Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d’Or recently. Lionel Messi, the hugely talented Argentine who turns out for Barcelona, is touted as the next winner. By Dominic Farrell.
Only recently did Cristiano Ronaldo win the European Footballer of the Year award, yet there is already talk about the man many expect to be his successor as the holder of the coveted Ballon d’Or.
The scintillating form of Lionel Messi in a Barcelona team currently eight points clear at the top of the Spanish Primera Liga has been the point of discussion.
The Argentina international, however, came a distant second to Manchester United’s Ronaldo with the 96 top journalists polled by France Football magazine for the Ballon d’Or.
“There’s no one who comes near him,” said United boss Sir Alex Ferguson of his Portuguese prodigy.
It would appear some beg to differ. “Cristiano Ronaldo has done massive things in both the [Barclays English] Premier League and in the [UEFA] Champions League,” said Barcelona’s Yaya Toure. “Messi is the best, though, and I am convinced that next year he will win the Ballon d’Or.”
Alexander Hleb, another of Messi’s Nou Camp team-mates, echoed Toure`s sentiments, as he said: “In my opinion, Leo Messi is far better (than Ronaldo) and I’m sure he will win the Ballon d’Or next year. He is like a player from another planet. He’s the best I’ve ever played with.”
The idea that Messi has other-worldly qualities about him was also raised recently by one of Ronaldo’s EPL counterparts. “It is as if someone commands him from the stands, like a video game,” said Everton playmaker Mikel Arteta. “I have never seen a human run with the ball at that speed. I have not seen [Diego] Maradona so I cannot compare, but Messi is simply unbeatable.”
Maradona, of course, is the player to whom every prodigious Argentinean number 10 will forever be compared to. For many, like Ariel Ortega, Pablo Aimar and Andres D’Alessandro, the weight of expectation has proved to be a crushing hindrance.
Messi, on the other hand, has continued to dazzle and produce awe-inspiring displays under the intense spotlight that comes with representing arguably one of football’s most legendary clubs.
Like all the past greats of the game, pressure seems to elevate him to a greater plane and a hat-trick against Real Madrid on his return from injury last March gave a stark example of this.
While Real have suffered consecutive league defeats to Getafe, Sevilla and Barcelona and only recently replaced coach Bernd Schuster with former Tottenham manager Juande Ramos, Barca are flying high thanks to Pep Guardiola’s free-flowing brand of football which sees Messi play a pivotal role.
The ease with which he can slot into a supporting role — as was the case against Valencia last weekend when Thierry Henry struck a hat-trick in a 4-0 home victory — is just as valuable to Barcelona as when he single-handedly changes the complexion of a game with a moment of magic. Perhaps it is the 21 year-old’s air of selflessness that prompts a number of Messi`s peers to place him above Ronaldo.
More often than not, he slips effortlessly back to centre stage. In 13 La Liga appearances this term, Messi has rattled in 10 goals. Five Champions League appearances have brought a further five.
Barcelona have every chance of now winning both competitions for the first time since 2006, when a thigh injury meant Messi was a mere spectator when the trophies were dished out at the end of the season.
Many expect Messi will not be so peripheral this time around, but he is far from the finished product, according to his new international manager.
“Messi still has a long way to go — I think he has another 10 years in front of him to improve,” said Maradona. “He’ll be doing fine in 2010 (the time of the next World Cup). He’ll be somewhat like me.”
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