28 Aug 2005: Ajax - Feyenoord

[DanK]

All truly great players have one characteristic in common: they don't give a shit and they essentially play for themselves.
K.

Exactly. Take these 2 names as an example. Cruyff & van Basten.

These guys (esp JC) thought they new better than anyone else and in most cases they did. To be truely world class, you need to be an arrogant bastard and have the skills to back it up.

Zlatan is the perfect example.

There are some exceptions to the rule but they are few and far between.

[666]

Rijkaard an arrogant bastard who didn't give a shit and essentially played for himself?

Bergkamp?

Litmanen?

etc.

[DanK]

Rijkaard an arrogant bastard who didn't give a shit and essentially played for himself?

Bergkamp?

Litmanen?

etc.

Bergkamp...love the guy, but he is definatley a bit arrogant (also has been known to be a slightly dirty player - I think it was WC98 when he stood on the Yugoslavian defender just to name one). He has toned down this side of his play a lot in recent years.

You are right to a point and as I said, there are some exceptions, but I do tend to stay with Ko on this one.

I guess thats why past German teams have been so good...full of arseh...ooops, i mean arrogant players ;)

[Kowalczyk]

Rijkaard an arrogant bastard who didn't give a shit and essentially played for himself?

The words 'arrogant bastard' are not mine. But 'didn't give a shit and essentially playing for himself'? Yes. Rijkaard fitted into that category. Absolutely. He won his trophies for himself (and good for him; nothing wrong with that).

Bergkamp?

Very, very much indeed. A complete loner. Does his thing; does it his way.

Litmanen?

Kind of an exception to the rule because he was a world class team player. However, you could also say that his years at Ajax were the only ones in which Jari Litmanen was world class. He wasn't that brilliant for Barcelona and Liverpool.

K.

[666]

A real 'don't give a shit' player like Zlatan would have stood up to Cruijff back in '87 instead of running away.

Rijkaard was the team player who allowed van Basten to do his thing at Euro 88 and in Milan. And in '95 he was the babysitter.