Ballack vs Xavi vs Pirlo

sciacca wrote:

SaintJoe wrote:When Xavi retires he will be a legend. He has done it all! But currently, I'd put Pirlo ahead, what a player!

Pirlo is already a legend

Exactly!

LOL at pirlo and ballack being better than xavi .. bias bleep bleep

Xavi has surpassed all of them. In terms of ability, Pirlo is ahead, but xavis most important attribute, tempo control, puts him ahead fr4o me. The job of the midfileder is to control the tempo of the game, and I have nevr seen anyone in my 18 years watching football control the MF like Xavi. He is the central figure for both club and country.

Ballack was probably the most complete of the three, but he'll never get the recognition because of his epic 2nd place curse.

Then again it really depends on what you're looking for. Xavi is certainly better than Ballack for Barca or Spain. But he wouldn't be for more direct sides like Germany or Real.

Pirlo would probably fit in better with a more direct side as well. They're all incredibly complete and talented players, but tbh Xavi is just lacking when it comes to the attack. It doesn't matter usually because he's usually so great at orchestrating the midfield - but it has to be said that Pirlo and Ballack are just greater threats on goal.

In fact most Nations don't even have strikers with Ballacks Goal-to-Cap ratio.
And Pirlo would've probably gotten there too if he had played for more attacking teams. But Ballack was just insane. It was like having an additional DM, AM and Striker in your team. Of course he was much worse as a playmaker than Xavi, in the end, it's really about what you're looking for in a player. I'm glad there's no poll attached to this thread.

Because I couldn't pick a best one. Tell me your system, and I'll tell you which one of those three to use. But who's the supposed best? How the hell should I know. Certainly Ballack has been shitty since Boateng murdered his leg, but I guess we're talking about each of them in their prime...

if xavi was actually humble and respectful you would all be saying xavi. xavi is the greatest of the 3 and will be remembered as a greater player than the other two. of course ballack and pirlo are legends as well.

Xavi Pirlo














Ballack

jibers wrote:Xavi has surpassed all of them. In terms of ability, Pirlo is ahead, but xavis most important attribute, tempo control, puts him ahead fr4o me. The job of the midfileder is to control the tempo of the game, and I have nevr seen anyone in my 18 years watching football control the MF like Xavi. He is the central figure for both club and country.

Well in my 25 years of watching football I have never seen anyone control the tempo of a game better than Pirlo. Just watch Italy vs. Germany in the 2006 World Cup. That is probably one of the greatest games ever played. Pirlo was magnificent, probably the best player in the game. And what an assist to Grosso for the winning goal. Not only a player who could control tempo, but also a set up man, as Pirlo actually started his career as an attacking midfielder.

Pirlo simply has had a better career so far than Xavi. And he has done it also for both club and country. This is not to say that Xavi can't pass him in the next few years, but as of today Pirlo has had a more distingued career and is just an overall better player, both offensively and as a central playmaker who can control a game.

juve_gigi wrote:

jibers wrote:Xavi has surpassed all of them. In terms of ability, Pirlo is ahead, but xavis most important attribute, tempo control, puts him ahead fr4o me. The job of the midfileder is to control the tempo of the game, and I have nevr seen anyone in my 18 years watching football control the MF like Xavi. He is the central figure for both club and country.

Well in my 25 years of watching football I have never seen anyone control the tempo of a game better than Pirlo. Just watch Italy vs. Germany in the 2006 World Cup. That is probably one of the greatest games ever played. Pirlo was magnificent, probably the best player in the game. And what an assist to Grosso for the winnig goal. Not only a player who could control tempo, but also a set up man, as Pirlo actually started his career as an attacking midfielder.

Pirlo simply has had a better career so far than Xavi. This is not to say that Xavi can't pass him in the next few years, but as of today Pirlo has had a more distingued career and is just an overall better player, both offensively and as a central playmaker who can control a game.

Pirlo is far more complete. Actually I agree with you. That game was a midfield masterclass by Pirlo. Yea They are all about even tbh. Ballack is just unfortunate, second best at everything.

Pirlo is surely riding on his 2006 WC success, since then he was on the decline, what else did he do ?

Pirlo had the better career ? no, not even by a long shot.

juve_gigi wrote:Right now:

Xavi
Pirlo
Ballack

In their entire careers:

Pirlo
Ballack
Xavi

Maybe Xavi will be better then the other two when he retires, but as of right now I believe both Pirlo and Ballack have done more in their careers...

They might be better players in your opinion, but ultimately how you define a career is, imo, what they have archived in term of trophies and xavi has won EVERYTHING!

Ballack is my second favorite player of all time behind Xavi coincidentally and I rate him a lot.
Its Xavi>>>>>>>>>>Ballack>Pirlo.
Xavi has achieved far more than Pirlo being the MVP of the side.So how the hell has Pirlo achieved more?
Pirlo would be chasing Xavi's shadow all night long if they played each other.

Actually Xavi achieved more than Pirlo in both of their careers.

I really can't see why some people think Pirlo have a better career than Xavi so far.

Haha, you guys are funny, trying to make it like Pirlo hasn't done anything and Xavi has won everything.

Let me give you an idea of just what Pirlo has actually accomplished:

Two scudetti (2004, 2011)
Two Champions League (2003, 2007)
Two UEFA Super Cups (2003, 2007)
One FIFA Club World Cup (2007)
UEFA U-21 European Championship (2000)
FIFA World Cup (2006)
UEFA U-21 European Championship Golden Player (2000)
UEFA U-21 European Championship Top Scorer (2000)
FIFA 2006 World Cup Team of the Tournament
FIFA 2006 World Cup Man of the Match
FIFAPro World XI: 2006
Assisted on one of the greatest goals in World Cup history in 2006 in arguably one of the greatest World Cup games ever (Italy vs. Germany)

9 goals in 72 international games with Italy
58 goals in 505 games in Serie A and all other competitions

And for this we get a comment that Pirlo can't even hold Xavi's jockstrap?? So who is being the biased person here?? Obviously we have too many Barca and La Liga fanboys on here who probably never even watched Pirlo play at all.

I have benn watching European football since before alot of you were born. So it is quite insulting to here that Pirlo gets dissed like this and that Xavi is the 8th wonder of the world. Someone on another thread even stated that he thought Xavi was actually one of the ten greatest footballers ever. That is too laughable really for even a comment and obviously that is quite disrespectful for all of the people that watched players like Zidane, Platini, Maradona, Baggio, Cruyff, Ronaldo, Muller, Beckenbauer, Pele and others in their primes.

I think that Xavi is a great player, maybe one day he can be considered in the same breath as the players above. But to state that he has done more than Pirlo is just outrageous and only shows that there is an extreme bias towards this player.

juve_gigi wrote:Haha, you guys are funny, trying to make it like Pirlo hasn't done anything and Xavi has won everything.

Who said Pirlo hasn't done anything?

We just think Xavi have a better career than Pirlo so far. And trophies and performances can back that up.

And stop it with the "I watch football before you were even born" crap.. Did Xavi and Pirlo started their career in the '80s?

Career don't matter. Pirlo is the better player in my eyes, his vision are out of this world (but so is Xavis). And Pirlo has something Xavi doesn't and that's class

juve_gigi wrote:Haha, you guys are funny, trying to make it like Pirlo hasn't done anything and Xavi has won everything.

Let me give you an idea of just what Pirlo has actually accomplished:

Two scudetti (2004, 2011)
Two Champions League (2003, 2007)
Two UEFA Super Cups (2003, 2007)
One FIFA Club World Cup (2007)
UEFA U-21 European Championship (2000)
FIFA World Cup (2006)
UEFA U-21 European Championship Golden Player (2000)
UEFA U-21 European Championship Top Scorer (2000)
FIFA 2006 World Cup Team of the Tournament
FIFA 2006 World Cup Man of the Match
FIFAPro World XI: 2006
Assisted on one of the greatest goals in World Cup history in 2006 in arguably one of the greatest World Cup games ever (Italy vs. Germany)

9 goals in 72 international games with Italy
58 goals in 505 games in Serie A and all other competitions

And for this we get a comment that Pirlo can't even hold Xavi's jockstrap?? So who is being the biased person here?? Obviously we have too many Barca and La Liga fanboys on here who probably never even watched Pirlo play at all.

I have benn watching European football since before alot of you were born. So it is quite insulting to here that Pirlo gets dissed like this and that Xavi is the 8th wonder of the world. Someone on another thread even stated that he thought Xavi was actually one of the ten greatest footballers ever. That is too laughable really for even a comment and obviously that is quite disrespectful for all of the people that watched players like Zidane, Platini, Maradona, Baggio, Cruyff, Ronaldo, Muller, Beckenbauer, Pele and others in their primes.

I think that Xavi is a great player, maybe one day he can be considered in the same breath as the players above. But to state that he has done more than Pirlo is just outrageous and only shows that there is an extreme bias towards this player.

Well said mate, well said.

omarish wrote:Career don't matter. Pirlo is the better player in my eyes, his vision are out of this world (but so is Xavis). And Pirlo has something Xavi doesn't and that's class

You win

VivaStPauli wrote:Ballack was probably the most complete of the three, but he'll never get the recognition because of his epic 2nd place curse.

Then again it really depends on what you're looking for. Xavi is certainly better than Ballack for Barca or Spain. But he wouldn't be for more direct sides like Germany or Real.

Pirlo would probably fit in better with a more direct side as well. They're all incredibly complete and talented players, but tbh Xavi is just lacking when it comes to the attack. It doesn't matter usually because he's usually so great at orchestrating the midfield - but it has to be said that Pirlo and Ballack are just greater threats on goal.

In fact most Nations don't even have strikers with Ballacks Goal-to-Cap ratio.
And Pirlo would've probably gotten there too if he had played for more attacking teams. But Ballack was just insane. It was like having an additional DM, AM and Striker in your team. Of course he was much worse as a playmaker than Xavi, in the end, it's really about what you're looking for in a player. I'm glad there's no poll attached to this thread.

Because I couldn't pick a best one. Tell me your system, and I'll tell you which one of those three to use. But who's the supposed best? How the hell should I know. Certainly Ballack has been shitty since Boateng murdered his leg, but I guess we're talking about each of them in their prime...

This, assuming that the statement that Xavi is lacking only in a direct comparison, but I'm sure it is.

Great summary. +1

@juve_gigi BTW what was so great about Italy - Germany in 2006? I mean obviously it was awesome for Italy that they won, and shit, but I saw that match and it was kinda... Boring. I mean Italy were pretty much just waiting for the counter and Germany were, well, shit.

Not that it wasn't a well-deserved WC trophy for Italy, I just don't see the glamour of that match, especially for neutrals.

it was just a boring match that went to overtime.

VivaStPauli wrote:@juve_gigi BTW what was so great about Italy - Germany in 2006? I mean obviously it was awesome for Italy that they won, and shit, but I saw that match and it was kinda... Boring. I mean Italy were pretty much just waiting for the counter and Germany were, well, shit.

Not that it wasn't a well-deserved WC trophy for Italy, I just don't see the glamour of that match, especially for neutrals.

Well perhaps I am biased because I am Italian, but from all reports back in 2006 that game was a classic, one of the better ones in the last 20 years or so. Usually, the Italy vs. Germany games are the most memorable, with the best game probably being the 1970 semi-final which Italy won 4-3 in overtime. The game was tied 1-1- going in to overtime, and yes they actually scored FIVE goals in the 30 minute overtime. That game has been hailed as one of the greatest world cup games ever. But from all accounts the 2006 game was also a classic, I remember some German fans were just praising Italy that year for playing such a beautiful counter attacking game. It was back and forth for almost all the 120 minutes includung overtime.

That game to me was very exciting and very memorable, but to each his own I guess.

It was great from a tactical standpoint. Grinding football at it's best.

If you were looking for flashy football... yeah, not really what you're looking for.

Until Grosso opened up and the game went into overdrive.

Well you could say much the same about Italy-West Germany in 1970 which is essentially famous for the ridiculous period of extra-time, and in much the same way the last thirty minutes of Italy-Germany in 2006 represented a transition from a great tactical sparring match to an epic showdown.

Italy were attacking with Gilardino, Iaquinta, Del Piero and Totti with both Grosso and Zambrotta bombing up and of course our maestro Pirlo, all in order to avoid penalties against ze Germans. I still think it was a classic game.

Gigi basically proved my point and he's right. Opinions aside, he brought out the facts in which show's Pirlo has won a lot in his career.

Anyways, I'm loling at those La Liga fans who bring out nothing in their opinions and make only a list...

sciacca wrote:Oh Please... Pirlo is already better than Xavi, Ballack is not even close...

Thats one of the reasons I stopped posting here..