Lionel Messi versus Cristiano Ronaldo.
The two have been summoned by history to enact the greatest and most evenly fought rivalry in the history of football. They are equal yet opposite: both score obscene, fearsome and record-breaking numbers of goals, but their ability is as balanced as their temperaments are different. It transcends mere rivalry, however. It is a clash of morality, of good versus evil.
Ronaldo is obviously the evil one and Messi is obviously the good one. They contrive to embody these qualities is absolutely every way possible. Messi plays in Barcelona, whose Catalan inhabitants fought in the Spanish Civil War against the Fascist rule of General Franco, who was based in... Madrid. Where Ronaldo plays. Messi represents unfettered, un-cynical, honest boyish enthusiasm. He seems immune to the ego-inflating trappings of fame, success and fortune. The vampiric media have thus far been unable to sully Messi's reputation one bit, and that is surely not through lack of trying. No hookers, no outbursts, no petulant behaviour. Ronaldo on the other hand...
Hookers. Outbursts. Diving. Modern football is frequently criticised as having been over-inflated by television money, widening the gulf between players and fans, driving egos and eroding ingrained perceptions of how football should be played, i.e like 'real men'. Ronaldo seems to play up to every one. Ronaldo's penchant for diving sums this up most clearly. This is a man apparently blessed with everything one could need to succeed as a footballer: skill, fitness, speed, stature and mental resilience, and despite this he resorts to play-acting and brazen cons to get his way. It rankles no end.
In contrast, Messi never dives.
Their personalities seem to be reflected in their playing styles. Messi is a lover: deft, precise and is as concerned for the team effort as his own success; Ronaldo is a pornstar: his play revolves around overt physicality, who bludgeons opposition to submission with strength and power. His assist count is pitiful in comparison. Rob Smyth in the Guardian said of Bulgarian legend Stoichkov that he is 'not a footballer that believes in foreplay', and that pretty much sums Ronaldo up.
Reinforcing the dichotomy is La Liga itself, which has become effectively a tussle between Barcelona and Real Madrid: this year Madrid won with 100 points to Barcelona's 91; in third place was Valencia with 61. There are no third parties in this rivalry. It's not so much a gulf as a wholly separate competition. The Barcelona style of play revolves around technique, skill and speed of thought, whereas the Madrid team is built on physique and brutal counter-attacks. Both work equally effectively; Barcelona won the league (and basically everything else) in the first two years, but Madrid closed the gap and won emphatically in the year just gone.
It took Ronaldo's arrival in Madrid to kick-start the rivalry. Ronaldo had won World Player of the Year in 2008 with Manchester United; Messi came second. In that season, Ronaldo had scored 26 goals, and Messi had scored 38. Both impressive totals, but looking back they now seem pitiful in comparison: in the 2011-12 season, Messi scored seventy-three goals while Ronaldo bagged sixty. In the three years since Ronaldo joined Madrid, he has scored 112 league goals and Messi has scored 115; Ronaldo's scoring rate with Madrid is slightly above a goal a game. Holy hell, guys. Without evil there can be no good, and Ronaldo's transfer to Spain has vindicated both players, pushing them to ever-greater heights.
Sources:
http://sportnomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ronaldo_vs_messi_3.jpg
http://imgur.com/oY43g
http://messivsronaldo.net/
http://www.wikipedia.org
What a clever analysis! You managed to make football something literary and poetic... juste bravo :))
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