Ranking Every Football Legend’s GREATEST Season — Transcript

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1. 0:00These 15 football players have had some
2. 0:01of the greatest careers in the sports
3. 0:03history. But when did they peak? Which
4. 0:06season did each one of them take their
5. 0:07game to a whole different level becoming
6. 0:09simply unplayable? And most importantly,
7. 0:12who had the best season ever? So,
8. 0:14starting with the least impressive and
9. 0:16working our way up to the greatest, this
10. 0:19is every football legend's best ever
11. 0:21season. Starting at number 15, we have
12. 0:24Antoine Griezmann, whose best year has
13. 0:26to be the 15-16 season because despite
14. 0:29being at 15 on this list, he was quite
15. 0:31literally unplayable that year. The 24
16. 0:33Atleti star played in Simeone's
17. 0:35defensive 4-4-2 system and was trusted
18. 0:38with carrying much of the team's
19. 0:39creative burden. And Griezmann enjoyed a
20. 0:41steady opening half to the campaign
21. 0:43scoring 12 in 26 La Liga appearances.
22. 0:46And with Real Madrid entering a rare
23. 0:48off-season, there were genuine hopes
24. 0:50that Atletico Madrid could challenge
25. 0:51Barcelona for the title. When the two
26. 0:53Madrid sides met in February 2016,
27. 0:56Simeone deployed his usual bus parking
28. 0:58tactics, so all eyes were placed on
29. 1:00Griezmann to see if the Frenchman could
30. 1:02snatch his team a derby day victory. And
31. 1:04as ever, Mr. Dependable stepped up and
32. 1:07notched a 53rd minute for Atleti
33. 1:08sparking scenes of jubilation and
34. 1:11whispers of a title charge. Griezmann
35. 1:13would then score in seven consecutive
36. 1:15league matches closing the gap with
37. 1:16Barcelona to three points. And it wasn't
38. 1:19just La Liga where the forward was
39. 1:20complementing his team's defensive work.
40. 1:22He scored decisive goals against
41. 1:24Barcelona and Bayern Munich to reach an
42. 1:27unlikely Champions League final. But
43. 1:30unfortunately, Atletico missed out on
44. 1:32the league by three points and lost the
45. 1:34Champions League final to Real Madrid on
46. 1:36penalties. But despite the club season
47. 1:38heartbreak, Griezmann still had the Euro
48. 1:402016 tournament to write his name into
49. 1:43footballing greatness. And he flourished
50. 1:46within a less defensive system scoring
51. 1:48six times at the summer tournament
52. 1:49including two semi-final strikes against
53. 1:51Germany which landed him the golden boot
54. 1:53of the competition. But yet again,
55. 1:55Griezmann lost the Euro final to
56. 1:57Portugal as this insane
57. 1:59season could give Antoine a much
58. 2:02deserved trophy. But winning major
59. 2:04tournaments isn't the only way of
60. 2:05judging legendary footballers because
61. 2:08take Gareth Bale for example, who lifted
62. 2:10the Champions League on four different
63. 2:11occasions. But still, his best ever
64. 2:13season actually happened while
65. 2:15representing Tottenham Hotspur. Back in
66. 2:172012, the struggling London club
67. 2:19appeared a million miles away from major
68. 2:21glory. But with Bale bolting down the
69. 2:23left wing, it felt like they had a
70. 2:24genuine chance. The left-back turned
71. 2:27winger had always shown flashes of
72. 2:29brilliance before suffering periods of
73. 2:31mediocrity. But in 2012, he took it to a
74. 2:33whole new level as the 23-year-old
75. 2:35notched 21 Premier League goals in 33
76. 2:37appearances. But it wasn't the numbers
77. 2:39that had everyone talking. Bale
78. 2:41perfected a shooting technique
79. 2:42comparable to Cristiano Ronaldo and
80. 2:44smashed home a flurry of deadly strikes
81. 2:46from outside the box. Goals against West
82. 2:49Ham, Norwich, and Arsenal mesmerized
83. 2:51fans and an unthinkable solo goal at Old
84. 2:54Trafford made the winger impossible to
85. 2:56ignore. A Gareth Bale free kick had
86. 2:58become the scariest sight in football as
87. 3:01he notched from dead balls against
88. 3:03Liverpool and Newcastle. And the winger
89. 3:05ended the campaign with one of the
90. 3:06greatest catalog of goals from a single
91. 3:09Premier League season breaking the
92. 3:10league's record for the most hits from
93. 3:12outside the box in one campaign. And
94. 3:14after such a spectacular year, every
95. 3:16team in world football wanted the
96. 3:18emerging superstar. But only Real Madrid
97. 3:21could win his signature. He joined Los
98. 3:23Blancos at the end of 12-13 for a world
99. 3:25record transfer fee proving quite what a
100. 3:27spectacular season he had just
101. 3:29completed. But at number 13, Adriano had
102. 3:32one of the most sensational seasons in
103. 3:34football history that the entire world
104. 3:36of football thought they had the future
105. 3:38goat on their hands. During 04-05, fans
106. 3:41expected to see the net rustle almost
107. 3:43every single time Adriano got within
108. 3:45shooting distance of the goal because
109. 3:47the striker was in his absolute prime.
110. 3:5015 Serie A goals inside the season's
111. 3:52opening 15 matches shocked the world as
112. 3:55an iconic solo effort against Udinese
113. 3:57made supporters question whether the
114. 3:58Brazilian was Ronaldo Nazario
115. 4:00reincarnated. And he produced arguably
116. 4:03his finest performance shortly
117. 4:04afterwards as Inter faced Valencia in
118. 4:07the Champions League as he bulldozed his
119. 4:09way past them. The forward appeared to
120. 4:11be elite in every area of his game. He
121. 4:14dribbled past opponents like they
122. 4:15weren't even there, pulled off roulette
123. 4:17nutmeg, and provided an assist with an
124. 4:19audacious trivela technique. And Adriano
125. 4:22wrapped up a generational individual
126. 4:24performance with an exquisite
127. 4:26left-footed effort. But the Brazilian
128. 4:27season wasn't about one generational 90
129. 4:30minutes. He scored seven goals in seven
130. 4:32Champions League appearances including a
131. 4:34hat-trick against Porto in the last 16
132. 4:36that dragged his team to the next round.
133. 4:38If that wasn't enough, he bagged both
134. 4:40goals in the 05 Italy Cup final victory
135. 4:43over Roma and scored another brace this
136. 4:45time for his country in the final of the
137. 4:47Confederations Cup against Argentina as
138. 4:50he finished the season with two
139. 4:51trophies, 28 goals, and performances so
140. 4:54devastating that Inter and Brazil fans
141. 4:56alike thought they had finally found the
142. 4:58next Ronaldo Nazario. Now, the thing
143. 5:01about Adriano is that it is very clear
144. 5:03which season was his best because
145. 5:05unfortunately, his career at the top did
146. 5:07not last that long. But Ibrahimovic on
147. 5:10the other hand, well, he played at the
148. 5:11very top of his game for over 20 seasons
149. 5:14meaning his best must truly have been
150. 5:16spectacular. And this season didn't
151. 5:19start off great because it began with
152. 5:21the striker sidelined with knee
153. 5:22problems. And at 34 years old, this
154. 5:24season just should not have happened.
155. 5:26I'm talking about 15-16 at PSG where the
156. 5:29forward reached his peak of football.
157. 5:31Many supporters might call the French
158. 5:33top flight a farmers league, but if it
159. 5:35is, Zlatan became the ultimate harvest
160. 5:38man. He scored a simply incredible 38
161. 5:40goals in 31 league only appearances and
162. 5:4350 in 51 across all competitions. And
163. 5:46those weren't just happens because there
164. 5:48were several outrageous strikes
165. 5:50including an outside of the box volley
166. 5:52against Caen. From a team perspective,
167. 5:55PSG hit 96 points on their way to league
168. 5:57only glory largely due to the goal
169. 5:59scoring contributions of their Swedish
170. 6:01striker. Zlatan also produced three goal
171. 6:03involvements in the Coupe de France
172. 6:04final as the Parisians beat rivals
173. 6:06Marseille 4-2. And Ibra played starring
174. 6:09roles in PSG's Coupe de la Ligue and
175. 6:11Trophée des Champions victories, too. If
176. 6:14dominating France wasn't enough, Zlatan
177. 6:16scored Champions League goals against
178. 6:17Chelsea and Man City keeping his team in
179. 6:19the tournament until its latter stages.
180. 6:21And he even single-handedly dragged his
181. 6:23nation to the Euros after scoring three
182. 6:25times in a two-legged playoff match
183. 6:26against Denmark as at 35 years old,
184. 6:29Ibrahimovic capped off the best year of
185. 6:32his career. But he isn't the only
186. 6:34football player to peak in their 30s
187. 6:36because Luka Modric did the exact same
188. 6:38thing as he won the biggest prize of
189. 6:40them all. Let's turn the clock back to
190. 6:42the iconic Real Madrid three-peat where
191. 6:45in 2016 and 2017, Cristiano Ronaldo was
192. 6:48the main man picking up back-to-back
193. 6:49Ballons d'Or whilst the greatness of his
194. 6:51teammates seemed to be brushed aside.
195. 6:53But in 2018, Luka Modric had his best
196. 6:56ever season meaning it was quite
197. 6:58literally impossible to ignore him
198. 7:00because in the 2017-18 season, Luka
199. 7:03Modric controlled Champions League
200. 7:04matches with his vision, technique, and
201. 7:06tenacity. Unlike many midfielders of the
202. 7:09era, he wasn't a six, an eight, or a 10.
203. 7:11He was a pure footballer that could pop
204. 7:13up and devastate anywhere on the pitch.
205. 7:16As Madrid beat a series of superpowers
206. 7:18including Dortmund, PSG, Juventus,
207. 7:21Bayern Munich, and Liverpool to win
208. 7:23their third consecutive Champions
209. 7:24League, it was agreed that Modric's
210. 7:26intelligence was more influential than
211. 7:28Ronaldo's goals. Yet the Champions
212. 7:30League conqueror season was not over yet
213. 7:32because there was a World Cup to play
214. 7:33that summer. And the 32-year-old scored
215. 7:35during Croatia's World Cup opener
216. 7:37against Nigeria before hitting a
217. 7:39screamer against Argentina the following
218. 7:41match. And the brilliance of Luka Modric
219. 7:43would drive Croatia all the way to the
220. 7:45final where unfortunately, they fell
221. 7:48short to the powerhouse that is France.
222. 7:50But still, his iconic season was
223. 7:52recognized with several individual
224. 7:54awards including the Champions League
225. 7:55Midfielder of the Season and of course,
226. 7:57the Ballon d'Or. Now, whilst Modric's
227. 8:00influence on Madrid could be subtle, the
228. 8:02next man on our list was simply
229. 8:04impossible to miss. Zinedine Zidane was
230. 8:07perhaps the most thrilling player of his
231. 8:08generation. His displays for France and
232. 8:10Juventus during 1998 helped him win the
233. 8:13World Cup, the City A, and Ballon d'Or.
234. 8:15But what if I told you that was not his
235. 8:18best season? Because the French
236. 8:19midfielder continued running the game
237. 8:21after the turn of the millennium as he
238. 8:23made the switch to Spanish giants Real
239. 8:25Madrid. The club's latest Galáctico
240. 8:27signing was given one task: win Madrid
241. 8:30its ninth Champions League. Given Madrid
242. 8:32had won both the Champions League and La
243. 8:33Liga within the previous 24 months, the
244. 8:36challenge seemed achievable. Yet Zidane
245. 8:38made a task that should have challenged
246. 8:40even a midfielder of his stature look
247. 8:42effortless. With a goal and an assist in
248. 8:44Madrid's El Clásico semi-final against
249. 8:46Barcelona, the Frenchman was on the cusp
250. 8:48of Champions League glory during his
251. 8:50first season at the Bernabéu. Zidane and
252. 8:52Madrid faced Bundesliga outfit Bayer
253. 8:55Leverkusen in the tournament's final and
254. 8:57winning seemed like a formality.
255. 8:59However, the German side frustrated
256. 9:01Madrid. With the game approaching the
257. 9:02interval, it looked like the game would
258. 9:04head to the break square until Zidane
259. 9:06produced a moment of genius. A looping
260. 9:09ball fell to Zidane and somehow, he
261. 9:12smashed the ball into the back of the
262. 9:13net from the edge of the box winning the
263. 9:15final for Madrid with one of the
264. 9:17greatest goals the tournament has ever
265. 9:19seen. The goal was legendary, but one
266. 9:22iconic moment doesn't make a season. The
267. 9:24Frenchman wowed with his trickery,
268. 9:26elegance, and ball control during his
269. 9:28debut season in Spain producing a
270. 9:30healthy 16 La Liga goal contributions in
271. 9:3331 appearances from midfield. It was his
272. 9:35season where Zidane matured and made
273. 9:37football look easier than any player had
274. 9:40previously done making it the greatest
275. 9:43season of his entire career. After years
276. 9:45of artistry and flair, Zidane retired in
277. 9:482006. But he wasn't the game's final
278. 9:51showman because Brazilian wonderkid
279. 9:53Neymar Jr. emerged three years later.
280. 9:55His skill was so audacious that
281. 9:57supporters had to watch twice to believe
282. 9:58the moves the Santos star was pulling
283. 10:00off. In 2013, the Brazilian
284. 10:02international finally signed for
285. 10:04Barcelona, but during Neymar's opening
286. 10:06campaign in Catalonia, he received
287. 10:08criticism for being all style, no
288. 10:10substance. The winger netted on just
289. 10:12nine occasions in the league during
290. 10:1313-14 and was desperate to enjoy a
291. 10:16campaign in front of goal that
292. 10:17represented his world-class talent. Then
293. 10:19suddenly, he transformed from just a
294. 10:21trickster to a lethal attacking weapon
295. 10:23that finished teams off and won
296. 10:25Barcelona trophies. In the 14-15 season,
297. 10:28the winger scored 10 Champions League
298. 10:30goals, including six in the quarter and
299. 10:32semi-final ties against PSG and Bayern
300. 10:34Munich. Barca faced Juventus in the
301. 10:36final and the old lady couldn't live
302. 10:38with the ruthless Brazilian. Neymar
303. 10:40played a key role in the first goal with
304. 10:43a ball roll preceding an intricate pass
305. 10:45to Iniesta, who gave the ball to Rakitic
306. 10:47for a simple finish. With Barcelona
307. 10:49leading 2-1 in the final's closing
308. 10:50stages, Neymar popped up with an
309. 10:52uncharacteristic header to clinch the
310. 10:55Catalan club's third goal and fifth
311. 10:57Champions League title. Barca won a
312. 10:59historic treble and Neymar was arguably
313. 11:01the team's most influential player. He
314. 11:04was incredible throughout his career,
315. 11:06but never scored as many goals or won as
316. 11:08many major trophies as he did in 14-15.
317. 11:10Although I do believe had Neymar stayed
318. 11:12fit in 17-18 after matching 19 times in
319. 11:15the first 20 league home matches and six
320. 11:18times in the opening seven Champions
321. 11:20League matches, the winger might have
322. 11:21enjoyed his greatest season and lifted
323. 11:23the Champions League for a second time,
324. 11:25but an injury sustained in February that
325. 11:27season ruined Neymar's hopes of
326. 11:29replicating his 14-15 magic. But even if
327. 11:32the trickster did repeat his previous
328. 11:34greatness, he'd have struggled to top
329. 11:36Thierry Henry's 03-04 campaign with
330. 11:38Arsenal because the French striker was
331. 11:40unplayable during his team's invincible
332. 11:43season. As Arsenal lifted the Premier
333. 11:45League without losing a game, Henry was
334. 11:48the difference-maker. While stars like
335. 11:50Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell, and Patrick
336. 11:52Vieira made the London club difficult to
337. 11:54break down, Henry's pace, dribbling, and
338. 11:56goals made them impossible to defend
339. 11:59against. The electric French forward
340. 12:01scored three times in the opening three
341. 12:02matches to give the Gunners an early
342. 12:04advantage in the title race before
343. 12:06clinching a 75th minute winner against
344. 12:08Chelsea in October to build a lead over
345. 12:10their London rivals. Henry scored
346. 12:12important goals in tight mid-season
347. 12:14games against Aston Villa, Man City,
348. 12:16Southampton, Charlton Athletic, and
349. 12:18Blackburn, where Arsenal only snatched
350. 12:20the three points through the striker's
351. 12:21contributions. As Arsenal raced to the
352. 12:24finish line, Henry scored a long-range
353. 12:26effort against United at Old Trafford
354. 12:28before notching an iconic hat-trick
355. 12:30against Liverpool the following week.
356. 12:32The forward finished the Premier League
357. 12:34season with 30 goals and nine assists in
358. 12:3637 Premier League appearances, so it's
359. 12:38safe to say that without Henry's
360. 12:39contributions, the title would never
361. 12:41have been won. Arsenal's dominance over
362. 12:44the Premier League was clear and many
363. 12:46expected Henry and the Gunners to lift
364. 12:48the Champions League, too. The Frenchman
365. 12:50was unplayable in the European
366. 12:51tournament as he produced two goals and
367. 12:53two assists in an iconic 5-1 thrashing
368. 12:56of Inter Milan before ending the
369. 12:57campaign with five goals and seven
370. 12:59assists in 10 matches. Henry would
371. 13:02suffer Champions League heartbreak as
372. 13:04Arsenal crashed out to Chelsea in the
373. 13:06quarterfinals and was arguably robbed of
374. 13:08the Ballon d'Or later that year, but
375. 13:10still, this is hands-down the best of
376. 13:13his entire career. But somehow in 05-06,
377. 13:16Ronaldinho had an even more impressive
378. 13:18season as his Barcelona won the
379. 13:20Champions League and La Liga, whilst
380. 13:22Ronaldinho was quite literally
381. 13:24unplayable. The Brazilian legend
382. 13:26undoubtedly enjoyed his greatest
383. 13:27individual season that year as his
384. 13:29incredible 50-goal contribution season
385. 13:31goes down in football history. Many of
386. 13:34the game's most deadly attacking talents
387. 13:36are clinical rather than crafty, but not
388. 13:38Dinho. The Barcelona attacking
389. 13:39midfielder combined crazy skills with
390. 13:42ruthless goal-scoring output, creating a
391. 13:44force defenses couldn't live with. But
392. 13:46the sensation's influence extended
393. 13:48beyond skill moves and goals. His
394. 13:50jaw-dropping moves are clipped up and
395. 13:52posted as short montages, creating the
396. 13:54impression Ronaldinho was fun to watch,
397. 13:56but not crucial to his team's successes.
398. 13:58Yet Barca could barely perform without
399. 14:00their Samba King. The Catalan giants
400. 14:03lost just two of the 29 La Liga matches
401. 14:05Ronaldinho featured in, but fell to
402. 14:07defeat during four of nine games he
403. 14:09missed. But why were Barcelona so
404. 14:11vulnerable without the Brazilian? Well,
405. 14:13the talent scored important goals in
406. 14:15games where his team was struggling.
407. 14:17After all, it's one thing to stat pad
408. 14:19against weaker opposition, but winning
409. 14:21crucial points with big goals is a
410. 14:23completely different task. Strikes in
411. 14:25early season draws against Real Zaragoza
412. 14:27and Deportivo La Coruna prevented
413. 14:29Barca's season from a wobbly start. A
414. 14:32majestic double at the Bernabeu sent
415. 14:34Barca to top spot in October and a
416. 14:36unique toe poke against Chelsea earned
417. 14:39his team a spot in the Champions League
418. 14:41semi-final. While the Catalan club had
419. 14:43dozens of world-class talents, they
420. 14:45relied on Ronaldinho to save them in the
421. 14:47defining moments. The star's 26 goals
422. 14:49and 24 assists during the 05-06 campaign
423. 14:52gave his teammates the confidence to
424. 14:54express themselves on their way to
425. 14:55lifting the Champions League. His
426. 14:57importance was recognized with the
427. 14:59Ballon d'Or later that year and his
428. 15:01campaign will never be forgotten by the
429. 15:03Barcelona faithful. But Ronaldinho's
430. 15:05influence appears modest compared to
431. 15:07Diego Maradona's 86-87 season because
432. 15:10the Argentine winger dragged Napoli to a
433. 15:13title that wasn't even worth dreaming
434. 15:15about without him. Before the Lionel
435. 15:16Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo era began,
436. 15:19nobody believed Maradona's brilliance
437. 15:20could ever be bettered and with good
438. 15:22reason, too. When Maradona joined Napoli
439. 15:25in 1984, the club had spent years
440. 15:27languishing in mid-table. There were no
441. 15:29expectations of title challenges,
442. 15:31European football, or even global
443. 15:33recognition. The fiercely working-class
444. 15:35club was just surviving with memories of
445. 15:38their previous 1950 Serie A triumph
446. 15:40fading from living memory. With no
447. 15:42meaningful success recorded on a
448. 15:43colorized camera, Maradona's arrival at
449. 15:45Naples confused the football world.
450. 15:48Suddenly, camera crews swept to the
451. 15:50struggling Italian city to document how
452. 15:52the greatest player in the world vowed
453. 15:54to return Napoli to its former glory and
454. 15:57incredibly, he delivered on his promise.
455. 15:59Fresh off scoring the greatest World Cup
456. 16:01goal of all time and lifting the trophy,
457. 16:04Maradona played like a man possessed
458. 16:05during 86-87. His mazy dribbles,
459. 16:08near-perfect technique, and finishing
460. 16:10helped drag Napoli to one-goal victories
461. 16:13on four occasions in Serie A as the
462. 16:15unfancied club lifted a remarkable first
463. 16:17Serie A title in 34 years. With seven
464. 16:20goals on route to the club's second
465. 16:22triumph of the season, the Italy Cup,
466. 16:23Maradona had completely turned around a
467. 16:25team that had given up dreaming. The
468. 16:27Argentine's 17 goals and eight assists
469. 16:30in 41 matches may seem ordinary compared
470. 16:32to modern standards, but games were
471. 16:34cagier and more defensively oriented in
472. 16:36the '80s. In fact, many argue that no
473. 16:39player has ever had a greater influence
474. 16:41on an underdog team's success in
475. 16:42football history, making this one of the
476. 16:44most impressive individual seasons in
477. 16:47football history. And speaking of
478. 16:49underdogs, nobody expected Liverpool to
479. 16:51clinch the Premier League title in
480. 16:5313-14, but Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez
481. 16:56almost led the Merseyside club to the
482. 16:58unthinkable because as much as Luis
483. 17:00Suarez had some of his best goal-scoring
484. 17:02seasons in Barcelona, his final season
485. 17:05with Liverpool was hands-down the most
486. 17:07impressive he ever produced. While
487. 17:09Liverpool had stars like Raheem
488. 17:10Sterling, Daniel Sturridge, and Steven
489. 17:12Gerrard, the team was not equipped for
490. 17:14Premier League glory. And when Suarez
491. 17:16was banned for the opening five matches
492. 17:18of the season, Liverpool averaged just
493. 17:20one goal a game. But when the
494. 17:21extraordinary striker returned,
495. 17:23Liverpool became the league's most
496. 17:25devastating attacking force. Suarez
497. 17:27would twist, turn, shimmy, and ricochet
498. 17:29his way past defenders to score a
499. 17:31catalog of goals even the most talented
500. 17:33players couldn't replicate. Having
501. 17:35already scored nine in his first eight
502. 17:37matches of the season, Suarez scored
503. 17:38four incredible goals against Norwich
504. 17:40City. As the controversial forward hit
505. 17:43braces in each of his next three
506. 17:44appearances, Liverpool appeared a
507. 17:46genuine title contender. The forward's
508. 17:48form didn't slow down during the second
509. 17:50half of the season with the top lights
510. 17:52closing in on a first Premier League
511. 17:54title. With one hand on the trophy,
512. 17:56legend Steven Gerrard slipped to give a
513. 17:58crucial goal away against Chelsea and
514. 18:01ultimately lose Liverpool the title. But
515. 18:04nobody can even remember who won the
516. 18:05Premier League that season. Suarez's
517. 18:07weekly wonder goals and overall
518. 18:09performances were arguably the greatest
519. 18:11the league has ever seen and he ended
520. 18:13the season with a crazy 31 goals and 13
521. 18:16assists in 33 Premier League matches.
522. 18:18And while the forward bettered that
523. 18:20tally with 40 league goals in 16-17, he
524. 18:23did so with the help of Messi, Iniesta,
525. 18:25and Neymar, not Henderson, Flanagan, and
526. 18:27Mignolet. But it's no shame to have
527. 18:30world-class stars around you because
528. 18:31Lewandowski had help from some
529. 18:33world-beaters, but his record in front
530. 18:35of goal during 19-20 was incredibly even
531. 18:38more impressive than Suarez's in 13-14.
532. 18:41The relentless Bayern Munich legend had
533. 18:43several sensational seasons. In 16 of
534. 18:46Lewandowski's 19 seasons, the striker
535. 18:48scored at least 30 goals, but scoring
536. 18:51goals and winning major trophies is just
537. 18:53part of ordinary life for Lewandowski.
538. 18:55So, why was the 19-20 season
539. 18:57particularly special? Having missed out
540. 18:59on the Champions League with Dortmund in
541. 19:012012, the illustrious European prize
542. 19:03still evaded the generational striker
543. 19:05eight years later. After a series of
544. 19:07unlucky exits and near misses, the
545. 19:09striker knew he had to do something
546. 19:11extraordinary to get the Bavarian giants
547. 19:13over the line. During the group stages,
548. 19:16Lewandowski notched 10 times in five
549. 19:18matches, but to lift the Champions
550. 19:20League for the first time, better teams
551. 19:22would have to be put to the sword,
552. 19:24starting with Chelsea. The London club
553. 19:26approached the tie thinking they had a
554. 19:27fighting chance, but left hoping never
555. 19:29to face Lewandowski again after he made
556. 19:31seven goal contributions across the
557. 19:34two-legged tie. The COVID-19 pandemic
558. 19:36impacted the rest of the tournament
559. 19:38structure with quarter and semi-final
560. 19:39matches becoming single-leg affairs, but
561. 19:42that didn't stop Lewandowski from
562. 19:43scoring against Barcelona in a ruthless
563. 19:458-2 victory before netting again against
564. 19:48Lyon in the semi. Bayern defeated PSG in
565. 19:50the final and Lewandowski finished the
566. 19:52campaign as a European champion with a
567. 19:55joint record 21 goal involvements in the
568. 19:57tournament. Had there been two extra
569. 19:59games in the quarter and semi-finals,
570. 20:01it's likely the striker would have added
571. 20:02more to his tally. With 34 goals also
572. 20:05bagged in the Bundesliga, finding a
573. 20:06better season of any footballer in
574. 20:08history is almost impossible. But,
575. 20:11impossible is nothing to Ronaldo
576. 20:13Nazario, who dropped his best ever
577. 20:15season in '96-'97 as he shocked the
578. 20:18entire footballing world. R9 signed for
579. 20:21Barcelona for PSV at the beginning of
580. 20:23the season for a world record 50 million
581. 20:25euros, but nobody was talking about his
582. 20:27lofty price tag. Seven goal involvements
583. 20:30in his opening five matches ensured that
584. 20:32doubters had no ammunition. But, those
585. 20:34who watched the great knew his game
586. 20:36wasn't about numbers. The story behind
587. 20:38his goals and assists was more
588. 20:40mesmerizing than numbers could define.
589. 20:42On several occasions, the Brazilian
590. 20:44youngster would receive the ball nowhere
591. 20:46near the goal, beat three players with a
592. 20:48combination of pace and skill before
593. 20:50finishing coolly past the goalkeeper.
594. 20:52Having hit braces in four of his last
595. 20:54six La Liga matches, Ronaldo scored his
596. 20:56first hat-trick in a home victory over
597. 20:58Valencia before adding later trebles
598. 21:00against Real Zaragoza and Atletico
599. 21:01Madrid. The forward had ambitions of
600. 21:03winning the title with Barcelona, but
601. 21:05Real Madrid were the better team at the
602. 21:06time. Still, the forward's goals,
603. 21:08dribbles, and pace gave the Catalan club
604. 21:10a fighting chance, and R9's El Clasico
605. 21:13winner five games before the end of the
606. 21:14season put Barca within five points of
607. 21:16their rivals. But, Ronaldo got injured,
608. 21:19Barca lost the game, and missed out on
609. 21:21the title by two points. The Brazilian
610. 21:24wouldn't have been too disappointed. He
611. 21:25still won plenty of silverware. His six
612. 21:27goals in the Copa del Rey, five in the
613. 21:29Cup Winners' Cup, five in the Copa
614. 21:31America, and four in the Confederations
615. 21:33Cup were crucial in his club and country
616. 21:35winning each tournament. The forward
617. 21:37finished the season with three trophies,
618. 21:3966 goals, and 23 assists for club and
619. 21:42country. Truly legendary. Had R9 avoided
620. 21:46devastating injuries, it's likely he
621. 21:48would have been in conversations
622. 21:49alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel
623. 21:51Messi as the very best players of the
624. 21:53modern era. But, rivaling Cristiano
625. 21:55would have been no easy task because the
626. 21:57former Man United, Real Madrid, and
627. 21:59Juventus star won five Champions
628. 22:01Leagues, five Ballon d'Ors, and scored
629. 22:03over 900 career goals. The Portugal
630. 22:06legend enjoyed numerous unbelievable
631. 22:08seasons, and believe me, this wasn't an
632. 22:11easy choice. But, looking at pure
633. 22:12individual performances, none were
634. 22:14greater than his '13-'14 campaign with
635. 22:16Real Madrid. You see, pressure was
636. 22:18building on the second-generation
637. 22:20Galacticos. Madrid had not lifted the
638. 22:22Champions League since 2002, and
639. 22:24Barcelona had won four of the previous
640. 22:26five La Ligas. With Los Blancos in
641. 22:28serious need of inspiration to reclaim
642. 22:30their crown as Europe's greatest side,
643. 22:32CR7 stepped up. Ronaldo scored nine in
644. 22:36five matches during the Champions League
645. 22:37group stages, and his form continued
646. 22:39during the knockout stages. Six goal
647. 22:42involvements during the round of 16 tie
648. 22:43against Schalke made progressing to the
649. 22:45quarterfinals a formality, where Ronaldo
650. 22:48scored against Dortmund to take Madrid
651. 22:50to the semis. Pep Guardiola's Bayern
652. 22:52Munich awaited Ronaldo in the
653. 22:53semi-finals. His former El Clasico
654. 22:55nemesis built a superteam with the
655. 22:57Bavarian powerhouse, but CR7 made them
656. 22:59look ordinary in the tie. Two strikes in
657. 23:02the second leg helped his team sail to a
658. 23:045-0 aggregate victory, setting up an
659. 23:07iconic Madrid derby final against
660. 23:09Atletico. Simeone's men fought
661. 23:11valiantly, but conceded a late equalizer
662. 23:13to a Sergio Ramos header that took the
663. 23:15final to extra time. Real battered
664. 23:18Atletico in extra time with Ronaldo
665. 23:20bagging a goal and an assist to secure
666. 23:22the club's 10th Champions League title.
667. 23:25It rounded off the greatest individual
668. 23:26European campaign in history. Ronaldo
669. 23:29hit 17 goals in 11 matches, scoring in
670. 23:32every round of the tournament. But, his
671. 23:34frightening form wasn't reserved for
672. 23:35just the Champions League. The Madrid
673. 23:37star notched 31 times in 30 matches in
674. 23:39La Liga, scored three in a World Cup
675. 23:41playoff to drag his nation to the
676. 23:43summer's tournament, and ended the
677. 23:44campaign with 51 goals and 17 assists in
678. 23:4847 matches. It's an eye-watering
679. 23:51game-to-goal ratio that has only been
680. 23:53beaten on a handful of occasions. But,
681. 23:55today, he'll have to settle for second
682. 23:57place because if anybody is capable of
683. 23:59beating Ronaldo's astonishing record,
684. 24:01it's Lionel Messi because he dropped the
685. 24:04greatest season of all time during
686. 24:06'11-'12 as, despite not being his most
687. 24:08successful trophy-wise, on an individual
688. 24:10level, this was definitely the peak of
689. 24:12Lionel Messi. The Argentine was the face
690. 24:14of Barcelona's iconic Champions League
691. 24:16final victory over Man United the
692. 24:18previous season with many describing
693. 24:20Guardiola's team as the greatest of all
694. 24:22time and Messi as the finest footballer
695. 24:24to ever play. So, producing an even
696. 24:26better season was almost impossible.
697. 24:29Yet, Leo found a way to break new
698. 24:31records. The Barca forward scored 50,
699. 24:34yes, 50 La Liga goals plus 14 in the
700. 24:37Champions League during '11-'12, ending
701. 24:39the season with 85 goals for club and
702. 24:42country, the most of any player in
703. 24:44history. Despite breaking goal-scoring
704. 24:46records in La Liga and the Champions
705. 24:47League, numbers don't do Messi's
706. 24:49brilliance justice. He wasn't a fox in
707. 24:51the box. His greatest strength was not
708. 24:53even finishing. The Argentine's
709. 24:55dribbling style was out of this world.
710. 24:57He could pull off defense-splitting
711. 24:59passes that even the best midfielders
712. 25:01could only dream of, and his movement
713. 25:03was pivotal to Guardiola's tiki-taka
714. 25:05style. If he wanted to dribble past
715. 25:07three and place the ball in the bottom
716. 25:09corner, he would. If he fancied
717. 25:11humiliating the keeper with a chip, he'd
718. 25:13do it. Messi's five goals against Bayer
719. 25:15Leverkusen in the Champions League
720. 25:16highlighted the number of ways he could
721. 25:18kill a team. He scored two with lobs
722. 25:21over the keeper, one by placing a
723. 25:22trademark finish after cutting in from
724. 25:24the right, another after playing a
725. 25:26couple of one-twos with Pedro, and the
726. 25:28fifth by finessing the ball from outside
727. 25:30the box. And, the forward contributed in
728. 25:33the season's biggest games, too. He
729. 25:34scored three in the two-legged Supercopa
730. 25:36against Real Madrid, one in the Copa del
731. 25:38Rey final against Bilbao, two in the
732. 25:40Club World Cup final against Santos, one
733. 25:42in the Supercup against Porto, and
734. 25:44bagged hat-tricks against Atletico
735. 25:46Madrid and Brazil as he was simply
736. 25:48unplayable. Of course, he picked up the
737. 25:51Ballon d'Or that year as it cemented his
738. 25:53place as the best footballer in the
739. 25:55world at the time, and he concluded the
740. 25:57greatest individual season in the
741. 25:59history of football. Now, if you agree
742. 26:01with my list, subscribe. And, if you
743. 26:03don't, give me a better one in the
744. 26:05comments right now.