The World Cup is the litmus test for the greatest players. Ronaldo owned two of them while Messi has shit his pants in all three he has played.
[QUOTE=âTabby, post: 983708, member: 2142â]Itâs a fair point on Ronaldo, and Zidane in fairness, but many respected observers would argue for messi and I just think its fair to point out when everyone is rushing to condemn him that he IS actually one of the greats of the game. And one whoâs only halfway through his career.
Do you think we might have seen the best of him Rocko? He doesnât look a happy man all season.[/QUOTE]
Who are these respected observers?
[QUOTE=âRocko, post: 983720, member: 1â]Itâs hard to compare Messi with those guys now. I wouldnât pick Zidane because I think he took his time becoming effective. Ronaldo exploded onto the scene and then burst like a bubble which was more romantically appealing, at least it would have been if his deterioration wasnât all linked to Nike and corporate interference etc.
Messiâs challenge will be trying to be effective in a team that that doesnât rely on possession. His direct running for Barca was so effective when he was the only one doing it. Iniesta was of course well capable of gliding past a man but doesnât take the ball, turn and run at defenders the way Messi does. Zlatan was sidelined for him, which you couldnât really argue with on the basis of Messiâs subsequent form but jettisoning Zlatan hinted at a narrow tactical approach suiting Zlatan. Alexis didnât come with quite the same reputation but was a fine footballer who got asked to play a different role at Barca because they didnât need someone playing where Messi plays. Fabregas not too different, though he couldnât force his way into midfield either.
Messiâs demeanour hasnât been great for a while now. I donât know whether there is a series of niggles at him, whether he has muscle injuries or whether heâs finding it harder now. But he doesnât look as effervescent and consequently heâs more predictable. Canât argue with his contribution in the group stages but he was a passenger in the semi final and the comparisons with Maradona dragging Argentina to a World Cup were grossly exaggerated.[/QUOTE]
How good was maradona actually in 86? I know he got two in the quarter and semi but was he brilliant in all the games? I think he was stifled fairly well in the final apart from an assist for the winner was he?
Totti and Liam Brady.
Is the sum of the âmany respected observersâ?
Also something people are missing is that Messi isnât at his peak, he is past his peak IMO unless he stops getting sick in games. Il bomber destro strikes me as some 4 foot 10 midget of a lad who thinks he could have been as good as Messi if he had the same treatment
Great to see this fraud shown up. The scales have fallen from the worlds eyes and they now see what we see
Way too many try hards here.
Fucks sake, thatâs gas altogether.
Whatâs the story with the Totti love on this board? A fella who played for an also-ran club his whole career. The Matt Le Tissier of Italian football.
[QUOTE=âDistended Red Anus, post: 983828, member: 2648â]Fucks sake, thatâs gas altogether.
Whatâs the story with the Totti love on this board? A fella who played for an also-ran club his whole career. The Matt Le Tissier of Italian football.[/QUOTE]
How many World Cups did Matt Le Tissier win?
How many major international championship finals was Le Tissier man of the match in?
How many goal scoring records did Le Tissier smash?
Totti is the greatest of all time.
Klose is the greatest player the world has seen so.
[QUOTE=âDistended Red Anus, post: 983828, member: 2648â]Fucks sake, thatâs gas altogether.
Whatâs the story with the Totti love on this board? A fella who played for an also-ran club his whole career. The Matt Le Tissier of Italian football.[/QUOTE]
im not familiar with le tessier but a quick look at wiki states he never single handily won the world cup like totti did
Youâre utterly deluded mentioning Totti in the same breath as Pele, Maradona and Ronaldo. As has been said by a few other contributors Totti was more of a Matthew Le Tissier type player.
It may have escaped your attention but Messi (even after an injury interrupted season) has been selected as the player of World Cup 2014. Are we to take it you donât put any emphasis on selection as player of the tournament or on the team of the tournament?
[QUOTE=âManuel Zelaya, post: 983979, member: 377â]Youâre utterly deluded mentioning Totti in the same breath as Pele, Maradona and Ronaldo. As has been said by a few other contributors Totti was more of a Matthew Le Tissier type player.
It may have escaped your attention but Messi (even after an injury interrupted season) has been selected as the player of World Cup 2014. Are we to take it you donât put any emphasis on selection as player of the tournament or on the team of the tournament?[/QUOTE]
:rolleyes:
Whereâs his winnerâs medal?
Whereâs his winnerâs medal?[/QUOTE]
The same could be said of Alfredo di Stefano. You telling me that someone like say Stephane Guivarcâh was a better player than Lionel Messi and Alfredo di Stefano courtesy of a winners medal in 1998?
Incidentally, the 2006 final along with 1994 rank as the two World Cup finals where there was no winner. Drawn finals with Brazil in 94 and Italy in 2006 lifting the cup solely on the basis of a lottery. Hollow victories if ever there was one. Italy more so in 2006 as they were so shit they couldnât beat the US and needed a 95th minute penalty after a Grosso dive to limp past Australia in the round of 16.
[QUOTE=âManuel Zelaya, post: 983986, member: 377â]The same could be said of Alfredo di Stefano. You telling me that someone like say Stephane Guivarcâh was a better player than Lionel Messi and Alfredo di Stefano courtesy of a winners medal in 1998?
Incidentally, the 2006 final along with 1994 rank as the two World Cup finals where there was no winner. Drawn finals with Brazil in 94 and Italy in 2006 lifting the cup solely on the basis of a lottery. Hollow victories if ever there was one. Italy more so in 2006 as they were so shit they couldnât beat the US and needed a 95th minute penalty after a Grosso dive to limp past Australia in the round of 16.[/QUOTE]
Stick to talking about rugby Sidney. Youâre embarrassing yourself here.
i have to laugh at some of the dullards on here, il bomber makes a point, for months they disagree then he is proven to be right & they act like nothing ever happened, he makes another point and instead of learning from their mistakes they rush back in and argue and so the circle begins again
Embarrassing yourself in the context of World Cup 2014 was tipping Italy to win it.
Deutschland uber alles, uber alles in der welt.
[QUOTE=âManuel Zelaya, post: 983994, member: 377â]Embarrassing yourself in the context of World Cup 2014 was tipping Italy to win it.
Deutschland uber alles, uber alles in der welt.[/QUOTE]
Penalty shoot-outs are the ultimate test of skill and courage. To describe them as lotteries is frankly ridiculous.
Whereâs his winnerâs medal?[/QUOTE]
Roque Junior has a WC winnerâs medal mate.