0:55 Witchcraft 4:37 Dribbles past 3 different players and then lobs the goalkeeper to score Overall the most impressive and comprehensive magico gonalez compilation I have personally seen
I noticed (when browsing the football ratings posts - see the new 1987/88 Werder Bremen and 1983/84 Juventus entries for example) @Krokko made an interesting attempt (if it's yours krokko - it could be one you found I suppose on the other hand) for an overall top 30 - I guess it depends on definition of dribbling to some extent too of course and in this case probably a 'wide view' might be taken as to what counts as dribbling (considering the Ronaldinho position, Zidane/Okocha high up etc) with the tricks, skills etc factored in to the maximum maybe (I would say though that if you look at Ronaldinho footage from PSG days, early Barcelona days, 2002 World Cup perhaps in particular then there is probably more pure dribbling from him than there was at a later point so he could do that too for sure). Football Ratings: Top 30 greatest dribblers in football history (football-ratings.blogspot.com) 1. Ronaldinho (Brazil) 2. Lionel Messi (Argentina) 3. Diego Maradona (Argentina) 4. Garrincha (Brazil) 5. Pelé (Brazil) 6. Ronaldo (Brazil) 7. George Best (Northern Ireland) 8. Johan Cruyff (Holland) 9. Zinédine Zidane (France) 10. Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria) 11. Neymar (Brazil) 12. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) 13. Rivelino (Brazil) 14. Zico (Brazil) 15. Roberto Baggio (Italy) 16. Omar Sivori (Argentina/Italy) 17. Michael Laudrup (Denmark) 18. Eden Hazard (Belgium) 19. Bruno Conti (Italy) 20. Franck Ribéry (France) 21. Sir Stanley Matthews (England) 22. Sergio "Kun" Agüero (Argentina) 23. Mágico González (El Salvador) 24. Romário (Brazil) 25. Denilson (Brazil) 26. Paulo Futre (Portugal) 27. Pierre Littbarski (West Germany) 28. Dragan Stojkovic (Yugoslavia) 29. Enzo Francescoli (Uruguay) 30. Lennart "Nacka" Skoglund (Sweden) I like the Skoglund inclusion actually, and think it is not really 'biased' from a Swede because evidently he could really dribble for sure! I don't remember if I posted my top 30/35 on this particular thread before right now, but this had been it as my best estimation as it were, with leeway for sure to be moving players a bit up or down, within the top 5 and also lower down of course (but one issue for sure is whether to include and where to include players from long ago such as Faas Wilkes, and also Meazza who I am kind of in the middle of a discussion about whether he was really as good overall as might be assumed, compared to others in his time, let alone where he places as a dribbler specifically!): 1: George Best (N.Ireland) 2: Diego Maradona (Argentina) 3: Johan Cruyff (Netherlands) 4: Ronaldo (Brazil) 5: Lionel Messi (Argentina) 6: Pele (Brazil) 7: Garrincha (Brazil) 8: Faas Wilkes (Netherlands) 9: Michael Laudrup (Denmark) 10: Brian Laudrup (Denmark) 11: Ronaldinho (Brazil) 12: Stanley Matthews (England) 13: Ricardo Bochini (Argentina) 14: Tom Finney (England) 15: Luis Figo (Portugal) 16: Dejan Savicevic (Yugoslavia) 17: Omar Sivori (Argentina) 18: Roberto Baggio (Italy) 19: Pierre Littbarski (Germany) 20: Zico (Brazil) 21: Paulo Futre (Portugal) 22: Ariel Ortega (Argentina) 23: Safet Susic (Yugoslavia) 24: Rivelino (Brazil) 25: Giussepe Meazza (Italy) 26: Mario Kempes (Argentina) 27: Georgi Kinkladze (Georgia) 28: Raymond Kopa (France) 29: Eden Hazard (Belgium) 30: Bernard Vukas (Yugoslavia) 31: Rob Rensenbrink (Netherlands) 32: George Weah (Liberia) 33: Julinho (Brazil) 34: Jean Vincent (France) 35: Florian Albert (Hungary) Since I made the post I'm quoting I'm already think Wirtz could very likely be a new entry for the 2020s at least though for example (from the little I've seen of him dribbling)!
Thank you, mate, Yes, the list is mine but of course I have listened to quite a few other peoples' opinions. I'm glad you didn't consider Skoglund's inclusion an act of chauvinism. "Nacka" really was an artist and even a tough guy like "Veleno" Lorenzi couldn't hold back his tears when he was asked about his former team mate:
In dribbling, I accept some factors that are more important than others and I give more importance to them One is to be able to do this dribbling in closed spaces One is that the dribbles are effective and the effect is seen in the movements of the team and the player himself And one is that he made a move in that dribble that somehow made the audience in the stadium stand up My top 30 in dribbling 1-Diego Maradona 2-Lionel Messi 3-Garrincha 4-George Best 5-Johan Cruyff 6-Pele 7-Ronaldo(R9) 8-Ronaldinho 9-Zinédine Zidane 10-Stanley Matthews 11-Roberto Baggio 12-Neymar 13-Rivelino 14-Pierre Littbarski 15-Michael Laudrup 16-Omar Sivori 17-Dejan Savicevic 18-Mágico González 19-Romário 20-Zico 21-Denilson 22-Okocha 23-Luis Figo 24-Faas Wilkes 25-Eden Hazard 26-Jairzinho 27-Cristiano Ronaldo 28-Ariel Ortega 29-Frank Ribery 30-Tom Finney
Being the best dribbler could be defined in many different ways. However, I think depending on how you define it, Mousa Dembele was one of the best I have ever seen in terms of ability to progress with the ball without ever being under the threat of losing possession. For a lot of the others, there was a sense of adventure and gambling, as in an attempt was being made at the potential risk of a disposession, but with Mousa Dembele there was a greater sense of certainty, especially with his amazing usage of his upper body strength. I think he is often overlooked, because the dribbling highlight reels never contain the failed attempts. He may not have the best final edited cut, but in a raw footage containing all the attempts, I would wager Mousa Dembele would certainly rank higher than he does now.
I don't think players like Okocha should be here. Yes, they were amazing dribblers, but they were mainly known for their skills, not dribbling, which is something completely different. Okocha was amazing in England, France, Germany, Qatar, and Turkey, but to say he's a better dribbler than someone like Luis Figo, who could dribble through 3 or 4 players and score, or Eden Hazard, who was one of the most elegant and effective dribblers of the 21st century, doesn't make sense.
Mate, it may not make sense to you, I know people for whom it makes sense Okocha gave me a type of dribbling that Figo and Hazard didn't do, or if they did, they did less than Okocha. I like the kind of dribble that is played in such a way that it makes the audience stand up. In this case, Okocha was better than Hazard and Figo, at least in my opinion. Let's not forget that Okocha recorded the most successful dribbles Vs one of the most defensive national teams in history, or even the most defensive team in a World Cup game, at least since 1966, more than Maradona Vs England in 1986. https://www.google.com/amp/s/punchng.com/okocha-top-list-of-most-dribbles-in-wcup-game/?amp
This post has some of the best dribble scorers. NEW SERIES ON THIS ACCOUNTGoing to release an analysis of the greatest players ever - and how they scored their goals I’ve watched every single goal of the leading candidates available on YouTube/Footballia, collected stats on the unavailable ones and did some stat estimates— defence2attack (@defence2attack) December 30, 2023
Based on statistics, the best dribblers in the 2000s were: Rui Costa Figo Henry Zidane Denilson Cristiano In no particular order.
Just to add some statistical backing to some of my choices for that decade (the ones you didn't mention), even though to be honest I hadn't been thinking in those terms deeply when I made the post (not remembering stats, but going more on remembering playing attributes) Pires https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/the-best-players-of-the-season-2000-1.2079400/#post-36133441 Joaquin laligadribbles2001-png.54730 (510×469) (bigsoccer.com) (The 2002 World Cup Sofascore stats are notable IIRC but the website seems to be playing up right now, not allowing scrolling of stat choices....) For Ronaldinho I will post videos instead though
That bottom Ronaldinho video might not be the best choice overall I guess actually - the goal alone might have been enough to post instead. And the Sofascore website is working I think, but the scroll bar isn't visible like it used to be (but scrolling down is still possible anyway). So this was Joaquin's dribbling stat (number per game among the high ones, albeit from 2 games, though the percentage was slightly below 50%) Succ. dribbles4.5 (43%) Joaquín stats and ratings | Sofascore
Yes, Ronaldinho is definitely up there with the named players. However, I have not seen seasonal/CL data for Ronaldinho and the players mentioned had dribble stats compiled for 2000-2006 (and beyond) by Opta. But yes, Ronaldinho is undoubtedly one of the best and most prolific dribblers... ever.
Best dribblers by decade: 1900s Meredith 1910s Piendibene 1920s Scarone 1930s Meazza 1940s Faas Wilkes 1950s Kopa 1960s Pelé 1970s Cruyff 1980s Maradona 1990s Baggio 2000s Ronaldinho 2010s Messi Only players who played the entire decade. I value consistency more than the peak in this case.
I did a historical revisionism on the best dribblers in history for lustrum. Here I leave you my list. What do you think @PDG1978 ? 1900-04 Meredith 1905-09 Meredith 1910-14 Piendibene 1915-19 Piendibene 1920-24 Scarone 1925-29 Sindelar 1930-34 Meazza 1935-39 De la Mata 1940-44 Zizinho 1945-49 Matthews 1950-54 Faas Wilkes 1955-59 Garrincha 1960-64 Pelé 1965-69 Best 1970-74 Cruyff 1975-79 Zico 1980-84 Maradona 1985-89 Maradona 1990-94 Baggio 1995-99 Ronaldo Nazário 2000-04 Ronaldinho 2005-09 Messi 2010-14 Messi 2015-19 Messi 2020-24 Who?
It looks feasibly pretty realistic to me I think. Obviously it's hard for the older players, but Meredith has the right sort of reputation and I know Piendebene was said to be very skilled including in dribbling. Perhaps an alternative vs him in the later part of 1910s and/or to be ahead of Scarone (in dribbling) for the next period could be Kalman Konrad seemingly? Maybe Bobby Walker could contend to displace Meredith in some of the years at least? Possible alternative to Sindelar (whose prime was later, but as for dribbling aptitude maybe that's not so easy to establish?) could be Raimundo Orsi? De la Mata I don't know much about, but I'm aware PES stats gives him very high dribbling ability (and if they got it right relative to his own era at the least that would be relevant here, but of course it's hard to know - I guess you read more about him than me and/or even saw some good footage though). I think alternatives to him in theory might be Matthews extending earlier, Meazza extending later, Antonin Puc (outside chances at certain moment for Josef Bican, Ferenc Sas?....perhaps not to rule out other Argentinians either like young Pedernera, or Peucelle....?) I don't know whether Wilkes could even start a little earlier himself (or Finney might squeeze in for a short time in late 40s or mid early 50s?), but I understand why Matthews is given the period he is anyway, and in some respects he can even be a contender in the start of Garrincha's period I guess too.... Pele perhaps has a chance to extend to 1959 or 1965 I guess, but on the other hand it's a close call between him and Garrincha in that early 60s period when both are in top form (in dribbling), it seems fair to suggest (but I do tend to choose Pele in that comparison too from what I saw/know). Maybe Best has a chance up to 1971, but on the other hand already during 1966 maybe Cruyff has a chance (but I agree in general with Best late 60s, Cruyff early-mid 70s I think). I understand Zico going in mid-late 70s, though maybe there is a question when/if he really takes over from Cruyff and/or when Maradona would become number 1 in dribbling (could be earlier than when he became number 1 player). But yeah, if Zico is in the list that is the area he'd be in it I think surely. Ricardo Bochini seems a good option too for 1970s though possibly I think (edit: and certainly Kempes and/or Rensenbrink seem feasible for any short gap there could be between Cruyff/Zico and Maradona if there is any gap...and for the 5 year period those might be less feasible calls I guess). Of course you have been choosing 5 year periods, so these nuances that I mention are kind of irrelevant to that (I guess you consider that for a short time a different player can be better but you judge it over the 5 years in general). Still some of the possibilities like Konrad vs Scarone, Orsi vs Sindelar would still be feasible changes (but hard to assess). The Zico one even makes more sense if using a 5-year period possibly (still with some doubt vs Cruyff and/or Maradona I'm thinking though). I would have taken Maradona out in some years when he was generally in less ideal shape/form for dribbling I guess: 1989 could have gone for one of the Laudrups or Roberto Baggio already for example. Likewise Futre for 1987 could be a possible call I guess....(or John Barnes).... 1995-1999 as a whole period surely goes to Ronaldo yeah, but with some questions about whether he'd be best right at the start of it maybe (Brian Laudrup, Weah, Savicevic who I think can contend for 1991 or even the whole first half 90s period vs Baggio) and right at the end when he was struggling for fitness (Figo or Ortega? - they would also be feasible earlier if not for Ronaldo, and Figo perhaps could join my B.Laudrup/Weah/Savicevic list for 1995 ish - obviously in early 1996 Ronaldo was injured too). The Messi periods make sense overall (and even the next one too? - at this moment though then surely someone like Wirtz has taken over; for the whole 5 years maybe Mbappe arguably has a chance to take the call?). In theory at the start of his first period I guess Ronaldinho still has a chance, or Thierry Henry possibly (even though I know we're just talking dribbling); at the end of the last one maybe Eden Hazard does.... I hadn't mentioned Friedenreich re: the earlier years but I guess he's in the mix for late 1910s, early 1920s too possibly?
I guess I wouldn't rule out Matthews for 3 periods in a row, from late 30s necessarily (then still being a contender in the next 2 periods too).... Tommy Walker who I'd mentioned in an earlier post (others on the forum had brought him to my attention originally though) is another possibility for late 30s I guess though. And maybe Zizinho for early 40s, Ademir for late 40s wouldn't be out of the question too....?
Very good list, but: Pele from 59 to 67, Zico till 82, Maradona only from 82 to 88, R9 till 00, Ronaldinho from 01 to 06, Messi 07 - 20, Mbappe from 21 till now...
I guess from 1950 I'd see it something like this, as a best estimate, using overlaps in years (I didn't put Matthews in but he could be a contender at least up until 1956 I'd think, and possibly worth the selection at certain moments still - most of the footage that can be seen is from the 1950s anyway of course; I realise Maradona was injured for a while at Barcelona too): 1950-1951 - Faas Wilkes 1951-1953 - Tom Finney 1953-1956 - Bernard Vukas 1956-1957 - Raymond Kopa 1957-1959 - Garrincha 1959-1966 - Pele 1966-1971 - George Best 1971-1977 - Johan Cruyff 1977-1987 - Diego Maradona 1987-1988 - Paulo Futre 1988-1990 - Roberto Baggio 1990-1991 - Dejan Savicevic 1991-1992 - Paulo Futre 1992-somewhere between 1994 and 1996 - Brian Laudrup Somewhere between 1994 and 1996-1998 - Ronaldo 1998-2001 - Luis Figo 2001-2006 - Ronaldinho 2006-2018 - Lionel Messi 2018-2019 - Eden Hazard 2019-2021 - Lionel Messi 2021-2023 - Kylian Mbappe 2023- Florian Wirtz
Honorable mentions: 1950-54 Julinho 1955-59 Kopa 1960-64 Sívori 1965-69 Johnstone 1970-74 Rivelino 1975-79 Kempes 1980-84 Boniek 1985-89 Futre 1990-94 Savićević 1995-99 Ortega 2000-04 Zidane 2005-09 CR7 2010-04 Ribéry 2015-19 Neymar
De la Mata was capable of performing 15 or 20 dribbles per game according to El Gráfico. https://www.elgrafico.com.ar/articulo/¡habla-memoria!/5761/de-la-mata-mil-gambetas-y-un-golazo Zizinho also had a reputation as a great dribbler. His zigzag dribbling style earned him the nickname master Ziza.
I know some guys were rating Enrique Garcia very highly as a winger around that time; it could be De la Mata was a better or more extensive dribbler but Garcia rated higher in other ways I guess (like comparing Denilson to Donadoni maybe, albeit for sure Donadoni could dribble very well). I wonder whether Zizinho dribbled more in his relatively younger years than by the time of the 1950 World Cup; maybe it seems a bit like that? Hard to be sure about these things without the footage to back things up I suppose anyway....
Making these periods uneven it's a bit harder to give honourable/alternative mentions I think lol, but splitting some of the longer 'reigns' down into smaller periods I might go with this as an attempt: 1950-1951 - Ademir 1951-1953 - Stanley Matthews 1953-1955 - Zoltan Czibor 1955-1957 - Julinho 1957-1959 - Omar Sivori 1959-1964 - Garrincha 1964-1966 - Jairzinho 1966-1971 - Johan Cruyff 1971-1975 - Rivellino 1975-1977 - Zico 1977-1979 - Ricardo Bochini 1979-1981 - Karl-Heinz Rummenigge 1981-1983 - Pierre Littbarski 1983-1986 - Michael Laudrup 1986-1987 - Paulo Futre 1987-1988 - Dejan Savicevic 1988-1991 - Brian Laudrup 1991-1994 - Roberto Baggio 1994-1998 - Luis Figo 1998-1999 - Ariel Ortega 1999-2001 - Rui Costa 2001-2005 - Thierry Henry 2005-2015 - Arjen Robben 2015-2021 - Neymar (Hazard at some points) 2021-2022 - Pedri 2022- Jamal Musiala Something like that I think anyway!
1950-1951 - Faas Wilkes 1951-1953 - Tom Finney 1953-1956 - Bernard Vukas 1956-1957 - Raymond Kopa 1957-1959 - Garrincha 1959-1967 - Pele 1968-1971 - George Best 1971-1977 - Johan Cruyff 1978-1982 - Zico 1983-1987 - Diego Maradona 1987-1988 - Paulo Futre 1988-1990 - Roberto Baggio 1990-1991 - Dejan Savicevic 1991-1992 - Paulo Futre 1994 -1998 - Ronaldo 1998-2001 - Luis Figo 2001-2007 - Ronaldinho 2008-2021 - Lionel Messi 2021-2023 - Kylian Mbappe