Gareth Bale is superior to Ryan Giggs

Lets not forget Bale is playing in a fairly poor Tottenham side and totally carrying it whereas Ryan Giggs always had top class players around him

I also feel there is a lot of talent outside Barcelona. Current Real Madrid and Bayern Munich 2006-2009 Chelsea, 2007-8 Man utd, are all teams that could have won a champions league in the 1997-2005 era..

Right now football is so ****ing boring. The players are boring and the teams are boring. 97-06 was the peak in terms of a collection of incredible players and incredible teams.

Right now we have one incredible team and a handful of unbelievable players. We have almost no good centre backs in world football at the moment though.

I doubt many on here are even old enough to have fully appreciated Giggs. I'm not.



It's not about purely achievements though. Not at all.

I can't get over how young you are. You were only born in (or even after) the double winning season of 1993-1994? Yikes.

But yes, I think this is part of the problem. Many on here are only 16 - 24, so don't remember the Giggs of the early to mid 90s and the excitement of his play. I'm not say he was "better" than Bale, or that Bale can't match him. I don't get too concerned with arguments like that. Two different players, different periods, different teams. However, I do feel Bale hasn't shown some of the technical wizardry that Giggs did show in his late teens and early 20s, and traded off that Inter performance for too long. This season he is showing the sort of fantastic form that it looked he couple produce, so we'll just see how he goes.

You mention Porto and Liverpool, but they did both win it at the end of this period (and it's more 1996 - 2004 that I'm concerned with, so pre Porto and Liverpool). In this period there was that Juventus of the mid to late 90s, the treble winning Manchester United team, Real Madrid (pre/early Galactico) and Bayern Munich to name just four.

Not to mention the international sides.

We may not have had players who matched the likes of Ronaldo and Messi back then (some will dispute this, pointing to the likes of Zidane) but we arguably had a larger number of top quality players (defensive and attacking), spread out across the major clubs.

totally agree when your carrying a team like bale you get hyped up as your the focal point of the team however if you have great players around you i.e. giggs you'll get less praise as the burden of goals and assists is shared out

You mention Porto and Liverpool, but they did both win it at the end of this period (and it's more 1996 - 2004 that I'm concerned with, so pre Porto and Liverpool). In this period there was that Juventus of the mid to late 90s, the treble winning Manchester United team, Real Madrid (pre/early Galactico) and Bayern Munich to name just four.

Not to mention the international sides.

We may not have had players who matched the likes of Ronaldo and Messi back then (some will dispute this, pointing to the likes of Zidane) but we arguably had a larger number of top quality players (defensive and attacking), spread out across the major clubs.

Bale > Giggs

I think you're looking back with a lot of bias tbh, the game is as good as its ever been. There have been just as many great sides in the last few years as there was in the late 90's/early 00's.

For one, you have the greatest club side ever in 3 different incarnations (Barca 09/11/13), then you have 2011-2012 Madrid, 2010 Inter, 2008/09 United, 2008/09 Chelsea, 2007 Milan, 2010/13 Bayern, 2012 Juventus, and maybe a few others.

When, in 10 years time, all of the current players have retired or faded we'll look back and think of them like we currently think of the late 90's/early 00's teams and players.

That's debatable. You take Messi out of that team and it's distinctly beatable. The Madrid of the early 2000s, the Milan of the early 1990s, and the Juventus of the late 1990s would be a match for that team.

That's debatable. You take Messi out of that team and it's distinctly beatable. The Madrid of the early 2000s, the Milan of the early 1990s, and the Juventus of the late 1990s would be a match for that team.

Hardly distincly beatable tbh, the 2010/11 version of Barca had no weakness.

And you can't just take out their best player you know.

What I mean is that Messi has carried their team over the last few years. Valdes, Pique, Dani Alves and Busquets are all overrated. Besides, the 2010/11 team failed to complete a domestic double at a time when Madrid were still adapting to life under Mourinho.

This era of football is pretty dire tbh, both in terms of teams and players.

You can't be serious? Busquets is vastly underrated if anything.

What I mean is that Messi has carried their team over the last few years. Valdes, Pique, Dani Alves and Busquets are all overrated. Besides, the 2010/11 team failed to complete a domestic double at a time when Madrid were still adapting to life under Mourinho.

Busquets overrated.