CR is on top form now..1 goal in 1 game now...

But to be rational.. all the best world player each years are coming from european base league rite..

Zidane at his peak, eats C.Ronaldo for breakfast.

Which is my point if you read my post; it's easier to get noticed when more people are watching you play, by virtue of not only playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, but also in the most watched league in the world. Can you, in particular even say you've seen enough of someone like Joaquin, Messi, Silva or whoever to give a fair analysis of them? I can't. You are buying into the fact that just because all the best players come from Europe each year, they are without a doubt, the best in the world. How then did Liverpool and Man Utd both lose to South American clubs in the World Club Championship? I have no doubt that the European leagues are the most lucrative, in marketing terms, just not sure if that means all the best players play there. In any case, I'm not objecting to that fact, it could well be true. What i'm pointing out is what I said at the beginning of this post.

there's no such thing as 'if' bro..

Nice 1. Got me for awhile.

the player dat can challenge CR should be Kaka or Bojan Krkic...

Bojan?? Kaka`?? u out of this world huh??

man-u best winger, it would be beckham in his prime. If prime-beckham ever play with chelsea this day, drogba, s'vko or ballack would be unstoppable.

It does makes sense if u put it like that but wouldnt everyone who won the award for World Player of the Year since its establishment in 19xx are not the best too during their tenure?The likes of Weah Platini or even Ronaldo (the fat one) on his peak cant really be considered as the best?

i agree with duke red's opinion...a very informed one i must say given the fact that yes,we do have to consider wingers from all over the world,plying their trade in their leagues without getting much exposure..its all up to the talent scouts really..if they see someone,they'll bring him to a bigger league with a wider audience,and suddenly he's the new superstar.but what about those that don't get picked up by the epl,serie A or la liga..then nobody would know about them at all.besides that..a lot of people here seem to be mixing up players' positions..which makes it difficult for people to take your opinion seriously when u don't even know the players' position on the field.getting the input of someone who follows serie A,la liga,epl and south american leagues would be interesting..but i doubt anyone has that much freetime

I really don't think the South American leagues are as strong as the European ones despite them winning more World Club Championships. Sure the results may have been unflattering for the European sides but the majority of the time the European clubs dominated proceedings but got suckerpunched by an odd goal. Barca and Liverpool were the most recent ones to have suffered that fate. Milan showed this season that there is a difference between the 2 continents when they outclassed Boca. A supposedly struggling Milan at that as well.

And I don't think it's a surprise really when all their best players move to Europe at a relatively young age. But you have to applaud at the rate they produce these talents.

Well said. Because of that not much free time or maybe the fact that astro doesnt show any other league beside bpl, seria a, bundesliga, la liga, etc. Well.. after all.. there must be the reason that they only show that leagues but not argentinian or brazil league or south african side league... that would definitely they are the best. beside the fact that south american club always defeating european club such ac milan, juventus.. not that there are the best. Maybe that the team doesnt play their best side or maybe just maybe.. they have luck with them.. try play 5 times.. they will hardly win the rest.

They may well be. What I'm pointing out is that many posters here are forming opinions on the likes of Joaquin, Wesley Sneijder and company without having seen them play on a regular basis. The opinion then become flawed, and one sided.

I mentioned earlier the case of Thierry Henry. Many posters will categorise him under the "relative unknown" category prior to signing for Arsenal. The thing is Henry was already a member of the French senior team while he was at Monaco, even before signing for Juventus and subsequently, Arsenal. Yet, many had not heard about him, and here is a player who was plying his trade in Europe, the Serie A, one of the biggest leagues in the continent. What are the chances then that these same posters would have heard of some obscure player from South America or Africa?

Another example is Dmitar Berbatov who scored 68 goals in 152 appearances for Bayer Leverkusen. I've read about him for sometime but never seen him in action until he signed for Spurs. How many can claim otherwise? Suddenly there was this new monster of a striker coming in from the Bundesliga, when he is already a household name in Germany.

Here is another hypothetical question; if Ronaldo were still playing for Lisbon and had not signed up for an EPL club, would posters here be claiming that he is as great as he is? I just believe that to some degree, we are all influenced by the fact that we follow the EPL and no other league.

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Added on April 7, 2008, 5:54 pmI have to say this; your comment is really naive. You are saying that they don't show the Argentinian or Brazilian leagues because they are crap? I've tried time and time again to take your posts in with a pinch of salt but this I cannot ignore. EPL matches are aired during prime time, and this has the highest viewership. In the early days of the EPL, Europe was dominated by Spanish and Italian sides, not English. The EPL was not the best league in it's infancy, now, perhaps. It grew because it was marketable and it now probably the richest league in the world.

This post has been edited by Duke Red: Apr 7 2008, 05:54 PM

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Added on April 7, 2008, 5:54 pm

I have to say this; your comment is really naive. You are saying that they don't show the Argentinian or Brazilian leagues because they are crap? I've tried time and time again to take your posts in with a pinch of salt but this I cannot ignore. EPL matches are aired during prime time, and this has the highest viewership. In the early days of the EPL, Europe was dominated by Spanish and Italian sides, not English. The EPL was not the best league in it's infancy, now, perhaps. It grew because it was marketable and it now probably the richest league in the world.

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I am not saying that argentinian and brazilian league is crap.. i am saying that the bpl or any other european base league surely where the best player come from. despite the payer itself play from brazil or argentina or ghana as weah.. they all agreed that if they didnt play at europe.. thats will be the end. they will remain unknown and what so special being a footballer when u have the skill but u r unknown??? After all.. majority of us having expose to only these league (seria A, bpl, laliga etc) and not that brazilian/argentinian league. So whats wrong with that??

Probrably it would come down to this question; would the player have IMPROVED as much as he did if he stayed on?. A players performance can vary if he plays for a different club. Comes down to training, coaches and facilities. Would Thierry Henry be as powerful as he is during his peak had not Wenger converted him into a striker ? Look at the amount of quality players that came from West Ham's youth system.

My point here is, to judge that a player is perceived as great due to media coverage from a famous club is somewhat incorrect. We'll have to look into what the club have done to improve the player. Posters can claim all they want, but it all boils down to performance.

We have to consider the fact that Henry din really played extremely well during his years in Monaco and his brief 'appearances' in Juventus..Sure he did well when he was in Monaco and France 98( i think djorkaeff and Pires played better)It was when Wenger converted him to a striking position that lead him to become one of the best striker in the world..

I would personally say that playing consistently at the highest level is the way to rate whether a player is good anot..its obvious that Europe possess the best players there is in the world..everyone would love or 'kill' to play in Europe..

to be crown as a world best player i think the player should do well in both his club and international level..

euro08 the best place for c7 to help his country and be crown the best player in the world... ...i think he can do it...besides, current Portugal look more stronger than Figo's time....

well, Ronaldo has a pretty good goal/caps ratio.

and yeah with euro08 looming, if he performs even 50% of what he does now, it is good enough to certainly win him personal awards.