What is the greatest ever decade for players and teams?

[Peyroteo]

I think Lucio is so overhyped because his goals and his runs forward. Lucio was good 1 season at Inter in a super-defensive team (Motta & Cambiasso shielded him very well). In fact, Samuel was better IMO that season. Marquez was great 2004-2010, only injuries prevented him from having more recognition IMO. Barcelona 2006 was a rock defensive too (no goals conceded from open play in the CL) with him without being 11 players in the box like Inter ^^

Pepe also is one of the very best CBs of 2010's. Better than the overhyped Thiago Silva (only a couple of good seasons at Milan as a top CB). Pepe is a physical freak who could keep a high line almost by himself. He was a psycho under Mourinho (when he calmed under Ancelotti he become even a better player) but a phenomenal player. Oh, and the best player of the Champions of Euro 2016 by FAR.

Our only great defensive performance happened in the semifinal, with Pepe not playing. It was a Jose Fonte and Bruno Alves partnership In the final he was great but made tons of mistakes too, the slip that led to the Griezmann header, the Gignac turn that hit the post in the last minute...

Pepe had one great game at the Euros, vs Croatia and even then it was overshadowed by Adrien Silva playing the best match of his life. He was much better in 2012 or 2008.

 

[SolskjaerHasDoneIt]

Gotta be the 00's with Messi and Ronaldo overlapping with Luis Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Zidane and players of that stature. Thinking about it, we've been spoilt the over the last decade or so, once they've retired I'm not sure anyone will match them 2 for quite a while.

 

[Precaution]

Submit this to Football365

 

[SCP]

Our only great defensive performance happened in the semifinal, with Pepe not playing. It was a Jose Fonte and Bruno Alves partnership In the final he was great but made tons of mistakes too, the slip that led to the Griezmann header, the Gignac turn that hit the post in the last minute...

Pepe had one great game at the Euros, vs Croatia and even then it was overshadowed by Adrien Silva playing the best match of his life. He was much better in 2012 or 2008.

Pepe was immense vs Croatia and on the final our midfield was much worse, vs Poland he did fine. For me Nani was our best player, then Pepe and next Ronaldo as the third best. Don't count much the group stages because we were even worse than in the knockouts.

 

[Peyroteo]

Pepe was immense vs Croatia and on the final our midfield was much worse, vs Poland he did fine. For me Nani was our best player, then Pepe and next Ronaldo as the third best. Don't count much the group stages because we were even worse than in the knockouts.

I’ve rewatched all the matches at least twice, Nani’s performances got really overrated then. Probably because he started really well but he really wasn’t involved much. Pepe and Ronaldo were our best players and both of them were ok at best. Even Moutinho was crap then.

We just had decent players turning up one at a time, Adrien vs Croatia, Sanches vs Poland, Patricio vs France... we should have won it in 2012 instead.

 

[SCP]

I’ve rewatched all the matches at least twice, Nani’s performances got really overrated then. Probably because he started really well but he really wasn’t involved much. Pepe and Ronaldo were our best players and both of them were ok at best. Even Moutinho was crap then.

We just had decent players turning up one at a time, Adrien vs Croatia, Sanches vs Poland, Patricio vs France... we should have won it in 2012 instead.

I didn't said we were great. I am the last person who likes Santos football. Don't change my opinion, Nani was our most consistent player particularly because he had to fill a position he barely played before Santos came to the team. For me we only played 2 decent games. Vs Austria and Wales. The Poland match and Croatia were well controled.

Anyway greatest ever doesn't relate certainly with 2016 2012 was much better, on this we agree.

 

[Denis79]

Excellent read! Great post!

 

[RooneyLegend]

60's for players, 2010's for teams.

 

[Robbo's Shoulder]

Has to be 80's for me, i mean Zico can't even make the starting 11? 1 of my favourite players ever and i can't really argue against those selected ahead of him. I'd put him in the 70's team ahead of Netzer.
Disappointing Savicevic wasn't considered in the 90's line up.

 

[Mr. MUJAC]

5. Wolverhampton Wanderers. 1953-1960. If organised European competition had been ushered in a few years earlier and English sides had been allowed to compete from the get-go, Wolves would have been contesting the trophy with Budapest, Milan, St Etienne and Barcelona. Not surefire odds, but to be up there as a name worthy of mention, states their status in the 1950's.

I would also argue from the 1950's that the Manchester United team from this period was better (or at the least equal) than the Wolves team. In the FA Cup United had a better record over that ten year period...whilst in the league United and Wolves both won three championships with United finishing runner's up three times to Wolves once. In addition, United reached two European Cup semi-finals.

If European football was introduced earlier (which is theoretical because it wasn't) then United would also have had the opportunity of contesting the European Cup against weaker competition.

All if's and but's and interesting you selected Wolves as your English team of the 1950's when United achieved more.

 

[Mr. MUJAC]

In the 1960's you could also include Ferencvaros as a club side of note.

In addition, whilst you say United didn't have any longevity...during the 1960's they reached 5 consecutive FA Cup semi-finals, two European semi-finals, won the FA cup, two league championships, reached the semi-final of two European competitions and won the European Cup. While you could say they underachieved (and that is a very interesting conversation)...the longevity was definitely there.

 

[Gio]

5. Wolverhampton Wanderers. 1953-1960. If organised European competition had been ushered in a few years earlier and English sides had been allowed to compete from the get-go, Wolves would have been contesting the trophy with Budapest, Milan, St Etienne and Barcelona. Not surefire odds, but to be up there as a name worthy of mention, states their status in the 1950's.

I would also argue from the 1950's that the Manchester United team from this period was better (or at the least equal) than the Wolves team. In the FA Cup United had a better record over that ten year period...whilst in the league United and Wolves both won three championships with United finishing runner's up three times to Wolves once. In addition, United reached two European Cup semi-finals.

If European football was introduced earlier (which is theoretical because it wasn't) then United would also have had the opportunity of contesting the European Cup against weaker competition.

All if's and but's and interesting you selected Wolves as your English team of the 1950's when United achieved more.

Yeah, Wolves place is up for debate. We could have included Reims rather than Wolves. 6 French titles between 1949 and 1962, reached two European Cup finals, as well as the 'Latin Cup' final in 1953 (which was basically the precursor to the EC). Another shout could be one of Red Star, Partizan or Hadjuk who formed one of (if not) the finest generations of Yugoslavian talent of all time.

 

[SilentStrike]

For midfield definitely the 80's.
No other era can complete with the central midfielders of that time, with Matthäus and Rijkaard leading the pack.

For defence it is hard to leave out Beckenbauer but the 90's slightly edge it with Kohler, Baresi, Maldini and Cafu.

The 00's win the Goalkeeper. No era can complete with both a peak Kahn in the early decade and a peak Buffon the second half of the decade.

The 10's get the offensive line. Messi and Ronaldo are the obvious two, and lots of great other offensive players in Suarez, Lewandowski, Robben etc. who could have established themselves as generational greats in other decades.

 

[Matt007a]

Always difficult judging players over different eras. I guess the best sides would be the recent ones due to improvements in the game, but if you took those players from the earlier decades and gave them access to modern science and thinking, they'd be just as good as what we have now.

I think I'd say the late 60s and early 70s stick out. You've got so many all time greats playing at the same time. Pele, Beckenbauer, Eusebio, Best, Charlton, Moore and Yashin there. A lot of those players are considered top 5 of all time in their respective positions by a lot of people.

Maybe it's nostalgia but that 90s team looks tasty. The back 7 there are absolutely formidable. The influence of Serie A and the defensive style at that time is very evident when you compare the defenders of that era to the others. You'd have a hard time scoring against that side. I might put Laudrup in ahead of Baggio, but they're both perfectly acceptable choices in truth. World class players.

It seems like a travesty to leave players like Totti and Kaka out of the 00s team, but it was a stacked position during that time really. Zidane was the main man of that era so no arguments there.

I'd possibly put Ronaldo up front in the 10s team so I could get Robben onto the wing. When fit and on his game he was unplayable. You knew he only had a left foot and yet you still couldn't stop him using it to full effect.

Great OP!

 

[ROFLUTION]

Don't know if this is far fetched but Tour de France was also the most entertaining in the 90s when the whole gang took EPO.

Don't know how many there was in 90s football, but there certainly was EPO-rumours around Juve and how almost the whole team had been doping.

Anyways, the 90s was the best era for me too.

 

[Ish]

@harms @Gio @Fortitude

Great thread. Thanks for the input and effort

 

[Coxy]

Great OP! For me it's the 00's The problem is the results on here will be skewed as many of us didn't start watching till the 90's etc due to our age.

 

[harms]

The 00's win the Goalkeeper. No era can complete with both a peak Kahn in the early decade and a peak Buffon the second half of the decade.

I'd say that there are a few comparable eras.
60's — Yashin*, Banks* and a bunch of top keepers like Mazurkiewicz and Gilmar
70's — Zoff*, Maier*, Jennings, Shilton, Croy, Viktor, Mazurkiewicz, Fillol, van Beveren, Rudakov, Clemence...

*in the highest tier of goalkeepers. Perhaps a case can be made for Jennings/Shilton/Fillol as well.

 

[harms]

Has to be 80's for me, i mean Zico can't even make the starting 11? 1 of my favourite players ever and i can't really argue against those selected ahead of him. I'd put him in the 70's team ahead of Netzer.
Disappointing Savicevic wasn't considered in the 90's line up.

Competition in the 80's was insane. I'd say that only one #10 should be in the team, and that would be, unsurprisingly, Maradona, even though both Zico and Platini are top-15 (probably even top-10) of all-time material.

Good shout regarding Zico and the 70's, but that's a big problem for the whole classification — there were so many players who peaked in 2 decades. Zico, Baresi, Matthäus, van Basten, Rivaldo, Zidane, Figo etc.

 

[VeevaVee]

80s 90s and naughties will surely go down as peak football.

 

[André Dominguez]

I watch football since the 80's so I'll say the 80's and 90's problems:
- The pitch technology were crap, having horrible pitchs during almost all season for a lot of clubs.
- Small teams had poor training facilities.
- Staff was terrible, with little to no sports science knowledge. Training sessions were underwhelming when compared with today.
- Grass roots were poor worldwide, letting young players poorly prepared to become professionals.
- You could break someone's leg and get away with a warning.
- And the worst part: keepers were so poorly trained! Their positioning was so terrible when you compare with modern average keepers.

I could go on...

Don't get me wrong, I have nostalgia about some of the 80's and early 90's players, but the sport has moved on.

 

[harms]

Staff was terrible, with little to no sports science knowledge. Training sessions were underwhelming when compared with today.

One of my favourite football videos is Maradona having an individual training session for the 1994 World Cup in some random countryside with cows grazing just over the fence

 

[André Dominguez]

One of my favourite football videos is Maradona having an individual training session for the 1994 World Cup in some random countryside with cows grazing just over the fence

This is gold!

 

[Casanova85]

I'd personally place '90s Barça, Man Utd and Ajax well above '90s Milan and Juve.

I also miss honorable mentions to Red Star Belgrade and OM.

 

[Pocho]

Although I don't agree with some opinions it was a great read and effort. Thanks!

 

[harms]

By the way, @Mr. MUJAC, I’m pretty sure that Duncan played as a center half in the only full game that I’ve seen of him (a final against Villa). So “never” is an exaggeration. But today he would’ve been a midfielder, no two ways about it.

From the report:

Although on the defensive, the depleted United side never let their opponents dominate the game. Edwards was tough and uncompromising at centre‑half, and Byrne proceeded to play a real captain's game at left‑back. Villa, in fact, were reduced to long‑range shots which Blanchflower, stand‑in goalkeeper for Wood, fielded without too much trouble.

 

[Tostao_80]

I'd say its the 80s or the 90s. There were brilliant players available in every position. With that midfield and defence you'd probably give it to the 80s lot. The last decade has been arguably the poorest.

The 70s produced some brilliant footballers too but i didnt see them.

Damn, that 80s team is crazy. Maradonna, Platini and Gullit behind Van Vasten.

 

[Robbo's Shoulder]

Competition in the 80's was insane. I'd say that only one #10 should be in the team, and that would be, unsurprisingly, Maradona, even though both Zico and Platini are top-15 (probably even top-10) of all-time material.

Good shout regarding Zico and the 70's, but that's a big problem for the whole classification — there were so many players who peaked in 2 decades. Zico, Baresi, Matthäus, van Basten, Rivaldo, Zidane, Figo etc.

Yeah, i think i've tried every permutation to get him in that 80's side but as a say, it's impossible to argue against those picked so Netzer has to go and it's 70's Zico for me.

 

[BlackShark_80]

Damn, that 80s team is crazy. Maradonna, Platini and Gullit behind Van Vasten.

add Matthaus, Rijkaard, Falcao, Tigana, Tardelli, and Cerezo too

 

[Schneckerl]

60s, 80s or 10s
The worst are the 70s (the late 70s especially), 90s and 00s

Reasoning:
The late 70s were a time where the best players were either past their prime/decided to go to a retirement league (Beckenbauer, Cruyff) or just starting out (Platini, Maradona). Maradona was arguably extremly good in Argentina already, but the talent in the European league looks kind of meh. No offense to Kevin Keegan, but can you see him winning 2 Ballon D'Ors in any other time period?
The 90s superstars like Baggio, Laudrup, Romario, Van Basten all had some kind of problems (coaches, attitude, injuries...) and their performances often fluctuated widely from season to season.
Similar with the 00s, some of the most talented players lacked longevity at the top and/or suffered from injuries.


The 60s and 80s had a lot of alltime great players in ther prime for most years, 10s have Messi and Ronaldo playing on an insane level pretty much without a break.

 

[Cockney Phil]

Excellent threads like this immediately raise memories of games:
The game I remember most from the past, even more than the 1968 EC Final, was Brazil vs Italy, 1970 WC final. That game still sends shivers down my back for the beauty of the football. After the top football has never quite reached that scale of ‘calypso’ although Germany’s destruction of Brazil, in Brazil, in 2014 was stunning.

In terms of English clubs I think you might add Leeds United (aka the Scum). Because their success bridged the 60s and 70s they tend to get overlooked by decade. In their 70s European finals they were arguably robbed by corrupt referees and seriously dodgy European teams, which would have changed the records. Ironic in some ways because they had been guilty of dodgy practices.

My heart lies in the 70s and my head falls to the 90s.

 

[Raees]

Very tough to call which is the best teams there.. I would probably go with the 50's and 60's as the best all round units. @Gio @harms @Fortitude - hats off to all of you - great read.

 

[11101]

60s, 80s or 10s
The worst are the 70s (the late 70s especially), 90s and 00s

10s have Messi and Ronaldo playing on an insane level pretty much without a break.

But take those two out and there's not much left. One of the worst decades really.

 

[11101]

Damn, that 80s team is crazy. Maradonna, Platini and Gullit behind Van Vasten.

And Falcao and Matthaus behind them. Falcao would be a contender in any generation and Matthaus is possibly the best midfielder of all time.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

Just going to be biased and say the 90s.

I was born in 91, so for me it's Zidane, Nedved, Scholes, Maldini, Keane, Becks, Stam, Del Piero, Seedorf, Giggs, Kluivert, Carlos, Davids, Shearer, Cafu, Figo, Schmeichel, Kahn and probably shit loads more.

ITV champions league coverage on Wednesday's shits all over this BT Sport shite too.

 

[harms]

And Falcao and Matthaus behind them. Falcao would be a contender in any generation and Matthaus is possibly the best midfielder of all time.

Rijkaard as well. The best defensive midfielder ever, arguably the best central midfielder ever and Falcão who probably makes all-time top-5 for his position. I'm not even talking about the likes of Tigana, Robson, Tardelli, Breitner, Souness etc.

 

[sincher]

I genuinely believe that from a pure quality perspective, this decade is above the level of those before it. And there are plenty of all time greats playing right now too.

Certainly if you just look at PL football as a standard, the number of very good teams is more than it used to be, and the quality of football through the top two leagues is high I think.

I nostalgically would kind of pick the 90s as peak but I think this is biased by this being when I was at my most frenzied as a fan and also by United being amongst the best teams then.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Amazing thread.

God how I loved 1998-2000 Holland. Crying shame we were so bad at penalties, because we ahouldve won at least one of those.

 

[Hala Madrid]

It's crazy, but I think C.Ronaldo should be in the 2000s team in light of the fact that he was the main player of United from 06-09; it's really amazing that Ronaldo and Messi still shared the spotlight with Kaka, Zidane,etc even before they actually hit their peaks

 

[pierrethesnack]

It's crazy, but I think C.Ronaldo should be in the 2000s team in light of the fact that he was the main player of United from 06-09; it's really amazing that Ronaldo and Messi still shared the spotlight with Kaka, Zidane,etc even before they actually hit their peaks

Yeah, I agree. It's close, but I'd say C. Ronaldo was a bigger figure in the 00s than Rivaldo, overall. But then maybe I just didn't watch enough Spanish and Italian football at the time.