OFFICIAL FOOTY THREAD ⚽️: Rodri wins 2024 Ballon d’Or

[tomdiginson]

Scroll up lol. I said that they will confuse us for united fans with all the madness they go on about every day. They have real issues over there but you warring with me over nbombele and me saying how ppl can interpret a goal

Are you drunk? You just saying anything. You don't even remember what you've last posted.

 

[AZwildcats]

De Jong to Chelsea looking closer and closer

 

[vtotheinay]

this came up as a suggested post on my reddit feed. some of those comments are sad, united fans are broken

 

[romulus]

Are you drunk? You just saying anything. You don't even remember what

For your entertainment I just looked at my last posts to you. I'm spot on with my last post.

Carry on with your night don't waste any more keystrokes on me.

 

[QU!K]

Let's be serious for a minute.

Modric's Ballon d'Or should have gone to Cristiano...

 

[tomdiginson]

For your entertainment I just looked at my last posts to you. I'm spot on with my last post.

Carry on with your night don't waste any more keystrokes on me.

No.

 

[flyeed]

Think what people don’t appreciate enough about Luka (imo because his appearance and creativity) are the elite intangibles. Leadership, being a dog, will to win (and keep winning,) elite competitiveness. It stood out more in the WC run but he brings that same energy to RM and was the real captain along with Benz this past run. Also clutch big match-deciding plays. Which were on display in the CL knockouts.

The rationale of being the guy and leading your teams to 0 CLs definitively > being on all time teams with multiple leaders and being one of them with 5 is absurd. When it could also suggest that maybe the one with 0 wasn’t that great of a leader and winner. Especially when teams he left won CLs literally the next year.

That said my initial point was just that he was the best midfielder of his gen.

 

[moiety]

Calling Modric a complimentary piece is crazy

Think i see what trey was getting at, but Modric a “complementary piece”? Nah no shot

 

[LA Diggler]

Would have him behind Xavi and even with Iniesta. The longevity is insane, the complete midfielder.

 

[tomdiginson]

Think i see what trey was getting at, but Modric a “complementary piece”? Nah no shot

Initially Modric was just that when brought on from Tottenham. People forget that they labebled him Madrids worse signing of that year. It's in the last 5 years or so has he been regarded as this top player by Madrid fans. I always liked him when he was in the prem. Ask some of these Madrid stans (if they were following the club from that time and not recently) if they rated Modric within his first couple of seasons there.

 

[flyeed]

I don’t even understand the relevance there. Just because fans weren’t delusional about his relatively subpar first season they can’t acknowledge his greatness since . Modric’s first season he was being played out of position either too advanced or as a deep lying player. But he’s been great from season 2 on.

Also the phrasing of “regarded as this top player by Madrid fans” is disingenuous and ignores that most footy fans with functioning eyes consider him a generational midfielder.

Lastly even though I was a fan before it, gate-keeping on fandom that far back is also ridiculous, especially considering most of us aren’t living in Europe yet root for non-hometown (or continent) clubs.

 

[tomdiginson]

I don’t even understand the relevance there. Just because fans weren’t delusional about his relatively subpar first season they can’t acknowledge his greatness since . Modric’s first season he was being played out of position either too advanced or as a deep lying player. But he’s been great from season 2 on.

Also the phrasing of “regarded as this top player by Madrid fans” is disingenuous and ignores that most footy fans with functioning eyes consider him a generational midfielder.

Lastly even though I was a fan before it, gate-keeping on fandom that far back is also ridiculous, especially considering most of us aren’t living in Europe yet root for non-hometown (or continent) clubs.

If you don't understand that the fans did not rate him that highly until the last 4-5 years, then I don't know what to tell you.

I said Madrid fans cause people don't appreciate what they got until they notice that others are interested in it. Look at how Gareth Bale was treated by the same fans despite the work he put in for the club. A player can have a subpar season, but I wouldn't write them off. Modric was benched for some games including big ones like El Classico during his first season. Playing time and instilling confidence in the player go a long way in player development.

I wouldn't even consider his struggles during his first season to be any fault of his. He was playing with midfielders who were already in the system and doing the things that he would normally do at his previous clubs, so he had to adjust and find out where he fits in that schema.

As for "gate-keeping", I wasn't attempting to "gate-keep". I'm speaking from the point that there are some who may not have been a fan then, but would be willing to speak on something they did not experience, research, nor see as if they had a first-hand account and attempt to reiterate something that they heard. And we've seen much of that in here.

 

[Coupé It]

De Jong to Chelsea looking closer and closer

See now this makes more sense than United. Because you guys have Kante.

Not a big Frenkie guy but Kante can cover for his faults.

No idea what Chelsea are doing attacking wise tho.

 

[Beans]

They have kante, kova, rlc, Gallagher, mount, havertz and pulisic… for the life of me don’t see why chelsea would do Barca the favor and buy fdj when they still beee another cb and two 9s.

 

[Bosa]

FYI. Rest of the episodes for all or nothing Arsenal is up

 

[El Argentino]

I’m extremely glad the thread is self-conscious enough to not default to nEyMaR! as 3rd best player of the last generation

 

[El Argentino]

I’ve long thought Iniesta was the best post-Zidane midfielder (and this as a Madrista) and probably 3rd best generational talent after Ronaldo and Messi. Lukita is a more understated player who doesn’t have such a comparable “highlight reel” of moments, but pointing out that he’s still winning UCLs while Don Andrés has self-exiled to Japan may tip it for me.

 

[El Argentino]

The question is complicated by longevity considerations. You take a snapshot of any given period stretching back to 2002 and the ”third best” player is almost always changing. It may break down to who shone the brightest during their respective prime. Thinking back (roughly) chronologically:

Ronaldo de Lima
Ronaldinho
Kaká
Rooney
Robben
Xavi
Iniesta
Neymar
Ramos
Pirlo
Bale
Lewa
Modric

I think KdB is putting in work to make these types of lists. Salah hasn’t burned bright long enough. Mbappe and Haaland will obviously top the next-gen list when we’re all really old and saying, “yeah, but you never watched ______________ in 201____”

 

[noskey]

Honestly. The 3rd best player of this generation is Sergio Ramos. He was the most dominant defender in the world for a decade and won everything but a Balon Dor. Which he arguably still should have. **** Ramos.

 

[tomdiginson]

I’m extremely glad the thread is self-conscious enough to not default to nEyMaR! as 3rd best player of the last generation

He had a moment where we was looking like it for a couple of years. During the 2014/15 where he had 39 goals and 10 assists and the season when Messi went down in 2015/16. Mans had 31 goals and 15 assists.

 

[LA Diggler]

Going with Xavi. Was the engine to arguably the greatest club side and national side in history. The passing, the spatial awareness, the engine, couldn’t get the ball off him.

 

[haicheo]

Honestly. The 3rd best player of this generation is Sergio Ramos. He was the most dominant defender in the world for a decade and won everything but a Balon Dor. Which he arguably still should have. **** Ramos.

Absolutely. A vital component of the WC/EC Spanish team, the captain of the Backx3 UCL champion Madrid, one of the highest goal scoring Defenders of all time, would have been a BdO if he didnt clash with being in the same generation as Messi/CR7.

Also, the Zlatan talk is foolish to me. Yes, he’s a wonderful player, but when was he ever challenged? Maybe during his time at Inter, other than that he was always the big fish in the little pond. Barca? Flop. Juve? Match fixing. PSG? A god amongst farmers. MLS? See previous point. Man U? Not his finest work. Milan? More useful as a mentor to youth more so than for his playing abilities.

 

[cs02132]

It’s really on sight with xhaka. I get upset every time this bonehead shows up on my screen

If auba showed up 1 extra day late and then was even late that day he deserved to get disciplined imo. But I gotta see the next episodes to see what else led to him leaving the club

 

[fluid hips]

Bantz Lord T
I need a thread title update ****ting on Barca my guy

United should grab Kessie. Have barca throw him in for taking de jong

 

[Bosa]

*dead at new thread title*