Lionel Messi .v. Cristiano Ronaldo

[Guardian]

Ronaldo is waaay better than that dwarf Messi, come on guys are you fukin blind? Ronaldo is faster, taller, stronger, works harder than Messi and he is sexier. I mean, he's damn sexy from the behind Messi is overrated, he would be nothing without Pedro, Busquets and Xaviniesta. On the other hand Ronaldo's dribbling is out of this world, he's phenomenal, did you see his goals vs Valencia? Have you seen better than that? And please don't mention that game with Barcelona, where the referee screwed up Ronaldo, he denied him an obvious penalty, the corrupt bastard and not only that but also counted 2 off-side goals for Barca. Had he given that deserved penalty and disallowed the two off-side Barca goals, and if Real had had Xavi instead that kebab maker Ozil, Ronaldo would have scored 7 goals and the tie would have ended 3:7 for Madrid.

So Ronaldo >>>>>>>>> Messi, Messi is shit, come on guys couldn't you see that?
Cheese us Christo, how on Earth it's only me who can understand this game in details?

 

[Jordzibob]

Ronaldo is waaay better than that dwarf Messi, come on guys are you fukin blind? Ronaldo is faster, taller, stronger, works harder than Messi and he is sexier. I mean, he's damn sexy from the behind Messi is overrated, he would be nothing without Pedro, Busquets and Xaviniesta. On the other hand Ronaldo's dribbling is out of this world, he's phenomenal, did you see his goals vs Valencia? Have you seen better than that? And please don't mention that game with Barcelona, where the referee screwed up Ronaldo, he denied him an obvious penalty, the corrupt bastard and not only that but also counted 2 off-side goals for Barca. Had he given that deserved penalty and disallowed the two off-side Barca goals, and if Real had had Xavi instead that kebab maker Ozil, Ronaldo would have scored 7 goals and the tie would have ended 3:7 for Madrid.

So Ronaldo >>>>>>>>> Messi, Messi is shit, come on guys couldn't you see that?
Cheese us Christo, how on Earth it's only me who can understand this game in details?

AND. AND! CRUCIALLY! Ronaldo has proved himself in the almighty Premier League. Has Messi ever scored a freekick against Portsmouth, or run against a tough Wolverhampton defence? I think not.

 

[Caps]

I don't deny that Ronaldo is a great player (though I still think ever so slightly overrated) but anyone who seriously believes Ronaldo is a better player than Messi should stop watching football before they hurt their brain.

He is clearly miles ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo. In terms of pure skill and technical ability he is solidly superioir in almost every department. Dribbling, passing (both ability and intelligence), ball control. Tick, tick, tick.

Ronaldo is a great player, but he is an average passer, an average-at-best dribbler (his dribbling is the most overrated thing about him) and has average footballing intelligence (his main strength here is in making runs and getting in the right place; which he is great at).

I say he is slightly overrated (which by no means is me calling him bad) because the debate is always "Ronaldo or Messi?" which baffles me. In my head its always been "Best Player in the world? Hmmm Messi or Xavi...?", "Best dribbler? Iniesta or Messi?", "Best ball control? Iniesta or Messi?", "Best passer? Iniesta or Xavi?"

Iniesta, Xavi and Messi are all better players than Ronaldo. The debate around Messi V Ronaldo is pointless, considering Iniesta and Xavi come first.

This may seem like blind Barca fanboyism, but I pride myself in my ability to be unbiased and fair. Barcelona are just privileged at this time to have all three of the best in the world at the team.

Ronaldo is a great player, but he really isn't on the same planet as Messi. He just isn't.

 

[Jordzibob]

Ronaldo isnt an average dribbler, it's just the fact that at Barca we appreciate more subtle ways of playing than Ronaldo's in your face trickery. I agree with the fact that Messi is miles better, but your being a little harsh on Ronaldo's general abilities. Ronaldo is also very good technically, he's got better striking ability than Messi from long range anyway. He just tries it too much instead of picking out a pass because he's a greedy fucktard.

 

[Caps]

You said it yourself. You called his 'dribbling' trickery. I think maybe my definition of dribbling is just different.

Good dribbling is about pure ball control. Ronaldos ball control when dribbling is average when you forget the tricks. Its effective because of his pace, but it in no way special.

Iniesta and Messi are fantastic dribblers, because of how well they control the ball at close proximity while moving. Tricks are ok (and Ronaldo deserves props for being able to do them) but his ability to do certain tricks is nothing to do with dribbling. He has great flair, good ability and skill (tricks would come into this) but is an average dribbler. By average I mean 'nothing special', not necessarily poor.

I just feel Ronaldos strengths lie in his athleticism. Pace, power, aggression, trickery. He has decent to good technical ability (fantastic in one or two key areas). I was a little harsh, I agree. Reading back I didn't choose my words right at all. He is good technically, just not brilliant? Perhaps thats what I meant. Darn my shoddy English.

 

[Jordzibob]

No I meant trickery by the things he can do whilst he's dribbling, as in the stepovers, yes sometimes they actually work (albeit he tries them pointlessly sometimes), I see your point though.

It's going to be interesting to see how Ronaldo and Messi develop as they age, both are extremely reliant on pace, and as players get older inevitably they have to find a way around that.........

 

[dalitis8]

AND. AND! CRUCIALLY! Ronaldo has proved himself in the almighty Premier League. Has Messi ever scored a freekick against Portsmouth, or run against a tough Wolverhampton defence? I think not.

He has not even won the Carling Cup for crying out loud.

 

[Caps]

Ronaldo has great strength and will always be a great striker of a ball- so I think he'll last longer as a top player for longer than people think. Messi though will last longer still, as he isnt as reliant. His great technical ability and flexibility will see him play for a long time. I can even see him adopting a C(A)M role in the winter of his career.

 

[Jordzibob]

He has not even won the Carling Cup for crying out loud.

Without a doubt footballs ultimate prize. Without the Carling Cup, one cannot claim to have achieved true footballing greatness. That is why Diego Maradona and Pele are in fact not the greatest players of all time, as most consider. They just cant compete with the likes of Jonathon Woodgate and Mateja Kezman.

 

[Caps]

Carling Cup arty00231:

 

[dalitis8]

Ronaldo has great strength and will always be a great striker of a ball- so I think he'll last longer as a top player for longer than people think. Messi though will last longer still, as he isnt as reliant. His great technical ability and flexibility will see him play for a long time. I can even see him adopting a C(A)M role in the winter of his career.

Ronaldo will decline precipitously once his physical abilities will begin to diminish.

 

[Caps]

Oh don't get me wrong, I agree. I just think he last that wee bit longer than people think. If he can learn to adopt his game when the times comes, even longer- but he's not a player I really believe could do that efficiently.

Its absolutely correct that ronaldos physicality is at the center to his effectiveness as a footballer.

 

[Jordzibob]

Ronaldo will decline precipitously once his physical abilities will begin to diminish.

Yeh but that's the point. Hate him all you want, but as a professional in that regard, the guy is insanely good. He works incredibly hard to make sure he's in the absolute best shape possible, gotta give him credit for that, he's worked his ass off to be as good as he is and wont just lie down and take a decline in physical abilities as a given. That's why I agree with Carefree, he'll be around for a very long time.

 

[Caps]

Whos carefree?

Anyhow- I repeat: ronaldos physicality is at the center to his effectiveness as a footballer. (at the center, not the only thing, so dont jump on me and fanboys out there lol ><)

Players whos effectiveness are based majorically on skill, ability and intelligence are always going to outlast those whose effectiveness is based majorically on physicality.

 

[Jordzibob]

He's the most tremendous troll or moron. It's extremely entertaining, basically he just really doesnt like Xavi and Iniesta, to the point where its very very funny.

And yeh, like I said, I expect Ronaldo to work that much harder on adapting his game when it comes to it, that's just the kindof person he is. He's a vain, whiney little bitch, but he's one of the hardest working, and professional trainers in football. He doesnt drink either does he?