'Inside forward', 'playmaker', 'fantasista' whatever. Who's your favourite 'in the hole'.

Maradona for me.

I think the coke snorting midget should walk this. Saw him play once in this legenday game at Old Trafford

1984

Robson really was an incredible player at his peak then.

I'd have Zidane in 2nd with the non flying Dutchman a close 3rd

Yes, incredible stamina.

Garrincha. With Pele and his sub Almarildo hurt, Garrincha led a ten man team to victory over a tough English side in the World Cup. Then, he went on to lead the team to the title.
Better dribbler and shooter than Maradona too, imo.
Pele next. then Zidane.
Pele saw the field as well as ZZ but had a better shot and was better in dead ball situations. Hated the fact Pele would throw himself to the turf and look pleadingly at the ref for relief.
The fact remains, Brazil could win without Pele but not without Garrincha.
49 - 1 - 4 with the little G-Man on the right wing.
I'd give a mention to Eusabio, then Puskas
[I only know the game from the World Cup and qualifiers, so I may have missed the best of some of these players. Of course, they lost track of the number of goals Pele scored at the club level or just stopped counting at 1000. Pele was very fast and very quick and very powerful...better than Maradona, imo, at least the World Cup Maradona]

My choices were quite idiosynchratic. But I consider him to be a winger- it's also the reason I didn't include Best. I suspect other people will disagree with me.

You set the rules and he was a winger except for the 1962 World Cup when he had to play all over the field.
My knowledge of football is limited to the many World Cup games I own...Brazilian victories for the most part but I did buy all the '98 games with France in them[except for the last one for an obvious reason] just to watch Zidane....a marvel

Blimey. God of my own polls!!


Yes Zidane was sublime. A shame his last real contribution to top-class football was the headbut on Matterazzi. He probably deserved it but still.......

The world missed seeing the best of Emerson because he was hurt when at his peak and missed that entire World Cup.
I think he was as tough on defense as Dunga and as good on offense as the very highly rated Didi.
No Zidane though, close maybe, but not that close

The headbutt made Zidane even more of a hero in France than before I read[don't know first hand, I'd defer to you]...he shouldn't have been banned because if ZZ really wanted to hurt the Italian he would have kicked him and broken both his legs.
If it's fighters we're talking about, I would nominate Edmundo whose infractions and bans for fighting are too numerous to recount here. Good player too.

I've bumped my other poll that includes all positions.

Best number 10?

Out of Maradona and Pele you have to remember Maradona was playing in a very average Argentina side, and led them to world cup glory, where as Pele was playing in a team of sublime talents. I think Maradona had more skill but Pele better vision.

I think many of the players on the list played in very different ways, Zidane was much more a midfielder breaking forward, some of the others were more orthodox strikers.

If I had to show someone a video of a perfect number 10, i.e. a hole player working around a big centre forward, then it would be Dalglish at Liverpool when he was playing with Rush. He was perfect in that role I think.

Denis Law?

I would add that Pele made his team mates better and more effective with his pinpoint passing and his being double teamed most of the time.
Pele, in my opinion, could score in more ways than Maradona. Wasn't as good with his hands though.

Maradona's greatness is tainted by the cheating. Unavoidably.

Stan Bowles. Come on.