Batistuta

[RedKnight]

So they go and put Chappers and some fucking shit ex-Pompey player on it the next week. Good one, ESPN.

 

Off the Ball, watch it. Biggest collection of ugliest men on Tv I've ever seen. It's on ESPN, foul stuff.

[KevieG]

What we need is lothar matheus, emilio butregeano and pierre litbarski. We'd be flying then.

[Jose Jones]

Batistuta and Beppe Signori at Lazio were my two favourites from that era - along with Bobby Baggio of course.

[Mr Grumpy]

He was quality. Amazing that he didnt even really like football

 

Wasn't that Christian Vieri? He prefered cricket!

[Jose Jones]

Wasn't that Christian Vieri? He prefered cricket!

 

Always used to amuse me when there was an interview with top Italian striker Christian Vieri and he'd talk in an Aussie accent.

[Mr Grumpy]

Always used to amuse me when there was an interview with top Italian striker Christian Vieri and he'd talk in an Aussie accent.

He was born there I think.

[DooooodekNo5]

One thing i always remember about Batistuta was when Beckham got sent off in the 98 World Cup , he was in and around it when the red card got shown hands on hips nodding , pissed me right off at the time.

 

Good days when football italia was on , the highlights show on a Saturday morning was a must watch along with the Sunday match.

 

Beppe Signori and Lazio were my favorites back then.

Edited February 3, 2012 by DooooodekNo5

[DooooodekNo5]

Zidane shares your admiration.

 

Used to enjoy Alvaro Recoba's free kicks too.

 

Same here.

 

Also Sinisa Mihajlovic used to brilliant at free kicks to , dirty cunt of a player with a nasty streak to him.

 

Sure he got accused of racism more than once.

[Lee909]

Legend

[Moctezuma]

Football Italia was excelent and James Richardson was/is probably one of the best sport programme hosts in the uk. The difference I feel now between La Liga and the Seria A he reported on then is the number of top teams. La Liga is dominated by Barcelona and Real Madrid with Valencia and others given minor supporting roles whilst during the late nineties in Seria A you had Juventus, Milan, Inter, Fiorentina, Roma, Lazio and Parma all vying for major titles/the league.

I realise this was partly down to the money that was sloshing around at some of these clubs that eventually saw them get into considerable difficulty later (i.e. Fiorentina, Parma and Lazio).

[Jose Jones]

Baggio was better number 10 than Zidane.

Zidane was a slightly better passer and probably better in the air. Baggio was better at everything else.

Baggio - 488 games, 218 goals in Serie A

International, 56 games 27 goals.

Zidane - 506 games, 95 goals in France, Italy and Spain

International, 108 game 31 goals.

Discuss.

[Lee909]

I'm a huge Baggio fan but I would say that Zidane just edges it as he made the difference at the highest level in world and European cup finals.

[Trumo]

Baggio was better number 10 than Zidane.

Zidane was a slightly better passer and probably better in the air. Baggio was better at everything else.

Baggio - 488 games, 218 goals in Serie A

International, 56 games 27 goals.

Zidane - 506 games, 95 goals in France, Italy and Spain

International, 108 game 31 goals.

Discuss.

 

I'm a huge Baggio fan but I would say that Zidane just edges it as he made the difference at the highest level in world and European cup finals.

 

Baggio was a deep-lying striker; a 90s equivalent of the modern day so-called '9 and a half' (the role Messi plays for Barcelona). Zidane was a playmaker who usually played behind two strikers in his Juve days.

 

In fact, the player best able to combine the roles of Baggio and Zidane was Francesco Totti.

[Section_31]

I've genuinely never seen anyone fill the exact role Zidane did, people have tried but never pulled it off with the same degree of effectiveness. He was like a self-contained midfield, his direct attacking threat was less than many of the players around back then, in terms of out and out goal danger - but it was everything else, the way he would pull defenders out of position, land a ball on a sixpence from 50 yards away, work the space and put strikers through on goal, all while taking a severe kicking from Italian defenders. Peerless in the way he combined strength, skill and brains - probably the most intelligent footballer who's ever played the game IMO.

 

At the risk of sounding like a footy snob, I think you have to appreciate the game more to see just how good he was. There were a lot of Zidane fans come lately who saw him at France 98 or score 'that' goal for Madrid, but that was just showbiz - anyone who'd watched him for years, quietly using little more than spatial awareness and movement to dismantle teams knew they were watching something special. He wasn't the lead guitarist he was a conductor. You wouldn't jump out of your seat as much as if you were watching someone like Ronaldo, but you'd spend virtually the whole 90 minutes, nodding quietly but approvingly like a randy grandfather who's grandson has just brought home a Palyboy bunny.

[Lee909]

I don't think it sounds snobby to say that about Zidane.

I have always been a big fan if the likes of Boban,Albertini that get overlooked as they don't get the goals or play as a winger.

[Jairzinho]

I've genuinely never seen anyone fill the exact role Zidane did, people have tried but never pulled it off with the same degree of effectiveness. He was like a self-contained midfield, his direct attacking threat was less than many of the players around back then, in terms of out and out goal danger - but it was everything else, the way he would pull defenders out of position, land a ball on a sixpence from 50 yards away, work the space and put strikers through on goal, all while taking a severe kicking from Italian defenders. Peerless in the way he combined strength, skill and brains - probably the most intelligent footballer who's ever played the game IMO.

 

At the risk of sounding like a footy snob, I think you have to appreciate the game more to see just how good he was. There were a lot of Zidane fans come lately who saw him at France 98 or score 'that' goal for Madrid, but that was just showbiz - anyone who'd watched him for years, quietly using little more than spatial awareness and movement to dismantle teams knew they were watching something special. He wasn't the lead guitarist he was a conductor. You wouldn't jump out of your seat as much as if you were watching someone like Ronaldo, but you'd spend virtually the whole 90 minutes, nodding quietly but approvingly like a randy grandfather who's grandson has just brought home a Palyboy bunny.

 

Have you watched that film that just follows him for a whole game?

 

Its like getting a massage.

[Byrnie]

I've genuinely never seen anyone fill the exact role Zidane did, people have tried but never pulled it off with the same degree of effectiveness. He was like a self-contained midfield, his direct attacking threat was less than many of the players around back then, in terms of out and out goal danger - but it was everything else, the way he would pull defenders out of position, land a ball on a sixpence from 50 yards away, work the space and put strikers through on goal, all while taking a severe kicking from Italian defenders. Peerless in the way he combined strength, skill and brains - probably the most intelligent footballer who's ever played the game IMO.

 

At the risk of sounding like a footy snob, I think you have to appreciate the game more to see just how good he was. There were a lot of Zidane fans come lately who saw him at France 98 or score 'that' goal for Madrid, but that was just showbiz - anyone who'd watched him for years, quietly using little more than spatial awareness and movement to dismantle teams knew they were watching something special. He wasn't the lead guitarist he was a conductor. You wouldn't jump out of your seat as much as if you were watching someone like Ronaldo, but you'd spend virtually the whole 90 minutes, nodding quietly but approvingly like a randy grandfather who's grandson has just brought home a Palyboy bunny.

 

 

Brilliant post. He was awesome. Too many times you'd hear people say about a player that he 'ran the game'. In Zidane's case this was true almost every time he stepped on a football pitch. The game was played at the tempo Zidane wanted it played at.

 

At times you'd think he held onto the ball too long, then he'd play a pass that nobody else could see. I've never seen a player with such awareness.

 

Easily the best player of his generation, I think Bergkamp was very similar in a lot of ways to Zizou, but Zidane was a one-off.

[Byrnie]

This video, 24 seconds in is one of my favourite, if not my favourite example of him showing how good he was. A sublime piece of technique, awareness and ability to do exactly what he wanted with the football. Controlling a long, high ball on the turn on his chest. Having the balance, guile and technique to control it, then having the awareness to know exactly where the defender is and leave him for dead. Never tire of watching that clip of Zidane.

 

 

[YOUTUBE]LhcM4WP2cTc[/YOUTUBE]

[Gym Beglin]

My Serie A heroes included

 

George Weah

Gabrielle Batistuta

Pavel Nedved

Demitrio Albertini

Frank Rijkaard

Ivan Zamorano

Alex Del Piero

Ramon Diaz

Enrico Chiesa

Dunga

Stefan Effenberg

Predrag Mijatovic

Antonio Careca

Leonardo

Danielle Massaro

Dejan Savicevic

 

I think I spent many a time playing football and pretending to be Careca or Savicevic, I think they were my faves. I even bought a shitty plastic gold necklace with a cross because I noticed Careca played in one as well. I must have been about 10 or 11 at the time.

[DooooodekNo5]

This video, 24 seconds in is one of my favourite, if not my favourite example of him showing how good he was. A sublime piece of technique, awareness and ability to do exactly what he wanted with the football. Controlling a long, high ball on the turn on his chest. Having the balance, guile and technique to control it, then having the awareness to know exactly where the defender is and leave him for dead. Never tire of watching that clip of Zidane.

 

 

[YOUTUBE]LhcM4WP2cTc[/YOUTUBE]

 

 

 

 

You could watch that video over and over and not get bored.

 

A true God of the game , has there been a better technical player than him ?

[dennis tooth]

One of the greatest strikers of all time imo. Football was blessed with a lot of absolutely top class strikers in the 90's. Batistuta (along with Ronaldo) was the best of them.

 

Has there been a better time for strikers ever?

[dennis tooth]

Always used to amuse me when there was an interview with top Italian striker Christian Vieri and he'd talk in an Aussie accent.

 

No your thinking of Mark Viduka, they looked similar

[dennis tooth]

One thing i always remember about Batistuta was when Beckham got sent off in the 98 World Cup , he was in and around it when the red card got shown hands on hips nodding , pissed me right off at the time.

 

Good days when football italia was on , the highlights show on a Saturday morning was a must watch along with the Sunday match.

 

Beppe Signori and Lazio were my favorites back then.

 

 

Er its called the peacock and is a running joke by other national teams about England.

 

Edited February 3, 2012 by dennis tooth

[RobbieOR]

Jimbo did the Serie A coverage with that fat chump Marcotti two weeks ago. I think ESPN are trying things to make their Sunday nights stand out.

 

So they go and put Chappers and some fucking shit ex-Pompey player on it the next week. Good one, ESPN.

 

Jimbo is back on ESPN tomorrow.

 

He said so on FW yesterday.

[dennis tooth]

Simeone was good as was Ravenelli. Cafu was always the player Ashley Cole wanted to be on the other side obviously.