Tag: soccer

Ronaldo vs. Messi battle- My take

 A common debate encountered between football fans is: Who is better??
Ronaldo or Messi
When it comes to hardcore fans, opinions don’t concord. Messi sure has the lead with his 4th Ballon d’Or but it isn’t enough when he has a fierce competitor like Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo’s transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 made them stand head to head and pit against each other. The rivalry between their clubs fuelled up the comparison talks between them. While Messi was product of a brilliant product of Barcelona academy that they exhibit ostentatiously, Ronaldo was brought at Bernabeu on popular fan appeal.
Although both have different roles, different positions, different methods at their respective clubs, but the comparison between them is inevitable owing to the fact that they have shared last 5 Ballon’dor amongst them. Both give 100% to their clubs.
Ronaldo has an unflinching pace that takes defenders with surprise; his sharp acceleration helps the cause.  Messi likes to take defenders one-on-one while inching closer to the opponents’ goal-line.
                Well, I am not taking any sides, but every individual has a right to have an opinion, so in order to facilitate that I have garnered some points that can ease you into making your judgment.
  1. Pace and acceleration: Ronaldo has a pace like a leopard, out-beating his markers is a walk in the park for him. Messi has sufficient pace to do the out-pacing and he puts his dab body in good use by making low profile supporting runs.
  2. Ball control and Dribbling: Dribbling is the Magnus opus of Messi. Infact most of his goals are the result of his gifted supremacy in dribbling. On the other hand, Ronaldo though has a supremacy in the step-overs (or the scissors), but he has been seen a little shy of perfectly executing at times.
  3. Assists: I consider both players selfless, though Ronaldo is often touted as a selfish player, but having played at winging position myself, I know that wingers don’t get many chances to prove their selflessness.  
  4. Strategy: Both players are good at crafting clear-cut opportunities for their teams. They are not only great cool finishers but are equally expert in engineering opportunities that literally beg for finish.   
  5. Shooting: Shooting from a distance is what has made Ronaldo a priceless treasure. His thunderous shots are a scary sight for even best of the goalkeepers. Messi hasn’t been seen much with the long shots but he can’t be underestimated for that.
  6. Acrobatics and weak foot ability: Messi has been termed weak in this particular department, and it is quite true owing to his meager 5’7” height, but in recent seasons, he has been making constant progress to subdue such allegations. Statistically speaking, he scores a fair amount of goals with headers. Ronaldo leaps over jumping defenders is a constant sight in Real’s game and its quite clear that there’s no dearth in his aerial abilities. Weak foot ability is a thing, though isn’t a necessary quality but is a great quality to have when bailing out from a compromising situation. Both wizards have excellent weak foot ability, which helps them to gain extra points and fan appreciation.
Another quite impressive quality to consider is free kick taking ability. But I believe when you are in a 5-star team, it isn’t a much needed one. Generally such teams already possess a free kick genius, for example Barcelona has Xavi while Madrid had the services of Beckham and Roberto Carlos.
The discussion will not end, and may never end, but one thing’s for sure that the duo will keep us entertained in the years to come.

Change the Game

With the advent of EURO CUP-12 and departure of IPL, the tide of entertainment has turned to football once again. The football fever is catching people by surprise. I mean that’s not normal in India where cricket is a religion and cricketers gods. But the time has changed now and the new ‘Gods’ are rising!
When I realized this shift in trends, I was forced to ponder, what on earth is wrong with people of India. What changed? Where is the mob that devoted themselves for cricket? Where are those people of small cities that relied on radios for the latest scores? Where are the toddlers that knew no other game than cricket which they played even in the scorching sun? What is bringing the dismissal of cricket as the ‘major sporting event’?
 The answer lies in the following paragraph.
 One of the major reasons that football is taking over the world is that there is a whole lot more passion in this game. The crowd, the jeering, the Mexican waves, the enchanting, the loyalties; all entwine together to make it an exquisite entertainer. Now, unlike cricket, football doesn’t has to break-off every five minutes, thus the momentum and thrill is maintained. Audience can enjoy 90 minutes of pure athleticism without boredom. Plus the 90 min limit enables one to plan out everything before and after the game. The thrill and excitement knows no bound, and the non-anticipatory action adds salt to the taste. Maybe, the business mindset of IPL’s accounts for the lost interest in the game, or it may be the overdose of it. In all, football gives a totally different feel that is not insured in the willow driven game.  At a teenage level, since it requires not much arrangement; just grab a ball (for starters) and remember few ground-rules, and you are ready to go. It may not be the best choice in the sultry summers of India, but who cares when you have donned a Messi’s jersey and have the ball. The passion driving makes up for the fatigue.
So, don’t be surprised the next time you see the teenagers following up the ‘Change the game’ mantra……because football is the next big thing after cricket that’s going to surface on Indian subcontinent soon.

For the World Cup 2010

While I was writing this, the two teams in the World Cup finale were getting prepared for the showdown (I took a fair time in posting the blog). Well, I have been the fan of this game for over 3 years now. You may find it a very short period, but I became fan of this game after I played the FIFA 07 in my PC, that’s when it all begun. And now from ‘I know nothing about soccer’, I am suffering from 24×7 soccer mania.

Now returning to the topic, this World Cup has been a success, nevertheless of the failures of some big names, the biggest upset being the departure of two giant finalists from last World Cup, the French & the Italians from the group stages. Nonetheless, we saw some great matches, individual plays, long shootings, skillful plays, great team efforts. Apart from these, we experienced some great predictions from ‘Octopus Paul’ too, he has been judging correctly (breaking hearts & inviting unwanted attention on the way) till the finals & moreover it has chosen Spain to be its favorite team. Let’s see if it gets this one right. (I came to know afterwards that it judged it correctly too).

I had been supporting Argentina, to be more precise, Messi was my reason for supporting Argentina. Which team would not be the favorites if it has the FIFA World Player of the year in its squad? Even though he couldn’t score a single goal, he was there’s best players & he played his part pretty well.
Now, the major surprise was some great actions shown from the senior players viz. Wesley Schneider(NED), Diego Forlan(URU), Iniesta(ESP), Landon Donovan(USA). These really showed us the meaning of ‘Old is Gold’, stealing the attention from a lot of players that were expected to shine in the WC.
Thomas Muller getting the prestigious ‘Golden boot’ was a slap in the face of Maradona, who thought of him as a ballboy at their first meeting.
The closing ceremony was breathtaking too. With every anticipating a ‘Waka Waka’ from Shakira, the performers were brilliant too.

With this, I close my first blog. Thank you friends for reading my blog, & forgive me for any grammatical or spelling mistakes. I would love to get suggestions &  comments from you.