Lionel Messi scoring of his 24th La Liga and 32rd hat trick on March 8 which fired Barcelona to top the league table signifies yet the Argentine’s burning desire to beat his Portuguese and Real Madrid arch-rival, Cristiano Ronaldo on the 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or Award
Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti was understandably angry on Saturday, March 7 after his star-studded squard suffered a shocking defeat at Athletic Bilbao, allowing its arch-rival, Barcelona to go top of La Liga the following day after a 6-1 demolition of Rayo Vallecano on match-day 26. Ancelloti singled out his striking force led by Cristiano Ronaldo for scathing attack for the team’s sloppy performance at San Makes. “The front three didn’t play well,” the former Chelsea gaffer began.”It’s strange to say Madrid have a problem up front when we have scored so many goals but I think it’s the truth. There is no connection, too much individual play,” he summed.
Such dramatic resurgence of FC Barcelona and its star player, Lionel Messi is certainly a cause for concern at the Santiago Bernabeu. Besides the prospect of losing the league title to the Catalan giants, there are fears in the Spanish Capital club that unless the tide turns, the pendulum of Ballon d’Or victory could swing in the direction of Messi.
Nobody could have comfortably predicted a quick rally from the Argentine and Barcelona star when the Portuguese and Madrid attacker picked the prestigious FIFA gong last January. But pundits say with the Leo’s trifecta versus Rayo, which brought his league goal tally to 30, the same with Ronaldo; the race for the FIFA best player has taken an interesting and competitive dimension.
“Certainly, Messi is sending the message that his time is not yet over and he and his Barcelona team mates are still hungry for titles and honours. That is what we saw on Sunday,” Mr. Elvis Ike, a football analyst said.
“In terms of records, Messi has an edge over his Portuguese counterpart having scored 32 hat tricks (24 in league games, five in the Champions League, two in the Spanish Cup and one in the Spanish Super Cup) as against Ronaldo’s 27 hat tricks,” he added.
Messi now has 41 goals in 38 games, the same number he had in 46 games during last season, thus maintaining his incredible goal-scoring streak of over 40 goals per season in the last six seasons. Ronaldo, on the other hand, has netted 41 times in 39 appearances for Real Madrid this term; and unless the Portuguese and his team mates overcome the recent slump in form, both the La Liga title and FIFA gong could be heading to Barcelona.
The battle line as at January
On the night of January 12, 2015, Lionel Messi watched from the sideline as Cristiano Ronaldo picked the 2014 FIFA Ballon d’Or in Zurich, Switzerland to become the fourth player in history to win the prestigious prize three times alongside great players like Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten.
The Golden Ball prize was a reward for the 29-year-old striker’s incredible performances in which he netted a staggering 56 goals in 51 appearances for Real Madrid’s four trophies haul in 2014. But his 27 year-old Argentine rival managed 50 goals haul in 52 appearances during Barcelona’s trophy-less campaign in the year under review.
Expectedly, Ronaldo’s second straight Ballon d’Or victory, a feat nobody could have comfortably predicted few years ago when his rival seemed unstoppable, ensured that he was just one title short of equaling Messi’s all-time record of four world best player trophy. And the Real Madrid talisman has confidently declared himself fired-up to catch up and beat his Barcelona rival for the race to the greatest footballer of this generation after picking up the prize.
“I am not going to stop; I want to reach Messi (Four Ballon d’Or). I don’t lose sleep over it but it excites me. I want to become one of the greatest players of all time,” he declared, setting the stage for a fierce supremacy battle in the years ahead. Ronaldo’s confidence is quite understandable, having netted 26 goals in 18 games in current Spanish Liga season and five goals in six UEFA Champions League (UCL) games thus far.
Judging by the sensational form exuded by Ronaldo and Real Madrid’s star-studded team earlier in the year, pundits are predicting that the Portuguese has everything in his favour to glide past Messi by winning World Player of the year two more times. “It’s quite obvious that Ronaldo’s hunger for more personal and team laurels has been fired up now that he is close to Messi’s records and this will certainly bring out the best in him,” said Mr. Kayson Ugochukwu, a football analyst.
Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, equally predicted that his client possesses the strength and stamina to continue delivering top notch performances and goals beyond the current term to next decade. “He will still score 20 goals a season with his head when he is 39, mark my words,” Mendez said.
Will Messi Surrender?
At the time Ronaldo was crowned the best player of the universe in 2014, the question many analysts asked was: Will Ronaldo’s triumph knock Messi off or spur the Argentine to fire-up his game-throttle? Although, Messi was humble enough to admit that his rival performed better last term, noting that “it was deserved”, there was no sign that the diminutive attacker was ready to give up his lead yet.
Although, a cloud of uncertainty and controversy was trailing his career at the Nou camp early in the year, Messi has come out smoky in his recent games. And analysts say, having overcome speculations over his frosty relationship with current club board and embattled coach Luis Enrique, the Argentine stands a greater chance of firing Barcelona to titles this year and a chance of picking his fifth Ballon d’Or next January.
According to Pete Jensen, a football analyst, with Messi at the prime age of 27, playing alongside the likes of Louis Suarez and Neymar Junior, with greater freedom at the heart of Barcelona attacking set up, both the player and the club could be unstoppable. “He rose to prominence in that wonderful triangle of mesmerizing movement and short passes made up of Andres Iniesta and Xavi,” Jensen quipped.
Local analysts believe the possibility of Messi beating his greatest challenger to the coveted FIFA gong next January depends on how well he adjusted to Enrique’s style and new play-mates to fire Barcelona back to titles. “So far, Messi has not done badly, having scored 16 goals in 18 La Liga matches and eight goals in six UCL thus far. And should he manage to keep himself fit and injury free, Messi would give Ronaldo a run for the Ballon d’Or if not snatch it next year,” Mr. Ugochukwu Sylvester said.
The fact that Messi could have more playing opportunities than Ronaldo in the next 12 months may be an added advantage for the Argentine to turn the table once more in his favour. While Messi is expected to lead his country to the 2015 Copa America championship in Chile, Ronaldo doesn’t have any international competition this year. And should Messi guide the Albicelestes to the Copa America title, he would have an edge over his rival.
However, there are fears that Messi’s desire to play every game for club and country this year could do his career more harm than good if not properly managed. Juanjo Brau, a physiotherapy expert explains that Messi’s type of play which involves driving at defenders, seeking out team-mates, dropping deep and running defence-line ragged at incredible speed is not suitable for his body. “He (Messi) can’t be up and down all the time, because his muscular typology is not suited to such physical demands,” he said.
But with no sign of tiredness or giving up on the quest to becoming the greatest soccer player of this age, analysts believe Messi should use this year to prove his superiority. “Messi has continually shown that he can raise his game to meet new challenges, and this will be one of those occasions. I have no doubt that he will make 2015 his and pull away from Ronaldo just as the Los Blancos forward has him in his sights,” declared Paul Wilkes, a football expert.
By Olisemeka Obeche
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