No one would deny that Ribery's shooting was subpar, performance-wise or statistically.
But sometimes, your greatest strength can become your greatest weakness.
Ribery's habit of "holding out for the right price" and "waiting for the right opportunity," combined with the advantage of being an attacker, made him practically unbeatable.
However, this same long-term approach of "acting according to circumstances" meant that Ribery lacked the courage to go all-in.
He lacked the real feel for that decisive final strike.
The kind of shot where, facing the football, you unleash a Flying Immortal Outside Heaven, or a dribbling move capped off with a Batistuta goal – such feats were forever beyond Ribery's capability.
As long as the goalkeeper was bold enough to wait, Ribery would be the one put at a disadvantage.
Even his teammates at Manchester City couldn't analyze this.
The information was there, but very few actually understood how to analyze it.
