What happened to soccer? There used to be way more world class players and a much more talented group of players to go around, but now it seems like there isn't enough for all the top 10-20 clubs to fill out their teams.
Pic related wouldn't have passed for a top club defender 10 years ago
Nicholas Reyes
I don't come to Sup Forums that often.Is longing bullshit like this accepted around here ?
Matthew Edwards
If everyone is world class, no-one is world class, having fewer truly great players makes you appreciate them more.
But in saying that, David Luiz is a world class player in MULTIPLE positions so you're clearly either a philistine or >A Fucking Leaf
Josiah Martin
Maybe the general level of talent has increased over the years since the sport continues to become more globally competitive, you stupid fucking leaf.
Caleb Taylor
I literally said the opposite is happening you retarded cunt >david luiz is a good defender Stop this meme, you think he's good because he's in a team that essentially plays 5 at the back so it's hard for him to get exposed.
Henry Morris
>I base my footballing knowledge off webms and Fifa lets plays
Surely you understand that a defensive unit is only successful when it works as one
Lincoln Rivera
>Stop this meme
lol only britishtards think that
Cooper Morales
Good teams have always had shit players Name just one team that had a great in each position
Ryan Hughes
>i base my posts off assumptions >i think david luiz is world class and worth 50 million
Michael Cox
He would walk into any of the top European teams starting line ups though
Nolan Green
Still better than Koscielny, people say he's the best full-back in the PL until he fouls when it matters the most.
Kayden Nguyen
because he has fooled the world into believing he's a good player
Josiah Long
He improved a lot playing with Thiago Silva at PSG
Asher Robinson
lmao koscielny isn't a full back and no one even calls him the best CB in the league anyway
really shitty post here. hope you get decapitated for it.
Aiden Bennett
you'd be surprised the amount of people who think he is the best centre half
Mason Sanchez
>lmao koscielny isn't a full back
Charles King
Hmm yeah everybody in the top European leagues thinks he's good but you think he's bad so you must be right
Hudson Jones
looooooooooool
Ian Morales
...
Cooper Flores
Luiz has done more than Canada as a country, atleast he's not a cuck like Trudeau
Jose Rivera
>we live in a world where Koscielny and Luiz are considered some of the best defenders Holy fuck someone bring Terry back. Im sorry for talking shit about him
Easton Green
>stones >a guy with half the games played that was injured for a chunk of the season >overrated spurs player >arselel player Was this supposed to prove he's good? Also >eplel >
Blake Hughes
this is true the 2000's had lots of world class players all the national teams would've win the champions league for example it's not like that now who is the third best player after messi and cr7? fucking hazard this is how low football has gone
Joshua Scott
>hazard is 3rd best player in the world lmaoooo tell him to join the fucking queue
Ethan Rivera
I disagree but see where you're coming from
Carter King
>the players from muh childhood seemed larger than life back then but now that I am a jaded adult the players (who are often younger than me) don't seem so magical any more boo hoo hoo
Bentley Barnes
Messi makes up for it. Not even mad
Michael Jones
WHEN I WAS YOUNG IT WAS MORE IMPORTANT PAIN MORE PAINFUL, LAUGHTER MUCH LOUDER
Joshua Thompson
lolno
Landon Jackson
Luiz actually is a good defender by today's standard
Carter Williams
this desu
Asher Young
Chelscum detected.
Benjamin Gomez
>tfw Villa fan
Josiah Brown
Actually true. Who are even the best defenders in the world these days? I can't even think of anyone who's genuinely good and can rival the defensive talent from 10 or so years ago.
Isaiah Perry
An interesting argument, subjectively I want to disagree but it sounds too reasonable, wonder if there is any data confirming it.
Blake Thompson
I think the Boateng/Hummels and Bonucci/Chiellini is great. Not quite as good as the past generation,though.
Grayson Garcia
What the fuck are you talking about. Just don't watch football please anymore.
Isaac Walker
I think it's because football is more readily available AND we have Sup Forums who are critical of players who play in their home league.
If an English man 20 years ago said something like "Belotti is world class" people would be in agreement, but now if that was said someone would say "Le meme rooster man". This leads to another more cynical mindset on players.
Luis Miller
All the worlds best talent is hoarded by 3 clubs now. They used to be more evenly spread out which likely gave the illusion of there being more top tier players 10+ years ago.
Caleb Cruz
Also level pool was lower back then, tactics weren't as refined as today, and everybody was way less athletic thanks to poor training and no PED, meaning a truly great player could walk any defense and look like so much better than the top player today compared to the "average" player.
I mean it happens in literally every sport and is measured in every individual sport by objective metrics such as time, weight, speed, etc. What's decreasing is the relative metrics because good sportsman aren't as dominant compared to their peer. Just look at gymnastics, what a 10 was worth 40 years ago, or how relatively slow people were.
Yet team sports fans still are trying to meme the "decline" of their respective sports from a "golden era". Divegrass and apehoop fans seem to be the worst offenders
Isaiah Collins
People are too reactive nowadays.
Get this shitty mentality 20 years ago and you would have people saying Maldini is shitty defender in any mistake he makes with idiotic people spamming
>MALDINI
Aiden Morris
got the same feeling felt like every top4 of english/italian/spanish league was stacked with 95% world class player now its like 70% for barcelona for example
Ian Reed
Spain 2008-2012
Luke Ward
One thing that really changed are the personality of the players though. Take MK1 Chelsea vs the current bitch boys. United had leaders and now Smalling is the fucking captain. Arsenil is basically Selfie FC.
John Thomas
You were probably a lot less critical when you were younger
Colton Rivera
This.
Josiah Robinson
/thread.
Thomas Parker
>implying Maldini wasn't a meme defender
Leo Wood
It seems like today if you don't play for Real or Barca you're basically a nobody. Bayern as well to a lesser extent.
Xavier Lewis
>Also level pool was lower back then, tactics weren't as refined as today, and everybody was way less athletic thanks to poor training and no PED, meaning a truly great player could walk any defense and look like so much better than the top player today compared to the "average" player.
OP is talking about 10 years ago though not 40
Jordan Howard
Also a lot less depressed, what's your point
Adam Long
I think the midfielders are at least as good now, if less adventurous players but there are hardly any good defenders these days. >CBs from 2006 world cup Ferdinand Terry Gamarra Ayala Vidic Marquez Carvalho Kuffour Cannavaro Nesta Barzagli Materazzi Lucio R Kovac Tudor Gallas Puyol Ramos
I don't think you could match this with a list for today.
Caleb Sanders
There's just as many, there's just more from small, literal who nations now, which makes it seem like less. Whereas before World Class players were highly concentrated from the big world cup Nations.
For example. >Mkhitarian >Hamsik >Aubameyang >Bailly
And so on.
Kevin Hernandez
>Take MK1 Chelsea vs the current bitch boys
For real. You can't compare the likes of Lampard with Hazard.
Oliver White
>Bailly >world class
Also since when is Ivory Coast a literally who nation?
Luis Moore
it's because a lot of worldclass players are warming the bench at Bayern and Real nowadays
Tyler Gonzalez
getting Sup Forums to agree on who is world class besides messi is impossible though
Juan Miller
He doesn't even do well in France.
Brandon Parker
It's because tactics now are more universalist so players have to be more versatile and disciplined. Note that tactics have evolved this way to take advantage of the general higher level of athleticism. Trust me, the top teams of today would crush the top teams of 20 years ago
Jordan Gomez
>he thinks 2007 barcelona wouldn't completely assrape current barca Same with Chelsea, United, Arsenal etc
Kevin Flores
2005 Chelsea
Cech Ferreira Carvalho Terry Gallas Makelele Essien Lampard Cole Robben Drogba
Ferreira was a very decent fullback. And he was the weakest piece of the team.
David Lopez
Exactly, that team would rip the current Chelsea apart and it's winning the premier league with ease. Just proves my point that teams/players are worse now
William Anderson
>08/09 Liverpool would steamroll this league
Carson Gonzalez
Ferreira, Carvalho, Gallas and Cole wouldn't get anywhere near the current Chelsea first team.
Luis Fisher
Honestly not much different the current Chelsea apart from having two actual world class English players
Robben and Cole never performed as well in a Chelsea shirt as Hazard does. Costa on his best day is no worse Drogba, merely less consistent
Jordan Hernandez
Can't wait for PSG to send Chelsea out in the quarterfinals next year so this overrated team gets exposed
Hudson Nelson
Considering Chelsea's tactics, of course Ferreira wouldn't.
That said, Gallas and Carvalho were world class and would easily be starters. Cole would, as well.
Thomas Kelly
Joe Cole was a failed prospect. Hazard is 10x the player he was
Liam Hernandez
Makelele alone would molest the current Chelsea team.
Luke Morgan
>le rose tinted glasses man
Jordan Thompson
You've got nostalgia goggles on.
Ferreira was average at best. Carvalho was made to look a lot better by JT and makelele, he was a liability and often made mistakes. Galas was an average centre back and played out of position because Chelsea couldn't find a good full back.
Cole was nowhere near as good as hazard, Willian or Pedro.
Ian Hall
This.
Dutchbro knows more about football than most scouts and managers
Grayson Jones
Also, Robben may be amazing at Bayern but wasn't all that in a Chelsea shirt
I don't think Makelele and Essien are particularly better than Kante and Matic either
Jaxson Smith
One of the reason is, there are more "top clubs" now
Evan Howard
>Pic related wouldn't have passed for a top club defender 10 years ago
She doesn't pass for one now,ffs. Elizabeth Lambert would slice and dice her.
Also: there are far more world-class players now.
Cameron Lee
Because everything is about fucking workhorses now. Players who back in the day had to carry the bags of the thoroughbreds. Now they are the thoroughbreds because they can fucking run a lot and defend the opposing team's wingback.
Nathan Scott
>He thinks Carvalho or Gallas aren't better than Cahill or Luiz >He doesn't think based 03-06 Joey Cole would be better than Pedro
Ryan Reed
errrr...no
Blake Fisher
>Pic related wouldn't have passed for a top club defender 10 years ago
Still doesn't.
Gavin Brown
This is exactly it. Social media has ruined the elusive mysterious image of a football player too. In the past you would only see a player on the pitch, in an ad, on your wall or in your trading card books. Now you can see him having breakfast and playing with his dog and being a fucking dumb normie with his gf
Luis Kelly
I blame vidya and the internet. The biggest young talent right now is Dembele, Mbappe, le 16 year old Italian keeper. Pretty underwhelming desu
Hunter Rodriguez
'no' Who the fuck even watches that shit?
Juan Edwards
J.Cole wasn't as bad as you're making out. He was in the 2006 PL TOTY and won Chelsea's POTY in 2008. I'd take prime Cole over Willian and Pedro.
Benjamin Rivera
>There used to be way more world class players and a much more talented group of players to go around Based on what metric?
Asher Reyes
>there are hardly any good defenders these days. That has to do with the fact that defending these days requires the whole team to put in a group effort, whereas back in the day defenders were required to be hard-men.
Oliver Sanders
>Aubameyang He's French. He was just shit for a while and Gabon was the only way he could play internationally.
Carson White
That's because a team of highly athletic and versatile "workhorses" beats the shit out of a team of highly technical specialists
Brandon Thomas
And its why 95% of games nowadays are shit to watch
Jordan Sanders
>Brit >Bitching about workhorse players It's like some kind of alternate reality