Posts by Jerry Evans57

He’s even using a spatula to do his killing.

Hold on a second. You'll see—this guy knows exactly how to handle those big-name superstars. If anyone refuses to follow his lead or just wanders aimlessly around the pitch, he won't hesitate to bench them in favor of the academy kids. It honestly never made sense to me why Real Madrid would go out and sign all those icons without securing a top-tier manager first, but it looks like they finally figured it out.

I’d personally love to see Inter Milan take it, especially since they haven't clinched a league title in 15 years. Alternatively, I'd root for Real Madrid, if only because of Ronald; winning this would be the one major trophy left to complete his collection alongside an Olympic gold.

I’m feeling pretty confident about Real Madrid moving forward now. Ever since they brought in Luxembourg—who, in my eyes, is easily one of the top five experts globally—and decided to slot little Robinho into the attack, I'm 120% certain we've got this. Of course, football is notoriously unpredictable, but will Real Madrid suddenly find their stride right when it matters most? It seems likely. Besides, Inter Milan is bound to advance too; seeing how Porto keeps dropping points at home against bottom-feeders like Rio Ave and Maritima, they don't stand a chance against Inter Milan.

Honestly, what a lineup. It's almost unbelievable how they shortened the tournament format.

Real Madrid vs. Juventus—that’s basically a final before the actual final. Just looking at the names alone is heavy, though Real is currently struggling hard. If they can actually manage a win against Juventus, it might pull them out of this slump; they're completely unpredictable lately.

Porto vs. Inter Milan—I think Inter Milan takes this one easily. Even though Porto are the champions, both clubs have been playing pretty strangely this season, but Inter Milan definitely holds the edge.

Barcelona vs. Chelsea—following the Real Madrid and Juventus matchups, this is going to be another "final before the final." It should be fascinating because both sides are playing incredibly well right now.

These remaining ones are totally wild; anything could happen here:
Werder Bremen vs. Lyon
Liverpool vs. Bayer Leverkusen PSV
PSV vs. Monaco Manchester United

Manchester United vs. AC Milan—this will be an interesting one, but AC Milan is almost certainly moving on.

Bayern Munich vs. Arsenal—aside from those first two pairings, this might be the most uncertain match, given how much both clubs have been oscillating.

Interesting. So far, only Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimović have managed to take home the Ballon d'Or three times. Looking at the history, the Brazilians dominated with six wins (Cristiano Ronaldo in '96, '97, and '02; Ronaldinho in '04; Rivaldo in '99; and Romario in '94), while Zlatan Ibrahimović took it in '03, '00, and '98, followed by Luís Figo in '01, George Weah in '95, Roberto Baggio in '93, Marco van Basten in '92, and Lothar Matthäus in '91. It's hard to argue with those numbers... the only real outlier was 1996 when Matthias Sammer won the Ballon d'Or, though it really should have gone to Cristiano Ronaldo.

Sure, and huge congratulations to Ronaldinho Gaúcho. He truly earned the title of best player in the world this year. Respect to both Andriy Shevchenko and Thierry Henry, but they're clearly a step behind him.

He picked up his first major honors at Barça, then moved to Inter Milan and Real Madrid right after the World Cup... I'm a bit puzzled by him this season. From what I can tell, he's dropped some weight—he isn't that heavy guy anymore. He’s still scoring, but honestly, he isn't quite himself. He actually seemed more clinical when he was carrying an extra 20 pounds. Still, maybe his best years are ahead of him. I'm hoping he wakes up this spring and starts scoring like he's supposed to. The guy is a total legend, unlike some of those other Brazilac players who are constantly high on something.

frozeneagle49 said:I still remember seeing that headline in the papers—claiming Veldin Karić was the most unattractive player to ever step onto a pitch in Major League Soccer.🤣🤣🤣🤣

For me, the highlight was reading that Karić was the worst foreign player to ever grace the field in the US, according to the Gazette.

Right, I forgot—maybe even Ivica Olić is the absolute worst of the lot. Mostly because of that greasy mess he calls hair; looking at him makes me want to gag. Honestly, good grief.🙂

Trifon Ivanov, Ronaldinho (maybe the ugliest, but easily one of the top five), Ronaldo definitely with that specific haircut from the 2002 World Cup, Karić (who was even uglier than Ronaldinho, let alone the hair), and so on... there are plenty of them out there.

That’s a complete disaster. What a joke.

Here is my list as well:

1. Lev Yashin (Gianluigi Buffon)
2. Cafu (Santos FC)
3. Roberto Carlos (Paolo Maldini)
4. Franco Baresi (Frank Rijkaard)
5. Giuseppe Bergomi (Franz Beckenbauer)
6. Vavá (Ryan Giggs)
7. Dida (Dunga)
8. Garrincha (Ronaldinho)
9. Zinedine Zidane (Michel Platini)
10. Pelé (Marco van Basten)
11. Ronaldo Nazário (Romário)

I'm curious to see your all-time best XI, broken down by position. I can't quite remember if we've covered this topic before, but let's see what you think.

So, here it is:

GK
DR
DL
DC
DC
MC
MC
MR
ML
FC
FC

👋

Ronaldinho

nimblemarlin17 said:Look, legends are forged at the World Cup or the European Championship, specifically the World Cup. Just because your favorite player never even stepped foot on that stage doesn't give you the right to lecture us now. Maradona and Pelé would never have become "Maradona" and "Pelé" just by winning domestic championships or some random cups.

exactly👍

In my view, Brazil possesses even more high-caliber talent than Argentina does.
The issue lies within their attacking lineup.

Ronaldinho is superior to any Argentine striker.
Adriano is better than any Argentine attacker.
Ronaldinho Gaucho is better than any Argentine forward.
Luis Fabiano is better than anyone from Argentina, perhaps excluding Saviola—though he'll likely surpass him after a few good seasons playing in Europe.
Diego is far too young to judge, but by the time the World Cup rolls around, he’ll be ahead of the pack.

And then there are those who aren't even remotely close to being national team caliber, such as:
Rivaldo is better than Lopez.
Romario—who still scores at a rate of one goal per game—is still better than Cruz, Lopez, or even Batistuta, given his current level of play.
Edmundo isn't ready to be discarded just yet; he's in the same tier as Cruz.
Diogo Rincon is better than Palermo, Cruz, and Lopez.
Elber is on par with Cruz.
Jardel is better than Cruz.
Ailton is better than Palermo, Cruz, and Lopez.
S. Anderson is similar to Cruz.
Then there is Anderson Love—that Brazilian phenomenon from Santos Rigoberto, if I recall correctly—along with Diego; in two or three years, they will dominate Europe. Then you have Nilmar. It's absurd; the Brazilian league alone has five or six strikers who could start for any national team in the world.

And so on, and so forth.

That is precisely the dilemma. Brazil simply has a vastly superior attack and arguably the best midfield in the world; they are just a step ahead of everyone else. Even their defense isn't the sieve it used to be; they've produced quality defenders and reliable keepers over the last fifteen years. Taffarel and Marcos were always fantastic for Brazil, and Dida has been excellent at Milan. Their fullbacks are top-tier too. If they ever develop real tactical cohesion, like Arsenal, they'd run through the French and Germans with ease. More kids play soccer on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro every single day than there are registered players in all of Germany.

I’d honestly just swap out Totti for Ronaldinho at number three.

I’m with nimblemarlin17 on this one. Even though I'm not exactly a fan of Thierry Henry, he earned it. Honestly, I would have preferred seeing Ronaldinho take it since he was arguably the best, but he didn't really achieve anything special or win major trophies, and frankly, I can't stand his club either.

No one will ever catch up to them... I’m living in Rio right now, and there are more kids playing soccer on these beaches than there are people in my entire hometown back in the States. And they actually have talent... I hold my own, but I can't even get a game going with the local kids because everyone's already occupied.
They really are insanely good.