Zinedine Zidane Compares Cristiano Ronaldo to Alfredo Di Stefano

[Dave]

Zinedine Zidane believes Cristiano Ronaldo will be remembered at Real Madrid in the same glowing terms as Alfredo Di Stefano.

Di Stefano was the face of Real's domination during the 1950s and 1960s, when they won five European Cups and he scored more than 300 goals.

Ronaldo is now trying to lead another prolonged period of European success, with Real gunning for their third consecutive Champions League triumph as they take a 3-0 lead into Wednesday´s quarter-final second leg at home to Juventus.

[The Artful Dodger]

Of course he will, it's difficult to compare across generations and that Real Madrid is almost mythical. Ronaldo definitely stands up with Di Stefano.

[SirBalon]

That's sacrilege and if Zidane says this then he knows nothing about Real Madrid's history and most of all anything about who Di Stéfano was and what his football was about. An absolute retarded comment unless he means the significance both players have had for the club. 

Alfredo di Stéfano was 100 times the footballer Cristiano has ever been or can ever be.

[Carnivore Chris]

 

 

"Di Stefano was the face of Real's domination during the 1950s and 1960s  when they won five European Cups". They also won 8 league titles.

[The Artful Dodger]

2 minutes ago, SirBalon said:

That's sacrilege and if Zidane says this then he knows nothing about Real Madrid's history and most of all anything about who Di Stéfano was and what his football was about. An absolute retarded comment unless he means the significance both players have had for the club. 

Alfredo di Stéfano was 100 times the footballer Cristiano has ever been or can ever be.

So you know more then I'm guessing? Di Stefano is from an almost mythical team and in terms of how much he means to Real Madrid he will most likely never be surpassed but Ronaldo's achievements are phenomenal and continuing, of course he deserves mentioning alongside the very best.

[SirBalon]

Just now, The Rebel CRS said:

 

 

"Di Stefano was the face of Real's domination during the 1950s and 1960s  when they won five European Cups". They also won 8 league titles.

Not only that, Di Stéfano was the EVERYTHING about Real Madrid and played in absolutely every position... Infact he was the best player in the world in all those positions he played in. For those that don't know their football history which is forgivable... Check out Real Madrid pre Di Stéfano and then post the master...  Look at it and then think again.  It's a lot easier coming into a great club with great resources to strut your stuff when you're very talented, but try doing what Di Stéfano did and the legacy he left for the club FOREVER!

[SirBalon]

Just now, The Artful Dodger said:

So you know more then I'm guessing? Di Stefano is from an almost mythical team and in terms of how much he means to Real Madrid he will most likely never be surpassed but Ronaldo's achievements are phenomenal and continuing, of course he deserves mentioning alongside the very best.

Bobby Charlton has spoken dozens of time about Di Stéfano mate...  He maintains to this day that the greatest players he has ever witnessed both played for that Real Madrid side in Alfredo Di Stéfano and Paco Gento. I know a hell of a lot about Di Stéfano as during my early 20s I visited Argentina on purpose because of him (I then travelled that whole continent subsequently) and spoke to so many people including my 10 years in Spain. He has always been one of my fetiches where football is concerned which is curious seeing as I dislike Real Madrid so much. But Di Stéfano was something different.

But as I said in my previous post... Look at Real Madrid's history pre Di Stéfano.

[Cicero]

You only have to watch footage of DiStefano to truly see how far ahead of his time he was. 

In a time where football was at its most direct and unstructured form, DiStefano was the only one to give some sense of control and stability. 

 

I can understand what Zidane is trying to say, but DiStefano actually won league titles along with his European cup medals. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, The Artful Dodger said:

So you know more then I'm guessing? Di Stefano is from an almost mythical team and in terms of how much he means to Real Madrid he will most likely never be surpassed but Ronaldo's achievements are phenomenal and continuing, of course he deserves mentioning alongside the very best.

You're wrong here my friend. You can still find footage of Di Stefano on the internet.

I haven't seen him myself, but I can say that you can't exactly say it was a mythical team as it is still watchable these days.

[The Artful Dodger]

2 minutes ago, Blue said:

You're wrong here my friend. You can still find footage of Di Stefano on the internet.

I haven't seen him myself, but I can say that you can't exactly say it was a mythical team as it is still watchable these days.

Watching some grainy footage is not the same as being able to properly watch a team or player.

You can't begin to compare the players in any meaningful way. Howevrer, Ronaldo deserves comparison with only the very best, i don't see how you can argue against this. 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, The Artful Dodger said:

Watching some grainy footage is not the same as being able to properly watch a team or player.

You can't begin to compare the players in any meaningful way. Howevrer, Ronaldo deserves comparison with only the very best, i don't see how you can argue against this. 

For me Ronaldo is definitely one of the 10 best ever, but footage is footage. If it's watchable in a decent enough way that is enough for me at least.

[Panna King]

I would say Ronaldo is just behind McManaman.

[Dr. Gonzo]

I mean the thing about judging players in the past off highlight reels is 2 fold. Firstly, anyone can look good in a highlight compilation. Because you're seeing a compilation of their best bits. Unless they do that thing I've seen some youtube highlight people make, where they show every touch the player took in a match (btw if you've never watched one of those for Zidane, they're worth a look). And then you sort of get a better idea of how that player did overall on the whole. But only in that match.

Secondly, football has evolved so much. It's really hard to compare players from different eras. My dad's favourite player ever is Kevin Keegan (don't ask me why it's not Dalglish like a normal Liverpool fan his age lol). A few years back when we had Suarez in peak form, he said Suarez was the player that most reminded him of Keegan. But I've watched clips of Keegan and I sort of see what he's talking about, but the sport was so different to how it is now. If you put Keegan in there now, I mean not old man Keegan, but prime and in form Keegan, who knows how he'd keep up with how much more athletic the players are. By the same token, if you put Suarez in there now, how would he cope with the challenges that were commonplace in the 60s and 70s? Because some challenges back then were fucking filthy and would almost certainly be straight reds now. Back then, they were good clean tackles.

Comparing players from such different eras is really hard. They're both club legends.

[ASF]

This Real Madrid will be remembered as the Real Madrid of Cristiano Ronaldo, but Di Stéfano is Di Stéfano. The club's all-time best player.

I would put Ronaldo at number two.

[SirBalon]

3 hours ago, ASF said:

This Real Madrid will be remembered as the Real Madrid of Cristiano Ronaldo, but Di Stéfano is Di Stéfano. The club's all-time best player.

I would put Ronaldo at number two.

As a matter of curiousity mate, because these things crop up everywhere in every team and as I'm about to put to you, also in national teams.

As you know, I have lifelong friends that are Portuguese apart from their fact that both Portugal and Spain share a very special relationship for obvious reasons.  I say this because of the question I'm going to ask and because I know plenty of Portuguese football fans that are split on this (not so much the older Portuguese football fan because they maintain their ideals as they do in any country)...

But

How do you see the comparison between Eusebio and Cristiano Ronaldo right now in these times.  We both know that forever Eusebio not only is one of the greats of football in general, but that for Portuguese people he was almost like a god.  You couldn't mutter the name Eusebio to a Portuguese person without melancholy drawing up in their eyes whether it be from those that remembered him as a player of younger folk that knew the history and legend of Eusebio and would get emotional just in the fact that he was one of the all time greats and Portuguese.

Now... Here comes the capper in the shape of bias as you may well gather mate.  It's the same in Spain for example with the two giants (talking about past players) in the shape of Real Madrid and Barcelona... Obviously a Barça fan can't ignore the greatness of Alfredo Di Stéfano because only an ignorant fool would do so.  But Barça have for example Kubala to call up on (the reason the Camp Nou was commissioned and they moved from Les Corts), Cruyff or now Messi obviously although he is the present.  But when you talk to an older generational football fan (I'm talking of those in their 80s and above), they'll tell you nothing has ever been as great as Di Stéfano, even now!  This is what I like about football and the undercover unity that football has, not only nationally but also the respect for the greats internationally because football is a family of the world.

So... What Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved obviously can't be ignored, but because his career involves the retina in a scope of having lived it for all those including young and old, because he's been part of the Portugal national team that have been in two international finals and also winning one.  Because of also everything he's done at club level...

How does it stand now?

I know that to make a debate on something like this in Portugal would rightly seem as almost traitorous to the now missing great Eusebio.  But sometimes one must be cold in these things and it doesn't mean that one necessarily means more in the hearts of people than the other... It's just football debate!

Who for you stands at the pantheon of Portuguese football... How do you think the status quo stands these days?

Put your Porto scarf down, put in in the wardrobe (not that I would ever expect you to be partial and partisan in a question such as this)... Where do you think sentiments lie now or is it too emotionally difficult to dissect and even begin to do what a child finds impossible to do which is to choose between mum and dad.

I want to bring @Machado into this too although for him it must be even more difficult being a Benfica fan.

[Machado]

@SirBalonThere's no consensus in that matter.

It's impossible to compare both players but personally I get the idea that Eusebio was a more differentiated footballer in his era than Ronaldo is now. The gap between him and most players in the world was bigger compared to that of Ronaldo's in this generation. Both beasts and funnily enough with similar qualities, although complete opposites in the humbleness spectrum. Eusebio also single-handedly put Portugal on the map as a footballing nation. So again, totally different contexts that are difficult and unfair to compare.

 

As for Di Stefano, he'll always be THE face of Real Madrid, but Ronaldo deserves to be looked at amongst the very best that ever wore that shirt.

[ASF]

On 4/17/2018 at 01:12, SirBalon said:

As a matter of curiousity mate, because these things crop up everywhere in every team and as I'm about to put to you, also in national teams.

As you know, I have lifelong friends that are Portuguese apart from their fact that both Portugal and Spain share a very special relationship for obvious reasons.  I say this because of the question I'm going to ask and because I know plenty of Portuguese football fans that are split on this (not so much the older Portuguese football fan because they maintain their ideals as they do in any country)...

But

How do you see the comparison between Eusebio and Cristiano Ronaldo right now in these times.  We both know that forever Eusebio not only is one of the greats of football in general, but that for Portuguese people he was almost like a god.  You couldn't mutter the name Eusebio to a Portuguese person without melancholy drawing up in their eyes whether it be from those that remembered him as a player of younger folk that knew the history and legend of Eusebio and would get emotional just in the fact that he was one of the all time greats and Portuguese.

Now... Here comes the capper in the shape of bias as you may well gather mate.  It's the same in Spain for example with the two giants (talking about past players) in the shape of Real Madrid and Barcelona... Obviously a Barça fan can't ignore the greatness of Alfredo Di Stéfano because only an ignorant fool would do so.  But Barça have for example Kubala to call up on (the reason the Camp Nou was commissioned and they moved from Les Corts), Cruyff or now Messi obviously although he is the present.  But when you talk to an older generational football fan (I'm talking of those in their 80s and above), they'll tell you nothing has ever been as great as Di Stéfano, even now!  This is what I like about football and the undercover unity that football has, not only nationally but also the respect for the greats internationally because football is a family of the world.

So... What Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved obviously can't be ignored, but because his career involves the retina in a scope of having lived it for all those including young and old, because he's been part of the Portugal national team that have been in two international finals and also winning one.  Because of also everything he's done at club level...

How does it stand now?

I know that to make a debate on something like this in Portugal would rightly seem as almost traitorous to the now missing great Eusebio.  But sometimes one must be cold in these things and it doesn't mean that one necessarily means more in the hearts of people than the other... It's just football debate!

Who for you stands at the pantheon of Portuguese football... How do you think the status quo stands these days?

Put your Porto scarf down, put in in the wardrobe (not that I would ever expect you to be partial and partisan in a question such as this)... Where do you think sentiments lie now or is it too emotionally difficult to dissect and even begin to do what a child finds impossible to do which is to choose between mum and dad.

I want to bring @Machado into this too although for him it must be even more difficult being a Benfica fan.

 

For me, and this will seem unfair to Ronaldo and to what he has achieved, Eusébio should be regarded as the greatest Portuguese player of all-time.  

In the same way that Maradona and Di Stéfano should be put above Messi in Argentina, Bobby Charlton above Gerrard and Lampard and so on.

Football was a lot harder back then! The greats of football history did what they did, in a time where the conditions  were nothing like the ones players have today. The physicality of the game was superior. 

Football was also played with a beauty that doesn't exist in today's game. There was more respect, no social media bullshit. The elements of the game (players, coaches, presidents) only focused on what was important, which is what happens on the pitch.

Messi and Ronaldo wouldn't have done what they have 20 years ago, let alone 50/60 years ago. 

 

 

[Cicero]

That is the biggest hypothetical in football with so many variables that factor in. 

[SirBalon]

1 minute ago, Teso dos Bichos said:

Ronaldo maybe but I know for a damn fact Messi wouldn't simple because HGH didnt become popular among athletes until the 1980s

Can’t you keep it real for once instead of trying or wanting to cite a troll type debate mate?

[Cicero]

There are so many variables. Yes the physicality of the league was tougher, but players today take a lot more care of themselves than back then. The game was very direct then and a lot more possession oriented and organised now. Goal keepers at a time didn't even wear gloves for fucks sake. Just too many variables and too many ifs, ands, or buts. 

The only evidence we have is their ability as footballers, and there is plenty of footage to be found to compare past players abilities to the ones today. 

[El Profesor]

I won´t get in the debate on who was better, because I find impossible to compare players from different eras. But one can compare what both players meant to the history of the club and I think in that regard Di Stéfano is a bigger "bandiera", as italians usually say, than Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid.

Di Stéfano took Real Madrid to a different level and helped that club become a giant. It´s exactly that aura of glamour started during the Di Stéfano years that led Cristiano to move from United to Real Madrid half a century later.

It´s all very subjective, but interesting. Anyway, one thing we can be sure of: a player like Di Stéfano today will never play during his peak years at Colombia.  In that sense, I feel nostalgic, because I know we in South America will never get to watch our best players play their best football at our countries. This won´t happen again.

[SirBalon]

2 hours ago, El_Loco said:

I won´t get in the debate on who was better, because I find impossible to compare players from different eras. But one can compare what both players meant to the history of the club and I think in that regard Di Stéfano is a bigger "bandiera", as italians usually say, than Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid.

Di Stéfano took Real Madrid to a different level and helped that club become a giant. It´s exactly that aura of glamour started during the Di Stéfano years that led Cristiano to move from United to Real Madrid half a century later.

It´s all very subjective, but interesting. Anyway, one thing we can be sure of: a player like Di Stéfano today will never play during his peak years at Colombia.  In that sense, I feel nostalgic, because I know we in South America will never get to watch our best players play their best football at our countries. This won´t happen again.

This was my point in my first post in this thread which is in reference to the fact that we are talking about an individual (in the case of Real Madrid that individual is a footballer) that put the club on the footballing map.  Real Madrid were literally nothing before then in any aspect whatsoever and it was primarily down to him playing for Real Madrid that we now have what we do...

There are obvious reasons as to why people don't understand these things which is why you get the simpleton argument when debating all time greats that most refer to what they've seen... It's a lazy attitude to things because not everything in life is visual and you can couple what's available on video footage with having faith in what has been written and also told by word of mouth from generation to generation about the immensity of these people.  Not only do we have the very good argument @ASF put about what football once was and the handicaps players had to overcome to be able to perform the magic we almost take for granted these days... You try dribbling, doing step-overs and flicks on a potato field of unlevelled surface with lathes of thick grass here and there (because football in Europe is played in what can be described as harsh winters), no under soil heating, the lines you could barely see, no bookings to be had on the definite handicapping "tackles" you would receive and to end it all a leather ball that was used from week to week that when rainy ended up collecting water inside which subsequently made it weigh 8 times more and when in the dry period of the seasons arrived, was as hard as a rock and would scrape a couple of layers of skin off your forehead if you were brave enough to attempt a header.... Oh... And football kits were made of thick cotton that weren't intended to sort out perspiration (sweat) and would also weigh a few times more than before you had put it on.

But yet they performed magic and those players were so different that they are remembered to the day and changed the direction of a football club.

It's ironic that I'm having this debate on a marked day of the football club I grew up around and so love, Arsenal.  As you will be aware, it was announced today that Arsène Wenger will no longer be Arsenal Football Club's manager after 22 years at the helm.  I put an argument forward in said thread today that it's thanks to an individual called Herbert Chapman that Arsenal were in the position to sign a man such as Wenger, to win the titles they won before him and with him, to BUILD THE STADIUM that he apparently was involved in designing (had no idea he was also a smart architect) and everything else the club have been about ever since Chapman took control of the club so to speak.

Its thanks to Alfredo di Stéfano that Real Madrid were able to sign Cristiano Ronaldo for what was at that moment an obscene amount of money in terms of a transfer fee... It's thanks to La Saeta Rubia that Santiago Bernabéu was able to raise the funds to build the stadium that goes by the name of the said president...  Bernabéu could've been so kind as to leave it said that the stadium should Infact be named after Di Stéfano himself and if I were a Real Madrid fan I would've even signed a petition to actually name the club after the legend himself because that's how much they owed him. Not that they didn't treat him like a god anyway, because they did as everyone well knows,

Nothing at Real Madrid comes even close by comparison.  You have to know the history of things, the small details as well as the overall picture in terms of performance statistics that players have offered.

Cristiano Ronaldo is and will always be undoubtedly one of Real Madrid's biggest legends because he's earned that status.  But he is also a Manchester United legend and United are no Mickey Mouse entity!

People should learn to respect history a lot more and understand that it contains the be all and end all of what we have today in absolutely every aspect of our existence. Football also being a fact of life that exists also works in the exact same circular and ever winding road that everything else in life does.  There is no difference and what we have today in any walk of life was due to a beginning in some other moment beforehand that ended up being able to develop.

I would never vote for Arsenal's football stadium to be called the Arsène Wenger Stadium... No way!  I would Infact stop supporting the club in its entirety.  What could happen is they can pull down the Herbert Chapman statue, put it inside the stadium and build a Wenger statue in its place and THEN call the Stadium the Herbert Chapman Stadium because if a person's name HAS to be attached to it, he's the ONLY one that can or could ever have that accolade attributed to the temple of the club.

[bozziovai]

this is my metaphor for  the era of Di Stefano and Co  to Cr7 and M10 ......

 

Di Stefano was the ---------

 

 

 

while ronaldo and messi ----------------

 

 

 

 

 

my word here is - evolution.

[Honey Honey]

Di Stefano of fascist match fixing fame who won 5 European Cups before anyone took the European Cup seriously.