Throwdowns > Completed

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  • July 31, 2007 09:08 PM ET

SOCCERNATION CHAMPIONSHIP THROWDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you could choose any player in the world to start a team with, who would you want?

Lana (67-23-1) vs Keeper (17-10-1)
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I would have to say Gianluigi Buffon, Best Goalkeeper in the world today.

Simply put, he???s a freak of nature. No man his size should be so athletic. His agility belies the laws of physics and he is about as unflappable as they come. Having a guy like him in your side means that defeats turn into draws and draws into victories. That alone is worth an extra ten to 15 points at the end of a season.

He kept a 453-minute scoreless streak at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, putting him fifth in the all-time ranking for unbeaten goalkeepers. He recorded a total of seven shutouts. FIFA declared Buffon FIFA best goalkeeper of the 2006 World Cup.


The last 3 years in a row, his team won the Italian Serie A and B championships riding Buffon's back.


As much as I like Buffon, I have to go with a young star named Cristiano Ronaldo.

He is one of the world's best players and he is only 19 years old. He uses his quickness and dribbling skills to get by opposing defenders. He also has the ability to change the game in a heart beat.

At the World Cup, he was the sparkplug for his team, he didn't score much, but he played very well. He was also named PFA Player of the Year and the Young Player of the Year

And last season, Ronaldo lead his team to the EPL title.


I saw this coming.

But my other choice was a centre back. John Terry to be exact.

You need a strong defense to win soccer games. You need to win soccer games to obtain a fan base.

Buffon can win games, and he can ensure a draw. Either way his ability to win games, is better then C.Ronaldo's ability to win games without a SOLID KEEPER.

Ronaldo was part of a winning club, not the MAN. His keeper had 20 clean sheets and made 133 saves on route to that Championship. And what about Wayne roRooney on Man U? C.Ronaldo had only 3 more goals then Rooney, but had 76 more shots taken.

Buffon has plenty of time left in him. And what better way to start a franchise, then by WINNING!!!!!


I also was thinking about Terry or maybe someone younger like Rio Ferdinand.

I do agree that a strong defense is needed, but look at Brazil. For many years they didn't have a defense or a goalkeeper, but they had attackers. If you have enough attack, then you don't need a keeper or a great defense.

Ronaldo would bring in a fan base by himself. Many would come just for him, so if they were losing, it would always be a sellout.

Ronaldo still has plenty of time left, he's 19, that's mainly why picked him.


"If you have enough attack, then you don't need a keeper or a great defense. "

Key words in this "ENOUGH" One guy isn't enough attacks, John Terry would've been a great choice. You need to start your team around veteran leadership, and someone who is going to give your team a chance to win games.

Buffon IS THE BEST KEEPER IN THE WORLD, so get your head out your wazoo lalouse28, He was the IFFHS GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR 2004, 2005, 2006.

He was European Footballer of the Year 2003,2004, 2006. Pete Cech only one it once in 2005.

2001-2006 he was HIS LEAGUES GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR

Liugi has 36 more clean sheets then cech, but the most important thing, is HE ONLY GAVE UP ONE GOAL, AND IT WAS AN OWN GOAL in the whole WC tournament.

Ronaldo took 76 more shots then the next guy on his team, only creating 3 more goals, that is too selfish.

Soccer is not like basketball, you need the experience to lead your team, you need share the ball around a bit, C.ROnaldo still needs to learn this.


I chose Ronaldo mainly because of fan support and his age. And i couldn't argue defense, because you did. Ronaldo will be a great leader when he gets older and more experienced. Hopefully, he'll stop diving.

Ronaldo was the best in the EPL last year, just like Buffon. Buffon gave up two goals at the World Cup BTW, one to the US (own goal, our guys suck) and a PK to France and Zidane.

I have no worries about the shots, he will learn better when to shoot and when to pass. As he gets older, Ronaldo will lead my team to tiltles.l

Comments (20) Add A Comment

July 31, 2007  09:53 PM ET
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I vote for Lana...

July 31, 2007  09:55 PM ET
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Ronaldo gets my vote for diver/faker of the year award =P

July 31, 2007  09:59 PM ET
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gerrard hands down

July 31, 2007  10:02 PM ET
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Shunsuke Nakamura if you want a dominant free kick specialist. He is awesome. One of the best in recent Celtic history. Larrson is the best ever though. 52 goals in one year. Amazing. SPL is awesome.

July 31, 2007  10:06 PM ET
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okay, i know nothing about soccer so i'm gonna wait til this throwdown is over to cast my vote to who was most convincing.

July 31, 2007  10:36 PM ET
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Yeah you have got to have a great goal keeper to be a great team.

August 1, 2007  01:24 AM ET
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buffon would not be that good if he did not have great defenders playing in front of him , the itlay team had the best defense in the world cup with fabio cannavaro nesta , materazzi and zambrotta , and btw lana petr cech is the best goalkeeper in the world not buffon

August 1, 2007  01:26 AM ET
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how can a goalkeeper win a game ? he can leave his team with no goals allowed but he does not score so mazimum can end 0-0 he cant win , while you can by scoring if you score more goals . kaka is also a great chice because he is the best player right now and he makes everyone around him better while c.ronaldo is more of making moves and being a little bit selfish with the ball

August 1, 2007  09:03 AM ET
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Christiano Ronaldo is the best

August 1, 2007  09:06 AM ET
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he is not the best yet, and he is very selfish, and he dives way too much.

The diving in itself turn fans off of him.

August 1, 2007  09:51 AM ET
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LanaLikesBrady makes a good argument, but gotta go with Ronaldo on this one.

August 1, 2007  12:31 PM ET
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i think u are both wrong but ill go with keeper cos if u were going to start a soccer team u wouldnt start with a goalie simple as that. u would pick a star say christiano ronaldo, kaka, rooney someone like that. then u would take a defensive midfielder then a defender. if u have a good defence ur midfielders and strikers would have more of the ball and you would be a more attacking team and u wouldnt need the best goalie in the world. just a medicore one. and anyway the first person u would pick to start a team is kaka! he is a absolute freak. kaka!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

August 1, 2007  12:46 PM ET
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The answer is clearly Robin Van Persie

August 1, 2007  02:45 PM ET
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I don't think you should start with a keeper because if you have a good enough defense, i.e. Terry, they are able to cover up a so-so keeper. Plus, Ronaldo does have the ability to change the game in an instant and he will be doing so for years to come.

August 1, 2007  03:24 PM ET
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Ronaldo...

August 1, 2007  04:31 PM ET
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I'd have to go with Buffon over Ronaldo for winning the World Cup (he made some great saves in extra time against Germany and France without which Italy does not win). I agree that you can get by without a great goalkeeper, but I also feel you can get by without a great winger as well. Ronaldo is best when played out wide and I would rather have a dominant central midfielder or striker. Its harder to dominate the opposition from a wide position than the others... and I did feel that Ronaldo seemed to go missing when playing against top opposition (did he really play all that well against Chelsea/Arsenal/Liverpool or Milan in the Champions League... although I'll give you teh second leg against Roma).

I'd agree with kmahl that I'd take Kaka over either of these two because he does play in a position that can just take over games and he's just brilliant at times. But what about Drogba? Scoring goals is so difficult in soccer having someone who can create them out of nothing (through skill OR just brute force) is invaluable. And with Henry on the decline now, I feel Drogba is the best striker in the world.

So maybe Kaka in a more technical league like La Liga or Serie A, Drogba in a more physical, fast league like the Premiership.

August 1, 2007  05:23 PM ET
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My vote's with Lana. With a top notch goalkeeper in the net, any team would play better having confidence in the man in the back. If you have a weak goalkeeper, the team in front of him feels like they have to back up their keeper and a team can't move forward because of it.

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August 1, 2007  06:36 PM ET
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Dida sucks. Buffon is much better. Your soccer viewing privileges should be taken away for even thinking about it. He is one of the biggest idiots I have ever seen in the net. He had countless screwups that could have cost his team in the Champions League. Had Brazil had Buffon, they might have got by France.

 
August 2, 2007  01:25 PM ET
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If Brazil wasn't "drunk" they would've gotten by France.

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