Zidane still got it at 41

[David Guiza]

Comfortably in the top 5 players of my lifetime (21), the man was a genius and had the temperament ala Maradona to made him a character too.

[leicsmac]

Both Messi and Ronaldo are a fair bit better than Zidane imo. Not sure of Zidanr was so much above your Scholes and Gerrard's of this world. Certainly requiring players to have won the world cup before they can be described as legends is a bit flawed, especially for the likes of Gareth Bale who could put in several of the best performances ever seen and still Wales would go out to someone like Bulgaria.

 

 

I agree, if you had to win a World Cup to be considered a legend than there are very few legends, Bergkamp never won a World Cup but I'd consider him to be a true legend of the game.

 

 

Perhaps not win a World Cup, but certainly put on a few inspirational performances while at one and in a crucial match against another big team. Bergkamp did that (vs Argentina '98 immediately springs to mind) but as I have said neither Messi nor Ronaldo have put in that kind of performance or moment of genius in a crucial World Cup game, despite - in Messis case anyway - having a decent national team to work with.

 

And yes, the Champs League is probably better in terms of standard of football at the top, but the World Cup is still far more popular and far-reaching all around the world.

 

Yes - I have a very narrow and critical definition of footballing legend, as I think the term is used far far too much now.

[Fox92]

Perhaps not win a World Cup, but certainly put on a few inspirational performances while at one and in a crucial match against another big team. Bergkamp did that (vs Argentina '98 immediately springs to mind) but as I have said neither Messi nor Ronaldo have put in that kind of performance or moment of genius in a crucial World Cup game, despite - in Messis case anyway - having a decent national team to work with.

 

And yes, the Champs League is probably better in terms of standard of football at the top, but the World Cup is still far more popular and far-reaching all around the world.

 

Yes - I have a very narrow and critical definition of footballing legend, as I think the term is used far far too much now.

 

I was just about to post this. I too have 'my own' definition of a legend. I hate the fact some people say 'oh Neymar, oh Bale', among the greatest players ever. But I don't think so. The best ever have that ability to drive their teams forward on their own; Beckenbauer, Hurst, Cruyff, Pele, Zindane etc are the legends of the game. The World Cup is the biggest stage for a footballer, it's the best footballing show, probably the best sporting show, and for these players to make them their own is outstanding.

 

As I said above though, players like George Best never played in a World Cup, obviously because of the national team he represented. I still consider him one of the true footballing greats though.