Football is a game played in the brain as much as it is on the pitch. Physicality and determination can only get a player so far, but the truly elite footballers of different generations have all had one thing in common: an incredibly high football IQ.
This takes into account vision, movement, spatial awareness and even timing. Being able to see the bigger picture while in the heat of the moment has been what’s separated good players from the very best to have ever graced the hallowed turf.
While it’s relatively simple to spot a clever player on the pitch, being able to pick out the most intelligent of all time and rank them in order is a completely different ball game. With that in mind, GIVEMESPORT have called on X’s Grok AI tool to do exactly that, with some interesting results.
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If there’s been an underrated player over the past 20 years, it’s Spanish hero Sergio Busquets. Often overshadowed by bigger names for both club and country, the holding midfielder was the heartbeat of successful Barcelona and Spain teams with his intelligent positioning and incredibly cute use of the ball. He was always in the right place at the right time and never allowed the opposition to get near him with his clever play.