Who is the most unplayable player ever ?

Can't stand him but Le Tissier had one glorious season.

Not comparing him the those in the OP obviously but will remember that golden hot streak.
 
For having the ability to be unplayable he didn't parlay it into any significant sustained dominance like some of the other names mentioned, but when Paul Pogba wanted to dominate a match, there wasn't a whole lot anyone could do about it. That blend of physical and technical prowess was just impossible to contend with when his head was on straight. He'll take the ball from you like you were a kid, carry the ball effortlessly, score a screamer from 30 yards or execute a pass maybe a handful of players on planet earth could execute. There was simply no way he couldn't beat you...when he decided he wanted to dominate of course.
 
Would add
- Thierry Henry 2002 - 2004 (63 goals/34 assists);
- Xavi 2008/09 (10 goals/29 assists);
- Del Piero 1997/98 (32 goals)
- and a bit of throwback with Gerd Muller 1972/73 (67 goals in 49 appearances)
 
ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg said:
I don’t disagree that record is unlikely to be broken for some time.

However, he’s never been a player who can do things on his own. He’s scored some remarkable goals due to his athleticism and reach - but he’s never been a player that truly scares a defence.

The great players could win a game on their own, Haaland can’t do that. He is however truly remarkable as a goal scorer. He’s a strange player to evaluate.
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If this is the definition for unplayable then Maradona wins this hands down.

Different from most others, Maradona didn't need well oiled machines or any specific system. Whatever you threw at him by way of rival tactics or teammates, he would crack the code and decimate you.

That reminds me of how Gianni Brera (one of the most influential sports journalists of all time) described Schiaffino as some sort of devastating AGI getting the model trained in the first half and deploying it in the second half. Would be an apt description for Maradona's influence in a game:

Gianni Brera said:
Over the years I would witness time and again that remarkable quality in Schiaffino: the power of synthesis. He would poke and probe, test every component of a defence, every combination of defensive players, observe their instinctive reactions, what made them uncomfortable, how they made decisions, and then he computed it all and drew conclusions. Once he did, he would know how to tear up any defence. In the course of his testing his team often scored, but if they didn’t, you knew Schiaffino was building up more knowledge on the rival defence than even they or their manager had. He would wait for half-time, and then after it he would unleash his learning upon his helpless victims. Both that Uruguay team and Milan could completely turn a game around in a second half thanks to the God of Football.
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Lionel Andres Messi. 2011 vintage, 2015 vintage. Take your pick. There has never been a more overpowered player in history. It was a waste of time even trying to mark him.
 
Dannn411 said:
Lionel Andres Messi. 2011 vintage, 2015 vintage. Take your pick. There has never been a more overpowered player in history. It was a waste of time even trying to mark him.
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I mean, we can mention other unplayables in this thread but, no one comes close to peak messi
 
Dannn411 said:
Lionel Andres Messi. 2011 vintage, 2015 vintage. Take your pick. There has never been a more overpowered player in history. It was a waste of time even trying to mark him.
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More to the point, it was a waste of time even playing the game, that's how much of a cheat code he was.

I mean... we played a CL final against that Barca side knowing they wouldn't let us have the ball and that somehow in the midst of that tiki taka stupour we would have to wake up and deal with feckin' Lionel Messi deciding it was about time they tried to score.

It was insane.
 
Messi 2009-2012 & 2018-2019?
CR7 around 2007-2008 & 2016-2017
Neuer 2012-2015
Zidane, Ronaldinho and R9 on and off.
Kaka, Robben, Henry, Modric, Lewandowski, Benzema, Suarez, Kroos, Xavi, Ribery, Iniesta - all had one or two great seasons more or less.
 
“Unplayable” is a pretty big ask, but one player I can think of in that category who hasn’t yet been mentioned is Riquelme for Villarreal around 2004, I remember watching him absolutely run the show, playing the game different to everyone else on the pitch and no-one could get anywhere near him.

Bit of a “twice as bright for half as long” but for a brief spell he really was a joy to behold
 
Best's peak was pretty mental, he was also going around doing crazy things like sayig he would nutmeg Cruyff before a game and actually do it.

Most have already been mentioned, but special mention to Ronaldo against those Italian defenders in the 90s, it's inprinted as a childhood memory for me.
 
cpresc said:
“Unplayable” is a pretty big ask, but one player I can think of in that category who hasn’t yet been mentioned is Riquelme for Villarreal around 2004, I remember watching him absolutely run the show, playing the game different to everyone else on the pitch and no-one could get anywhere near him.

Bit of a “twice as bright for half as long” but for a brief spell he really was a joy to behold
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This is a good shout, he was incredible for a while, kind of reminds of Veron during his Lazio period, he was so dominant.
 
Lewandowski in his final seasons at Bayern was very deadly.

His prime was great and scary.
 
Whilst I prefer the United CRonaldo and early Madrid version, there was something rediculously unexplainable about him during that 2015-2018 period especially in the Champions League. It was just destined he would score in the majority of the big games, infact it just became inevitable and I don't think it will be repeated. Whilst it wasn't as aesthetic as other peaks, in terms of being unplayable this has to be up there as there seemed to be nothing preventing him getting on the score sheet and winning games.
 
Ronaldinho's first 3 seasons at Barca
R9 96/97 and 97/98
Lionel Messi- 2010/11 and 2012 calendar year
Cristiano Ronaldo- 2007/08 and 2011/12
Luis Suarez 2013-14
Thiery Henry 2003-04
Diego Maradona 1986 World Cup
Arjen Robben 2012-13
Pele 1970 World Cup
 
In no particular order, and, outside of Maradona, only listing players I've followed in real time:

  1. Messi (10-11 most specifically)
  2. Cristiano (earlier Madrid years)
  3. Ronaldo (96-98)
  4. Robben (at Bayern in particular)
  5. Neymar (between 2015-16 and some point at PSG)
  6. Suarez (13-16)
  7. Drogba (unplayable in a different manner to the rest of this list, and by far the greatest target man I've seen)
  8. Ronaldinho (05-06 -- just about. A better individual season than some of the above, but more astonishing than unplayable, in my highly subjective esteem.)
And more narrowly:
  • Zidane (97-98 CL)
  • Iniesta (~February to May 2009, or possibly as late as around September the next season. At the time I thought that he was playing at a higher level than Messi had consistently reached)
  • Maradona (WC 86 -- simply immaculate, up until the final)
  • Kaka's and Benzema's Ballon d'Or CL campaigns (I dislike getting this granular, but there's no denying they've strung together some incredible performances.)

Other candidates include Henry at his prime (I've watched fairly little of it), Figo around 99-01, Salah's first season at Liverpool, and so on.
 
Interestingly enough, I'd pick different seasons for both Brazilians.

2004/05 for Ronaldinho (even edging towards the first half of that 05/06 — but before the disappointing World Cup).

And 1997/98 for Ronaldo. While he naturally didn't quite hit the same numbers as he did at Barça, he was even better at Inter Milan. His first season at Serie A was... indescribable, really. Escaping definitions. La Liga wasn't a bad league but that Serie A defenses! Juve was immense as a unit with Ferrara and Montero leading the backline; Cafú and Aldair at Roma; Thuram & Cannavaro at Parma; Nesta at Lazio; Maldini, Desailly & Costacurta at Milan... even bottom half team had great defenders — Piacenza had Vierchowod (yeah, he was old but still put up a good fight against Ronaldo) and Napoli that finished last had Ayala.

Overall it's clearly Messi around 2011 (probably 11/12 but maybe 10/11), Luis Ronaldo in 1997/98 and Maradona in 1986/87 as the top-3 in no particular order — that's simply the peak of (human) football ability for me.

Best in 67/68 is an interesting shout, this is simply what football is about (same as the peak Ronaldinho).

I wonder which would be the best season by Pelé — probably something in the early 1960's, around 1962. Was he unstoppable? Well, he was stopped. You could break his body by repeatedly targeting him with tackle after tackle after tackle. But there was no other way.

What would be the most unplayable version of Cristiano? Oddly enough, I keep coming back to the 07/08 United version — probably because "unplayable" usually implies outrageous skills and a certain degree of humiliation (of your opponents). When you simply can't get close enough. His first seasons at Madrid were a bit odd in a way (having to compete with an absolute best version of Messi and Barca didn't help) — it felt like he was underperforming in big games, especially in El Clasicos even though his overall numbers and showboating were still on point (as in through the roof). His best version at Madrid was later when he had simplified his game by quite a lot... but at that point he was more inevitable than unplayable — you would see even an average La Liga defender faring quite decently against him for the majority of the game before Cristiano would inevitably score. I guess some can call it unplayable but I think those two words have slightly different connotations even though both lead to the same result.
 
Most ever between R9, Ronaldinho, Messi and Cristiano at their peaks from the players I've seen.

So many others who were unbelievable at their peak also Kaka, Zidane, Suarez, Neymar, Robben Ibrahimović etc.

But for me, two standout players were Rivaldo 98-00 who was so great to watch, he played with ease and was spectacular at times. Also for defenders Rio 07/08 was like cheat mode, effortless in his play no matter who he played against.
 
I don’t think I could pick one who was the most unplayable, as they could all probably tear a team apart on their day. Probably any team in fact. But in their prime, I’d say Messi, R9, Ronaldinho and CR7 were on another level to even other top level players. Problem is the likes of Zidane, Scholes, Xavi and Iniesta were unplayable really but aren’t often considered.

Before my time there were obviously many other greats too, such as Maradona, Best, Pele, Michael Laudrup etc who were probably considered unstoppable. Laudrup never gets considered, and I’ve only seen highlights, but what a player he was. Really underrated in these types of debates.

Hell Zlatan on his day could probably get the better of anyone. For me there’s just so many who I would consider unplayable because they stood out even at the highest levels. There’s probably loads of players that I’d consider unstoppable. In the modern era though I think the first 4 stand out the most. Maybe Zidane too?
 
Most of the obvious ones have been mentioned so something more off the cuff: Rooney at Euro 2004. Damn shame injury robbed us of what could have been.
 
Messi's peak season is still 2010-2011 to me. I'd pick that season over his others as his most unplayable season.

Other shouts:

Maradona during the world cup in 1986.

Pele in 1961 or 1965.
 
Querulous Megapode said:
  • Maradona (WC 86 -- simply immaculate, up until the final)
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Are you implying he was no good in the final? It all went according to the plan really, getting man-marked to death included.

A few days earlier, after all his wonder goals, Diego told Burruchaga: "you know what is great? They will have all their attention on me, not you. The moment will come and I will find you".

Then at 2-2 on minute 84 that moment comes. Five guys minding Maradona, none on Burruchaga, who has just spent the last few days confident the moment would come and he would seize it.

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Anthony January-march 2025.
 
Eden Hazard in his prime was unstoppable at Chelsea. He had it all - strength, pace, trickery - made him a sheer force of will.

Salah belongs in this conversation, too.
 
antohan said:
Are you implying he was no good in the final? It all went according to the plan really, getting man-marked to death included.

A few days earlier, after all his wonder goals, Diego told Burruchaga: "you know what is great? They will have all their attention on me, not you. The moment will come and I will find you".

Then at 2-2 on minute 84 that moment comes. Five guys minding Maradona, none on Burruchaga, who has just spent the last few days confident the moment would come and he would seize it.

fex_Fm.gif
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Class. deceptively tricky chance too, considering what was at stake. World Cup nerves version of Cristiano or Thierry Henry would have probably taken a touch that would have messed up the angle and missed it.
 
Ronaldinho for me, I still think he is the best player ever to play the game, he played it like a game, made fun out of people, did ridiculous things with the ball and scored a few decent goals.

I don't remember too much of Maradona as I was a kid when he was playing, vague memories of 86, that's about it.
 
For United, Rooney 2009-10 has to come close? I was just a kid then but still remember marvelling at how amazing this stocky, bald striker was week in, week out. He implies in his book that that was due to the morale boost he got when Fergie told him that he was to be the main striker before the start of the season - wish we got to see him there more, even though he was amazing in his usual #10 spot too.

I’d give 2014-15 and 2017-18 De Gea a shout too. The best goalkeeping seasons I have witnessed in my lifetime so far. I watched Edwin’s last few seasons, but he was mostly untroubled in games.

We’ve never really been a one-man team though, regardless of how good or bad we were. Even RvP in 2012-13, while he is my favourite player ever, had help from the likes of De Gea, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Rooney etc being excellent. Bruno’s carry job this season probably most fits the bill.
 
Left field, but Duncan Ferguson.

Especially under Joe Royle at Everton. You couldn't beat him in the air. Best hope was to not bother trying and just drop off to pick up the runners instead. Not thinking of scoring goals but mainly those long ball punts downfield, he won literally everything.
 
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