Best old players in the history

[alko]

Looking to Zlatan and what he do in his 39, is something special. I cant remember a player in his age still on the biggest level.

Was there any player in the world, who could be comparable to him?

Click to read more...

 

[Havre]

Good question. Baresi was good late into his 30s. Zanetti is the only one I can think of among outfield players. Zanetti was special, but what Ibrahimovic is doing as an attacking players is unbelievable.

 

[AB13]

There have not been many as good as Zlatan at his age. Some notable players that were great at an old age that I could think of besides the ones mentioned are Bobby Charlton, Paolo Maldini, Ian Wright, Luca Toni and Antonio Di Natale. Ronaldo is still top 2 in the world probably and Vardy is a late bloomer who just keeps improving but they are not as old as Zlatan obviously.

 

[Havre]

Toni and Di Natale are good mentions. Charlton I couldn't say. Wright I would argue was slowing down a lot earlier than the others mentioned.

Completely forgot that Toni went on for that long. Strange career he had - with those two late seasons for Verona after having done so little for so long.

 

[Albatros]

 

[robertmac43]

Crazy to me that Vardy will be 34. Still has so much energy in every game he plays.

 

[Havre]

Crazy to me that Vardy will be 34. Still has so much energy in every game he plays.

Would have been interesting to see a study on how longevity correlates with when they broke through. I got a hypothesis that players that break through late keep going for longer. Vardy was already quite "old" when he started to perform at the highest level.

Once again Ibrahimovic is the exception.

 

[Power Man]

Yes

 

[robertmac43]

Would have been interesting to see a study on how longevity correlates with when they broke through. I got a hypothesis that players that break through late keep going for longer. Vardy was already quite "old" when he started to perform at the highest level.

Once again Ibrahimovic is the exception.

Yeah he was what, 26 when he broke out? around there.

I don't know if you have read his book but he talks about his pregame ritual. It includes a triple espresso shot and 2-3 redbulls between waking up and kick off.. Vardy's body will likely keep going but his jheart may stop at some point :p

 

[Albatros]

Would have been interesting to see a study on how longevity correlates with when they broke through. I got a hypothesis that players that break through late keep going for longer. Vardy was already quite "old" when he started to perform at the highest level.

Once again Ibrahimovic is the exception.

Lothar Matthäus was a top player for 20 years.

 

[Havre]

Yeah. Exaggerating when I say Ibrahimovic is the exception. But I still think the point stands - but I don't know - I can't back it up with proper stats. A battle of anecdotes isn't very interesting.

Matthaus should be included as a good player even when old.

 

[Havre]

Yeah he was what, 26 when he broke out? around there.

I don't know if you have read his book but he talks about his pregame ritual. It includes a triple espresso shot and 2-3 redbulls between waking up and kick off.. Vardy's body will likely keep going but his jheart may stop at some point :p

Haha. No. I haven't.

Many athletes talk about getting tired. Clearly that is mainly a mental thing. So many athletes have shown that physically you can keep going at least until your late 30s if you want to.

But can you bother with doing all the boring stuff? Not eating that donut, talking that last situp etc? If you got 3 small kids and a wife etc. you just slowly start to prioritize differently. Or at least most people would naturally do so.

If you have spent 5-6 years from you are around 18-20 to around 25 just to make a living from football I think you understand more about the struggle and that it won't last forever. Obviously just speculation, but seems reasonable to me. And of course you got natural variance in personalities.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Would have been interesting to see a study on how longevity correlates with when they broke through. I got a hypothesis that players that break through late keep going for longer. Vardy was already quite "old" when he started to perform at the highest level.

Once again Ibrahimovic is the exception.

For the most part I'd say that's accurate. It's just less overall wear and tear on your body. As opposed to someone like Rooney who was playing 40+ games a season by the time he was 18. It just wears your body down and you start to fall apart by the time you get to 30.

 

[cgf]

Cafu, Maldini & Lodar are the first to pop into my mind.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Buffon in his late 30’s was still a top level goalie. He’s obviously showing his age a little more now though.

 

[Havre]

Maldini definitely. Ashamed I didn't mention him.

Goalkeepers are a bit different to me. Maybe not a lot getting to their 40s, but definitely quite a few in their late 30s. Shilton played 12 games for England in 1990 - and he was born in 49. Shilton might even have been on the bench in the mid 90s in the PL?

 

[The Abusement Park]

Maldini definitely. Ashamed I didn't mention him.

Goalkeepers are a bit different to me. Maybe not a lot getting to their 40s, but definitely quite a few in their late 30s. Shilton played 12 games for England in 1990 - and he was born in 49. Shilton might even have been on the bench in the mid 90s in the PL?

I mean how many are starting a CL final at 38? But overall I agree, goalies typically age a little better. But even then of the elite goalies of late have been good in their mid 30’s but still had a somewhat noticeable drop off. It also definitely is related to play style. Goalies like Casillas and De Gea who rely on reflexes and their athletic ability won’t age nearly as well as well as someone like Van der Sar or Buffon who’s positioning and reading of the game was elite.

 

[Havre]

I mean how many are starting a CL final at 38? But overall I agree, goalies typically age a little better. But even then of the elite goalies of late have been good in their mid 30’s but still had a somewhat noticeable drop off. It also definitely is related to play style. Goalies like Casillas and De Gea who rely on reflexes and their athletic ability won’t age nearly as well as well as someone like Van der Sar or Buffon who’s positioning and reading of the game was elite.

Don´t get me wrong - Buffon is special, but considering goalkeepers are only 1 out of 11 I believe they would be massively overrepresented in the 35+ category and you will find several that played at a very high level maybe even past 40. van der Sar is another recent example of that.

Would be really cool if Ibrahimovic could go past 40 at this level. Really only C. Ronaldo I could potentially see copying something like that among attacking players.

 

[The Abusement Park]

Don´t get me wrong - Buffon is special, but considering goalkeepers are only 1 out of 11 I believe they would be massively overrepresented in the 35+ category and you will find several that played at a very high level maybe even past 40. van der Sar is another recent example of that.

Would be really cool if Ibrahimovic could go past 40 at this level. Really only C. Ronaldo I could potentially see copying something like that among attacking players.

I mean I guess. But even Cech at 35 was definitely worse than he was at 30.Certainly not elite anymore. I don't think there's many keepers that are elite past 35.

 

[cujo1117]

Ryan Giggs?

 

[Vasilevskiy]

Cafu, Zanetti and Maldini are the ones that come to mind

 

[Havre]

I mean I guess. But even Cech at 35 was definitely worse than he was at 30.Certainly not elite anymore. I don't think there's many keepers that are elite past 35.

Not sure if you can argue that Ibrahimovic is now better than he was at 30 either. Even if he has scored a ridiculous amount of goals so far this year.

 

[TheMoreYouKnow]

By some accounts Nwankwo Kanu played well into his 70s.

I would not count goalkeepers in this at all as there's been a good few greats playing to age 40 and past it such as Dino Zoff or Peter Shilton to name just two.

Some good examples for defenders already mentioned. Tougher for forwards and attacking midfielders. Definitely have to mention England's answer to Gordie Howe - Stanley Matthews who still got games for England at 42 and played for Stoke almost to age 50.

 

[Islesfan22]

The best player I have ever seen play is Diego Maradona! Only saw Pele when he was on the decline with the Cosmos.

 

[gary69]

Alfredo Di Stefano, about a month shy of his 38th birtday in the CL (EC) final, and then went on to play two more years at Espanol. He wasn't the same anymore after his mid-thirties, but still good.