I feel like alot of noobs try to look up Ronaldinho and Zidanes stats and then argue that they werent that good. They dont realize that in the 2000s teams would have like 60 goals a season with like 70 something points to win leagues. Back then games were more defensive because a win used to be 2 points in the early 90s, and teams were slowly adjusting out of the mindset that draws and wins arent that distinguishable. In the 2010s the top teams were scoring 80-100 goals and getting 90 points in the league. Even in serie a the second place teams were getting 80+ goals. I definetly could see a young Ronaldinho lighting it up in the modern era, or a young Zidane doing even better than he was.
Ivan de la Peña would’ve been a top top midfielder in this era with his passing and vision.
Lampard was a beast. His stats, especially for midfielder are somrthing else
As a Chelsea fan, I’d say Lampard benefitted a lot from having strikers in his team who generally weren’t prolific goalscorers but intelligent in pulling defenders out to make space for Lampard himself to score. You name any striker in any of Lampard’s successful scoring season and the striker probably did that very well
Neither of Ronaldinho or Zidane were really elite scorers. The question is whether guys like Van Nisterloy, Shearer, Shevchenko, Morientes, Henry etc would be better, worse or the same in the modern era.
Henry would’ve stayed as a winger, and probably been exactly the same player. The others you listed would all have been worse. The game has changed for a number 9 now, and those guys were all old fashioned goal scorers, pure and simple.
Uhenry was not a winger. He was a CF who would drift left. Sheva was complete. Could dribble, cross, pass was a grifter not just a goal scorer and could play from the right.
Henry started as a winger before Arsenal signed him. I think these days he’d have stayed out wide and played as an inside forward cutting in from the left onto his right foot. Like you say, he often did that anyway.
Shearer is the PLs highest goal scorer and that record will take some bearing. Assuming Haaland remains and maintains his incredible goal scoring feats, he’ll probably best that. Shearer however did that in an era before sports science, data science and world class setups - much harder on a potato field
However he also did it in an era of much worse defending and tactical play. The fitness argument works both ways too as most defenders back in the day were bumbling oafs who were tall and stuck the boot in.
These discussions are always invariably pointless. The game has changed so much that it’s impossible to tell how players from previous eras would adapt.
Van Nistelrooy would be putting up insane numbers for a guardiola side
Pele, if we was good then, imagine with our modern technology, facilities and science. He’d be incredible.
But he would have to play against real defenders not brazilian farmers.
Brasil had quite literally the top league when he was playing
You should look into the Santos European Tour. They travelled Europe beating the top european teams left and right. So I must say that the european real defenders play as bad as the brazilian farmers
He would be somewhere like Welbeck in modern times. Most overated football player ever.
Romario, Petit & Trezeguet
Original Ronaldo’s numbers would’ve been in the hemisphere. That man was a beast. If he played a bit later or had not been so unfortunate to suffer the horrendous injury that he did. He’d be in goat conversation
Same situation with Shearer.
Horrible injury that forced him to change his playstyle, and yet he was still insanely effective.
That’s not to mention that most of his career was with Newcastle, where it was only a competitive team for like 4 years of that time, with the rest being a middling prem side. His physicality and knack for finding the perfect position, his pace pre-injury, and being one of the best strikers of a ball in history would stand out even now when physical strikers aren’t as prominent.
To have the numbers he had during that time, with the injuries he had, and not playing for a top team for the vast majority of it (a couple seasons with Newcastle, and 1 with Blackburn), I can’t imagine how much more he’d have scored if he had accepted an offer from a more competitive side and hadn’t had that injury, AND was playing in the modern era with better tactics and sports science knowledge to protect players.
Socrates, Zico, Maldini, Does Walker, Pearce Baresi,
I think most good players would translate well to current football
Imagine kaka or Rui Costa playing the role foden does at city , as an advanced 8 carrying the ball into the final 3rd
Puskás.
Joined Madrid aged 31. Went on to score 242 goals in 262 games.
After serving a 2 year ban for not returning to Hungary. Prior to which he scored 383 goals in 367 games.
Now imagine him with modern fitness training and no 2 year ban.
Different rules, bad organized defences, bad players. If he would play against guys like Maldini, Canavaro, Van Dijk, Thiago Silva, Chielini every game, he would of score 42 in 262 games
He was fat as fuck when he played for Real Madrid and still managed to score all those goals. Amazing.
He had like 30+kg but managed to loose 20 or 25 I think
Pretty much any legendary winger who back then would focus more on playmaking rather than goalscoring. Ryan Giggs is probably the best example imo.
Brian Clough. 251 Goals in 274 Starts. Retired at 27 due to injury.
He was playing in the second division though, against better teams he may have still been really good but wouldn’t have those numbers
I don’t agree that previous generation used to score less goals. Look at - Gerd Muller, Puskaa, Di Stéfano, Eusébio, Hugo Sánchez. And many more, these player have 0.8 goal ratio or more. So saying player previous generation scored less. you are undermining players of this generation.
Both were incredibly overrated and I watched both.
Titi
If Shearer was playing for Newcastle right now, he would be banging them in at a crazy rate. People forget how good he was