Larry Bird/Zidane

[Tracymcgoaty]

So i was watching Zidane highlights on youtube because being an absolute football fanatic that is what you do from time to time.

Which made me think about who a good Zidane comp would be in basketball...And the only dude i could come up with was Larry Bird. Now i wasn't alive when bird was playing so all i have to go of off is Footage from youtube. But from what i've seen.

Bird like Zidane wasn't

strongest
quickest
most athletic

player..Thats not what made them great.

Both of them..Top of the echelon if not right at the top when it comes to thinking the game and being supremely skilled at their craft.Not only just skilled in their versatility but true generals on the court. Zidanes greatest strength is no doubt his football brain. He thinks the game way ahead of his opponents. when you have someone that can think the game at that level you're immediately at an incredible advantage. Because they're not an extension of the coach...They think way beyond what any coach can do and read the game on a entirely different stratosphere from their opponents.

in short their brain is their biggest weapon. There are truly a select few players who can control tempo on the court/field

Zidane if anything was a maestro at it and from the footage i've seen of Larry no doubt he was in that same vain.

When i saw Zidane at the twilight of his career in his last WC being the conductor on the field against world class players in their prime the feeling i had watching him must have been the same for people who watched Larry Bird

How is he doing what he's doing? He's not faster,stronger nor more athletic than his opponents yet he is dominating them.

These players are truly the most intriguing ones for me to watch. They truly are a riddle for me. And thats what makes them so great.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[70sFan]

Zidane is my favorite football player ever, I never thought I'd see a thread about him here

[Tracymcgoaty]

Zidane is my favorite football player ever, I never thought I'd see a thread about him here

One of the few players i'd honestly pay money just to watch him. True artist.

[UcanUwill]

Zidane is my favorite football player ever, I never thought I'd see a thread about him here

Sadly, I became real Football fan who watches games just recently. At a time, I knew who best players were simply because I played FIFA and games like that, knew player ratings, but I never watched the game outside FIFA tournaments, and I definitely didn't understand what I was watching. I liked Gerrard and Henry the most, but I missed out on all these players from the past.

I don't know who would be best comp for Zidane, but I imagine flashy handle and passing alongside cerebral IQ is required, which would be rare combination.

[Tracymcgoaty]

Zidane is my favorite football player ever, I never thought I'd see a thread about him here

Sadly, I became real Football fan who watches games just recently. At a time, I knew who best players were simply because I played FIFA and games like that, knew player ratings, but I never watched the game outside FIFA tournaments, and I definitely didn't understand what I was watching. I liked Gerrard and Henry the most, but I missed out on all these players from the past.

I don't know who would be best comp for Zidane, but I imagine flashy handle and passing alongside cerebral IQ is required, which would be rare combination.

It's hard to compare football player v Basketball players

but from a truly game IQ perspective and skills perspective i think Bird-Zidane are the closest.

You can of course put guys like Luka,Jokic Bron out there when it comes to game IQ but nah..Bird feels about right on the money for me.

[cpower]

Zidane is incredibly clutch, probably one of the most clutch players in football history - scoring 2 goals in WCF and winning goal UCL F as midfielder is insane. Bird does not have that feel in this aspect.

[Collymore]

The striking thing about Zidanes game was the elegance. We've had a lot of players with amazing technique and flair but Zidane made it look so easy, so slow, so controlled. That needs to be in the comp.

[Tracymcgoaty]

Zidane is incredibly clutch, probably one of the most clutch players in football history - scoring 2 goals in WCF and winning goal UCL F as midfielder is insane. Bird does not have that feel in this aspect.

Whilst that may be true i will say they both won at every level during their careers.


But yes the bigger the games the better Zizou played.

[MarcusBrody]

I don't see Zidane as Bird. Bird was awesome and thing things you say are true, but Zidane was graceful in a way that separated him from other players around him and he seemed to glide past them. I'm too young to have watched Bird in his prime, but from his highlights, I don't see that same defining smoothness. If anything, I feel like Magic had more in common with Zidane in that sense as he always seemed smooth, though he was more vertical.

Honestly, I see a bit of Zidane in Kyrie (strictly on court). Not supremely athletic, but athletic and supremely and elegantly technical and so effective in whatever size space despite not being super explosive. Zidane saw the game more like Bird/Magic than Kyrie though.

Edit: Thinking more, maybe Nash for the elegane, technicality, and vision, though Nash was comparatively better in vertical speed and Zidane was stronger in comparison to his peers.

[Hoop Hunter]

This is the first time I've ever heard of Zizane, seriously. I don't pay attention to anything soccer.

[Big J]

Manu is a better comp because they both rocked the power donut.

[G R E Y]

"... I wasn't alive when Bird was playing..."

Mama needs her nap now

(Yeah Bird and Zidane were super creative, beautifying their sports with their games).

[Tracymcgoaty]

I don't see Zidane as Bird. Bird was awesome and thing things you say are true, but Zidane was graceful in a way that separated him from other players around him and he seemed to glide past them. I'm too young to have watched Bird in his prime, but from his highlights, I don't see that same defining smoothness. If anything, I feel like Magic had more in common with Zidane in that sense as he always seemed smooth, though he was more vertical.

Honestly, I see a bit of Zidane in Kyrie (strictly on court). Not supremely athletic, but athletic and supremely and elegantly technical and so effective in whatever size space despite not being super explosive. Zidane saw the game more like Bird/Magic than Kyrie though.

Edit: Thinking more, maybe Nash for the elegane, technicality, and vision, though Nash was comparatively better in vertical speed and Zidane was stronger in comparison to his peers.

You're right Bird doesn't have the same elegance that Zizou had on the field. The comps you mentioned are really good as well!

I guess i was talking more from a game IQ level more than anything. Zizou for all his elegance was always the smartest player on the field.

But the magic comp is great! Probably better than bird imo. Kyrie also incredibly smooth!

[Tracymcgoaty]

"... I wasn't alive when Bird was playing..."

Mama needs her nap now

(Yeah Bird and Zidane were super creative, beautifying their sports with their games).

[StarneyBinston]

Zidane is my favorite football player ever, I never thought I'd see a thread about him here

Sadly, I became real Football fan who watches games just recently. At a time, I knew who best players were simply because I played FIFA and games like that, knew player ratings, but I never watched the game outside FIFA tournaments, and I definitely didn't understand what I was watching. I liked Gerrard and Henry the most, but I missed out on all these players from the past.

I don't know who would be best comp for Zidane, but I imagine flashy handle and passing alongside cerebral IQ is required, which would be rare combination.

Magic, in a way?

[Tracymcgoaty]

This is the first time I've ever heard of Zizane, seriously. I don't pay attention to anything soccer.

Thats understandable. Soccer isn't as popular as it is in other parts of the world.

However that it seems to be changing lately.

[Collymore]

Zidane is incredibly clutch, probably one of the most clutch players in football history - scoring 2 goals in WCF and winning goal UCL F as midfielder is insane. Bird does not have that feel in this aspect.

Whilst that may be true i will say they both won at every level during their careers.


But yes the bigger the games the better Zizou played.

Incredibly clutch until his last game when he unfortuantely had one of the biggest choke moments in football history in overtime in the world cup finals.

[UcanUwill]

"... I wasn't alive when Bird was playing..."

Mama needs her nap now

(Yeah Bird and Zidane were super creative, beautifying their sports with their games).

I know to some of us probably still feels that 92 is recent events, but it literally was over 30 years ago. When I was 15, 30 years ago seemed ancient times, we are just old now.

Also, I was waiting for anti Football troll who would say he ''never heard of Zidane''. Yeah, right, you never heard about of the most famous athehes who ever lived, what a cool cat

Also, I always bring up this when we discuss cool names, dopest name in sports history, easily.

[cpower]

Zidane is incredibly clutch, probably one of the most clutch players in football history - scoring 2 goals in WCF and winning goal UCL F as midfielder is insane. Bird does not have that feel in this aspect.

Whilst that may be true i will say they both won at every level during their careers.


But yes the bigger the games the better Zizou played.

Incredibly clutch until his last game when he unfortuantely had one of the biggest choke moments in football history in overtime in the world cup finals.

well he could not control the temper thats another story. Larry Bird only avg 23 in NBA finals on 54%TS... that's why I dont think he is top 10 all time.

[UcanUwill]

Zidane is incredibly clutch, probably one of the most clutch players in football history - scoring 2 goals in WCF and winning goal UCL F as midfielder is insane. Bird does not have that feel in this aspect.

Whilst that may be true i will say they both won at every level during their careers.


But yes the bigger the games the better Zizou played.

Incredibly clutch until his last game when he unfortuantely had one of the biggest choke moments in football history in overtime in the world cup finals.

It has to be the most famous, or infamous, most memorable ''last game'' in history of sports, right? Materazzi literally wrote a book called ""What I really said to Zidane'', and it is just dozens of pages of quotes of what he might have said to Zidane, and according to Materazzi, one of them is real, what he actually said. I still don''t know what he said, was it revealed for real?