Who is the best opposing player you’ve seen in the flesh?

One for the older bears but for me it has to be Mario Kempes in 1980 for Valencia - he was unplayable when we played them at Ibrox, from memory it was 3 1 to them but could easily have been double that . A genuine superstar at the time and the ball seemed glued to his feet all night
 
Hammy said:
Riquelme in 2006 was unbelievable with Villarreal. Made it look so easy in midfield, absolutely bossed the game.
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Yep, came on to post this. Controlled the game from start, an absolute masterpiece of a midfield performance.

And then he literally never showed up in the second leg.
 
Del,Piero 95`

Luca Modric playing for Spurs against a Stevie G Liverpool side. Best individual performance I’ve ever seen in the flesh.
 
Border City Bear said:
One for the older bears but for me it has to be Mario Kempes in 1980 for Valencia - he was unplayable when we played them at Ibrox, from memory it was 3 1 to them but could easily have been double that . A genuine superstar at the time and the ball seemed glued to his feet all night
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Yip, that’s mine too. He had everything.

In games that didn’t include us though, it’s easily Messi. I watched him score a hat-trick against Real in a 3-3 draw, early in his career. Nobody i’ve seen before or since gets near him.
 
OlegKuznetsov said:
Riquelme controlled a game like nothing Ive seen before or since and looked effortless

He shouldve been a great
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He def should, was on a different level to anyone on the park that night. Why wasn’t he a great? Just didn’t seem to care half the time.

Best players I seen is so hard. Gullit, Rijkarrd. seedorf, Maldini, Ronaldinho, Desailly, Messi, it’s a big list.
 
On a long weekend trip to Barcelona, we took in the 2nd leg of the Supercopa between Barcelona and Real. It ended 3-2 to Barca and both Messi and Ronaldo scored. It was the match with a massive barney at the end & Mourinho twisting a Barca coach's ear. Cracking game, it's still the only football match my wife has ever attended!.

In 3rd place, Ronaldinho at Ibrox in 2001.
 
WinkieWATP said:
Seen Messi and Ronaldinho who could be considered to be amongst the very best to ever play the game but neither really impressed at Ibrox. I thought Benzema was sensational when we faced him with Lyon,
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In terms of midfield performances, Mendieta both legs but especially at Ibrox.
 
Hammy said:
Riquelme in 2006 was unbelievable with Villarreal. Made it look so easy in midfield, absolutely bossed the game.
Click to expand...
When Jim Baxter had the ball, you knew that - no matter how many of the other team went after him - he'd find a way out, either by a sweet pass, or by a shimmy here and there. Watching that Villareal match, Riquelme reminded me of Slim Jim.
 
Another vote for the Valencia team. Mendieta the stand out, but the young lad Gerard alongside him who went to Barca was class, as were the rest, Claudio Lopez, kily Gonzalez, Adrian illie, anguli, etc.

Best team I ever saw.
 
Saw the French at Windsor shortly after winning the World Cup.Big thuram had his leg on the advertising board stretching. It was the size of a truck. Their warm up was so different to anything I’d seen at that time. They were really advanced on sports science. Desially played that night too. Strolled it. He was one of my idols at the time so it’s always stood out. Saw Ronaldo, figo,zlatan the Spanish etc but Desailly really sticks out
 
Adding another vote for riquelme. Incredible footballer, noone could get near him and rarely took more than 1 or 2 touches the whole game.
 
Border City Bear said:
One for the older bears but for me it has to be Mario Kempes in 1980 for Valencia - he was unplayable when we played them at Ibrox, from memory it was 3 1 to them but could easily have been double that . A genuine superstar at the time and the ball seemed glued to his feet all night
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Came on to post this same thoughts.
Kempes strolled through the game, unbelievably great player.
 
WinkieWATP said:
Seen Messi and Ronaldinho who could be considered to be amongst the very best to ever play the game but neither really impressed at Ibrox. I thought Benzema was sensational when we faced him with Lyon,
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Riquelme was different level, Benzema kicked the ball three times and scored twice and hit the post.
 
Riquelme is the on that always comes to mind. A young benzema cameo was when I thought I had witnessed a superstar made too.

Finally watching Ronaldinho warm up in the west enclosure before the 0-0 draw with Barca was an absolute pleasure. The ball never touched the ground.
 
Cruyff, as others said he was immense that night

Davy Copper for Clydebank
Knew we had to sign him
 
Kempes, was as strong as an Ox , our players bounced off him.

Cruyff, seen him in 74 when we played in their preseason tournament. He was a joy to watch.

Trevor Brooking , again it was a preseason tournament at Ibrox , the guy just stood out.
 
Was just a kid, but Mendieta and Riquelme are the best I've seen at Ibrox against us.

Also, seeing Benzema as a teenager with Lyon, it was clear he was going to the very top.

Don't think anyone since has been any better than those 3, although Thuram of Parma was very impressive.
 
Brian Laudrup said:
Darren Dodds
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I seen him close up at Blair Drummond Safari Park. He was at the table next to us at lunch. Just the sheer presence of the guy took me back to all those unforgettable performances of his against us. What a player. I remember one classy moment where he connected with the ball absolutely perfectly, sending it out of their six yard box and into the Govan stand. Unique talent.
 
Hammy said:
Riquelme in 2006 was unbelievable with Villarreal. Made it look so easy in midfield, absolutely bossed the game.
Click to expand...

This, it was like he was playing a different game to every other player on the pitch, just floated around with ease. I remember at the time thinking we had gotten one of the easy spanish sides.
 
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