Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have been having personal contests ever since Real Madrid nabbed the Portuguese pretty boy from Manchester United.
So far, Messi in his own magical and yet unassuming way have trumped Ronaldo in all global recognition and awards. This season however, Ronaldo leads Messi in the goalscoring charts and Real Madrid is the runaway leaders for the La Liga crown. It would seem that the limelight hogging Portuguese should finally get the better of the inspirational Argentine.
But then Messi goes ahead, scores five goals and virtually create Champions League history and Ronaldo must be cringing, just wondering what he has to do to be the best in the world. No matter what Ronaldo does, Messi is even better at it.
Here are all 50 of Messi's goals this season. You can see this on youtube link here.
This link shows Cristiano Ronaldo who has been phenomenal as well this season. Who would have thought a once one-trick pony could develop into a fearsome goal machine. He is excellent in the air, blessed with two great feet and has blistering pace with awesome close control.
Finally, Carlos Quieroz is able to witness a performance that he must be extremely pleased about. This could have been a potential banana skin for the immensely talented but unpredictable Portuguese side. The last time these two sides met, Portugal won 5-3 at Goodison Park in the 1966 World Cup quarterfinal stage. The star of Portugal '66, Eusebio was at Cape Town to witness Portugal register their biggest ever World Cup victory in history. The Black Panther gave his thumbs-up approval for a seven-star Portuguese performance.
Cristiano Ronaldo who was largely anonymous in the first half, finally decided to make his presence in this summer's World Cup finals. He was his usual electrifying self in the second half, tormenting and skinning the North Korean defenders. In the end, he was the most outstanding player on the pitch and even had the opportunity to do a sheepish "head juggle" before netting his first goal and Portugal's sixth.
It was meant to be a mouthwatering tie in a potentially explosive Group G. Drogba's Ivory Coast against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal. What took place was a match which did not live up to the hype it created. Both team employed a cat-and-mouse approach and while Portugal had much of the possession, they lacked a sharp edge in attack. Ivory Coast was intent to soak up the pressure and then hit with pace on the break with Gervinho, Eboue, Kalou and Dindane all extremely quick and dangerous.
The match was filled with niggly fouls and players falling over at the slightest touch. In truth, the stop-start manner did kill some of the fluency of the game. Ronaldo ended up on the floor every time he tried to go on a potentially explosive run. Sven Goran Eriksson clearly recollecting the dangers of Ronaldo from England's 2006 quarterfinal World Cup match and decided that Cristiano must be stopped at all cost. This tactic worked as Ronaldo is still searching for his first goal in more than two years.
A fantastic blogger / interviewer, D-Wreck does some fantastic parodies on football personalities.
He comes up with some of the greatest football spoofs and I receive these interviews every week.
This is an interview he made up with Alex Ferguson, David Moyes and Rafa Benitez
Steven Gerrard spoke to UEFA.com on the 10th April 2009 after making his 100th European appearance in the 4-0 thumping of Real Madrid to reach the Champions League quarterfinals. He even scored two goals to celebrate his centennial match.
In that interview after the match, he spoke about four players who excite him, the four he mentioned were Messi, Iniesta, Xavi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Players, Gerrard describes as being on a higher level than any other player, himself included. Without a doubt, these are the four players who set the world alight in the season of 2008/2009 thus FIFA recognized their achievements by nominating them for the World Player Award.
The nominees for 2009 FIFA World Player of the Year Award are: 1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Real Madrid 2. Andres Iniesta (Spain), Barcelona 3. Kaka (Brazil), Real Madrid 4. Lionel Messi (Argentina), Barcelona 5. Xavi (Spain), Barcelona
The winner will be revealed at the 19th FIFA World Player Gala at the Zurich Kongresshaus on Monday 21 December. It will be a huge surprise if Lionel Messi does not add the FIFA crown to his UEFA crown.
As got the Gerrard interview, these were the parts I also found most interesting...7 months on and the interview still seemed relevant.
You were born and raised in the city. What does Liverpool FC mean to you?
Gerrard: It means everything to me. I've supported the club ever since I started watching football. A lot of my family are Liverpool supporters, a lot of my friends, and I still live in the city. So when we do win and get good results, and win trophies, it's nice to be part of it and enjoy it with the supporters.
What was the first game you went to at Anfield?
Gerrard: I was a young boy playing for Liverpool, I think I was eight years of age. Steve Heighway was in charge of all the young players, and he treated us to three tickets, so me, my dad and brother went to the game. We were playing Coventry City and won 3-0. Jan Molby scored three penalties, so it was a strange night.
Who was your favourite player when you were a boy?
Gerrard: After going to that first game, Jan was certainly one of my favourite players. When I started going regularly to watch Liverpool, the likes of Jamie Redknapp, Robbie Fowler and John Barnes were my heroes.
When people talk about great European Cup finals, 2005 when you came from 3-0 down to beat AC Milan will always be up there.
Gerrard: I'm going to be biased and say that the 2005 final was the best final ever. I don't think there's one that turned out the way that game did - 3-0 down, then 3-3, and then a penalty shoot-out. It was fantastic entertainment for the neutral, but to play in it was an unbelievable experience.
One of your best qualities seems to be that you never give up.
Gerrard: That's the way I've been brought up at this football club. From a very young age you're taught never to give up until the final whistle, no matter what the score is, and to keep fighting all the way till the end. And that's how I like to play the game. So many football matches have been turned around in the last couple of minutes, so it's important not to give up – and that's a message you've got to give young players.
What are your ambitions for the future with Liverpool and England?
Gerrard: I've still got many more dreams and ambitions to achieve with Liverpool. Obviously the Premier League; that's the only medal that is missing from my collection. It would be nice to lift a second European Cup, so there are still many, many things I want to achieve with the club. And obviously for England it would be nice to go to a tournament and be successful. To go one better than a quarter-final, to get into the last four, or maybe a final; that would be a fantastic achievement.
Do you see yourself as a manager in the future? Will you remain in football?
Gerrard: I have thought about it quite a few times: I'm 28 now and am certainly getting older. It would be nice to stay involved in the game. I'm not sure at what level, whether that's as a manager, a coach or whether I'll go into the media. I'm not too sure, but it would be nice to stay involved because football is so important to me.
You can view the entire interview here uploaded by lfc92erikkynwa
Some thought provoking pictures to illustrate the beauty of team spirit. Some oldies but goldies.
These pictures demonstrate how close and attached team mates, both international and domestic players can become as they strive and compete towards a common winning cause.
So...Ronaldo is finally going. And to his favoured destination - Real Madrid. At 9.33am Thursday morning, the media and football blogging world started to report the breaking news of an accepted ₤80m bid for the World Player of The Year. The deal looks to be a formality with most papers saying that it is just a question of when. A deadline date of June 30th has been set.
This puts an end to a season-long saga surrounding Ronaldo and Real Madrid. Fortunately for Man Utd fans worldwide, Sir Alex would not have let his most important player go without having a or two backup plan. But how do you replace a player who is lightning fast, have flair, a freekick specialist and scores vital goals?
All of us would like to think that Sir Alex has a plan in place already and is currently executing that plan. We know about the supposed potentials of Nani and Zoran Tosic within the United reserve squad. Ongoing discussions with Wigan Athletic will indicate a logical one-to-one ₤15m replacement in Ecuador winger Luis Antonio Valencia.
Across the English channel, rumours about interest in Franck Ribery refuses to go away but Bayern will not let him go without an inflated transfer price. Manchester United had in May 2009 made an initial inquiry to Bayern offering ₤63m for Ribery on condition that Ronaldo leaves. So now could be the time to exercise this Ribery option. The fans will be appeased if Ribery comes. The Premiership will welcome his direct running and quick footballing brain.
In my opinion, one particularly world-class right-sided midfielder has slipped off the radar. Alessandro Mancini has been warming the bench at Inter this season and he has publicly claimed that he is unhappy about this. Mancini could be tempted by a Manchester United link. The stepover king has the ability to be the Red Devils most exciting flair player. He could be available for cheaper ₤15m. The fans may prefer Ribery but Mancini should be the better option simply because there will be additional funds left for a badly needed defensive midfielder.
If Ronaldo does agree personal terms with Madrid, then he will be hard to replace. Alessandro Mancini, however is well-capable to be his possible replacement. His pace, dribbling skills and flair will thrill and bring the Man United fans to their feet.
Good bye Ronaldo, the EPL will be much poorer viewing without you.
Recently a soccer blog ran a poll on "Who is the greatest Ronaldo" and 48% of the votes said Cristiano Ronaldo. The comparison was between Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Cris Ronaldo. My first reaction when I saw this was to put my hands on my head and just going No, No, No.....due to this injustice, I will now compare the GGR (Game to Goals Ratio) and SGR (Shots to Goals Ratio) statistics of both Cris Ronaldo and Ronaldo to settle this debate. To avoid confusion, I will use CR7 to refer to Cristiano Ronaldo, leaving the true Ronaldo - Ronaldo (hint! hint!) Okay here goes,
CR7's amazing career statistics over the last three seasons (2005-2008) Games played (143) Goals scored (80) Assists (35) Shots on Goal (328) this results in Games to Goals Ratio is 1.8:1 Shots to Goals Ratio is 4:1 He also have Fouls Suffered (366) meaning that he is either a diver (which we already know) or he gets real rough treatment from the hatchet boys. I believe that CR7 goes down much too cheaply at the slightest contact.
Ronaldo's career statistics at Real Madrid (2002-2005) Games played (135) Goals scored (92) Assists (0) Shots on Goal (246) this results in Games to Goals Ratio is 1.5:1 Shots to Goals Ratio is 2.7:1
Ronaldo edges out CR7 in the categories of Shots to Goals Ratio and Games to Goals Ratio. He is far more efficient and economical in putting the ball in the back of the net when a chance comes along. Ronaldo is also the more effective player and a goal is virtually guaranteed when he steps onto the field. Hence, there should be no further doubt that clearly there is only one Ronaldo and that is Ronaldo Luiz Nazario de Lima. If you are still unconvinced, maybe this video will make it easier for you to accept this fact....
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