Topic: who is the greatest ?

[azcurls]

I am a big fanatic of the game and i am quite good but i would not say that i am the greatest bcoz i have not played the game for long and i only started playing lastyear but since then i have being hooked on the game, i also enjoy watching other foosers play the game and have seen some really good players.

But my big question is " WHO IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD?" and if there is someone, how does the ranking take place and by who ?

let me know, I am reallly interested.    

[SumnerH]

But my big question is " WHO IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD?" and if there is someone, how does the ranking take place and by who ?

There are international points rankings, national points rankings, and results at majors to go by.  Both ranking systems have major flaws (the international rankings ignore many US results and give equal credit to, say, the winner of the Austrian or Canadian national title as to the winner of the UK, German, or US title).

I think almost everyone would rank Belgian player Frederico Collignon as the best player in the world right now.  Other top players include Billy Pappas, Tony Spredeman, and Terry Moore (all from the USA).

The US rankings are maintained by the US Table Soccer Association and can be viewed at:
http://www.vifa.com if you click on "USTSA Points Book".

But those rankings don't coincide with the consensus best players exactly; for instance, Frederico doesn't play in all the US events so he's only ranked 4th despite having by far the most major titles in the last 7 years.

Todd Loffredo is probably the best player ever, and still a big-time threat, but nowadays he's playing much more goalie (mostly with Frederico) although he still has some singles success.

Terry Moore was the dominant player in the 1990s and still one of the biggest threats.

Frederico dominated 1998-2004 to an unreal degree and is still the favorite in any event he enters.

Pappas and Spredeman have emerged as big-time players in the past 4 years, and especially Pappas has been really putting on a show for the last 2-3 years.

The top women in the world right now are Cindy Head (USA)  and Moya Tielens (Canada).  Both excel in singles and doubles, though I'd say that Moya is the better forward in doubles, with Cindy the better scrapper in singles.  But that's splitting hairs.  Cindy certainly has the larger body of work, with major titles going back through the 1980s.  Cindy's probably a bit better doubles goalie than Moya, too.

Moya's actually won a major Open Mixed title playing forward (Vegas Hall of Fame Classic in 2003 or 2004), which is incredibly uncommon (and possibly the only time it's happened).

My picks:
top male forwards:
1. Frederico Collignon
2. Billy Pappas
3. Terry Moore
4. Tony Spredeman
Honorable mentions: Dave Gummeson, Tom Yore, Adrian Zamora

top male goalies:
1. Todd Loffredo
2. Louis Cartwright
3. Bob Diaz
4. Tracy Macmillan
Honorable mentions: Garret Sherkenbach, Eddie Gartman.  All of the top 4 forwards are also excellent goalies.

top male singles players:
1. Frederico Collignon
2. Billy Pappas
3. Tony Spredeman
4. Terry Moore
Honorable mention: Louis Cartwright, Rob Mares

Top women
1. Moya Tielens
2. Cindy Head
3. Dusty Bambanek
4. Christina Fuchs
5. Gena Murray
But Cindy and Moya are basically tied as I mentioned.

[grandmaster]

When I step up to the table it used to be that I wanted to SKUNK the other team. Now I want to SKUNK THREE PEOPLE. From back. If my forward knows he's getting SKUNKED BY HIS OWN GOALIE, maybe he'll get in gear and start pulling the plow. remember, you only have to score  one point to keep from getting SKUNKED.