Luis Enrique. Very few skills, just running about. But that’s not the only thing, Gattuso was amazing and you can see more skillful players in any park.

Thing is that when the game needed slowing down and calm he sped it up, when the play dictated a fast pace he would step on the ball and look around and kill all momentum. It’s a wonder he became a decent coach. And the worst is that he opened the door for abominations like Angulo and the like (and he was one of the best.

The funny thing is that when he was a young kid breaking through the Sporting Gijón team as a second striker I really rated him. Then he went to Real Madrid and I think somebody there and at Barcelona saw his potential to make the “Bakero” journey. And no. Lots of success at FCB, great athlete. But no, no, no.

Funny that, I agree with all of them (some more than others) EXCEPT the last one. And it’s a HARD DISAGREE.

The true Ronaldo was amazing before injury. He was odds-on to become the absolute GOAT, with only the “strictly striker” tax as a hindrance. But all about him was incredible, with and without the ball, powering it or finessing it, carrying the ball or striking it.

I think Ronaldinho reached his absolute ceiling at his peak at Barcelona. He went from being one of the best, and a bit of a “highlights merchant” just a bit better than say Denilson, to being very clearly the best player in the world for two-three years. I go with three because after a couple of months at FCB he was already it and even more “carrying the team”. It was an amazing growth. What if? He might have kept it up for what, a year or two being more professional? I actually doubt it. And his impact on games not being at that physical peak did hinder him a lot.

I don’t know, maybe it’s coming from a country with a lot of Futsal that has seen glorious Futsal players not cut the mustard at XIs.

But I’ll leave it at… Ronaldo Nazario had his career ending injury at what? 22? And was banging them in at elite level over 30, but limping. Ronaldinho dropped his level at what, 26-27? And then had a better physique than peak Maradona. And would anyone rate Ronaldinho over Ronaldo as a player? So the big what if is, what if there’s no leg break?

Unless you mean what if Ronaldinho didn’t sign for Barcelona? Would he have been considered the best player in the world at some point? Don’t get me wrong, I think Ronaldinho’s game raised the game of the squad, not the other way round. And Ronaldo’s FCB served pretty dire football. But it was that signing that had an enormous effect in him.

I agree with you. In fact 20 years ago I saw people say that it was like 30 years ago in the UK. And even then I pointed out to them that Spain where the UK was 50 years before. So things are moving in the right direction. But it is hard work.

I had a bit of a tiff with an acquaintance regarding an objection I raised when they started going off on “wokeism” and the food caricatures. And I was extremely polite and considerate. But the opinion of the friends in common that agree with me seems to be that I should be more tolerant of her bigotry because “that’s just how she is” and we’re meant to be nice to each other or something (huh?).

Things like the “Chino” name for a cornershop opening earlier and closing later 365 days a year would take a lot longer to disappear though. But since it started in the 80s-90s when those shops run by Chinese nationals started showing up, it might change soon. Or just the simple fact that your lawyer might be a Spaniard of Chinese descent. Or your kid’s teacher… Or the owners of your local bar… What would they refer to if the say they’re going to the “Chino”. But yes, it is cultural. I remember when as a young man I moved to North London and young arrivals said they were popping off to the “Turk”. I don’t see them saying it now.

And the same goes for “blackface”. There were no minstrel shows in Spain. So it never had the loaded history. But progressively people will listen to what others say. Even more so if they’re black. And it also backfired massively when a white Englishman starts pontificating, for obvious reasons I will not get into.

Some people, even more so FCB fans, are not aware that Cesc left for Arsenal because he could see Iniesta was in front of him… And was not getting any playtime!

I guess it’s more forgivable than the Arsenal fans that conveniently don’t know that Cesc was considered and received awards as the best player in his age group when Wenger “discovered him”. Some discovery.