I say this without a hint of irony. This man is easily in the top 3 centre backs of all time and people who deny it are people who really never stopped to appreciate how good he truly was (and still is). What a player, insane speed for a centre back, best 1v1 defender I have watched in my life and just in general has no real weakness to his game. Baller!
At last, someone who watches football with an analytical eye. This man never lost a duel against PRIME MESSI, arguably the best dribbler in history except for the time when he slid because of the wet pitch in spanish supercup, this alone tells you enough about how insanely good his game was, not to mention that he was easily the MVP of the Euro 2016.
@@badraitbenbouchaib2196 What I was about to say... players like Beckenbauer and Maldini are seen like the Goat defenders, I doubt they both 2vs1 could stop Messi like Pepe did 1vs1 many times.
@@AimarP10 I prefer Ramos and Puyol over Maldini, and also Pepe. Maldini was a beast, but who did he face comparable to Messi? Pepe proved his worht playing against the best: Guardiola's Barcelona with Messi and others. Also, Puyol and Ramos had excellent passing skills, could play tiki-taka. Maldini couldn't. I doubt Maldini has better passing skills than Pepe, and passing skills are fundamental in a team that appreciates possesion like Spain from 2008-2012 or Guardiola's Barcelona. Maldini wouldn't have found a place in those teams. The only thing Maldini has over Puyol is a significant height advantage, but Puyol largely compensated it with a magnificent jump. Maldini has nothing better than Pepe.
You’re definitely right and I never thought about it , only after I started analysing him well , he truly is a phenomenal defender and he is still doing his thing at 41 yo that’s insane he looks as sharp as a 25 yo defender
So underrated. One of the best ever. One of the few who can stop Messi even in his prime (alongside Nesta). His tackles are so clean in comparison to Ramos' for example.
People often talk about his disciplinary record, and say things like "Pepe makes too many fouls"... Thing is, he actualy doesn't make many fouls. He is one of the cleanest CB i've seen in my life. I'm a FC Porto fan and I 've seen him playing for my club for many years, so I know what i'm talking about... The thing with Pepe is that when he loses his temper, he REALLY loses his temper. It's rare, but when it happens... Oh, boy!.. (and we've all seen it, so, i don't need to explain). But regarding his gamestyle and defending style, he is indeed one of the cleanest defenders that walked this planet. He has lots of games in his record, that he ended without a single foul. And we're talking about a CB here...
He is a real beast and has has been like this for around 15 years but he does get his deserved credits because he has a monster personality which does not fit the new media criteria which focusing on the ability of being able to build the attack with both feet and much better if you do exciting ads and date some blonde girls 😂
wrong and pepe wasn't doing that in the video. he waits to fully control the opponent and the spaces he might go towards and boom he surprises him once and all but he doesn't press along. that would be easy for the opponent
Today's game? do you have any idea he's still playing at 40 years old and he's been picked for the third time in a row in the team of the season of the League? you're talking nonsense.
