Skoblar (Yug) 3. Ferenc Bene (Hun) 4. Mimis Domazos (GRE) 5. Dragan Dzajic (Yug) 6. Velibor Vasovic (Yug)

1972 - 1. Victor Kolotov (USSR) 2. Włodzimierz Lubański (Pol) 3. Josip Skoblar (Yug) 4. Kazimierz Deyna (Pol) 5. Murtaz Khurtsilava (USSR) 6. Oleg Blokhin (USSR)

1973 - 1. Kazimierz Deyna (Pol) 2. Hristo Bonev (Bul) 3. Jan Tomaszewski (Pol) 4. Enver Marić (Yug) 5. Ferenc Bene (Hun) 6. Oleg Blokhin (USSR)

1974 - 1. Kazimierz Deyna (Pol) 2. Oleg Blokhin (USSR) 3. Grzegorz Lato (Poland) 4. Cornel Dinu (Rom) 5. Victor Kolotov (USSR) 6. Jürgen Sparwasser (DDR)

1975 - 1. Oleg Blokhin (USSR) 2. Leonid Buryak (USSR) 3. Branko Oblak (Yug) 4. Vladimir Onischenko (USSR) 5. Dudu Georgescu (Rom) 6. Hristo Bonev (Bul)

1976 - 1. Ivo Viktor (Cze) 2. Anton Ondruš (Cze) 3. Oleg Blokhin (USSR) 4. Antonín Panenka (Cze) 5. Ivan Ćurković (Yug) 6. Marián Masný (CZE)

1977 - 1. Oleg Blokhin (USSR) 2. Tibor Nyilasi (Hun) 3. Dudu Georgescu (Rom) 4. András Törőcsik (Hun) 5. David Kipiani (USSR) 6. Dražen Mužinić (Yug)

1978 - 1. Tibor Nyilasi (Hun) 2. Zdeněk Nehoda (Cze) 3. Oleg Blokhin (USSR) 4. Marián Masný (Cze) 5. Zbigniew Boniek (Pol) 6. István Kocsis (Hun)

1979 - 1. Safet Sušić (Yug) 2. Zbigniew Boniek (Pol) 3. Zdeněk Nehoda (Cze) 4. Joachim Streich (DDR) 5. Vitaliy Starukhin (USSR) 6. Antonín Panenka (Cze)

1980 - 1. Antonín Panenka (Cze) 2. Oleg Blokhin (USSR) 3. Ladislav Vízek (Cze) 4. Vladimir Petrović (Yug) 5. Vladimir Bessonov (USSR) 6. Marcel Răducanu (Rom)

1981 - 1. Oleg Blokhin (USSR) 2. Ramaz Shengelia (USSR) 3. Aleksandr Chivadze (USSR) 4. Zbigniew Boniek (Pol) 5. Zlatko Vujović (Yug) 6. Tibor Nyilasi (Hun)

1982 - 1. Zbigniew Boniek (Pol) 2. Rinat Dasaev (USSR) 3. Józef Młynarczyk (Pol) 4. Jan Fiala (Cze) 5. Tibor Nyilasi (Hun) 6. Imre Garaba (Hun)

1983 - 1. Rinat Dasaev (USSR) 2. Safet Sušić (Yug) 3. Tibor Nyilasi (Hun) 4. Fyodor Cherenkov (USSR) 5. Zbigniew Boniek (Pol) 6. Stoycho Mladenov (Bul)

1984 - 1. Safet Sušić (Yug) 2. Hans-Jürgen Dörner (DDR) 3. Gennadiy Litovchenko (USSR) 4. Vasilis Hatzipanagis (Gre) 5. Silviu Lung (Rom) 6. Velimir Zajec (Yug)

1985 - 1. Oleg Protasov (USSR) 2. Zbigniew Boniek (Pol) 3. Anatoliy Demiyanenko (USSR) 4. Oleg Blokhin (USSR) 5. Lajos Détári (Hun) 6. Vahid Halilhodžić (Yug)

1986 - 1. Igor Belanov (USSR) 2. Aleksandr Zavarov (USSR) 3. Helmuth Ducadam (Rom) 4. Pavel Yakovenko (USSR) 5. Oleg Blokhin (USSR) 6. Rinat Dasaev (USSR)

1987 - 1. Aleksandr Zavarov (USSR) 2. Oleg Protasov (USSR) 3. Gheorghe Hagi (Rom) 4. Józef Młynarczyk (Pol) 5. Antal Róth (Hun) 6. Rodion Cămătaru (Rom)

1988 - 1. Aleksey Michaylichenko (USSR) 2. Aleksandr Zavarov (USSR) 3. Oleg Kuznetsov (USSR) 4. Dragan Stojković (Yug) 5. Rinat Dasaev (USSR) 6. Anatoliy Demiyanenko (USSR)

1989 - 1. Gheorghe Hagi (Rom) 2. Dragan Stojković (Yug) 3. Vladimir Bessonov (USSR) 4. Safet Sušić (Yug) , 5. Aleksey Mikhaylichenko (USSR) 6. Hristo Stoichkov (Bul)

1990 - 1. Robert Prosinečki (Yug) 2. Gheorghe Hagi (Rom) 3. Dragan Stojković (Yug) 4. Hristo Stoichkov (Bul) 5. Safet Sušić (Yug) 6. Zvonimir Boban (Yug)

1991 - 1. Darko Pančev (Yug) 2. Dejan Savićević (Yug) 3. Hristo Stoichkov (Bul) 4. Gheorghe Popescu (Rom) 5. Robert Prosinečki (Yug) 6. Miodrag Belodedici (Rom)

Radio Station successor years:

1992 - 1. Hristo Stoichkov (Bul) 2. Ľubomír Moravčík (Cze) 3. Davor Šuker (Cro) 4. Alen Bokšić (Cro) 5. Gheorghe Popescu (Rom) 6. Gheorghe Hagi (Rom)

1993 - 1. Andrey Kanchelskis (Rus) 2. Alen Bokšić (Cro) 3. Emil Kostadinov (Bul) 4. Sergey Kiriyakov (Rus) 5. Hristo Stoichkov (Bul) 6. Victor Onopko (Rus)

1994 - 1. Hristo Stoichkov (Bul) 2. Andrey Kanchelskis (Rus) 3. Iordan Lechkov (Bul) 4. Gheorghe Hagi (Rom) 5. Dejan Savićević (Yug) 6. Victor Leonenko (Ukr)

1995 - 1. Dejan Savićević (Yug) 2. Davor Šuker (Cro) 3. Andrey Kanchelskis (Rus) 4. Predrag Mijatović (Yug) 5. Zvonimir Boban (Yug) 6. Hristo Stoichkov (Bul)

1996 - 1. Davor Šuker (Cro) 2. Karel Poborský (Cze) 3. Gheorghe Popescu (Rom) 4. Patrik Berger (Cze) 5. Alen Bokšić (Cro) 6. Radek Bejbl (Cze)

1997 - 1. Predrag Mijatović (Yug) 2. Krassimir Balakov (Bul) 3. Hasan Salihamidžić (Bsn) 4. Andrey Shevchenko (Ukr) 5. Davor Šuker (Cro) 6. Alen Bokšić (Cro)

1998 - 1. Davor Šuker (Cro) 2. Sergey Rebrov (Ukr) 3. Predrag Mijatović (Yug) 4. Adrian Ilie (Rom) 5. Andrey Shevchenko (Ukr) 6. Nikos Machlas (Gre)

1999 - 1. Sergey Rebrov (Ukr) 2. Andrey Shevchenko (Ukr) 3. Siniša Mihajlović (Yug) 4. Zvonimir Boban (Cro) 5. Gheorghe Hagi (Rom) 6. Pavel Nedvěd (Cze)

2000 - 1. Andrey Shevchenko (Ukr) 2. Egor Titov (Rus) 3. Zlatko Zahovic (Svn) 4. Pavel Nedvěd (Cze) 5. Jan Koller (Cze) 6. Hakan Şükür (Tur)

2001 - 1. Aleksandr Mostovoy (Rus) 2. Pavel Nedvěd (Cze) 3. Andrey Shevchenko (Ukr) 4. Sergey Barbarez (Bsn) 5. Emmanuel Olisadebe (Pol) 6. Igor Tudor (Cro)

2002 - 1. Valentin Belkevich (Blr) 2. Tomáš Rosický (Cze) 3. Dmitriy Loskov (Rus) 4. Hasan Şaş (Tur) 5. Pavel Nedvěd (Cze) 6. Kakha Kaladze (Geo)

2003 - 1. Pavel Nedvěd (Cze) 2. Andrey Shevchenko (Ukr) 3. Nihat Kahveci (Tur) 4. Dado Pršo (Cro) 5. Jan Koller (Cze) 6. Adrian Mutu (Rom)

2004 - 1. Andrey Shevchenko (Ukr) 2. Theodoros Zagorakis (Gre) 3. Pavel Nedvěd (Cze) 4. Milan Baroš (Cze) 5. Māris Verpakovskis (Ltv) 6. Jan Koller (Cze)

2005 - 1. Andrey Shevchenko (Ukr) 2. Aleksandr Hleb (Blr) 3. Petr Čech (Cze) 4. Tomáš Rosický (Cze) 5. Zoltán Gera (Hun) 6. Dimitar Berbatov (Bul)

2006 - 1. Aleksandr Hleb (Blr) 2. Euzebiusz Smolarek (Pol) 3. Adrian Mutu (Rom) 4. Tomáš Rosický (Cze) 5. Shota Arveladze (Geo) -6. Luka Modrić (Cro)

2007 - 1. Dimitar Berbatov (Bul) 2. Adrian Mutu (Rom) 3. Aleksandr Hleb (Blr) 4. Ivica Olic (Cro) 5. Marek Jankulovski (Cze) 6. Andrey Voronin (Ukr)

2008 - 1. Andrey Arshavin (Rus) 2. Nemanja Vidić (Srb) 3. Yuri Zhirkov (Rus) 4. Luka Modrić (Cro) 5. Anatoliy Timoshchuk (Ukr) 6. Petr Čech (Cze)

2009 - 1. Darijo Srna (Cro) 2. Ivica Olic (Cro) 3. Nemanja Vidić (Srb) 4. Petr Čech (Cze) 5. Edin Džeko (Bsn) 6. Andrey Arshavin (Rus)

2010 - 1. Dejan Stanković (Srb) 2. Dimitar Berbatov (Bul) 3. Marko Vucinic (Mng) 4. Balázs Dzsudzsák (Hun) 5. Nemanja Vidić (Srb) 6. Cristian Chivu (Rom)

2011 - 1. Luka Modrić (Cro) 2. Martin Škrtel (Svk) 3. Jakub Błaszczykowski (Pol) 4. Edin Džeko (Bsn) 5. Robert Lewandowski (Pol) 6. Branislav Ivanović (Srb)

2012 - 1. Petr Čech (Cze) 2. Robert Lewandowski (Pol) 3. Luka Modrić (Cro) 4. Henrikh Mhitaryan (Arm) 5. Branislav Ivanović (Srb) 6. Mario Mandžukić (Cro)
 
Seems very decent. For all of the keepers, I’m surprised that Croy didn’t make it into top-6 even once!
 
Blokhin, Stoichkov and Shevchenko dominating their respective eras. If we extend the rankings through to 2022, no doubt Modrić would amass the most top 6 placements too.

Great to see my boy Viktor Kolotov top the rankings in '72 ;):drool:
 
shitty list, though i would say that for most if not all....
 
Any opinions on the controversial goal from the Bayern vs Leeds European Cup final? This was obviously the main point of contention in the leeds fans claims of robbery. I'm not sure what the letter of the law was back then as far as what counted as interfering with play from a deeper shot like this.


 
I mean, Bremner was pushed into offside and then just tried to move away. Even Maier didn't complain when the goal went in as he didn't notice him, so not sure how you can call it interfering. Also, that was a blatant penalty from Beckenbauer.

Edit:

Referee Michel Kitabdjian initially pointed to the centre circle (indicating a goal) and then Beckenbauer convinced him to consult with the linesman who had run back to the halfway line and had not raised his flag. Thereupon, the referee indicated offside against Bremner.

Strange to say the least.
 
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Yeah, it seems extremely harsh, but i've read claims that anyone in a usual offside position when a deeper shot was taken by someone else was technically counted as interfering under the pre-1990 rules. Now that's not how most games were judged in my experience ( it's a stupid anti-common sense rule so no wonder refs generally ignored it if it was the case) but it does create these situations where it's technically correct to not allow the goal, if against the spirit of how things were generally played.

here's a similar situation with Konkov vs Greece in 78 WC qualifiers. I was going to post it in the draft thread he was in, and it reminded me of the Leeds controversy. If this had been allowed (and assuming the rest of the game played out the way it did in actuality, so ending 1-1) then ussr would have played Bolivia in the intercontinental playoff instead of Hungary.

 
Yeah, it seems extremely harsh, but i've read claims that anyone in a usual offside position when a deeper shot was taken by someone else was technically counted as interfering under the pre-1990 rules.

Tbh, not sure about that and if the rule was so strict. I would still say it's a goal because Bremner is pushed into offside position, but at least (if that indeed was the rule) it would provide some explanation.