Lol Bradley world class...don't even try. He has been better this year though, so far hasn't got in anyone's way. But world class? Not even close. He wouldn't be starting on the top 20 teams in the world so no. Giovinco world class? Almost.
Lol Bradley world class...don't even try. He has been better this year though, so far hasn't got in anyone's way. But world class? Not even close. He wouldn't be starting on the top 20 teams in the world so no. Giovinco world class? Almost.
Tranes post are usually spot on, but I think this time it was the beer talking.
What exactly is "world class"? Someone being in the starting 11 regularly for a team like AS ROMA. I can see that argument. Is he one of the best 50 midfielders in the world? Maybe. One thing you can't argue is when Bradley is in top form, he's pretty dam good.
World class to me is someone you can justify having on the ballon d'or shortlistOriginally Posted by habstfc
FIFPro represents 65,000 players. Their World XI short list from 2015 has 60 or so on it, who play on 14 teams, in 8 leagues (I just eyeballed the list-may not be precise). Therefore by that definition, most division one leagues, let alone teams, around the world don't have world class players.
So? World class, to me at least, is an extremely high value to give a player
Your point being? World class is in a level of its own. Basically a player that could walk into any of the top 20 teams in the world. Bradley simply doesn't fit the bill....Id say Bradley is a decent footballer, no more, no less...Having people say he is in the same league as a Pogba, Kross or Ozil basically shows that people in North Americans vastly overrate their average American players. Even saying that Bradley is a top 50 midfielder in the world is overrating him....
I have to ask anyone that says Bradley is world class if you watch any football other than MLS?
Last edited by vortexdr; 03-29-2016 at 04:31 PM.
World class is not a phrase that can be applied to any current MLS player in their current form.
Bradley would start in most teams in position 5 through the bottom in the top European leagues. Good enough for me.
There is a law of diminishing return in this calculation. The majority of players on this 'over rated' list are of course DP's. Perhaps 'over-compensated for their ability' rather than over-rated might be a way to look at this whole question. I for one get how Pirlo could be seen as over-rated (particularly in a physical/fast league like MLS) but his ability to distribute and hit his teammates today is not far off what he was doing for Juve in the UEFA Champions League final not too long ago.
Take money out of the equation and this list changes pretty significantly if you ask me.
I would say Giovinco is nearly there, but its only been like three weeks so not many players are in form.
This whole thing is an exercise in semantics. We'll spend as much time arguing what world class is as determining if Bradley meets the standard.
That said, I have to agree we are paying a bit of a premium for a USMNT captain. Bradley's impact on the team is largely conposed of things that do not show on the stat sheet, not that those aren't valuable but I tend to think much of it is replicable by a someone earning less money.
To summarize: valuable member of team. Wouldn't call his deal a money ball special by any means.
My point is world class players as a group is a small subset and not well distributed throughout world football.
The market for player wages is ridiculously imperfect. It is certainly not an index of player quality. It perhaps vaguely measures player demand but not in relation to other players. It is going to even crazier with all the money flowing into the Prem next season.
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