Nordic Ghost Yeti (Scandi Carroll) | Haaland at City

Im so fed up with this R9 comperisons these days, since Owen and Carragher and the others from that era started saying hes the best ever.

Yes he was amazing, so was Van Basten, so was Ronaldinho.

But really the comparison on Haaland and R9 is so wrong.

R9 was great with skills and speed, looks great in highlight. Played for the best national team. (WC winner)Could be better at scoring in the CL. 40 CL games he only scored 14 goals, and only 4 goals against big teams. (3xunited, 1xjuventus)The majority of hes goals was against Lige1 clubs and Russian clubs.

Haaland is the opposite, a bully, some sort of football monster, strong fast and crazy finishes. Plays for a small nation and will realisticly never win the WC. He almost has 1 goal a game wherever he playes. Norway, Dortmund, City. Hes crushing goal records everywhere. He can sometimes get a bit out of games when hes off, and he dont have a finals goal yet with city. Still he has scored against most clubs he faced. And if he dont score, he might not always contribute the most to hes team.

My point is: why do everyone have to make sure that everyone else knows R9 is 10 x better than Haaland. (Except scoring)

Cant we compare days players against today? It should be Mbappe vs Kane vs Haaland.

R9 vs Basten vs Henry.

Im gonna get heated for saying anything wrong against R9. And if Jamie Carragher read this he will spit in my face.
 
thisisnottaken1 said:
He’s talking about Cristiano.
Click to expand...
There's no real comparison to be made.

CR7 left MU after six seasons. Aside from the financial incentive and the massive international pull RM have, he also always was a massive fan of theirs. For once, I do buy "the need for a new challenge".

Haaland's currently earning a fortune at a club with whom he won four titles in just two seasons, including a treble. He's competing for the highest honors every season, he's coached by the best manager of the world in a team where he's the uncontested superstar. Why would he jump the ship?

He definitely will leave Man City at some point of his career, probably when Guardiola decides to call it a day at Man City and the succession doesn't live up to his legacy.

But right now? No chance in hell.
 
Last edited:
FattyFooty said:
40 CL games he only scored 14 goals, and only 4 goals against big teams. (3xunited, 1xjuventus)The majority of hes goals was against Lige1 clubs and Russian clubs.
Click to expand...
Mate, why do you bring up stats like that?
It doesn't fit the narrative of R9 smashing it in at all levels where he'd dwarf (or atleast match) Haaland stat wise if it wasn't for his injuries.

Delete your post please.
 
next_number_seven said:
I agree but Greaves record is unbeatable really.
If Haaland stays at city for 8 more years and no major injuries, he'll beat Shearers.
He might get close to 300.
Click to expand...
Messi had to beat Telma Zarra though, not Raul. Lewandowski had to beat Gerd Muller, and fell short, not Pizarro. All of time, not an arbitrary cut-off point.
 
FattyFooty said:
Im so fed up with this R9 comperisons these days, since Owen and Carragher and the others from that era started saying hes the best ever.

Yes he was amazing, so was Van Basten, so was Ronaldinho.

But really the comparison on Haaland and R9 is so wrong.

R9 was great with skills and speed, looks great in highlight. Played for the best national team. (WC winner)Could be better at scoring in the CL. 40 CL games he only scored 14 goals, and only 4 goals against big teams. (3xunited, 1xjuventus)The majority of hes goals was against Lige1 clubs and Russian clubs.

Haaland is the opposite, a bully, some sort of football monster, strong fast and crazy finishes. Plays for a small nation and will realisticly never win the WC. He almost has 1 goal a game wherever he playes. Norway, Dortmund, City. Hes crushing goal records everywhere. He can sometimes get a bit out of games when hes off, and he dont have a finals goal yet with city. Still he has scored against most clubs he faced. And if he dont score, he might not always contribute the most to hes team.

My point is: why do everyone have to make sure that everyone else knows R9 is 10 x better than Haaland. (Except scoring)

Cant we compare days players against today? It should be Mbappe vs Kane vs Haaland.

R9 vs Basten vs Henry.

Im gonna get heated for saying anything wrong against R9. And if Jamie Carragher read this he will spit in my face.
Click to expand...
Ok, there's a lot of things here that completely ignore any context when it comes to R9, but I think your general point is fair, that R9 should not be used as a stick to beat Haaland. He was a far superior all-round player (quite obviously), but he played in a different era. So I think it is fair to only compare Haaland with his peers. Where he stacks up pretty well.
 
FattyFooty said:
Im so fed up with this R9 comperisons these days, since Owen and Carragher and the others from that era started saying hes the best ever.

Yes he was amazing, so was Van Basten, so was Ronaldinho.

But really the comparison on Haaland and R9 is so wrong.

R9 was great with skills and speed, looks great in highlight. Played for the best national team. (WC winner)Could be better at scoring in the CL. 40 CL games he only scored 14 goals, and only 4 goals against big teams. (3xunited, 1xjuventus)The majority of hes goals was against Lige1 clubs and Russian clubs.

Haaland is the opposite, a bully, some sort of football monster, strong fast and crazy finishes. Plays for a small nation and will realisticly never win the WC. He almost has 1 goal a game wherever he playes. Norway, Dortmund, City. Hes crushing goal records everywhere. He can sometimes get a bit out of games when hes off, and he dont have a finals goal yet with city. Still he has scored against most clubs he faced. And if he dont score, he might not always contribute the most to hes team.

My point is: why do everyone have to make sure that everyone else knows R9 is 10 x better than Haaland. (Except scoring)

Cant we compare days players against today? It should be Mbappe vs Kane vs Haaland.

R9 vs Basten vs Henry.

Im gonna get heated for saying anything wrong against R9. And if Jamie Carragher read this he will spit in my face.
Click to expand...

I don't think R9 would be used as a stick to beat Haaland with if the praise for him wasn't totally over the top as well
 
Oranges038 said:
He could score another 35 hat tricks this season and nobody would really give two fecks.

As with all things City. Nobody really cares.
Click to expand...

He says, on page 268 of a 271 page thread about him
 
Im glad we didn't him buy him for a pittance because he demanded a transfer clause after 2 seasons. We might have lost him.to City.
 
Winny said:
He says, on page 268 of a 271-page thread about him
Click to expand...
I don't know how often I see a ManUtd fan saying he/she does not care about Man City. Are they trying to convince themselves? If you do not care, you do not write about it or even check the thread.

Defenders need to play Haaland a lot tighter. He is a monster but he is given too much space and not handled with enough tough love. He struggles a lot more against physical defenders.
 
DarkLord1984 said:
I find it highly curious that there's absolutely no links between him and Madrid.
Click to expand...

Don't think he's coming any time soon. Would love a player like him in Real Madrid and he would had been a better fit than Mbappe but won't happen unless we ship out a few forwards.
 
That_Bloke said:
There's no real comparison to be made.

CR7 left MU after six seasons. Aside from the financial incentive and the massive international pull RM have, he also always was a massive fan of theirs. And for once, I do buy "the need for a new challenge".

Haaland's currently earning a fortune at a club with whom he won four titles in just two seasons, including a treble. He's competing for the highest honors every season, he's coached by the best manager of the world in a team where he's the uncontested superstar. Why would he jump the ship?

He definitely will leave Man City at some point of his career, probably when Guardiola decides to call it a day at Man City and the succession doesn't live up to his legacy.

But right now? No chance in hell.
Click to expand...
Guardiola will not stay much longer at City. Maybe in 1-2 years things will be different.

Wilt said:
Will comfortably top the table before end of season
Click to expand...
Due to circumstances (state backed, unlimited money supply and Pep figuring out EPL, stat padding in team generating chance after chance for him to put away) his achievements pale in comparison to many of the others names in the list for many people. Aguero, Shearer, Henry to name a few were on another level to him.
 
SonOfFergie said:
Guardiola will not stay much longer at City. Maybe in 1-2 years things will be different.


Due to circumstances (state backed, unlimited money supply and Pep figuring out EPL, stat padding in team generating chance after chance for him to put away) his achievements pale in comparison to many of the others names in the list for many people. Aguero, Shearer, Henry to name a few were on another level to him.
Click to expand...
Wrong, it’s not just Pep and City….

RB Salzburg - 16 apps … 17 goals
Dortmund - 67 apps … 62 goals
Norway - 33 apps … 31 goals
 
Wilt said:
Wrong, it’s not just Pep and City….

RB Salzburg - 16 apps … 17 goals
Dortmund - 67 apps … 62 goals
Norway - 33 apps … 31 goals
Click to expand...

That and it’s not just the volume of chances, he has a phenomenal conversion rate. He’s making it sound like there’s a conveyor belt of chances, match after match. Is that why we only notice him 2-3 times per half?

Pretty sure Shearer would disagree with him too, he’s in awe of him.
 
Jacob said:
Comfortably? You think he will do 6 hattricks this season?
Click to expand...
I mean he got two in three games. Another four in the remaining 35 games doesn't sound unlikely, especially considering he no longer has Alvarez to compete for the 9 spot, so he might play more minutes than last year.
 
Jacob said:
Comfortably? You think he will do 6 hattricks this season?
Click to expand...
He needs 5 to top the table … ‘comfortably’ meaning I wouldn’t bet against him.

** Only thing that may hinder him is Pep often takes him and others off when City have a 3 goal lead
 
FattyFooty said:
Im so fed up with this R9 comperisons these days, since Owen and Carragher and the others from that era started saying hes the best ever.

Yes he was amazing, so was Van Basten, so was Ronaldinho.

But really the comparison on Haaland and R9 is so wrong.

R9 was great with skills and speed, looks great in highlight. Played for the best national team. (WC winner)Could be better at scoring in the CL. 40 CL games he only scored 14 goals, and only 4 goals against big teams. (3xunited, 1xjuventus)The majority of hes goals was against Lige1 clubs and Russian clubs.

Haaland is the opposite, a bully, some sort of football monster, strong fast and crazy finishes. Plays for a small nation and will realisticly never win the WC. He almost has 1 goal a game wherever he playes. Norway, Dortmund, City. Hes crushing goal records everywhere. He can sometimes get a bit out of games when hes off, and he dont have a finals goal yet with city. Still he has scored against most clubs he faced. And if he dont score, he might not always contribute the most to hes team.

My point is: why do everyone have to make sure that everyone else knows R9 is 10 x better than Haaland. (Except scoring)

Cant we compare days players against today? It should be Mbappe vs Kane vs Haaland.

R9 vs Basten vs Henry.

Im gonna get heated for saying anything wrong against R9. And if Jamie Carragher read this he will spit in my face.
Click to expand...
I agree with this tbh. Ronaldo was brilliant and certainly played against better defenders and in tougher times. Before his injury he was explosive, unstoppable. He was incredible in world cups and he was certainly a better player to watch. There is a bit of nostalgia with him, I don't think he was close to Messi or Cristiano who for me are freaks and a level above anyone I've seen play.

Haaland has been incredible until now. For Dortmund, for City even for Norway at times, he looks unstoppable. The amount of goals he scores is phenomenal, and it's not just at City. As a pure centre forward, I've never seen anything like him. He's quick, strong, great with both feet. There are times he disappears in some games but that's mainly the tactics, if nobody is creating, he's invisible. He was very poor in games against Madrid and his performances in big big games need to improve to be seen as good as Ronaldo. I don't think there's much in it tbh. Haaland is a phenomenal player as much as I hate him playing at City.
 
SonOfFergie said:
Guardiola will not stay much longer at City. Maybe in 1-2 years things will be different.


Due to circumstances (state backed, unlimited money supply and Pep figuring out EPL, stat padding in team generating chance after chance for him to put away) his achievements pale in comparison to many of the others names in the list for many people. Aguero, Shearer, Henry to name a few were on another level to him.
Click to expand...
The only level different Aguero was to him was below. Good striker but never best in the world level striker. Never showed the same level of scoring despite getting City service for most of his career. Haaland beat Aguero’s best records with a few months to spare in his first season.

Nothing wrong with that, but Haaland is another level.
 
Ole'sgunnarwin said:
I agree with this tbh. Ronaldo was brilliant and certainly played against better defenders and in tougher times. Before his injury he was explosive, unstoppable. He was incredible in world cups and he was certainly a better player to watch. There is a bit of nostalgia with him, I don't think he was close to Messi or Cristiano who for me are freaks and a level above anyone I've seen play.

Haaland has been incredible until now. For Dortmund, for City even for Norway at times, he looks unstoppable. The amount of goals he scores is phenomenal, and it's not just at City. As a pure centre forward, I've never seen anything like him. He's quick, strong, great with both feet. There are times he disappears in some games but that's mainly the tactics, if nobody is creating, he's invisible. He was very poor in games against Madrid and his performances in big big games need to improve to be seen as good as Ronaldo. I don't think there's much in it tbh. Haaland is a phenomenal player as much as I hate him playing at City.
Click to expand...
Dortmund has periods where a whole team shines for a season or two he was shining there sure. And because of Guardiola effect the whole premier league is currently lower league to City - so he is flat track bullying it. :)

"Pep Guardiola’s City have never created fewer than three big chances per game since his arrival in the 2016/17 season. No other club, or manager in the league has managed that feat.
This consistent production of clear goal-scoring opportunities means that Haaland will never have a shortage of big chances, and the possibility of him hitting 40 league goals will always be there."

Put any elite striker from the past into his position in this City team and they will all score goals for fun.

He needs to influence big games to get higher recognition. In Madrid games last year he looked lower league himself.
 
SonOfFergie said:
Dortmund has periods where a whole team shines for a season or two he was shining there sure. And because of Guardiola effect the whole premier league is currently lower league to City - so he is flat track bullying it. :)

"Pep Guardiola’s City have never created fewer than three big chances per game since his arrival in the 2016/17 season. No other club, or manager in the league has managed that feat.
This consistent production of clear goal-scoring opportunities means that Haaland will never have a shortage of big chances, and the possibility of him hitting 40 league goals will always be there."

Put any elite striker from the past into his position in this City team and they will all score goals for fun.

He needs to influence big games to get higher recognition. In Madrid games last year he looked lower league himself.
Click to expand...

no idea who reported that or what their source is but I'd take that with a massive pinch of salt, just going back to last season in the defeat against Aston Villa we didn't create 3 big chances and only had 2 shots on target, against Arsenal and Liverpool we didn't create 3 big chances, and the big chances then have to fall to Haaland which they always won't, even this season against Chelsea we only had 1 "big chance", I can't be chewed to look through other games where I know we won't have had 3 big chances.
 
KeanoMagicHat said:
The only level different Aguero was to him was below. Good striker but never best in the world level striker. Never showed the same level of scoring despite getting City service for most of his career. Haaland beat Aguero’s best records with a few months to spare in his first season.

Nothing wrong with that, but Haaland is another level.
Click to expand...

Leaving Hallaand aside, Aguero being just a good striker? come on.

Anyway, Kun wasn't either an striker per se, he was a "mediapunta" that developed into a second forward with lots of goals and when becoming less dinamic in the EPL, he played closer to a "striker" role, yet always associating himself with the mid and dropping back.

He could have scored more? no doubt given his characteristics and if he had been deployed as a Romario alike pure striker upfront since minute one in his carreer. Yet in his teams they needed him more involved in other tasks, specially in his days prior to the EPL and his first years there.
But more than anything, he should have been a lot less injury, this it's what kept him, no matter role, scoring less in a global view, even if his ratio was always quite great and his recoveries quite fast, he was out of the pitch too many times for many years.
 
Fobal said:
Leaving Hallaand aside, Aguero being just a good striker? come on.

Anyway, Kun wasn't either an striker per se, he was a "mediapunta" that developed into a second forward with lots of goals and when becoming less dinamic in the EPL, he played closer to a "striker" role, yet always associating himself with the mid and dropping back.

He could have scored more? no doubt given his characteristics and if he had been deployed as a Romario alike pure striker upfront since minute one in his carreer. Yet in his teams they needed him more involved in other tasks, specially in his days prior to the EPL and his first years there.
But more than anything, he should have been a lot less injury, this it's what kept him, no matter role, scoring less in a global view, even if his ratio was always quite great and his recoveries quite fast, he was out of the pitch too many times for many years.
Click to expand...
Good is a relative term, obviously very good. Fantastic striker even, but just meant that he was a level below Haaland. Yes injuries definitely had an impact, but the biggest issue was international and continental level. Aguero was one of the Premier League's best ever strikers but disappointed for Argentina. Two World Cup goals from 3 tournaments for a player of his quality?

Meanwhile Haaland has equalled his Champions League goals record at age 24. 41 in 39 vs 41 in 79. I can't think of a single defining performance in the CL for City when he was their main player.
 
KeanoMagicHat said:
Good is a relative term, obviously very good. Fantastic striker even, but just meant that he was a level below Haaland. Yes injuries definitely had an impact, but the biggest issue was international and continental level. Aguero was one of the Premier League's best ever strikers but disappointed for Argentina. Two World Cup goals from 3 tournaments for a player of his quality?

Meanwhile Haaland has equalled his Champions League goals record at age 24. 41 in 39 vs 41 in 79. I can't think of a single defining performance in the CL for City when he was their main player.
Click to expand...

The thing it's that he was a very special player in terms of ability. In fact I think that many people that do not rate him that much it's because of that feeling that he could have delivered even more due to those atributes, plus expecting him to be less lazy, less injury prone, played for a more traditional huge club during his prime.
I'll say he is a level or two below Erling as a goaslcorer and a level or two above Erling as a player in terms of ability and polivalency to play other roles. Nonetheless I have no doubt that is better in historical terms and easier to be remembered and revered if you are in Erling's shoes than Agueros ones. The first it's in the path of scoring more goals than anyone or to the very least be among that very short list and that weights a lot.
In terms of pure scoring ability, Erling will go down as a Muller scoring machine. And I have no doubt that by scoring tons in years to come and with what he already scored his legacy will endure for ages, but this doesn't take aside that Aguero even with his careeer faults it's still an all timer with his fair share of achievements and undoubted special talent.

Back on Aguero, and leaving Erling aside, his injuries had some of the worst timing always, specially with the NT, sadly for him, in 2018 he was one of the few from that team that was without health issues and it was in the worst possible moments to be in form while already becoming a mature player. His timing with the NT was quite fvcked up, it just happened but I would always have a doubt how much was his fault for his lack of fitness since he moved to England, I'm not entirely sure that it was just bad luck and that maybe he should have taken better care of himself.

PD: BTW in CLs City wasn't the force it become in these last years, even in matches like the one he made three goals against Bayern, City was a team that didn't look like a contender at all and needing of heroics multiple times.
Anyway more or less 50 goals in CLs ain't that shaby either in such context and people tend to forget how great he was for Independiente while being a kid and specially in Atletico, for me his best version playing as a mediapunta/ second forward in a very needing team agaisnt some juggernauts while being quite a kid. Not everything it's the EPL, nor that black and white.
 
Fobal said:
The thing it's that he was a very special player in terms of ability. In fact I think that many people that do not rate him that much it's because of that feeling that he could have delivered even more due to those atributes, plus expecting him to be less lazy, less injury prone, played for a more traditional huge club during his prime.
I'll say he is a level or two below Erling as a goaslcorer and a level or two above Erling as a player in terms of ability and polivalency to play other roles. Nonetheless I have no doubt that is better in historical terms and easier to be remembered and revered if you are in Erling's shoes than Agueros ones. The first it's in the path of scoring more goals than anyone or to the very least be among that very short list and that weights a lot.
In terms of pure scoring ability, Erling will go down as a Muller scoring machine. And I have no doubt that by scoring tons in years to come and with what he already scored his legacy will endure for ages, but this doesn't take aside that Aguero even with his careeer faults it's still an all timer with his fair share of achievements and undoubted special talent.

Back on Aguero, and leaving Erling aside, his injuries had some of the worst timing always, specially with the NT, sadly for him, in 2018 he was one of the few from that team that was without health issues and it was in the worst possible moments to be in form while already becoming a mature player. His timing with the NT was quite fvcked up, it just happened but I would always have a doubt how much was his fault for his lack of fitness since he moved to England, I'm not entirely sure that it was just bad luck and that maybe he should have taken better care of himself.

PD: BTW in CLs City wasn't the force it become in these last years, even in matches like the one he made three goals against Bayern, City was a team that didn't look like a contender at all and needing of heroics multiple times.
Anyway more or less 50 goals in CLs ain't that shaby either in such context and people tend to forget how great he was for Independiente while being a kid and specially in Atletico, for me his best version playing as a mediapunta/ second forward in a very needing team agaisnt some juggernauts while being quite a kid. Not everything it's the EPL, nor that black and white.
Click to expand...
It’s not black and white no, you make some good points. I don’t think Aguero’s overall game though was so good to make him better than Haaland though. He was better in general play but not outstandingly so, he was still a striker focused on scoring and not particularly known for his creative play. It’s not a PL thing as Haaland spent just as long in Bundesliga and was top class there and had Salzburg/Molde before that. Atletico Aguero probably a similar level to Dortmund Haaland.
 
KeanoMagicHat said:
It’s not black and white no, you make some good points. I don’t think Aguero’s overall game though was so good to make him better than Haaland though. He was better in general play but not outstandingly so, he was still a striker focused on scoring and not particularly known for his creative play. It’s not a PL thing as Haaland spent just as long in Bundesliga and was top class there and had Salzburg/Molde before that. Atletico Aguero probably a similar level to Dortmund Haaland.
Click to expand...

That's sthg. I never got specially from many EPL fans regarding Aguero, they tend to see him almost as a poacher, while he wasn't even remotely that type of player leaving aside a more lazy tendency in some of his years in City. He also talked about his role in City in some interviews, where Silva and cia told him to be more forward oriented, that he didn't need that much anymore to play deeper like in Aleti to even smell the ball and help his team.
I truly think that he was way better than Halland in his overal game and ability, Erling in Germany even being less of a poacher and for me a more dinamic player (let's say more fun to watch player), never was even near of the level of mediapunta/second striker that Aguero was in Atletico or Independiente, some of Kun's best games in those days were trully stellar, almost like a one man army at times. Even in City he still had his slaloms and great overall game, yet indeed doing a more positional and forward/scoring oriented role. In many ways would have been fun to watch these last years City with Kun, even with Erling in the team too.
 
Last edited:
KeanoMagicHat said:
It’s not black and white no, you make some good points. I don’t think Aguero’s overall game though was so good to make him better than Haaland though. He was better in general play but not outstandingly so, he was still a striker focused on scoring and not particularly known for his creative play. It’s not a PL thing as Haaland spent just as long in Bundesliga and was top class there and had Salzburg/Molde before that. Atletico Aguero probably a similar level to Dortmund Haaland.
Click to expand...
Actually what overall game does Haaland have? He is a finisher and there it ends. Aguero had much more to his game. Aguero was able to influence and decide games by himself with individual moments of brilliance he was able to pass, receive ball under pressure, turn defenders inside out, dribbling etc. With Haaland if he doesn't get balls in dangerous positions created by teammates he will be invisible. Poor receiver of the ball with a back towards the goal, no dribbling capacity. It is not even close if you compare their general game.
 
Ole'sgunnarwin said:
I agree with this tbh. Ronaldo was brilliant and certainly played against better defenders and in tougher times. Before his injury he was explosive, unstoppable. He was incredible in world cups and he was certainly a better player to watch. There is a bit of nostalgia with him, I don't think he was close to Messi or Cristiano who for me are freaks and a level above anyone I've seen play.

Haaland has been incredible until now. For Dortmund, for City even for Norway at times, he looks unstoppable. The amount of goals he scores is phenomenal, and it's not just at City. As a pure centre forward, I've never seen anything like him. He's quick, strong, great with both feet. There are times he disappears in some games but that's mainly the tactics, if nobody is creating, he's invisible. He was very poor in games against Madrid and his performances in big big games need to improve to be seen as good as Ronaldo. I don't think there's much in it tbh. Haaland is a phenomenal player as much as I hate him playing at City.
Click to expand...
This is objectively false. Not the nostalgia claim, that is a matter of opinion, although I hate it when people start talking about 'nostalgia' whenever someone praises a player from the past.

But the idea that he wasn't close to Messi and C. Ronaldo is just flat out wrong. Yes the modern pair had much more garlanded overall careers, but the period when R9 was at his best, (late teens and early 20s) he was arguably better than both of them at the same age, before his knees exploded and he was never quite the same.
 
Kwabs said:
This is objectively false. Not the nostalgia claim, that is a matter of opinion, although I hate it when people start talking about 'nostalgia' whenever someone praises a player from the past.

But the idea that he wasn't close to Messi and C. Ronaldo is just flat out wrong. Yes the modern pair had much more garlanded overall careers, but the period when R9 was at his best, (late teens and early 20s) he was arguably better than both of them at the same age, before his knees exploded and he was never quite the same.
Click to expand...

R9 being better than Messi always felt a bit too much, yet indeed he was more prolific as a forward from a younger age and his size and style was a joy to watch, but people tend to go with some extreme hiperboles with him and I actually get it, because he was such a fascinating and extraordinary player.

More than an element of nostalgia with R9 per se, I think it's a combination of him as an off the charts player: size, power, skill and charisma that is rare to find, yet it's also a very important aspect in his consideration that his carreer is happening in a very particular period of the game where it finally became globalized throught television, during the first days of what Internet would become, while during perhaps the Peak era of marketing.
World wide TV (the impact of Channel 4 Seria A in a very insular Britain was inmense), some of the best ads ever with global campaings. Not only in football, the NBA became a global brand with Jordan and they did a similar job in terms of advertizing with football.
The 90's where the years of the explosion of marketing, no limit to transfers and some marvellous and very entertaining players to boot, all those elements till today cretead an Aura that propells the consideration of many of the best players from that period.
People tend to think of that period like the clash of Maldini vs R9, Baresi vs Batistuta (that BTW as great as he was, he wasn't as an overall player even close to Kempes, Aguero, Tevez or such, but he'll still enjoys a much more mytical figure than those), yet fecking Bierhoff was also a goalscorer, Almeyda was Guerrin D Or and a large etc that do not shine that much. The other day I was watching Micah Richards dissing Lineker's players from the 80's in comparison with the 90's (Schearer's period) and it was as dumb as it gets his approach, so even with a very young fella like him, a pro player like he was, that period still is a bit too much glorified sometimes to an extreme.

Also it's true that R9 had some serious injuries, but those are even push even further due to many "what ifs", people doesn't even talk that much for instance of Diego's ones that were horrendous, carreer ending (more in those days), plus a pletora of other issues that affect any carreer, mostly because his most iconic triumphs came after such instances, even if Diego (for me) was even quite better prior to all those issues that mostly started in Spain with Barca.

PD: just in case R9 it's my favorite forward ever with Romario. This last one whom I found him to some extent quite underrated when people dissmiss him in comparisons with R9, he was clearly a better finisher than R9 and for me with a better all around game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.