Cristiano vs Messi: An imagined rivalry?
When it comes to sport, there is nothing like an iconic rivalry to fuel the global popularity of football.
This past weekend, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi fought their latest battle to be considered the world’s best player in war of attrition that has lasted more than a decade.
But this was no gladiatorial duel consciously played out in a frenzied colosseum, but a commercial construct which had the two star players separated over a distance of thousands of miles and playing in different matches before a global audience that followed the episodic contest on satellite TV and the worldwide net.
The opening shots were fired in Yokohoma where Real Madrid played Japanese Champions Kashima Antlers in the Club World Cup final. This is a FIFA competition created almost exclusively as a commercial vehicle but with limited claim on the enduring memory of the discerning fan.
The match of course had its importance for the Japanese and their opponents on the day. The global reputation of the still relatively nascent Japanese professional football is based on the global brand and marketing reach of the country’s multinational corporates while the executives of a commercially-minded major European club like Real Madrid takes to this kind of competition like a duck to water.
Indeed for Real Madrid and its celebrity star player -Cristiano Ronaldo-the event provided a perfect platform to engage with the lucrative Asian market, and secure a Christmas bonus, adding to a recent trophy chest which has included Champions League and European Super Cup and for Ronaldo –European Nations Cup and Ballon D’Or player of the year.
In football terms, the Club World Cup final had very little else to commend it other than the Japanese minnows displaying their reputation for courage. With the European champions trailing 2-1 in the second half, Ronaldo leveled with a 60th minute penalty and scored the two further goals in extra time to seal a victory.
Up to that point Cristiano had put in a lot of show and little substance. Not one of his best games by any means but one his critics would caricature as part of his DNA. As Jose Samano of El Pais put it, “the Portuguese showed off some insignificant arabesques, a lot of bicycle kicks without a chain, and irrelevant spurs, cinematographic gestures in the land of Oliver and Benji but ineffective.”
His more understated colleague Benzema played better but then he didn’t win the match- nor could he ever be Cristiano Ronaldo,who is never shy of hugging the limelight, and determined to be recognized as the best player in the world, as voted days earlier in the Ballon D’Or.
And if football was all about trophies –then indeed he would be the best without question. Only one other player, the Spanish international and Il Grande Inter Milan Galician born Luis Suarez Miramontes has conquered the European Cup, the European Nations Cup and the Intercontinental Cup in one season and that was back in 1964.
But let us return to the latest battle between icons as played out across cyberspace for football memories are based on goals as well as championships and Sunday was a day when a more ordinary fixture turned into something worth remembering.
The Real Madrid- Kashima encounter was followed later in the day, as European time caught up with Japan’s, with a popular derby of the Spanish La Liga played at the Nou Camp between FC Barcelona and Espanyol.
It was a match potentially without consequence but which turned into something worth being recorded. After a lacklustre performance for most of the season, FC Barcelona showed skill and grit against a decent opposing side with key players giving it their best, not seen since the heyday of the Guardiola years. Barca’s opening goal came from Iniesta producing a prerectly weighted and angled diagonal long ball for Barca’s Suárez to effortlessly pick up and knock into the far corner with one touch.
But it was Messi who, as the game developed in the second half, produced a sensational all-round performance both as creator and goal scorer, to help his side win 4-1.
Two mesmerising solo runs from Messi helped Suarez score Barca’s second and Jordi Alba the third before he countered a late rally by Espanyol, rounding off the match with a sublime finish following Suarez’s clever chipped pass.
It was Messi’s assists which will be remembered as one of the great moves of football history.The first had him picking up the ball inside his own half on the right, passing to Iniesta, who passed it back, opening the way for a masterclass. His footwork, reminiscent of Maradona circa Mexico 1986, had him going leave six Espanyol players for dead, before his shot was spilled by the substitute goalkeeper Diego Lopez for Suarez to follow through. A minute later, Messi produced another breathtaking run, nutmegging four Espanyol players inside the box before laying off the ball off for Alba to score.
López briefly silenced a jubilant Camp Nou with an Espanyol a well worked counter but Messi rounded off the match with a goal of his own, off a pass by Suárez .
After yesterday’s ‘duel’, other players talked about Messi being from another galaxy or play station, and Cristiano talked about himself, about what a memorable year it had been, winning four trophies. Of all them, winning the Euro championship was the best because it was the first for Portugal (and because it won him the Ballon D’Or, he might have added).
Meanwhile geeks will continue to ponder over statistics , while the purists among the football fans will resist being drawn into answering the question they regard as not only irrelevant but an insult to the beautiful game : who of the two is the best?
As long as Cristiano and Messi can play top flight football, why not just sit back and enjoy it.
