The Real Ronaldo - Appreciation Post

[xtapolapacetl]

I'm not saying that Zidane is perfect, no player is but there are more examples of Ronaldo's imperfection than Zidane's. In fact, his imperfections (compared to Zidane's) are getting exposed as we speak. I mean, the guy is the same age that Zidane was in the 06 World Cup RIGHT NOW, and he was 30 in the 2006 WC itself.

Can we say that the only reason France won is because of Ronaldo's poor health? Nah, son. You must have that confused with the 2006 WC final and Italy winning because of Zidane being ejected. Brazil took a 3-0 beating by France that day, not some 90 + 30 extra time penalty shootout win by the edge of their fingernails. And Ronaldo can have his 98 player of the tournament. Zidane was still named to the best team of the tournament, man of the match of the final and the trophy itself. And he won the ballon by a record amount of points for that year.

And once and for all, stop acting like Ronaldo's *%** didn't stink throughout the 1998 tournament. He scored 4 goals. Ooh, what a difference. Zidane scored 2 goals. In the most important game of the tournament. As a midfielder. In one match less.

But the 98 final aside, a 30 year-old Ronaldo had a chance to redeem himself against a 34 year-old Zidane in the 2006 WC. And he did no such thing, with Zidane being the man of the match again. The fact remains that the dude got eliminated twice by Zidane and Zidane got eliminated none times by him.

And Pele/Maradona/Zidane is most definitely the top 3 in history.

 

[solidsnake]

The best player I have ever seen. And there's no point comparing him with Zidane, two completely different players. Just appreciate both

 

[solidsnake]

The best player I have ever seen. And there's no point comparing him with Zidane, two completely different players. Just appreciate both

 

[carlos tevez]

Originally Posted by Xtapolapacetl

I'm not saying that Zidane is perfect, no player is but there are more examples of Ronaldo's imperfection than Zidane's. In fact, his imperfections (compared to Zidane's) are getting exposed as we speak. I mean, the guy is the same age that Zidane was in the 06 World Cup RIGHT NOW, and he was 30 in the 2006 WC itself.

Can we say that the only reason France won is because of Ronaldo's poor health? Nah, son. You must have that confused with the 2006 WC final and Italy winning because of Zidane being ejected. Brazil took a 3-0 beating by France that day, not some 90 + 30 extra time penalty shootout win by the edge of their fingernails. And Ronaldo can have his 98 player of the tournament. Zidane was still named to the best team of the tournament, man of the match of the final and the trophy itself. And he won the ballon by a record amount of points for that year.

And once and for all, stop acting like Ronaldo's *%** didn't stink throughout the 1998 tournament. He scored 4 goals. Ooh, what a difference. Zidane scored 2 goals. In the most important game of the tournament. As a midfielder. In one match less.

But the 98 final aside, a 30 year-old Ronaldo had a chance to redeem himself against a 34 year-old Zidane in the 2006 WC. And he did no such thing, with Zidane being the man of the match again. The fact remains that the dude got eliminated twice by Zidane and Zidane got eliminated none times by him.

And Pele/Maradona/Zidane is most definitely the top 3 in history.

A player's prime is not necessarily dictated by their age but by the period of time they reached their peak (performance wise). One guy may hit their prime at 21, the other might hit it later on. We can not count 2006 towards Ronaldo's prime because he was clearly obese and pretty much useless. I mean, even Zidane acknowledged he was a late bloomer while we all know Ronaldo scored 35-goals in Europe as a 19-year-old. What they did at certain ages is not as relevant as their overall bodies of work. I could say Ronaldo at 19, 20, 21, 22 was way better than Zidane was at those ages but it's not important in this context.

What I have been saying is that if you line up Ronaldo's prime vs. Zidane's prime, Ronaldo comes out on top. Here are the stone cold facts and I will let others conclude for themselves who was superior. Lets say that Ronaldo became an elite player around 94-95 when he scored 35 goals for PSV and that Zidane started his ascent around 95-96, around the time he became a regular member of the France NT and helped lead Bordeaux to the UEFA Cup finals...
94: Ronaldo scores 35 goals and finishes 3rd in the Dutch league, Zidane and Bordeaux finish 7th in French league, neither in WPOY voting (I dont know how Ronaldo was left off the ballot

)
95: Ronaldo injured, neither player in WPOY voting
96: Ronaldo scores 49 goals, wins WPOY, Zidane and Juventus win Serie A, lose in UEFA CL finals, not in WPOY voting
97: Ronaldo scores 34 goals and wins WPOY again, Zidane and Juventus win Serie A, lose in UEFA CL finals again, 3rd in WPOY voting
98: Ronaldo only scores 15 club goals due to injuries, helps Brazil to WC finals but is injured for finals, wins player of the tournament, finishes 2nd in WPOY voting,  Zidane helps France win WC and WPOY
99: Ronaldo is hurt, Rivaldo wins WPOY
00: Ronaldo is hurt, Zidane wins WPOY
01: Ronaldo is hurt, Figo wins WPOY
02: Ronaldo returns, wins WC, Player of Tournament, WPOY, Zidane wins CL and 3rd in WPOY voting
03: Ronaldo 3rd in WPOY, Zidane wins WPOY
04: Ronaldo 7th, Zidane 5th
05: Ronaldo 12th, Zidane 13th
06: Ronaldo not on list, Zidane leads France to WC finals, wins Golden Ball, 2nd in WPOY

So in the 3 seasons between 1996-1998, Ronaldo won WPOY twice, finished 2nd to Zidane once in 1998, and won Player of the 1998 WC. Zidane won the 1998 WC and WPOY. In this 3 year period where both players were playing their best, Ronaldo finished ahead of Zidane twice and won the Golden Ball in the same tournament Zidane won. Ronaldo sits out much of the following 3 seasons while Zidane is still at his peak and yet Zidane wins only 1 WPOY during that span. Ronaldo returns in the beginning of 2002 and wins the WC, Golden Ball and WPOY while Zidane won the CL and missed most of that WC due to injury. The next year both are healthy and Zidane wins WPOY. Both players start declining the following 3 seasons although Ronaldo is rapidly declining while Zidane remains a top player and shows it in the 2006 WC.

In all, both players were healthy and at their peaks in a total of 5 years between 1996-1998 and 02-03. In that span when both players were in their primes, Ronaldo won 3 WPOY, 1 WC, 2 Golden Balls and finished 2nd and 3rd in WPOY voting . In that same span, Zidane won 2 WPOY, 1 WC, 0 Golden Balls, and finished 3rd in WPOY voting twice. When both players were healthy at the same time and at their peaks, the statistics show that Ronaldo had the slight edge. You can rightfully add that Zidane won the 2006 Golden Ball and finished 2nd in WPOY voting but even adding that to his tally would not give him the advantage over Ronaldo (Ronaldo still finished with 1 more Golden Ball and Zidane's great 2006 season pretty much balances out with Ronaldo's great 1994 season).
 
Yes, they had an equal amount of WPOY awards but Ronaldo won all 3 of his while Zidane was healthy and in his prime. Zidane won 2 while Ronaldo was healthy and won 1 while Ronaldo was sidelined.

 

[carlos tevez]

Originally Posted by Xtapolapacetl

I'm not saying that Zidane is perfect, no player is but there are more examples of Ronaldo's imperfection than Zidane's. In fact, his imperfections (compared to Zidane's) are getting exposed as we speak. I mean, the guy is the same age that Zidane was in the 06 World Cup RIGHT NOW, and he was 30 in the 2006 WC itself.

Can we say that the only reason France won is because of Ronaldo's poor health? Nah, son. You must have that confused with the 2006 WC final and Italy winning because of Zidane being ejected. Brazil took a 3-0 beating by France that day, not some 90 + 30 extra time penalty shootout win by the edge of their fingernails. And Ronaldo can have his 98 player of the tournament. Zidane was still named to the best team of the tournament, man of the match of the final and the trophy itself. And he won the ballon by a record amount of points for that year.

And once and for all, stop acting like Ronaldo's *%** didn't stink throughout the 1998 tournament. He scored 4 goals. Ooh, what a difference. Zidane scored 2 goals. In the most important game of the tournament. As a midfielder. In one match less.

But the 98 final aside, a 30 year-old Ronaldo had a chance to redeem himself against a 34 year-old Zidane in the 2006 WC. And he did no such thing, with Zidane being the man of the match again. The fact remains that the dude got eliminated twice by Zidane and Zidane got eliminated none times by him.

And Pele/Maradona/Zidane is most definitely the top 3 in history.

A player's prime is not necessarily dictated by their age but by the period of time they reached their peak (performance wise). One guy may hit their prime at 21, the other might hit it later on. We can not count 2006 towards Ronaldo's prime because he was clearly obese and pretty much useless. I mean, even Zidane acknowledged he was a late bloomer while we all know Ronaldo scored 35-goals in Europe as a 19-year-old. What they did at certain ages is not as relevant as their overall bodies of work. I could say Ronaldo at 19, 20, 21, 22 was way better than Zidane was at those ages but it's not important in this context.

What I have been saying is that if you line up Ronaldo's prime vs. Zidane's prime, Ronaldo comes out on top. Here are the stone cold facts and I will let others conclude for themselves who was superior. Lets say that Ronaldo became an elite player around 94-95 when he scored 35 goals for PSV and that Zidane started his ascent around 95-96, around the time he became a regular member of the France NT and helped lead Bordeaux to the UEFA Cup finals...
94: Ronaldo scores 35 goals and finishes 3rd in the Dutch league, Zidane and Bordeaux finish 7th in French league, neither in WPOY voting (I dont know how Ronaldo was left off the ballot

)
95: Ronaldo injured, neither player in WPOY voting
96: Ronaldo scores 49 goals, wins WPOY, Zidane and Juventus win Serie A, lose in UEFA CL finals, not in WPOY voting
97: Ronaldo scores 34 goals and wins WPOY again, Zidane and Juventus win Serie A, lose in UEFA CL finals again, 3rd in WPOY voting
98: Ronaldo only scores 15 club goals due to injuries, helps Brazil to WC finals but is injured for finals, wins player of the tournament, finishes 2nd in WPOY voting,  Zidane helps France win WC and WPOY
99: Ronaldo is hurt, Rivaldo wins WPOY
00: Ronaldo is hurt, Zidane wins WPOY
01: Ronaldo is hurt, Figo wins WPOY
02: Ronaldo returns, wins WC, Player of Tournament, WPOY, Zidane wins CL and 3rd in WPOY voting
03: Ronaldo 3rd in WPOY, Zidane wins WPOY
04: Ronaldo 7th, Zidane 5th
05: Ronaldo 12th, Zidane 13th
06: Ronaldo not on list, Zidane leads France to WC finals, wins Golden Ball, 2nd in WPOY

So in the 3 seasons between 1996-1998, Ronaldo won WPOY twice, finished 2nd to Zidane once in 1998, and won Player of the 1998 WC. Zidane won the 1998 WC and WPOY. In this 3 year period where both players were playing their best, Ronaldo finished ahead of Zidane twice and won the Golden Ball in the same tournament Zidane won. Ronaldo sits out much of the following 3 seasons while Zidane is still at his peak and yet Zidane wins only 1 WPOY during that span. Ronaldo returns in the beginning of 2002 and wins the WC, Golden Ball and WPOY while Zidane won the CL and missed most of that WC due to injury. The next year both are healthy and Zidane wins WPOY. Both players start declining the following 3 seasons although Ronaldo is rapidly declining while Zidane remains a top player and shows it in the 2006 WC.

In all, both players were healthy and at their peaks in a total of 5 years between 1996-1998 and 02-03. In that span when both players were in their primes, Ronaldo won 3 WPOY, 1 WC, 2 Golden Balls and finished 2nd and 3rd in WPOY voting . In that same span, Zidane won 2 WPOY, 1 WC, 0 Golden Balls, and finished 3rd in WPOY voting twice. When both players were healthy at the same time and at their peaks, the statistics show that Ronaldo had the slight edge. You can rightfully add that Zidane won the 2006 Golden Ball and finished 2nd in WPOY voting but even adding that to his tally would not give him the advantage over Ronaldo (Ronaldo still finished with 1 more Golden Ball and Zidane's great 2006 season pretty much balances out with Ronaldo's great 1994 season).
 
Yes, they had an equal amount of WPOY awards but Ronaldo won all 3 of his while Zidane was healthy and in his prime. Zidane won 2 while Ronaldo was healthy and won 1 while Ronaldo was sidelined.

 

[d3si]

Originally Posted by calibeebee

I'm not a huge fan of soccer.  All I know is that this man was unstoppable in this game

so that pretty much makes him the GOAT in my eyes

I still have that video game. 

 

[d3si]

Originally Posted by calibeebee

I'm not a huge fan of soccer.  All I know is that this man was unstoppable in this game

so that pretty much makes him the GOAT in my eyes

I still have that video game. 

 

[d3si]

My favorite Ronaldo moment

Scored 2 goals against Germany  in the 2002 World Cup final game. 

 

[d3si]

My favorite Ronaldo moment

Scored 2 goals against Germany  in the 2002 World Cup final game. 

 

[abovelegit1]

Agreed. Ronaldo at his prime > Zizou at his

Let's chill with the top 3 or 5 stuff for either of them though. History will invariably look upon guys like Cruyff, Beckenbauer, and Charlton as greater players.

 

[abovelegit1]

Agreed. Ronaldo at his prime > Zizou at his

Let's chill with the top 3 or 5 stuff for either of them though. History will invariably look upon guys like Cruyff, Beckenbauer, and Charlton as greater players.

 

[kobe8is]

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

Originally Posted by kobe8is

Originally Posted by KRISPACINLA

Originally Posted by NikeTalker23

Pele/Maradona/Ronaldo - top 3 of all time.

When people say "Ronaldo" to me only one player comes to mind.

Truth carnal. There will only be one Ronaldo. People just don't know

but C.Ronaldo is number 1 in the world today!

Zidane/Maradona/Ronaldo - top 3 of all time.

On which planet? The same one where Messi has out-scored and out-assisted Ronaldo in 2 consecutive seasons (and counting), won WPOY ahead of Ronaldo, was short-listed to WPOY again this year, and the same planet where Messi has helped his team defeat Ronaldo's teams in 4 straight matches OR...your own world?

I would take Ronaldo over Messi any day!

  

 

[kobe8is]

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

Originally Posted by kobe8is

Originally Posted by KRISPACINLA

Originally Posted by NikeTalker23

Pele/Maradona/Ronaldo - top 3 of all time.

When people say "Ronaldo" to me only one player comes to mind.

Truth carnal. There will only be one Ronaldo. People just don't know

but C.Ronaldo is number 1 in the world today!

Zidane/Maradona/Ronaldo - top 3 of all time.

On which planet? The same one where Messi has out-scored and out-assisted Ronaldo in 2 consecutive seasons (and counting), won WPOY ahead of Ronaldo, was short-listed to WPOY again this year, and the same planet where Messi has helped his team defeat Ronaldo's teams in 4 straight matches OR...your own world?

I would take Ronaldo over Messi any day!

  

 

[demps]

Originally Posted by kobe8is

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

Originally Posted by kobe8is

Originally Posted by KRISPACINLA

Originally Posted by NikeTalker23

Pele/Maradona/Ronaldo - top 3 of all time.

When people say "Ronaldo" to me only one player comes to mind.

Truth carnal. There will only be one Ronaldo. People just don't know

but C.Ronaldo is number 1 in the world today!

Zidane/Maradona/Ronaldo - top 3 of all time.

On which planet? The same one where Messi has out-scored and out-assisted Ronaldo in 2 consecutive seasons (and counting), won WPOY ahead of Ronaldo, was short-listed to WPOY again this year, and the same planet where Messi has helped his team defeat Ronaldo's teams in 4 straight matches OR...your own world?

I would take Ronaldo over Messi any day!

  

Ignore this person.

he doesnt know @@+#.

 

[demps]

Originally Posted by kobe8is

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

Originally Posted by kobe8is

Originally Posted by KRISPACINLA

Originally Posted by NikeTalker23

Pele/Maradona/Ronaldo - top 3 of all time.

When people say "Ronaldo" to me only one player comes to mind.

Truth carnal. There will only be one Ronaldo. People just don't know

but C.Ronaldo is number 1 in the world today!

Zidane/Maradona/Ronaldo - top 3 of all time.

On which planet? The same one where Messi has out-scored and out-assisted Ronaldo in 2 consecutive seasons (and counting), won WPOY ahead of Ronaldo, was short-listed to WPOY again this year, and the same planet where Messi has helped his team defeat Ronaldo's teams in 4 straight matches OR...your own world?

I would take Ronaldo over Messi any day!

  

Ignore this person.

he doesnt know @@+#.

 

[kobe8is]

^^Hey bro... im just a Man Utd. fan so i would take Ronaldo!

 

[kobe8is]

^^Hey bro... im just a Man Utd. fan so i would take Ronaldo!

 

[carlos tevez]

Can we say that the only reason France won is because of Ronaldo's poor health? Nah, son. You must have that confused with the 2006 WC final and Italy winning because of Zidane being ejected.
What makes you think Zidane would've led France a goal in the final 10 minutes when he couldnt even lead France to a goal from open play in the first 110 minutes? Italy won because Zidane decided to get himself sent off? Barthez conceded all 5 PKs attempted by Italy so Zidane likely would not have had any impact on the final outcome of the shootout.

 Brazil took a 3-0 beating by France that day, not some 90 + 30 extra time penalty shootout win by the edge of their fingernails. And Ronaldo can have his 98 player of the tournament. Zidane was still named to the best team of the tournament, man of the match of the final and the trophy itself. And he won the ballon by a record amount of points for that year.
Ronaldo won the Ballon D'or twice. Zidane won it once.

 

[carlos tevez]

Can we say that the only reason France won is because of Ronaldo's poor health? Nah, son. You must have that confused with the 2006 WC final and Italy winning because of Zidane being ejected.
What makes you think Zidane would've led France a goal in the final 10 minutes when he couldnt even lead France to a goal from open play in the first 110 minutes? Italy won because Zidane decided to get himself sent off? Barthez conceded all 5 PKs attempted by Italy so Zidane likely would not have had any impact on the final outcome of the shootout.

 Brazil took a 3-0 beating by France that day, not some 90 + 30 extra time penalty shootout win by the edge of their fingernails. And Ronaldo can have his 98 player of the tournament. Zidane was still named to the best team of the tournament, man of the match of the final and the trophy itself. And he won the ballon by a record amount of points for that year.
Ronaldo won the Ballon D'or twice. Zidane won it once.

 

[hugo]

Zidane is a great player.he is on my top 3. and can we all agree theres never been a person other than him that made Brazil look like a 2 star team in a game?

 

[hugo]

Zidane is a great player.he is on my top 3. and can we all agree theres never been a person other than him that made Brazil look like a 2 star team in a game?

 

[xtapolapacetl]

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

Originally Posted by Xtapolapacetl

I'm not saying that Zidane is perfect, no player is but there are more examples of Ronaldo's imperfection than Zidane's. In fact, his imperfections (compared to Zidane's) are getting exposed as we speak. I mean, the guy is the same age that Zidane was in the 06 World Cup RIGHT NOW, and he was 30 in the 2006 WC itself.



Can we say that the only reason France won is because of Ronaldo's poor health? Nah, son. You must have that confused with the 2006 WC final and Italy winning because of Zidane being ejected. Brazil took a 3-0 beating by France that day, not some 90 + 30 extra time penalty shootout win by the edge of their fingernails. And Ronaldo can have his 98 player of the tournament. Zidane was still named to the best team of the tournament, man of the match of the final and the trophy itself. And he won the ballon by a record amount of points for that year.



And once and for all, stop acting like Ronaldo's *%** didn't stink throughout the 1998 tournament. He scored 4 goals. Ooh, what a difference. Zidane scored 2 goals. In the most important game of the tournament. As a midfielder. In one match less.



But the 98 final aside, a 30 year-old Ronaldo had a chance to redeem himself against a 34 year-old Zidane in the 2006 WC. And he did no such thing, with Zidane being the man of the match again. The fact remains that the dude got eliminated twice by Zidane and Zidane got eliminated none times by him.



And Pele/Maradona/Zidane is most definitely the top 3 in history.

A player's prime is not necessarily dictated by their age but by the period of time they reached their peak (performance wise). One guy may hit their prime at 21, the other might hit it later on. We can not count 2006 towards Ronaldo's prime because he was clearly obese and pretty much useless. I mean, even Zidane acknowledged he was a late bloomer while we all know Ronaldo scored 35-goals in Europe as a 19-year-old. What they did at certain ages is not as relevant as their overall bodies of work. I could say Ronaldo at 19, 20, 21, 22 was way better than Zidane was at those ages but it's not important in this context.

What I have been saying is that if you line up Ronaldo's prime vs. Zidane's prime, Ronaldo comes out on top. Here are the stone cold facts and I will let others conclude for themselves who was superior. Lets say that Ronaldo became an elite player around 94-95 when he scored 35 goals for PSV and that Zidane started his ascent around 95-96, around the time he became a regular member of the France NT and helped lead Bordeaux to the UEFA Cup finals...
94: Ronaldo scores 35 goals and finishes 3rd in the Dutch league, Zidane and Bordeaux finish 7th in French league, neither in WPOY voting (I dont know how Ronaldo was left off the ballot

)
95: Ronaldo injured, neither player in WPOY voting
96: Ronaldo scores 49 goals, wins WPOY, Zidane and Juventus win Serie A, lose in UEFA CL finals, not in WPOY voting
97: Ronaldo scores 34 goals and wins WPOY again, Zidane and Juventus win Serie A, lose in UEFA CL finals again, 3rd in WPOY voting
98: Ronaldo only scores 15 club goals due to injuries, helps Brazil to WC finals but is injured for finals, wins player of the tournament, finishes 2nd in WPOY voting,  Zidane helps France win WC and WPOY
99: Ronaldo is hurt, Rivaldo wins WPOY
00: Ronaldo is hurt, Zidane wins WPOY
01: Ronaldo is hurt, Figo wins WPOY
02: Ronaldo returns, wins WC, Player of Tournament, WPOY, Zidane wins CL and 3rd in WPOY voting
03: Ronaldo 3rd in WPOY, Zidane wins WPOY
04: Ronaldo 7th, Zidane 5th
05: Ronaldo 12th, Zidane 13th
06: Ronaldo not on list, Zidane leads France to WC finals, wins Golden Ball, 2nd in WPOY

So in the 3 seasons between 1996-1998, Ronaldo won WPOY twice, finished 2nd to Zidane once in 1998, and won Player of the 1998 WC. Zidane won the 1998 WC and WPOY. In this 3 year period where both players were playing their best, Ronaldo finished ahead of Zidane twice and won the Golden Ball in the same tournament Zidane won. Ronaldo sits out much of the following 3 seasons while Zidane is still at his peak and yet Zidane wins only 1 WPOY during that span. Ronaldo returns in the beginning of 2002 and wins the WC, Golden Ball and WPOY while Zidane won the CL and missed most of that WC due to injury. The next year both are healthy and Zidane wins WPOY. Both players start declining the following 3 seasons although Ronaldo is rapidly declining while Zidane remains a top player and shows it in the 2006 WC.

In all, both players were healthy and at their peaks in a total of 5 years between 1996-1998 and 02-03. In that span when both players were in their primes, Ronaldo won 3 WPOY, 1 WC, 2 Golden Balls and finished 2nd and 3rd in WPOY voting . In that same span, Zidane won 2 WPOY, 1 WC, 0 Golden Balls, and finished 3rd in WPOY voting twice. When both players were healthy at the same time and at their peaks, the statistics show that Ronaldo had the slight edge. You can rightfully add that Zidane won the 2006 Golden Ball and finished 2nd in WPOY voting but even adding that to his tally would not give him the advantage over Ronaldo (Ronaldo still finished with 1 more Golden Ball and Zidane's great 2006 season pretty much balances out with Ronaldo's great 1994 season).
 
Yes, they had an equal amount of WPOY awards but Ronaldo won all 3 of his while Zidane was healthy and in his prime. Zidane won 2 while Ronaldo was healthy and won 1 while Ronaldo was sidelined.

Dude, if you want to talk about a handful of year stretches, then Marco Van Basten is like twice the player Ronaldo was. Why don't you take Ronaldo's best 2-3 year stretch and compare him to 1988-92 Van Basten? Yet no expert would rank Van Basten, as great as he was over either Ronaldo or Zidane just because he won more awards. Or compare mid-80s Platini to mid-80s Maradona. I didn't even know that Maradona never even ranked third in Ballon d'or voting.

@ 30 years-old "not counting" as prime. Yeah, winning arguments in life sure would be easier if you could just say "Wait a minute: That doesn't count" whenever something goes against your argument. Don't be angry at me for bringing up Ronaldo's 2006 failure, maybe you should ask him why he wasn't ready for the 06 WC.

Very fair of you to mention the amount of goals Ronaldo scored when comparing him to Zidane... Comparing striker to a midfielder. I never disputed Ronaldo's ability to score goals. But his impact on a game was not as great as Zidane's. I'll never forget that in one game when he played for Real, the opposition's GOALKEEPER ran more than Ronaldo in a game. That's just amazing. It says everything you need to know about him. Tremendous at scoring goals, but in the end, he will be remembered more as a cold blooded scorer than an overall dominator of the game - closer to Gerd Müller than Pele. Zidane on the other hand was way more multi-dimensional and could dominate the game in every way. Ronaldo was just too one-dimensional for him to be regarded as a true GOAT candidate anywhere but on sports forums.

 

[xtapolapacetl]

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

Originally Posted by Xtapolapacetl

I'm not saying that Zidane is perfect, no player is but there are more examples of Ronaldo's imperfection than Zidane's. In fact, his imperfections (compared to Zidane's) are getting exposed as we speak. I mean, the guy is the same age that Zidane was in the 06 World Cup RIGHT NOW, and he was 30 in the 2006 WC itself.



Can we say that the only reason France won is because of Ronaldo's poor health? Nah, son. You must have that confused with the 2006 WC final and Italy winning because of Zidane being ejected. Brazil took a 3-0 beating by France that day, not some 90 + 30 extra time penalty shootout win by the edge of their fingernails. And Ronaldo can have his 98 player of the tournament. Zidane was still named to the best team of the tournament, man of the match of the final and the trophy itself. And he won the ballon by a record amount of points for that year.



And once and for all, stop acting like Ronaldo's *%** didn't stink throughout the 1998 tournament. He scored 4 goals. Ooh, what a difference. Zidane scored 2 goals. In the most important game of the tournament. As a midfielder. In one match less.



But the 98 final aside, a 30 year-old Ronaldo had a chance to redeem himself against a 34 year-old Zidane in the 2006 WC. And he did no such thing, with Zidane being the man of the match again. The fact remains that the dude got eliminated twice by Zidane and Zidane got eliminated none times by him.



And Pele/Maradona/Zidane is most definitely the top 3 in history.

A player's prime is not necessarily dictated by their age but by the period of time they reached their peak (performance wise). One guy may hit their prime at 21, the other might hit it later on. We can not count 2006 towards Ronaldo's prime because he was clearly obese and pretty much useless. I mean, even Zidane acknowledged he was a late bloomer while we all know Ronaldo scored 35-goals in Europe as a 19-year-old. What they did at certain ages is not as relevant as their overall bodies of work. I could say Ronaldo at 19, 20, 21, 22 was way better than Zidane was at those ages but it's not important in this context.

What I have been saying is that if you line up Ronaldo's prime vs. Zidane's prime, Ronaldo comes out on top. Here are the stone cold facts and I will let others conclude for themselves who was superior. Lets say that Ronaldo became an elite player around 94-95 when he scored 35 goals for PSV and that Zidane started his ascent around 95-96, around the time he became a regular member of the France NT and helped lead Bordeaux to the UEFA Cup finals...
94: Ronaldo scores 35 goals and finishes 3rd in the Dutch league, Zidane and Bordeaux finish 7th in French league, neither in WPOY voting (I dont know how Ronaldo was left off the ballot

)
95: Ronaldo injured, neither player in WPOY voting
96: Ronaldo scores 49 goals, wins WPOY, Zidane and Juventus win Serie A, lose in UEFA CL finals, not in WPOY voting
97: Ronaldo scores 34 goals and wins WPOY again, Zidane and Juventus win Serie A, lose in UEFA CL finals again, 3rd in WPOY voting
98: Ronaldo only scores 15 club goals due to injuries, helps Brazil to WC finals but is injured for finals, wins player of the tournament, finishes 2nd in WPOY voting,  Zidane helps France win WC and WPOY
99: Ronaldo is hurt, Rivaldo wins WPOY
00: Ronaldo is hurt, Zidane wins WPOY
01: Ronaldo is hurt, Figo wins WPOY
02: Ronaldo returns, wins WC, Player of Tournament, WPOY, Zidane wins CL and 3rd in WPOY voting
03: Ronaldo 3rd in WPOY, Zidane wins WPOY
04: Ronaldo 7th, Zidane 5th
05: Ronaldo 12th, Zidane 13th
06: Ronaldo not on list, Zidane leads France to WC finals, wins Golden Ball, 2nd in WPOY

So in the 3 seasons between 1996-1998, Ronaldo won WPOY twice, finished 2nd to Zidane once in 1998, and won Player of the 1998 WC. Zidane won the 1998 WC and WPOY. In this 3 year period where both players were playing their best, Ronaldo finished ahead of Zidane twice and won the Golden Ball in the same tournament Zidane won. Ronaldo sits out much of the following 3 seasons while Zidane is still at his peak and yet Zidane wins only 1 WPOY during that span. Ronaldo returns in the beginning of 2002 and wins the WC, Golden Ball and WPOY while Zidane won the CL and missed most of that WC due to injury. The next year both are healthy and Zidane wins WPOY. Both players start declining the following 3 seasons although Ronaldo is rapidly declining while Zidane remains a top player and shows it in the 2006 WC.

In all, both players were healthy and at their peaks in a total of 5 years between 1996-1998 and 02-03. In that span when both players were in their primes, Ronaldo won 3 WPOY, 1 WC, 2 Golden Balls and finished 2nd and 3rd in WPOY voting . In that same span, Zidane won 2 WPOY, 1 WC, 0 Golden Balls, and finished 3rd in WPOY voting twice. When both players were healthy at the same time and at their peaks, the statistics show that Ronaldo had the slight edge. You can rightfully add that Zidane won the 2006 Golden Ball and finished 2nd in WPOY voting but even adding that to his tally would not give him the advantage over Ronaldo (Ronaldo still finished with 1 more Golden Ball and Zidane's great 2006 season pretty much balances out with Ronaldo's great 1994 season).
 
Yes, they had an equal amount of WPOY awards but Ronaldo won all 3 of his while Zidane was healthy and in his prime. Zidane won 2 while Ronaldo was healthy and won 1 while Ronaldo was sidelined.

Dude, if you want to talk about a handful of year stretches, then Marco Van Basten is like twice the player Ronaldo was. Why don't you take Ronaldo's best 2-3 year stretch and compare him to 1988-92 Van Basten? Yet no expert would rank Van Basten, as great as he was over either Ronaldo or Zidane just because he won more awards. Or compare mid-80s Platini to mid-80s Maradona. I didn't even know that Maradona never even ranked third in Ballon d'or voting.

@ 30 years-old "not counting" as prime. Yeah, winning arguments in life sure would be easier if you could just say "Wait a minute: That doesn't count" whenever something goes against your argument. Don't be angry at me for bringing up Ronaldo's 2006 failure, maybe you should ask him why he wasn't ready for the 06 WC.

Very fair of you to mention the amount of goals Ronaldo scored when comparing him to Zidane... Comparing striker to a midfielder. I never disputed Ronaldo's ability to score goals. But his impact on a game was not as great as Zidane's. I'll never forget that in one game when he played for Real, the opposition's GOALKEEPER ran more than Ronaldo in a game. That's just amazing. It says everything you need to know about him. Tremendous at scoring goals, but in the end, he will be remembered more as a cold blooded scorer than an overall dominator of the game - closer to Gerd Müller than Pele. Zidane on the other hand was way more multi-dimensional and could dominate the game in every way. Ronaldo was just too one-dimensional for him to be regarded as a true GOAT candidate anywhere but on sports forums.

 

[o fenomeno]

ronaldo was one dimensional? thats incredibly laughable. and he was not an overall dominator of the game? ronaldo dominated and single handedly won so many games in his career. there is no one defenders feared more than o fenomeno. just his simple presence on the pitch, even with his injury and weight problems, created entire defensive schemes focused soley on him.

 

[o fenomeno]

ronaldo was one dimensional? thats incredibly laughable. and he was not an overall dominator of the game? ronaldo dominated and single handedly won so many games in his career. there is no one defenders feared more than o fenomeno. just his simple presence on the pitch, even with his injury and weight problems, created entire defensive schemes focused soley on him.