Question of the week: Club or Country and the All-Time Greats

[its_slash]

Remember, if you have an idea for a question you would like to see, PM it to me, and each week one question will be selected based on the quality of the question and it's subject. I will not choose the questions on my own, but this is the best way to ensure that we don't keep discussing the same things.

Help us stop Michel Platini from abusing UEFA rules with his ridiculous whims by sending a question.

This week's question is sent by RobbieD_PL:

Usually, players prioritize their club to extend their playing career, but is international glory at the World Cup more determinant of a player's all time greatness than the pinnacle of club glory, the UCL?


Past Questions:

2011

13/9 - What will football be like in 50 years?
19/9 - What are some rule changes that would improve the game?
3/10 - The European Super-League Discussion
11/10 - How would you spend 50m?
19/10 - Why does ____ underperform?
26/10 - How to stop Barcelona?
13/12 - What players have you come to respect/dislike?
20/12 - Who will win the Euros?

2012

2/1 - Should the Prem introduce a winter break?
9/1 - Who is the most two-footed player?
15/1 - What is the toughest position?
23/1 - Who is Portugal's Revelation Player for 2011?
3/2 - Should the Old Firm compete in the English leagues?
13/2 - Is Guardiola Overrated?
24/2 - Who are the German league's best players?
6/3 - Which players messed up their careers by switching clubs?
13/3 - What is the most shocking transfer of all-time?
16/5 - Your Favorite Player (NOT based on performance)?
10/6 - The 2016 Euro Expansion
12/7 - Best Goal Ever?
3/8 - World Cup vs. Champions League Discussion
13/8 - Yugoslavia
19/8 - Confederations Cup
25/8 - Standarized Pitch Sizes
27/8 - What Transfers Would you Like to See?
3/9 - Most Interesting Team of the New Season
10/9 - Cup-Tied Restrictions
18/9 - The Perfect Footballer
26/9 - Best One-Trick Pony
3/10 - Best Young Goalkeeper
10/10 - Best Goalkeeper Ever
17/10 - A World Without Football
24/10 - Best Utility Player
31/10 - Who will have a Breakout Season?
9/11 - Who will be the Best Players of the Future?
19/11 - Who Carries his Team the Furthest?
27/11 - Who is Exceeding Expectations?
4/12 - Who is Performing Below Expectations?
10/12 - How Young is Too Young?
20/12 - Cristiano Ronaldo - All-Time Great?
30/12 - The Winter Transfer Window

2013

7/1 - Italy's Wonderkids
18/1 - Messi at a Mediocre Club
29/1 - Greatest Transfer Successes/Failures
5/2 - Who are the Eredivisie's Best Players?
3/3 - Best Youth Products XI
8/4 - Homosexuality in Football
18/4 - Sexiest Footballer
26/4 - Expected & Desired Transfers
2/5 - Dawn of the German Era?
8/5 - Fergie's Retirement
19/5 - Seasonal Eurovision
19/8 - League's Best 11 (without Top Teams)
28/8 - Looking Back at the 2012 Draft
14/11 - Transfer Cap
21/11 - Most Spectacular Derby
28/11 - Who shouldn't have left ?
03/12 - C.Ronaldo and L.Messi in smaller clubs

 

[yoyo913]

Obviously being successful at both doesn't hurt but if I had to pick one I'd say success at club level. Look at the two most popular players today and the players collectively considered the best at the moment - Messi and Ronaldo. Neither of them have reached the greatest heights of international success, yet that hasn't impeded their level of being the best.

A point to make though is that old school, the players considered the best of all time, Pele and Maradona, are considered that because of their World Cup wins and performance so perhaps things are changing where that was the case way back but now club performance is more important.

 

[RobbieD_PL]

Yes, that was kind of my point as per all time greats. Pele and Maradona won the World Cup in their day; but Messi and Ronaldo have won UCLs in this era. Which one counts for all time greats, winning more club trophies every season as UCLs or winning a World Cup once every four years?

Or to put it another way over a four year cycle:

4 UCL Trophies > or < 1 World Cup?

 

[yoyo913]

Yes, that was kind of my point as per all time greats. Pele and Maradona won the World Cup in their day; but Messi and Ronaldo have won UCLs in this era. Which one counts for all time greats, winning more club trophies every season as UCLs or winning a World Cup once every four years?

To answer that literally I would say that 3 world cup titles is better than 3 CL titles.

 

[allenbruce85]

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[Mus]

World cup holds more weoght, but isn't as frequent so not as fresh/ enough opportunity to improve reputation. It also has to fall on a good period in that players career and they need to be from a country that isn't shit e.g George best

 

[yoyo913]

Where does Forlan (a player who won World Cup best player) rank among the best players of the last 10 years? Not even in the top 25.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

World cup glory will always be the pinnacle of football achievement

 

[Bonehead1]

For true greatness I think you need both

 

[ShiftyPowers]

No you don't. Maradona didn't have both, although you can certainly say that the old European Cup didn't mean as much.

 

[RobbieD_PL]

The 2 best players of our time and the most expensive one won't will anything with their national teams.

 

[Filipower]

The most expensive one might. After all, his playing the World Cup in his home country this year.

 

[ShiftyPowers]

And Argentina could absolutely win one too. I think it's very smart, and probably hard for a manager to do, to just play his best players in their traditional positions, not necessarily where they play for their club. Mascherano at DM, Messi at RW, Di Maria as a box-to-box. Messi on free role as RW with the awesome Zabaleta overlapping behind him could be impossible to defend without overloading that entire side, freeing up whoever gets deployed on the left... possibly Aguero. Not to mention that European sides have historically done poor in the Western Hemisphere.

 

[Bobby]

Outside of the World Cup international football generally bores the shit out of me. Especially here unless we're playing Mexico, Costa Rica or Honduras. I like to see small teams and all but the bottom of CONCACAF is really, really bad.

 

[RobbieD_PL]

The most expensive one might. After all, his playing the World Cup in his home country this year.

Bale?

 

[Filipower]

Neymar?

 

[RobbieD_PL]

Neymar?

Ohk, I just thought Bale was the most expensive because of the transfer fee; not because of the tax-evasion and hype. Bale was the player I was referring to in my initial statement.

 

[Filipower]

I know, man.