John CHARLES | 1958-1960

[Brezza]

Nickname: "Il Buon Gigante" ("The Gentle Giant")

Club: Juventus

Spoiler: show

Consistency: 7
Growth type: Early/Lasting

INFO

William John Charles (born: 27/12/1931) is considered by many to have been the greatest all-round footballer ever to come from Britain. It wasn't just that he was comfortable playing either centre-half or centre-forward. He was world class in both positions. Such was his versatility that he managed to break the Leeds United club scoring record with 42 goals in a season at a time when he was appearing at centre-half in internationals for Wales.

There is no comparable player with that kind of range in the modern game.

He was the first Briton to make the grade in Italian football and, forty years on, is probably the most successful export from League football to Serie A where his name is still revered. Certainly, Charles adapted quickly to the skill of the Italian League and made a more substantial and sustained impact than many of those who followed him, including Jimmy Greaves, Denis Law and Ian Rush. That is why he is a God to Juventus fans, the one they Christened "Il Buon Gigante" - the Gentle Giant.

He was supremely talented, possessing a delicate first touch and good control, and in the air he was masterful. Not just because of his spectacular ability to rise above defences, but also the awesome power with which he could head the ball. Apart from his versatility, he was comfortable with either foot, possessed great stamina and strength.

In the foreword for John's autobiography, Sir Bobby Robson described him as "incomparable" and classed him among the all-time footballing greats such as Pele, Diego Maradona and George Best. He also notes that Charles is the only footballing great to be world class in two very different positions.

Charles' accomplishments with Juventus led to him being voted "the greatest foreign player ever in Serie A", ahead of Maradona, Michel Platini, Marco Van Basten and Zinedine Zidane - this in 1997, 34 years after his last appearance in the league. In 2001 he became the first non-Italian inducted to the Azzurri Hall of Fame.


VIDEOS:





ADDITIONAL LINKS:

http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/players/charles1.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Charles

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Charles

http://soccer4us.net/lofiversion/index.php/t18.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/726000.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/3509353.stm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2008/oct/22/premierleague

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Explanation about stats can be found here: http://www.pesstatsdatabase.com/viewtopic.php?p=3213#p3213

[Brezza]

Maybe underatted him in that area, but these might be one of these ‘bullshit’ quotes that Alcomicide likes to put so bluntly. From what ive seen he wasn’t really overly fast and dribbles at times that looks like walking pace. Maybe Jack might of been just referring to his Leeds days or in those instances there was no need for him to sprint with the ball.

There’s this video of a few clips here where he shows a bit more mobility, id certainly say that he wasn’t another Drogba though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0ZTsdRx ... re=related

[Fevernova]

Perhaps yellow numbers for TS and ACC could do justice...

[p1rha]

I don't think he was pacey in the usual sense, but he seems to be the kind of guy that can be very fast over long distances, not as much as Drogba for shure but i was only using him as a comparison subject because they're both exceptional athletes.

Another impresion i got from him is that he scored most of his goals with his head, wich suggests a decrease in shooting abilities, not shure how much.

I would also like to point out he is refered as a player who used his strenght with great fair play. He was never sent off or even booked i think, and he somehow criticized the rudeness of the game in england (and italian softness) when he said "please don't turn it into a game for sissies but don't let it get dangerous too". There's a nice story when he beat a defender but acidentally knocked him out unconsious, because he used to swing his arms a lot to balance himself. As he felt he had touched the player he looked back and seing the oponent on the floor he kicked the ball out of the field wasting a clear chance on goal. Ence the "gentle giant". But he was also criticized (mainly in england i think) for not strugling enough, wich suggests a decrease in mentality.

So i sugest:

Top Speed: 84
Accelaration: 81
Dribble Speed: 79
Mentality: 78

[Fevernova]

Wow! p1rha, U really did your homework. Totally agree with you.

[p1rha]

Wow! p1rha, U really did your homework. Totally agree with you.

I posted the link in the 1st page, u can read it all if ur willing to, it's very long but it's worth it.
When he talks about how much the mafia would fix the matches... really interesting.

[CDDRodrigo]

Great post p1rha! I agree too.

[Brezza]

Updated

Another impresion i got from him is that he scored most of his goals with his head, wich suggests a decrease in shooting abilities, not shure how much.

good point so did Jose Aguas. Maybe Charles should be rated the same as him in SA around 87/88

[p1rha]

yes, just decrease SA to something arround 87, i think u can keep SP at 90. I also think response should come down to 87 maybe, and attack to 90, seems like he wasn't the traditional small box man, the one that stands in the box waiting for some loose ball, the one with the killer instinct.

Can u imagine what's a 95 kg , 1,88 tall beast playing in a mediterranean league were the average height was probably arround 1,75? Add some good tactical awareness together with decent technical ability plus a superbly accurate header, and u have the result: unfeckin' stopabble!

[Brezza]

Updated weight 95<88 Format/Cards additional links and jump 90< 88 ( I compared him to pri9me drogba in this aspect who has the same Height/weight)

Credit to Plava

[Brezza]

A couple of things could be tweaked so he plays more realistically in the newer games as well as they have now removed attacking/defensive arrows. The combination of high def, attack/def awareness: Bal and dummy runner will make him play far too deep as a pure CF. so Dummy runner could be removed for goal poacher? not the goal poaching type to play of the last man but could help him not play too far back.

[Yazid]

93 Att, 85 Def seems a bit OP, higher combined than the kaiser...I would suggest 89 ATT, 83 DEF.