"It has to be Gordon Banks!"
That was my answer when asked by PottersForum on Twitter who's the best player I´ve seen play for my favourite English club Stoke City. It felt natural, and it wasn´t until next day I reconsidered. I didn't replace Banksey with Peter Shilton, Mark Chamberlain or Peter Crouch, however good they may have played. Rather, I reconsidered the whole question. Is it really possible to pick one top player?
Who is the greatest swimmer of all times? It´s not that easy
to choose from Mark Spitz, Michael Phelps or Dawn Fraser. They all won
great success, but in different eras in different circumstances.
Most people would probably rank Muhammad Ali as the greatest boxer. ESPN doesn´t. (link here)
Was Eduardo Mangiarotti a better fencer than Aladár Gerevich?
These
are examples from sports measuring individual efforts. In football, the
success of one player is always depending on the teammates.
Fans and journalists all over the world are counting and compiling statistics on goalscorers, completed passes, penalty saves et cetera, which is marvellous and fun. These achievements do of course influence the results, but at the end of the 90 minutes (and then some) it is the team that wins the match, through the sum of all individual efforts.
I reluctantly accept that great players like Neymar, Zlatan and Messi become icons for youngsters all over the world, and perhaps the game needs them to keep up the interest (and to sell zillions worth of of merchandise). However, the sometimes obsessive need to pick The Top Player of the year or the tournament or in all history, just shows an unprofessional lack of understanding of the mechanisms of the game. For one thing, how do we explain that only three defenders have been awarded the Ballon d'Or in nearly sixty years?
To say that Lionel Messi has to win the World Cup to be considered as the best player ever is not only insulting to him. It also
belittles the efforts of Vavá, Rivellino, Burruchaga and Passarella. You know, Pelé and Maradona didn´t win their World Cups by themselves.
I want young players to recognise the strength of the team effort, and the fact that no one can win great football success without good teammates. Athletes, parents and leaders hungry for individual glory should try other sports.
Post Scriptum:
A clear candidate for the "Perhaps Best Stoke Player Ever If One Could Choose Just One" award would of course be one I'm too young to have had the pleasure of watching play, and who actually won the very first Ballon d'Or in 1956: Sir Stanley Matthews.
