r/SpicyFootballTakes

Caicedo is better than Rice àt everything except from Set Pieces ànd is far more complete.anyone who doesn’t agree simply is biased or doesn’t watch football. Rice cannot influence play in the first phase of buildup nor pass through the lines and cannot pass accurately or create open play chances. He is only good at covering ground and defensively something caicedo is better than him àt evidenced by statistics for the past couple seasons. In addition caicedo can play às à single pivot 6 ànd à box to box 8 (Tbf not same level as rice right now) making him more versatile. Only claim rice has is having a better career which is only temporary. Furthermore rice admits caicedo is a full blown 6 ànd voted caicedo for PFA. So arsenal fans give it a rest. Caicedo also has more open play chances created

by eye test messi was so much better and it's not particularly close.

also by stats I mean only goals , cause in rest again messi clears.

Messi overall Influence on the game was ahead of Ronaldo And If you really watched matches between 2009 to 2022 you would know that in terms of eye it was never close , like not even remotely close.

for example I want you guys to watch Ronaldo famous calma calma game during his prime 2011-12 , you would get your answer who had more influence in overall game . You would be shocked to know that cr7 until that goal in that game was basically a passenger and I have watched that full game but of course that game cause of a goal is said to be his best but in actual he dd nothing in that game until that late goal.

meanwhile if you watch that game for first 15 mins messi already looked much more impressive than ronaldo did by far and it was like this their overall career , messi was a much more impressive player by all aspects.

Pep actually made football less interesting during City reign. ** **

He’s obviously one of the greatest managers ever, but his influence convinced half of Europe that every team needs to play the exact same sterile, possession-heavy, positional football. If it didn’t, City in general, even at their peak, was unbearable to watch. So fcking boring. He also killed flashy winger play.

Give me chaotic counterattacks, actual wingers taking people on, midfielders attempting stupid passes, and managers with completely different philosophies. Football was better when elite teams didn’t all look like variations of the same system.

Liverpool’s Klopp, Enrique’s PSG, Flick’s Bayern and Barcelona, Pep’s Barcelona >>>>

2 full seasons at Porto. 2 league titles, UEFA Cup first season, UCL second season. Plus a few domestic cups. UCL with PORTO.

Goes to Chelsea and wins their first title in 40-50 years, smashing the points record in his first season and gets to the UCL semis (furthest they’ve been for ages / ever) and goes out to a dodgy goal. Then retains the title in the second season. Finishes 2nd and wins League Cup in third season.

2 seasons at Inter. Wins the league in his first season (although admittedly they had won the previous few) and in his second season wins the treble, the only Italian team to ever do it. And Inter’s first UCL for 40 years. Beating prime Barca over two legs in the process.

Goes to Madrid and is competing against the greatest team in history. Copa Del Rey in the first season then wins La Liga in his second, breaking the points record. Was probably a penalty shootout in the semis away from winning his third UCL in a decade.

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Some might not think spicy enough, some might think stupid. Fair dos.

Practically every world class footballers do this, mbappe, kane, olise, yamal, the only exemption is the psg superteam which gets constantly rotated. of course they are gonna struggle against world class defenders, im tired of people acting like they are expected to turn up in big games, despite them all earning ridiculous salaries.

yes

Edit : I missed taking Ronaldo name so ya sorry for that.

I think 2000s and 1990s have also a strong claim but 2010s was amazing all round.

Henry

Aguero

Alan shearer

Harry Kane

Haaland

Not their whole careers , just the period where they were at their absolute best.

1. Messi — 2009–15 Honestly, I don't know if we've ever seen a higher level. Messi wasn't just scoring ridiculous numbers , he was dribbling past entire defenses, creating chances, controlling games and making everything look effortless. The scary part is that this wasn't just one amazing season. He stayed at an absurd level for years. For me, the greatest prime ever and it's not particularly close.
2. Maradona — 1984–87 Took Napoli from nowhere to genuine contenders and then became the defining player of the 1986 World Cup. At his peak, he could completely take over a game by himself.
3. Cristiano Ronaldo — 2011–18 Insane goalscorer , His Champions League goal scoring is amazing
4. Pelé — 1958–65 One of the most complete players ever. Incredible goalscoring, athleticism, technique and creativity, while also being a serial winner. Three World Cups during this period is insane, and he was still one of the most dangerous players on the pitch even when he wasn't scoring.
5. R9 — 1996–2002 At his absolute best, R9 was genuinely terrifying to defend. He had the acceleration to blow past defenders, the dribbling to beat them one-on-one and the finishing to punish you immediately. For me, he's probably the most naturally gifted pure striker I've ever seen.

I have made this list based on their ability in their prime.

There never was. It's big 5. Before city it was big 4. Finishing high consistently means fuck all of you're not gonna win shit. Spurs is a small club historically and presently. They are a nothing club. They have won 2 premier league. 2 Premier league titles and that's it. They won a fucking Europa league after God knows how long. They have no recent success and they have no past success. Infact I highly doubt I'd put them in the top 10 clubs in the league

If you don't take into account how far your team goes and if you consider raw skill, read below.

Officially the best in 2014 and 2022 and almost all reputable sources claim also 2026.

But if you analyse how well each player performs, he was also the best in 2010 and 2018.

His technique, skills and contribution to his team had no match, and he was the expert at what is the hardest skill in football, which is dribbling and ball control in tight spaces.

For people not understanding what I mean, I'm taking about a level a player shows. Think that you have the chance to pick a player for free after a would cup for your team. I'd have picked Messi every single time.

If you disagree tell me with a hand in your heart which player you would have taken for free for your team after the world cup otherwise.

In 2022, when Mason Greenwood was 20 years old, photos and video emerged that heavily implied that Greenwood was sexually abusing his girlfriend. He was suspended by Manchester Utd and never played for them again, he was dropped by sponsors. A year later the charges against Greenwood were dropped with the crown prosecution service stating that key witnesses had withdrawn. For the 23/24 season Greenwood was loaned to Getafe before transferring to Marseille in 2024, in 2026 he transferred to Fenerbahce, he has played at a high level across his career but he has not been involved with the England National team since the allegations. He is currently 24 years old.

In the past 4 and half years Greenwood has not talked about what happened nor has he attempted to rehabilitate his image in England, in 2024 he requested to switch his nationality to Jamaica but has yet to play for them. Given his silence it is impossible to understand how Greenwood feels about his reputation or what has happened to him, it is conceivable that his silence is a result of legal agreements made during legal proceedings.

My take is that, if he had wanted to, Greenwood could have rehabilitated his reputation in England. Whilst the evidence against him is terrible he was 20 years old when it was recorded, barely an adult. A public apology, a recognition of his failures, visible work on rehabilitation, support for women's charities and shelters are all actions he could have taken if he wanted to. Greenwood could have made himself a cautionary for other young footballers, he could have tried to make something positive from what he did, if he had I believe his reputation in England could have been repaired.

I do not know if he is simply uninterested, unrepentant or legally restricted from trying this and I do not argue that he doesn't deserve our judgement, but everyone deserves the chance to apologise, Greenwood hasn't taken his chance yet.

Everyone has always hated the truth speakers, the prophets. People don't like listening to hard truths but I am hear to share facts and my arguments are always backed up by data and stats.

These clubs in my opinion have a history that is overrated.

Man utd - They have great history yes but they have 3 champions leagues only. They don't even have the most league titles anymore. Historically I can name 6 or 7 clubs that are more successful

Arsenal - Their history is what exactly? All they mention is a useless achievement which is invincibles. They have 0 ucls which is the biggest trophy.

Spurs - yes Ik they aren't rated that high but they should be rated even lower. They don't have a better history than Everton or Villa. They have only 2 league titles and 0 ucls.

Now on to underrated

Man City: first of all everyone thinks they didn't win anything before 2008 when they had as many titles as spurs but one has history apparently and the other does not. Secondly, people think recent success isn't history. Yes it is. The treble that man city won is part of their history now. The titles they have won under pep are all a part of their history. They have 10 league titles now which is a lot and they are probably gonna win a lot more in the future

PSG: same argument as city. People think recent success isn't history. The back to back ucls they have won have already been added to their history now and their success in the last 2 decades makes them a very successful club

Liverpool: Yes I know everyone knows how successful they are but I feel like they still get underrated. I personally put them as the most successful club of all time after real Madrid. They have the most league titles and the most ucls in premier league history. Man utd doesn't even come close when they have less trophies same titles and half the amount of ucls. Therefore, comparing these clubs history imo is stupid

Hear me out. Tottenham Hotspur owns like the stadium with the second most capacity in the PL and it's always full, even though their club is passing through a very difficult moment of their history, arguably the hardest.
Then, when I hear a Spurs fan talk about football in general, I notice they're the least biased fanbase among all the big 6's, unlike the Gooners or the Cityzens who are nothing but heavily biased.
Also, they are never delusional and annoying like some others.
Considering those two factors, I sorted out that the Spurs fanbase is the best one in the PL.

Mexico my clear favourites out of the 3 teams that are big powers in CONCACAF. USA is also developing great talent slowly but surely, the MLS is fairly new as a league so I think it is possible. Plus the MLS includes 2 Canadian teams as well, and Canada, despite having less of a talent pool than the other 2, seem to do pretty well with what they have and either of these 3, if they go on a dark horse run, could honestly see one of them get to the final 4 and from there its anyone's game.

It might take a couple of decades to get there but I bet on one of them making it there. The problem is Africa is mostly reliant on one NT, Morocco, as their main favourites most tournaments with others behind being Senegal or Nigeria, the latter didn’t even qualify this year.

Same with Asia to an extent, Japan clear front runners for their nation, followed by some pretty weak teams.