Greatest Footballer/Soccer Player of all time

Discuss who you think is the greatest football/soccer player of all time here.

A poll will be set up once we have some nominations followed by a vote. Winner will be added to the big thread.

I nominate Maradona who i will vote for

David Beckham!

Seriously?

Yep

K. Noted.

Guess we should add Pele there then. I'm a fan of defenders so I'd say Beckenbauer.

Paolo Maldini, Jorginho, GORDON BANKS!!!!!

As I can't judge upon players I've never seen playing I'll vote for the best player I've seen something of as well as (imho) best striker ever, Batistuta

I suppose Pele should be nominated , but he was a bit before my time . In some sports e.g. cricket the figures can help you judge a player you've never seen , but football doesn't have those type of stats .

Therefore out of the players I've seen 3 stand out .

Diego Maradona ....... sublime skill and almost single handedly won the '86 World Cup , but he's a drug taker and I want the greatest sportsman to be a role model for kids , not just a great performer .

Johan Cruijff ........ the main man in the great Ajax team who invented Total Football . Went to Spain and brought Barca a championship in his first season . Gets bonus marks for choosing Barca over Real Madrid because of his dislike of Franco .

Paolo Maldini ....... the greatest defender ever . 126 Italian caps , countless trophies at Milan , a true legend .

After careful consideration , I'll vote for Maldini because of his personality /temperament . Although Cruijff and Maradona were supremely gifted , they alienated many teammates , fans , referees etc with their attitude and comments and both had character flaws . Teammates and opponents have nothing but respect and admiration for Maldini .

mrtz, not having a go at you or anything, but should a best footballer thread be made in the "other sports section".

i mean, the whole forum is football-based, so isnt this the bit where football isnt really mentioned?

This leads up to a thread that chooses the best athlete of all time... regardless of sport. This leads up to it... We pick individuals from each sport, then put them all together and see who the best of the best is.

Ah i see, i get you now. Soz Mrtz

Pele or maybe Maradona..

I'm going to nominate a player that has played his football whilst i have been growing up, as opposed to saying Maradona, Pele, Best, Cruyff etc as i never saw them play. So I'm going to also say Paolo Maldini, one of the greatest defenders in history, and am going to add Zinedine Zidane into the running, his name needing no explanation.

From what Ive actually seen in my life ill go with Zidane

i've seen Maradona play in the late 80s but i'll still vote for Zidane.

others who i've seen and stand out are: Van Basten, Ronaldo, Romario, Batistuta, Maldini, Baresi

Can we add women player's.

Mia Hamm is the greatest women's soccer player. Not been a player like her since.

I'm suprised more goalkeepers or the old "Invincibles" Brazilian team were nominated. It is b]all-time/b[ remember. Not just what you have seen yourself.

But how can you vote for or judge a player , when you've only seen 2 or 3 clips on dvd or YouTube .

I'm sure Pele was a great player but I think I've only seen him score 5 goals ( including a penalty) and have 3 near misses .

How can I judge a player on 8 pieces of action .

Julie fleeting