8/11/2019 Rise of the Decision-wise Footballer
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THE RISE OF THE DECISION-WISE FOOTBALLER
CR7 and LM10, the true representatives of the decision-wise
footballer
The end of a big Championship, League or Tournament is always a
landmark for me. On May
24thwe had the final match of the UEFA Champions League between
Real Madrid and Atlticode Madrid in Lisbon which means it is time
to think about the beautiful game one more time
and on an even deeper way. When we observe the 2 most prolific
footballers of our time
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi we have the tendency to ask
how do they do this? and
we keep on wondering how to answer our own question. I am no
exception and the explanation I
could reach so far is that we are now living in the era of the
rise of the decision-wise footballer inwhich Ronaldo and Messi are
the most prominent representatives.
Before we proceed any further with the analysis of these 2
amazing footballers let us try to
review the game of football throughout the times and what kind
of players better represented
their eras.
The 1950s: This was the time of the likes of John Charles of
Leeds, Fritz Walter of
Kaiserslautern, Just Fontaine of Nice, Ferenc Pusks, Alfredo Di
Stfano and Francisco Gento ofReal Madrid. In Brazil this was the
era of the romantic bohemian semi-amateur football artist
like Didi and the polemic Heleno de Freitas of Botafogo as well
as Leonidas of Sao Paulo FC. The
1950s saw an explosion of pure talent that was brought to the
attention of the world at large.
The 1960s: The 1960s were nothing short of mind-blowing in terms
of football talent around
the globe since it pretty much had the talents of the 1950 s
more mature and on the way to their
pinnacle. From Russian goalkeeper Lev Yashin through to
Manchester United's Bobby Charlton
and George Best, the Brazilian Garrincha and the Portuguese
striker Eusebio, not to mention theascension of the legendary Pel,
truly there were some timeless players in this generation whose
feats will be remembered for decades yet to come. The 1960s were
the time in which artistrystarted to meet the embryo of the
tactical discipline we see today. It was a transition time.
