Your favourite player ever...

...local club, foreign club, international, whatever...what player is your favourite? Not necessarily the best ever, but a player you liked?

I like Patrick Kluivert, because for some very random reason involving him on holidays in Kerry and me going on the beer with him and his partner. He was actually very pleasant.

But for players I want to see, John O'Flynn of Cork City was the ultimate. Was lucky enough to see him in his heyday, was worth getting into Turners X early just to see him juggle the ball and try to hit the crossbar in the warm up. Easily the best I've seen, and much better than the likes of Kevin Doyle who went on the better things as O'Flynn picked up injuries.

Duff

Zidane. Seen him play in the flesh a few times and he was just another level.

Mr.Nice Guy

Roy Keane.

I've never had such hope wrapped up in one player as I did when I watched Keane play. And I've never seen a player lift those around him in the way that Keane was able to do when he played. He was a colossus.

The_Kew_Tour

Andy Cole.

A player who "cost United the league" in 95, had his 2 legs broken by a thug year later and came back to do what he did.

He had a very good all round game and a better goals per game from play then Shearer.

Mentions for Pirlo, Scholes and Xavi

The Talking Bread

Ask me in 15 years!

Shanotheslayer

Ronaldinho. Made me fall in love with the way Barca play football. A joy to watch.

Makelele also, made me love the CDM position of tidying things up and playing it out.

The Talking Bread

Shanotheslayer wrote: »

Ronaldinho. Made me fall in love with the way Barca play football. A joy to watch.

Makelele also, made me love the CDM position of tidying things up and playing it out.

Big time. Chelseas first great signing of the Russian Mafia era. How he was let go by Madrid at the time beggars belief. Perez called him average technically and completely dismissed him. while his teammates were calling for him to give CM a new deal. Zidane said it best, when he was speaking about Beckham's arrival and CM's departure


"Why put another layer of gold paint on the Bentley when you are losing the entire engine"

Beckham of course earned his transfer but with Makelele kept, it is likely they wouldnt have had to wait 14 years for another Champ League

x PyRo

Thierry Henry. The reason I fell in love with football as a kid.

Pudsy33

Pavel Nedved. A joy to watch.

Bobby Baccala

Thierry Henry closely followed by Kaka, no 2 players have entertained me as much as those 2.

Honorable mention to Francesco Totti.

The Backwards Man

Ian Marshall for me.

No skill, no pace, no style, but by fcuk he had heart.

Mr.Nice Guy

sugarman wrote: »

Duff was ousted from Chelsea when Mourinho came along and signed Robben, wasted what should have been the peak of his career at Newcastle.

Duff and Robben worked well together under Mourinho for a time, attacking teams down either flank. I think what happened with Duff is that injuries killed his pace. I remember being gobsmacked when they sold him to Newcastle for what seemed a really small fee (I think it was 5 million) but he wasn't the same player at Newcastle. I think they realised that at Chelsea. He was still a very good player when his pace went, I thought he did well at Fulham, but I think his peak was at Chelsea before the injuries.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Conor74 wrote: »

...local club, foreign club, international, whatever...what player is your favourite? Not necessarily the best ever, but a player you liked?

I like Patrick Kluivert, because for some very random reason involving him on holidays in Kerry and me going on the beer with him and his partner. He was actually very pleasant.

But for players I want to see, John O'Flynn of Cork City was the ultimate. Was lucky enough to see him in his heyday, was worth getting into Turners X early just to see him juggle the ball and try to hit the crossbar in the warm up. Easily the best I've seen, and much better than the likes of Kevin Doyle who went on the better things as O'Flynn picked up injuries.

Remember when kluivert killed a man? Neither does Wikipedia.

Arne_Saknussem

The Honey Monster wrote: »

Remember when kluivert killed a man? Neither does Wikipedia.

Who's your favourite player ever?

pudzey101

Have to go with Zidane pure elegance , that champions league goal still gives me shivers . Shouts for Henry , Ronaldinho ,Puyol and bergkamp too .

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Arne_Saknussem wrote: »

Who's your favourite player ever?

Without a shadow of a doubt Henry.

fergiesfolly

Favourite is Van Basten, was just an amazing goal scorer for AC Milan and Holland. Loved watching him.

Best though is Zidane.
Sublime footballer.
Forgave him, the instant he headbutted Matterazzi.(Italian pri@k)

population

Zola

LeeJM

Peter Schmeichel. Best keeper of the 90s with only Oliver Kahn and Edwin Van Der Sar being near his level. Forwards would visibly wilt when 1 on 1 against him. The unique way he would spread himself to the absolute max and use the star jump as a shot blocking technique was awesome.

Under appreciated players who I love include Chris Wood a fantastic GK who didnt get enough England caps. Rob Lee the unsung hero of the Keegan era Newcastle team. Thomas Hassler, remember being excited anytime i got to see him play. Zvonimir Boban, never see him mentioned when people talk about AC Milan in the 90s. A wonderful AM player who was capable of magic and also more than able to play as CM if needed.

Lovely Bloke

Stuart Byrne.

prettyboy81

Zidane!

Vicxas

As a Liverpool fan i hate to say this, but Eric Cantona.

He made the English league fun back in the 90's.

Lovely Bloke

^^:eek:

Exclamation Marc

When I was a kid I absolutely idolised Andrei Kanchelskis as I had just discovered football and watched a United game first so that's how I became a fan of them and him. His mazy runs were spectacular to watch as a kid.

When I became a bit more tuned in and older, it'd be Juan Roman Riquelme. I just loved the mans ability and approach to the game. Was a joy to watch when he took control of a game and a bit of a shame that he never really hit his potential.

A bit closer to home would be Roy Keane too.

Fr Tod Umptious

There was this guy once, ye young folk probably don't remember him.

His name was Diego Armando Maradonna.

Different class, different class !

kevthegaff

Italy Ravanelli, Zola, lombardo
Eng. Cole, ginola, klinsmann
Ger Mario Basler, Bierhoff
Spain Koemann, Riquielme
international Hagi Stoichkov

racso1975

Klinsmann at Spurs. Don't know why but just really enjoyed him being there.

Andersonisgod

Messi. I couldn't imagine football without him.

Closely followed by Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta and Drogba.

Decuc500

Eric Cantona. He was an artist with the ball at his feet. He could play a defence splitting pass with ease. I was lucky to see him score at Old Trafford.

Also he taught a racist thug that sometimes it isn’t safe to abuse a player from the comfort of the stands.

Balmed Out

Paolo Maldini, loved to watch him play. Attackers with flair get all the plaudits but for me he was every bit as good as messi or ronaldo if not better.

Loved to watch George O'Callaghan too.

Dante

Ruud Van Nistelrooy!

Moist Bread

Matt Le Tissier - had the ability to score from almost anywhere, single-handedly kept Southampton in the Premier back in the 90's. You will never see a player with his work ethic in top flight football again either.

DvB

Liam Brady

He's the reason I started playing football as a kid growing up in Dublin... class player. Didnt matter who he played for, I loved watching him play football.

Captain Havoc

Brendan Rea,

Robbie Fowler.

sky88

Beckham while i know he was never one of the best players in the world i just couldnt help but be amazed at how good he could cross a ball and pick a pass at times. free kicks were amazing but i always admired he put the hardwork in, even though he had the limelight he still put in a great workrate and effort in every match.

From a team i didnt support Bergkamp just everything came so easy to him was just a joy to watch.

Guy:Incognito

Rob Jones.

Honourable mentions for Carragher, Fowler, Hamann and Roy Keane

citytillidie

John Barnes

kfallon

The original Ronaldo! That season he had in Barcelona, it started a love affair for me!

Only Maradona was a greater player imo!

Howard the Duck

Another one for Cantona here. He really lit up the league when he was with Utd. He was like a one man soap opera but also an amazing footballer, I was sick when I heard he was retiring.
Have recently been tidying out my old bedroom back at my parents house and I found a lot of Cantona posters and memorabilia.

StringerBell

Keane, always on his own a mile ahead of anybody else in my book. Followed by Roberto Baggio, Ronaldo (Brazil) and Ronaldo (Portugal)

Keane was everything to me as a player, I have never seen such a giant of a man. Demanded so much of his teammates and drove them on but no more so then himself. Got that a captain set the tone, led by example and pushed himself to always do just that. The engine of such a successful team, could do everything you want from a central midfielder, his passing is so underrated, always looking forward, his tackling and reading were immense and he was well capable of a goal.

Fergie once said something along the lines of if you could put Roy Keane in against anybody one on one he never would have lost a battle, at the peak of his powers he did not entertain failure.

And yes, I still sleep with his picture on the pillow next to me.

bullvine

Diego Maradona the greatest player in history.

greendom

It pains me to say it as his reputation is so tainted but Michel Platini. A fabulous player, his ability and willpower carried France to their first major international trophy.

Zidane was probably the better player of the 2 but Platini was around during my formative years and it always seemed to me that he had such a passion for playing for Les Bleus.

I always remember a stunning pass he made for Boniek to score while playing for Juventus in a European Cup game. Muddy pitch, socks rolled down, carving out a moment of beauty.

An iconic figure for me. I try to wipe the last couple of years from my memory.

Decuc500

Decuc500 wrote: »

Eric Cantona. ....

Also he taught a racist thug that sometimes it isn’t safe to abuse a player from the comfort of the stands.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/11360502/Eric-Cantona-kick-Where-are-they-now.html

Matthew Simmons
The man Cantona attacked, 20 years old at the time, was alleged to have told Cantona to "f*** off back to France". His story was that he had merely shouted "Off! Off! Off! It's an early bath for you, Mr Cantona!" After the initial blitz of post-kick publicity Simmons faded from the public eye. This was a time before Celebrity Big Brother, you see. Has spoken of losing his job and becoming estranged from members of his family during the fall-out from the incident. Was found guilty of actual bodily harm during a fracas at a youth football match in 2011 and was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for two years, plus 150 hours of community service.

bullvine

StringerBell wrote: »

Keane, always on his own a mile ahead of anybody else in my book. Followed by Roberto Baggio, Ronaldo (Brazil) and Ronaldo (Portugal)

Keane was everything to me as a player, I have never seen such a giant of a man. Demanded so much of his teammates and drove them on but no more so then himself. Got that a captain set the tone, led by example and pushed himself to always do just that. The engine of such a successful team, could do everything you want from a central midfielder, his passing is so underrated, always looking forward, his tackling and reading were immense and he was well capable of a goal.

Fergie once said something along the lines of if you could put Roy Keane in against anybody one on one he never would have lost a battle, at the peak of his powers he did not entertain failure.

And yes, I still sleep with his picture on the pillow next to me.

Can you name a better midfielder than him of his type, box to box all action that he was in his prime. Its something that I have been thinking about lately and I was struggling to think of anyone, especially in the last 30 years.

keeponhurling

(ooh aah) Paul McGrath

StringerBell

Augeo wrote: »

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/11360502/Eric-Cantona-kick-Where-are-they-now.html

Matthew Simmons
The man Cantona attacked, 20 years old at the time, was alleged to have told Cantona to "f*** off back to France". His story was that he had merely shouted "Off! Off! Off! It's an early bath for you, Mr Cantona!" After the initial blitz of post-kick publicity Simmons faded from the public eye. This was a time before Celebrity Big Brother, you see. Has spoken of losing his job and becoming estranged from members of his family during the fall-out from the incident. Was found guilty of actual bodily harm during a fracas at a youth football match in 2011 and was sentenced to six months in jail, suspended for two years, plus 150 hours of community service.

Yeah......seems legit.

CantonasCollar

The only players whose name has ever graced the back of my football shirt, Eric Cantona.

Loved him before that FA cup final goal, loved him even more after it.

theteal

I can't pick one.

Henk
Bergkamp
Zizu




Screw it. . . Eddie Gormley!

PhlegmyMoses

bullvine wrote: »

Can you name a better midfielder than him of his type, box to box all action that he was in his prime. Its something that I have been thinking about lately and I was struggling to think of anyone, especially in the last 30 years.

My fellow United fans won't like this, but Gerrard is closest for me. Not as good defensively, or as a passer, dare I say it, but far superior in attack, similarly aggressive, similarly great engine, good pace and dragged performances out of his team mates. In an alternate reality, Gerrard replaces Keane in 2005 the way Keane replaced Robson in 93. Obviously Vieira was up there with Keane but for me, there was a clear distinction between the two.

All that being said, my favourite players would be Scholes and Ronaldinho. Also had a soft spot as a youngster for a lad called Djalminha who played for Deportivo. Terrible attitude but was like a proto-Ronaldinho on the ball

Easy Rod

keeponhurling wrote: »

(ooh aah) Paul McGrath

Surprised there's been only one mention so far. Unbelievable player, I learned so much about football from watching him.