who do you rank higher in your ATG list ?

Zidane, just barely. Rivaldo isnt talked about enough, generally. Its forgotten that at some point in time he was the best in the world for a couple years there.

It's length of peak and the peak itself. Zidane was considered the best from 1997 until 2004. At his peak, he was 2-3 levels better than Rivaldo too.

You're never going to talk about Rivaldo being a top 20 player in football history... let alone top 5 like Zidane.

What's 2-3 levels ? That's ridiculous. Rivaldo was a great player, and even if Zidane was better, he was not much better.

Rivaldo was fantastic.... but he was basically Kaka. Very similar. You're never going to compare Kaka to Zidane. Just different leagues.

Just like you're never going to compare Chevtchenko with Messi...

He was considerably better than Kaka.

And no, when Rivaldo won world player of the year. He was better than Zidane. So no, not different leagues at all.

Zidane top 5? No way.

Rivaldo.

top 5 for me and many others....  top 10 for sure.

Only reason Zidane didn't win it in 1999 was that he started slow after all the WC celebrations (like most WC winning players) and then got injured.  I think he only played 25 games for Juve that season.

Rivaldo was great... but come on

Rivaldo was the best player in the world in 99, you can make whatever excuses you like why Zidane wasnt but those were the facts. What excuse do you have for 00 or 01..or 02...or 03..basically all these years he didnt win the ballon dor?

Not that this award is the be all and end all, but at least in those times it had a lick of sense. Minus Owen obviously.

The fact also you compare Rivaldo to Kaka shows at least to me how vastly you undervalue Rivaldo.

Zidane top 5? So which of Maradona, Pele, Cruyff, Kaiser and Di Stefano is he better than?

And thats just the strict list, ignoring the likes of Garrincha, Eusebio and various others you could easily question.

back in the day , i also used to argue that Rivaldo was better than Zidane and i absolutely adored both players . Definitely better than Kaka like Franchise says , although it's not like this is an insult either . Kaka on his prime and on his decline and on his early days , was always a simple player. Knew his limits and perfected his strengths and was a great teamplayer , despite being an individual who shined on his own equally well. Nevertheless , Rivaldo was more gifted and rounded as a player. Kaka was never good at free kicks where Rivaldo's were a piece of art , or how Kaka wasn't as comfortable playing in different positions like Rivaldo was , or as prolific with goals. Rivaldo scored in abundance wherever he went untill his 37. Dribbling , assisting , ball control , NT importance , e.t.c Rivaldo was better at his prime. At Milan things didn't work out for him , since Rui Costa was almost always preffered instead of him and i remember he had problems within the squad , even though i don't recall what those were. I think it was Maldini who once said he was 'distant'..? Was it Ancelotti he had issues with.. i don't remember , that was ages ago.

In any case , Rivaldo was a rare player , even when he played for Olympiacos at 34-36 , he was simply magnifiscent , especially in the champions league . Either his love for money or football , or possibly both , made him unable to stop when he ought too , though. People would have a much better opinion for him today.

I didn't watch either of them, I would guess Zidane was probably better.


But cmon Sports,Zidane isn't a top 5 player.

Would Zidane even be a top 5 player today? Future legends Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar, Bale and Hazard dominating the field???

El Cujo wrote:Would Zidane even be a top 5 player today? Future legends Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar, Bale and Hazard dominating the field???

Yes.

If you mean now about current players.

Top 5 ever not.

well every sports media in the countries where he played at club have him at top 5.  I'll post the UK articles since they're in English:

BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/20943498
The Guardian - http://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2014/may/27/the-world-cups-top-100-footballers-of-all-time-interactive

I won't even post the numerous articles in France, Italy and Spain that have him as top 5 since it's a given there unless you're a Barca or Milan fan.

You guys are 99% club focused. Football media and older fans take NT performances and trophies into account in a huge way. It's at least 50% of the equation for them if not more...

but indeed Zidane was always rated  very higly here , also by Inter and Milan  fans , it 's the typical player who can't belittled for a matter of rivalry, I don't know someone to have him never belittled, for example you can listen some not Juve fans to belittle Del Piero, but not Zidane. It was same thing for Ronaldo, all admitted he was basically God in 1998
Hardly you can listen "partisan" comments about these rare players, not even after 2006 ( also because many ppl hates Materazzi also in Italy, except Inter fans )


About this poll , I prefer Zidane . Anyway Rivaldo was GOAT  too , so it is a balanced poll.
He was unlucky to play in a Barcellona not so great , it would have been fantastic to watch him now
the only negative stain in his career was Serie A experience, basically flop to Milan, but this happens for the Brazilian players old 30+ ... just Cafu and Aldair can play long time at high levels

Rivaldo was more versatile and able to score more goals - I would say that Rivaldo had more raw skill & talent than Zidane - but Rivaldo's prime was relatively short whereas Zidane performed consistently at the top level for about double the time Rivaldo did.

I'd say that at his best Rivaldo was better than Zidane ever, but Zidane definitely had the better career and kept his top form for longer.

Rivaldo had more raw skills and talent than Zidane??? You can't be serious

Zidane would be 3rd best today.

sportsczy wrote:well every sports media in the countries where he played at club have him at top 5.  I'll post the UK articles since they're in English:

BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/20943498
The Guardian - http://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2014/may/27/the-world-cups-top-100-footballers-of-all-time-interactive

I won't even post the numerous articles in France, Italy and Spain that have him as top 5 since it's a given there unless you're a Barca or Milan fan.

You guys are 99% club focused.  Football media and older fans take NT performances and trophies into account in a huge way.  It's at least 50% of the equation for them if not more...

You could of posted any country but England and it would make more sense. They have no idea about how to rate players.

But again, which of those 6 players I listed is he better than?

Wait, you think Cristiano now is better than Zidane was?!?

My sides.

Tbh Dani, you can list 15 players (if not more) and all of them would have a good argument about being top 5.  As time goes by and there are more and more players to choose from, "top 5" is too small imo.  Same thing for the NBA now.

I mean, you have Pele, Maradona, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Messi, Platini, Zidane, Zico, Jairzinho, Garrincha, Charlton, Di Stefano, Puskas, Kopa, R9, Yachine, Gerd Mueller, Eusebio, Maldini, Nesta, Baresi, Scirrea, Ronaldinho (brief; but his peak was as high as any imo), etc. etc.

If people are so hung up on "top 5"... you'd have to make two:  One for players until 1990 and another for players post 1990 imo.

It's all a matter of preference.  There isn't much separating the players.

I get what your saying but cant agree.

Im not into "arguments" because that leads into "what did he win" and that isnt everything to me.

Im just saying from everything I have seen, Zidane just isnt the player some of the others are.

Well, from everything i've seen, he's clearly in the same class as the players you mentioned if not better... i saw several of them regularly and they are being romanticized because the only game footage that we have were their highlight games. Also, the only televised games at the time were the big games. Nowadays, you get to see every single second of a player's life.

If you saw them regularly, I'm sure you'd see why Zidane stands out. Everything about him was top 5 imo: Talent, skills, game leadership, results.

Most importantly, whenever he played with other greats or played against them... he was clearly the best player on the pitch. For example, Rivaldo was nowhere to be seen in the 1998 WC Final although he started. Zidane completely dominated that game. He dominated the 2000 Euros in every game. In 2006, he demolished a Brazil team that had guys like R9, Dinho, Kaka, etc.

The best gauge of a player is head-to-head against his peers to see how great he is. Zidane just demolished them. That's why i rate Messi higher than Ronaldo btw... whenever Madrid meet Barca, Messi outclasses him 90% of the time. How can you say Ronaldo is better when he doesn't look better with both on the pitch at the same time?

zidane, without a doubt. rivaldo was more skillful, but his peak years were relatively short. also, zidane could exert his influence on a game more than rivaldo could. don't get me wrong, rivaldo has scored some late clutch goals in his time but his influence on games could wane at times when he opted to go for shots whilst a teammate was open.

But, i think its tough to compare them, based on the different positions they played. rivaldo played further up the pitch, him and raul had some solid la liga rivalry back in the day...i think the thread would make more sense if it were rivaldo vs raul/shevchenko/del piero/ vieri/ crespo etc...and zizou could go against figo for example. but i agree with the general consensus that rivaldo has become sort of underrated in football circles....he was amazing during his time