There Is Only One Sinnacle

The end of the season is always hard in some aspects but one of the things which is differcult to come to grips with is the fact there will be some players you grew up watching who will hang up their boots. Two players who quickly jump to mind are A.C Milan’s Pablo Maldini and Juventus Pavel Nedvěd.

Just about every subject is up for debate when it comes to football. Greatest player Pele or Diego Maradona? Ronaldinho or Zidane as the best player of this decade? Most storied club? One of the few debates a person would have a hard time winning is naming someone other than Pablo Maldini who has been a better defender in this or any generation. Never the biggest player, never the strongest player out there but technically Maldini has always been in a class all his own. Playing in a position which is easy to take for granted watching Maldini keep attackers at bay for nearly 25 years you could see the brilliance in how Maldini always seemed to be two steps ahead of everyone else and always in a perfect defensive position. An A.C Milan mainstay from those star stubbed 1989-1990 Champions League squads all the way up to Milan’s 2007 Champions League title. Maldini has had a career few will ever be able to match.

The highest compliment I could think of giving Pavel Nedved is not once have I ever heard a Juventus fan go, “Boy I wish we still had Zinédine Zidane.” Pavel Nedved wasn’t placed in an ideal situation having to replace Zidane with a club record 41 million price tag paid for his services. A perfect combination of a player who excels at the highest level yet who is also humble. I’ve heard a lot of negatives things said just about every player as fans are always quick to point out a players flaws but when the name Pavel Nedved the focus would always turn to his qualities as a player. Pavel Nedved had already endeared himself to the Juve faithful but that bond must of grown stronger when Nedved willing stayed with the club once they were demoted to Serie B. Even more impressive was the fact this was coming from a foreign player. Even homegrown players decided to further their careers with other clubs instead of helping Juventus back to Serie A. The fact that Nedved was willing to give one of the few remaining years he had left in the game to help Juventus says a great deal about his character as a person since his talents on the field have never been questioned.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 2:02 am and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.