Most inaccurate player comparisons you've heard

horsechoker

The Caf's Ezza.
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What are some of the most inaccurate player comparisons you've heard?

I can't think of specific examples but virtually any strong black midfielder will be likened to Viera or Seedorf even if they aren't actually that similar.
 
All young black midfielders and Rijkaard. All strong black strikers and Lukaku.

Weirdly, not all bald defenders and Jaap Stam.
 
What are some of the most inaccurate player comparisons you've heard?

I can't think of specific examples but virtually any strong black midfielder will be likened to Viera or Seedorf even if they aren't actually that similar.

Not exactly what you’re after here, but during the first round of games in this tournament, the commentator on RTE spent an hour calling Seedorf Edgar Davids.
 
Pogba was more Zidane than Vieira but every pundit and manager seemed to want to turn him into Vieira because of his race and size.

Any big CF with good technique being compared to Ibrahimovic
 
Messi and some kid from anywhere in the world who managed to dribble past 5 players around his age and do keepie uppies in the clip right after that.
 
Yeah, Pogba = Vieira is the first thing that comes to mind. Tall, French & highly technical black midfielders... so, basically indistinguishable.

Kanté = Makélélé is another one that annoyed me to no end. They couldn't be more different in the way that they've approached defending but because (I assume) both are black French midfielders of a similar stature that played for Chelsea, Kanté is suddenly the second coming of Makélélé.

But the most widely inaccurate is, probably, the Lukaku/Drogba one. Again, both black (I'm sensing a pattern), both are absolute units and both played for Chelsea... but Lukaku is pretty much the antithesis of Drogba... invisible in big games (but stat-padding against weaker sides — while Drogba was unplayable in finals but often didn't score enough goals throughout the entire campaign), surprisingly weak in any physical challenge (while you can argue that Drogba is the prototype of the modern target man) etc.

I'm sure that it happens a lot with non-black players too but there's certainly a trend of categorizing young up-and-coming black footballers inside familiar stereotypes.
 
Yeah, Pogba = Vieira is the first thing that comes to mind. Tall, French & highly technical black midfielders... so, basically indistinguishable.

Kanté = Makélélé is another one that annoyed me to no end. They couldn't be more different in the way that they've approached defending but because (I assume) both are black French midfielders of a similar stature that played for Chelsea, Kanté is suddenly the second coming of Makélélé.

But the most widely inaccurate is, probably, the Lukaku/Drogba one. Again, both black (I'm sensing a pattern), both are absolute units and both played for Chelsea... but Lukaku is pretty much the antithesis of Drogba... invisible in big games (but stat-padding against weaker sides — while Drogba was unplayable in finals but often didn't score enough goals throughout the entire campaign), surprisingly weak in any physical challenge (while you can argue that Drogba is the prototype of the modern target man) etc.

I'm sure that it happens a lot with non-black players too but there's certainly a trend of categorizing young up-and-coming black footballers inside familiar stereotypes.
reminds me of Jamie Redknapp comparing Son and Park
 
Yeah, Pogba = Vieira is the first thing that comes to mind. Tall, French & highly technical black midfielders... so, basically indistinguishable.

Kanté = Makélélé is another one that annoyed me to no end. They couldn't be more different in the way that they've approached defending but because (I assume) both are black French midfielders of a similar stature that played for Chelsea, Kanté is suddenly the second coming of Makélélé.

But the most widely inaccurate is, probably, the Lukaku/Drogba one. Again, both black (I'm sensing a pattern), both are absolute units and both played for Chelsea... but Lukaku is pretty much the antithesis of Drogba... invisible in big games (but stat-padding against weaker sides — while Drogba was unplayable in finals but often didn't score enough goals throughout the entire campaign), surprisingly weak in any physical challenge (while you can argue that Drogba is the prototype of the modern target man) etc.

I'm sure that it happens a lot with non-black players too but there's certainly a trend of categorizing young up-and-coming black footballers inside familiar stereotypes.
I mean Kante and Makelele isn't that bad of a comparison, given they have the same stature and both player for Chelsea and were both arguably the best defensive midfielders of their generation?? Not like one was a playmaker and the other a holding mid.
 
I mean Kante and Makelele isn't that bad of a comparison, given they have the same stature and both player for Chelsea and were both arguably the best defensive midfielders of their generation?? Not like one was a playmaker and the other a holding mid.
Yeah, it's pretty bad. In the words of a certain Claudio Ranieri, quite literally: "He’s no Makelele. Makelele’s less mobile, more organised. Kante is about getting the ball and counter-attacking".

Kanté is a defensive-oriented box-to-box midfielder whose main strength is covering an insane amount of ground (hence the water memes). Conte tried to play him as a midfield holder (a role that Makélélé had perfected) before quickly realizing that it doesn't work at all. They're not similar players but if you were to compare Kanté to one of the above-mentioned stereotypes, Vieira would be a more appropriate comparison as they've at least shared a similar role on the pitch. Keane is another, better stylistic comparison — Keane was a better passer while Kanté was a better ball-carrier but their overall functional was very similar.
 
Pedri and Iniesta.


The young players of Barca get hyped way too soon.


Pedri struggles to last 60 minutes and has major stamina issues. Also very slow and weak, unlike Iniesta who was deceptively swift on the ball.
 
Phil Jones - Duncan Edwards. I'm not sure it was a direct comparison but pour me a glass of whatever SAF was quaffing when he said that.