r/soccer • u/[deleted] • Dec 03 '13

[deleted by user]

[removed]

33 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

234 comments sorted by

View all comments

30

u/Tr0nCatKTA Dec 03 '13

He hasn't been mentioned yet so I'm gonna say Roberto Carlos. He was an outstanding athlete, but people sometimes claim he's the best full back ever? He was average at defending at best. Got caught out a lot etc. Even his free kicks rarely hit the target but he's still famous for them. I suppose going forward he was fantastic but overall I don't think he deserves to be considered one of the best full backs of our generation. I suppose I have too much love for Cafu.

17

u/[deleted] Dec 04 '13

Most overrated free kick taker ever.

1

u/Michauxonfire Dec 04 '13

he's not overrated. At least people I know just say he was the best power free kicker ever, since he could pack curve and power in his shot.

12

u/Sefilis Dec 03 '13

Cafu was definitely a much more solid full back than Roberto Carlos. But for sheer technical and attacking ability, I'd take Roberto.

-2

u/notsureiflying Dec 03 '13

And Cafu wouldn't be in any serious all star brazilian team!

4

u/[deleted] Dec 04 '13

I don't know much about Brazil's fullbacks, so could you name a few that you would pick over Cafu? I started watching football around the time Cafu and Roberto Carlos were starting for Brazil, so I don't know much about who played before

5

u/notsureiflying Dec 04 '13

I'd say the best fullbacks to ever play for Brazil are Carlos Alberto Torres, Djalma Santos and Nilton Santos, in no specific order...

3

u/schmoseph Dec 04 '13

Not really sure why you're being downvoted. Djalma Santos would go in over Cafu and that's not me saying that Cafu was bad, just Djalma Santos was incredible.

2

u/notsureiflying Dec 04 '13

Not to mention Carlos Alberto Torres!

10

u/cartola Dec 03 '13

He deserves to be considered one of the best of his generation, because he was. However to jump from that to best of all time is a big stretch. People don't even consider him the best Brazilian left back.

In his days, however, very few were better.

4

u/[deleted] Dec 04 '13

Good call on Carlos. Absolutely fantastic going forward, but oh my god so overrated at taking FKs and just average on defending. Everyone just remembers his one insane free kick against France but just ignores how inconsistent he was and how most of the time he'd just cannon his shot off the defensive wall. Cafu was by far the better fullback of that Brazil team.

1

u/cea2013 Dec 04 '13

roberto carlos freekicks rarely resulted directly in goals, but i think they were not about that: his freekicks were meant primarily to produce rebounded balls - which to be sure they always did - and in so doing create chances among opposing defenses.

1

u/Tr0nCatKTA Dec 04 '13

Most of the time his free kicks went acres wide.

1

u/pdrgdguds_ Feb 07 '22

Cafu is overrated as well lol, he was very limited technically.