Messi isn't a party boy and seems to be injury free, so he edges out Fat Ronaldo and Ronaldinho because you can't envisage the same issues with him, so that's why we can say right now he is the best player ever IMO.
I wonder what Messi will be like in 3-4 years, he's already won everything possible with Barca and pissed on everyone. There must be a phase in his career where he just gets bored.
Last edited by Marc Overmars; 23-03-2012 at 12:16 AM.
It'll depend on Ronaldo probably, if he is still as consistent as he is now then I am sure Messi will dedicate himself to matching him (Ronaldo would be about 30 by then I think). Drenthe recently said of Ronaldo that if Messi scores three goals on a Saturday, Ronaldo wants four on a Sunday and it hurts him if he only gets one.The two clubs push each other on to ridiculous levels because their egos can't take the other being better and that filters down to the players, I am sure.
Yeah the rivalry is great. When they're not bitching and crying to the ref that is.
You can see there is a mad will to be the best there.
We need to get our ego back tbh.
Not play for Barca. Now most people would put this down to barca hating or whatever but in all seriousness, take him out of his comfort zone and see how he does.Originally Posted by McNamara That Ghost...
To be the best, you have to be able to challenge yourself. Ronaldo became the best in the world whilst at Mancs and he left for a new challenge. To try his luck elsewhere and he'll leave Real when they too reach his targets.
Would Messi be as good without Xavi and Iniesta? We all know Ronaldo had to feed off scraps from the likes of Fletcher and Anderson etc and still excelled. I cant see Messi doing that if im really honest
He didn't leave for a new challenge per se, he left for the prestige of playing for Real Madrid. After all, it was his 'dream'.
Messi's style ultimately means he will create chances for himself with regularity and don't you think any club that actually had him would try to find Messi whenever possible? He might not have Xavi and Iniesta behind him (although this season in Iniesta's case that hasn't been a huge amount) but he would have players that would think giving him the ball is the best option and he also creates chances for others with regularity too; I mean, he is on 21 assists for the season. And he is starting to score goals for Argentina with regularity now.
You say Fletcher and Anderson but in the Premier League players of that level are able to dominate midfielders from the rest of the league because technique is not considered the main trait to have. Mata, David Silva and Torres (well for a bit) all came over from Spain and have played well, I just don't understand the theory that Messi would not be able to replicate it over here. Henry, Robbie Keane and Donovan all came back from the MLS and were able to contribute, almost immediately.
On a realistic level, the only team that would be able to afford him is Citeh and with FFP, you'd think they would be unwise to do so. If he did join them then I am not sure how much he would actually prove given they are already near the top and miles clear of third, just like in Spain.
The innaccuracies in this argument are what annoy me, I don't care whether someone thinks Ronaldo is better or not but I found it stupid to the extreme that so much was made of Messi not scoring against English sides when up to that point (the 2009 CL final), Ronaldo had never scored against Spanish opposition!
It would be interesting to see how he'd do in a more competitive league.
La Liga is almost Scotlandtastic in the way the top 2 are above everyone else.
There's a 25 point gap between first an 3rd which is the same as the gap between 3rd and bottom. Real Madrid's goal difference is +65
That said Messi has done it at CL level year after year so that's not too big a stick to beat him with. But he is also playing in just about the best club side of all time. I thought our Invincibles were pretty special, and they were, but they weren't as good as this lot.
It is hard to compare players because of the different teams/eras they play in.
Right - while there are some great players, punters often ignore the fact that part of their success is due to the team around them. Messi would still be a great player in League 2 but I bet his performance would drop over time and he would be less of a player.It would be interesting to see how he'd do in a more competitive league.
La Liga is almost Scotlandtastic in the way the top 2 are above everyone else.
There's a 25 point gap between first an 3rd which is the same as the gap between 3rd and bottom. Real Madrid's goal difference is +65
That said Messi has done it at CL level year after year so that's not too big a stick to beat him with. But he is also playing in just about the best club side of all time. I thought our Invincibles were pretty special, and they were, but they weren't as good as this lot.
It is hard to compare players because of the different teams/eras they play in.
Do you think someone should suggest that to Wenger - that buying a couple of good players might improve the team's overall performance as the other players up their game? No - that would be silly.
The big difference is that the top two are so far ahead because they're possibly two of the best club sides ever. Certainly one of them are. Those two ultimately don't lose in most games because of their superior quality but it's not like they haven't had extremely close games. Rangers and Celtic struggle with the Europa League.It would be interesting to see how he'd do in a more competitive league.
La Liga is almost Scotlandtastic in the way the top 2 are above everyone else.
There's a 25 point gap between first an 3rd which is the same as the gap between 3rd and bottom. Real Madrid's goal difference is +65
That said Messi has done it at CL level year after year so that's not too big a stick to beat him with. But he is also playing in just about the best club side of all time. I thought our Invincibles were pretty special, and they were, but they weren't as good as this lot.
It is hard to compare players because of the different teams/eras they play in.
Valencia 2-3 Real Madrid.
Valencia 2-2 Barcelona.
Athletic Bilbao 2-2 Barcelona. Bilbao ballsed that one up royally by having a defensive error and giving Messi the ball in injury time.
Put it this way, it has been no less 'competitive' than the Premier League has this season. Spurs have already been beaten home and away by the top two and it's quite possible the same could happen to us (aggregate scores of quite a lot!). I'm in no way suggesting Valencia are as good as Barcelona or Real Madrid but there's a good chance a Spanish team will go on to win the Europa League, again. In La Liga, there isn't much deviation between how the sides play but given the recent success of the national team, maybe it's a wise move to encourage that style of play through every team. To my mind, from third down to eleventh, there isn't much between them, in quality nor playing style. And three of those teams are in the Europa League Quarter Finals, as Spanish teams tend to be.
As for those two teams themselves, it all goes back to what I said about Barcelona and Real Madrid pushing each other to a level few teams can cope with.
Our top two crashed out of the Champions League group stage. And then in the Europa League.
You can look at players individually and see what they give back to the team. Barcelona's pressing is a big 'team reason' of why they're so good but that doesn't detract from what you see players do with the ball, individually.
There's a programme on 5live at 9pm about Messi tonight. No idea who is on it but hopefully Ronaldo.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote