Bradd, have you ever played football in a team before?
Watawata, your argument that "everyone knows x is a better player than y" is not a very convincing one.
I think I've explained myself pretty well. Robben is a better player, because his assists and dangerous situations he can create on the enemy defense more than make up for the difference between him an Mandzukic in goals scored.
You dont seem to understand what technique means. It doesn't mean you score more. It means you have more skill with the ball, which you can use to drible past defenders, make a trought pass, etc.. Take the example of Ronaldinho. He didnt score that many goals, but he was one of the most skillfull players ever, with incredible technique.
Another example would be Pirlo. He isnt in fact known for his goalscoring ability. He is valued because of his passing technique and tactic knowledge. Carlitos Tevez plays on the same team, juventus, and has scored much more goals than Pirlo. However, I can assure you that Conte ( Juventus manager) would much rater lose him than the aged midfielder, simply because Pirlo is the base of his team's game. All the plays pass by him, he knows when to speed up and when to slow down the game, when to make a trought pass or when to play it safe.
Like Pirlo, there are many other players who have incerdible technique and are seen as some of the best, not because of goalscoring ability but because they play well their position. For example: Neuer, Thiago Silva, Fernando, Xavi, Iniesta, Robben, Bryan Ruiz, etc..
Spain's brand of soccer was very defense minded and extremely boring.
Refering to your hate of Spain's tiki-taka, try to watch it for the tactics, whatch closelly every play they make, their passing technique, how Xavi controls the game, how the ball flow from player to player, without ever touching the oposite team. Thats how you really apreciate a game of football. It isnt a endless wave of goals or goal chances. Its these little details that make up for the magic of this sport.
Also, they didnt sufer many goals because their midfield could stop the atacks and intercept passes very well, due to a constant high presure, and because they dind't lose the ball often. If you took away Xavi and Busquets, this wouldn't work. They had a good defense, but the focus of this play style is the midfield.
For every one team that does well with no stars, I can name 12 teams that do well because they have plenty of stars.
And I can also name plenty which didnt work at all, dispite being full of stars. Of course that better players will lead to a better team, but more important than that is wether or not they can work together, which is why the manager's job is so important.
Lastly, I hope you dont immediatly refute all I said just because Im disaggreing with you, and take the time to think about it, ultimately expanding your knowledge of the game.
