What makes a player more complete?

Discuss

For me, a complete [position] is someone with a wide range of useful attributes. Example: A complete Striker can shoot/finish from medium range or short range, has a good first touch, can shoot from long distance, can finish calmly in one-on-one situations, is ambidextrous, has good movement in the box, is fast/agile, is a good dribbler, works hard, etc.

An overall player who is complete can play multiple positions. Example of these players: Di Stefano and Cruyff, who, from what I've seen, can play pretty much all positions in the opponent's half, if not including some defensive positions.

Steven Gerrard

More like ballack except he can't wear gloves

Having him is like having a def mid and ATt

Messi, Xavi, casillas, puyol, Raul, henry, R9, zidane, just most recent I probably forgot some, these players are or have been complete in their positions, brought or bring more to their team then expected, not only do they have immense skills and attributes but they play their heart out that's what completes them IMO!

The same reason why cr7, Torres, half of man city are nothing but mercenaries with some good football skills!! It's more of a popularity contest to them!

white_star wrote:Messi, Xavi, casillas, puyol, Raul, henry, R9, zidane, just most recent I probably forgot some, these players are or have been complete in their positions, brought or bring more to their team then expected, not only do they have immense skills and attributes but they play their heart out that's what completes them IMO!

The same reason why cr7, Torres, half of man city are nothing but mercenaries with some good football skills!! It's more of a popularity contest to them!

ronaldo is many things,not all of them good but he isnt a mercenary.. you can see how much he wants to win on the pitch by his reactions.. plus the hours of training he puts in..

Able to do everything, attack, defend, shoot, pass. He must have a footballing brain, he must read the game well, have great positioning and be there when needed. A complete footballer can play anywhere.

To become more complete a player must work on their weakness' so they are better all round.

Talent, workrate and the right mentality no matter what position he plays

it depends on what position the player plays in fo course, but generally speaking they need ot have the ability to fit the criteria for all the genres of their position eg for a CB to be complete today they need to be tactically aware, strong, good in the air, a good reader of the game, fast, strong, good at distributing the ball etc
where as an "incomplete CB" like JT may be strong and a good reader of the game but hes slow and distribution of the ball isnt great

Can play anywhere, anytime even as a goalkeeper.
Can score with both legs, and his head.

Basically, the question is not difficult to answer.
In football, you have players who play as GK, LB, RB, CB, DM, AM, etc....
A complete player or the most complete player can play most or all of them.