Who is the G.O.A.T ?

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

In your opinion who is the Greatest Player of all time and why? Here's a Dozen Names to start with :-

Pele    Diego Maradona    Lionel Messi    Christian Ronaldo

Johan Cryuff    George Best    Ferenc Puskas    Franz Beckenbauer

Gerd Muller    Robert Lewandowski    Bobby Moore    Roberto Baggio

Most players above are there for their scoring power, and other attacking skills. However other are named 

for their Leadership Qualities and an Inspiration to their Team Mates.

Feel free to add players to the List and why they should be on it.

[Robbie]

On my top 10 shortlist would be in no particular order.

Puskas

Di Stefano

Moore

Messi

Beckenbauer

Charlton 

Pele

Yashin

Baggio

Maldini

For my top ten I have players who are arguably the best of all time who played in different positions on the field.

Lev Yashin, arguably the best goalkeeper of all time. Played for Dynamo Moscow for twenty years and the Soviet Union.

Beckenbauer, Maldini & Moore, defenders who all have a claim to the best player ever

Maldini won 5 European Cups with AC Milan over a long career and won one World cup with Italy.

Forwards like Di Stefano, Puskas, Charlton, Pele, Messi & Baggio.

Di Stefano, who was a prolific goalscorer & won 5 European Cups with Real Madrid. He scored 216 goals for Madrid in 282 appearances.

Puskas, who was a team mate of Di Stefano at Real Madrid. Puskas won 3 European Cups with Real and he scored 619 goals in 618 career appearances. He was part of the great Hungarian side of the 1950s.

Baggio played as a striker and attacking midfielder. He was the first Italian player for 50 years to score over 300 goals in a career.

My top three?

Very hard to pick from the those outstanding players but here goes in no particular order.

Puskas

Pele

Messi

Now to pick to the Goat.

All three of them deserve to be picked as the GOAT

But my winner of the GOAT is.

Ferenc Puskas.

I think he is the most talented and skillful player I have seen, and remember, when he played the pitches weren't as good then and there were no substitutes for a large part of his career. His goalscoring record is simply out of this World. But he was also top score at creating chances for others like Di Stefano.

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

@Robbie

An excellent answer and some interesting added players. plus a Top Choice for the GO.A.T. in Puskas what an Amazing Goal Scoring Record.

But I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you, in my Opinion the G.O.A.T is Der Kaiser Franz  Beckenbauer. World Cup Winner as both Player (1974) and Team Manager (1990). Captain of the West German side which won the European Championship and Captain of the Bayern Munich side which won the European Cup three times in succession.

And which of us who saw it will  ever forget the 1970 World Cup as Beckenbauer played on with a Dislocated shoulder in a sling, due to the fact Germany had already used both of it's two allowed Substitutes. He is also been acknowledged as the Player who invented the Modern Sweeper Role. An Extraordinary Leader both on and off the Pitch.  Played for his Country 103 times. 

[Robbie]

@Wheelbarrow repair man

Franz is a very good choice too who could easily be named as the GOAT

In my list I didn't include Banks, Masopust, Maradona Cruyff, Ronaldo (Portugal), Ronaldo (Brazil), Stanley Mathews, or Best in my final 10.

If you added those players to the 10 that I selected as my short list, all those players would be a fantastic team to watch with all those substitutes to come on too if needed. 

That team with all those players at their best, could easily beat any team in history put before it 

Unless anyone can name an alternative squad of players to challenge them?

Maybe the current Real Madrid or Man City teams could give them a game.

Incidentally Jozef Masopust was a big player in the 60s that played in midfield for Dukla Prague & Czechoslovakia. He was influential in getting Czechoslovakia to the 1962 final against Brazil

[Wheelbarrow repair man]

@Robbie

I suppose we could assemble a whole Squad of players worth a shot at the title of the G.O.A.T in  different ways. There is also a Case for a guy called Steve Bloomer who played for Derby County ( @super_ram could probably tell us more about him) I believe he played for the Rams in the 1890's or Early 1900's. And Notts own Tommy Lawton may be worth a mention. Basically the Guys I have named are Players I have seen, not all in the Flesh as it were, but on TV film and such like. Puskas was before my time  I remember seeing him on film when he was part of the Hungarian team which beat England 6-3 at Wembley  and Di Sefano is a name I have heard of. Stanley Mathews is of course a name I also know due to the epic Mathews Final  when Stan Finally won an FA Cup Winners Medal. And didn't he play his final Professional Match aged 50? Then of course a Great Player I almost forgot Eusebio, how could I forget him Star man in many a Portugal and Benfica Team.

I Don't think even the current Manchester City team would get anywhere near a team made up of the Super Stars we've named on here, when they were all at their peak. Wouldn't it be Great to get a Computerised match featuring the current City Team and an Elite XI from our suggestions? Not unlike the Rocky Marciano vs Muhammed Ali boxing match from the 1970's remember that?

[Robbie]

@Wheelbarrow repair man

I saw all those players I mentioned too, either in the flesh or on the telly. My Dad took me to see Masopust & Dukla Prague when they played at Forest in a friendly in Nov 1966.

Watched the 1966 World Cup on the telly too.

The 1970 World Cup was the best World Cup in my opinion. That Brazil side was something else.

Sorry to go off topic.