"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."
Posted on 06/29/2006 10:46:37 PM PDT by soccer_maniac
The Elite Eight!! The quarterfinal round of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany gets underway Friday with a pair of highly-anticipated matches. The hosts kick things off against Argentina in Berlin (10:55 a.m. ET; ESPN). Italy will face Ukraine in the day's second game (2:55 p.m.; ESPN2).
Two of the quarterfinals are rematches of championship games: Brazil-France (1998) and Germany-Argentina (1986 and 1990).
(Excerpt) Read more at fifaworldcup.yahoo.com ...
I hate to sound like Howard Stern, but I did like the picture of the 2 German girls kissing.
True. And then, I never saw most of these guys play, so I can't argue things one way or the other.
I remember my English cousins being gaga over George Best back in the day. I also have fond memories of mysterious legends like Beckenbauer, Cruyff and Pele, who were talked about in American soccer circles but never seen on TV. Pele did get a few seconds in the opening of "The Wide World of Sports," which consisted of auto-racing, and more auto-racing.
And I'm glad that a Polish player made the list!
"George Best - another name that arguably should be in the Top 20 or even Top 10!"
Probably the best UK player ever. And that's from a Manchester City fan!
Who's got the link to the live feed?
On a motorcycle? There's a joke about drinking and driving in there somewhere but I'm far to tasteful to make it.
Cruyff only 5th? He should be #2 behind Pele.
As I recall he wasn't driving the bike. I think there was a chick driving it.
"I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered."
"I think there was a chick driving it."
Knowing Bestie she'd be that year's Miss World.
Best should be in the top five.
Best should have been in the Top Five, but he blew it.
No he didn't. He was the best player in the world for about three or four years. And his best was far better than, for instance, someone like Zidane.
If he had taken better care of himself, imagine how much better Northern Ireland could have done? That is the biggest knock on Best, is that he didn't play enough in the World Cup.
"He was the best player in the world for about three or four years"
Absolutely. People always go on about him not being at the top for long; they forget how great he was when he was at the top.
To be fair to George, when he was at his peak, Northern Ireland were garbage; he and Pat Jennings used to play sides on their own.
It's a shame NI didn't have their '82 side around 1968.
Thanks!
People always say that these great players could have been even greater. It's often a nonsense. Best's biggest problem as an athlete was not his alcoholism and wild partying, but a damaged cartilage, which nowadays could have been easily treated. He had bad medical care which caused him problems for the rest of his career.
Commentators who actually know what they're talking about. What a difference!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.