Powered by Blogger.
RSS

lionel messi 02

lionel messi

lionel messi

South Africa World Cup 2010 is around the corner and fans from all over the world can't wait to watch current soccer stars go head-to-head during the much anticipated tournament. On June 11th 2010, South Africa the host country will kick-off the tournament against Mexico which will be the first game of group A which is composed by South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, and France. Although millions of fans are expected to watch the opening ceremony, many more are expected to be glued to the TV on June 12th which is the day Argentina will play its first game of the tournament against Nigeria. The reason for the increase in viewers is not because this is a classic, but because of Argentina's young star Lionel Messi.

lionel messi

lionel messi

At merely 22 years old, Lionel Messi has been named the best soccer player in the planet already and has won championships with his current team Barcelona FC.

lionel messi

lionel messi

Lionel Messi is a small mid-fielder with heart of a lion. He is only 5 feet 7 inches making his ball handling skills and noticeable lower body strength a sight for sore eyes for the hard-core soccer fans. His soccer skills are so impressive that has been compared to the Argentinean legend Diego Maradona. Messi moved to Europe with his family at an early age, and his soccer skills were developed by Barcelona FC. In the 2004-2005 Spanish soccer league (La Liga) Messi was the youngest player to debut in a team in La Liga and the youngest to score a goal in an official game in La Liga.

lionel messi

lionel messi

Although the Argentinean national soccer team struggled to qualify for this summers World Cup, all eyes will be on this team because its heart and soul is named Lionel Messi.

lionel messi

lionel messi

Lionel is only 24 years old and currently plays for fc Barcelona. Born in Rosario, Messi started playing football at the age of 5, under his father's wings, at a local club. He then rolled into the Barca youth team where he worked his way up from C-B teams to the main squad in rapid pace. His debut in the highest class of football began at the age of 16, during a friendly against FC Porto.

lionel messi

lionel messi

Now in 2011 it's time to analyse his style of play and it becomes crystal clear that he's a master with the ball. Thanks to his short length and fast legs, any opponent will have a hard time keeping up with him. However unlike most magicians, he's also a terrific team player.

lionel messi

lionel messi

Cristiano is 26 years old and is a Real Madrid player. Ronaldo started his career at Sporting (2002) and in 2003 he guided his team to a win against the big Manchester United. The players of Man U knew that they would rather play with him than against him, so they contracted Ronaldo for the start of the 2003 season. After countless of successes, he became the most expensive player ever when he transferred to Real Madrid in June of 2009, the price: 94 million euro.

lionel messi

lionel messi

Ronaldo is a very fast and strong player. He took sprint lessons from the Olympics champion and is clearly a player "from the streets", pulling more tricks with a ball than any party clown could ever aim for. This quality is further emphasised by a great shooting technique that makes him an excellent asset during set pieces.

lionel messi

lionel messi

Now it's time to compare the two players and pinpoint a winner, in my respectful opinion. First it's clear that both players are terrific assets to any team, and both share a lot of qualities. For one they can both outplay several opponents and make a difference when the opposition is tight.

lionel messi

lionel messi

However a winner has to be chosen and in my opinion that winner is Cristiano Ronaldo. At this point Messi might have the edge on the field, but Ronaldo has great free kicks and is clearly stronger physically. The trade off being that Messi is the better team player. I remember Ronaldo when he played for Manchester United and back then he was, without a doubt, the best player in the world. His way of attacking suited the wing-play of Manchester United perfectly, and while less obvious in Madrid's style of play, his past years are to be considered. Also in Ronaldo's favour is his great charisma off the pitch. Messi is a pure footballer and doesn't have that same level of personality away from the field, something past greats (Cruijff, Maradona) did have.

lionel messi

lionel messi

And that's it for this comparison. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi share a lot of qualities; especially the ball technique of both is ground breaking. And while Messi currently has the edge, in my opinion Ronaldo is the more complete footballer in the long haul, not partly thanks to his great charisma both on and off the pitch. However they're both very young so in the coming years this slight favour can definitely swing both ways.

lionel messi

lionel messi

Another off the Argentine assembly line of "New Maradonas", Lionel Messi may be the first to live up to that unfair comparison. Where Javier Saviola, Juan Roman Riquelme and Pablo Aimar have unsurprisingly failed to match HIS high standards despite initial promise, Messi has shown that even at a young age he is able to carry the weight of expectant teammates and a nation on his shoulders.

lionel messi

lionel messi

Credit must also be given to his Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard for not rushing him into a starting place at Barcelona he is more than ready to hold.

lionel messi

lionel messi

It is clear Messi is a talent, a future player, but I ask that everyone continues supporting him when he is out of the team because he is still very young." Rijkaard said in a recent interview. He continued:

lionel messi

lionel messi

I'm convinced about him because I know he isn't paying attention to all the speculation in the media."He prefers to do his talking on the pitch."

lionel messi

lionel messi

I want to keep on learning and I hope things go well for me. The thing is to help the team as much as possible."

lionel messi

lionel messi

These are the words of a young man with a focused head on his shoulders and more importantly good advisors around him. How many times have we seen the vultures swoop in on young prodigies sweet talking them and their parents into committing career suicide by sulking and demanding more playing time only to become no more than a trivia question five years down the road.

lionel messi

lionel messi

With the World Cup in Germany swiftly approaching Lionel Messi will definitely be one to watch if selected for national duty.

lionel messi

lionel messi

Enrique Domínguez, Messi's former coach said "He could do things with the ball that defied the laws of physics. The only other person I have ever seen do that was Diego Maradona".

lionel messi

lionel messi

Let us all recall that Maradona himself did not come into his own until the 1986 World Cup in Mexico despite being tipped for great things in Spain four years prior. That World Cup was a general disappointment for Maradona as well as Argentina. Messi will be three years younger than Maradona was in his first World Cup appearance and it is important that we all allow Lionel to continue developing at his current pace without placing on him too much pressure for a teenager to handle. For his part Messi must maintain his enthusiasm and work ethic that has so far impressed his coaches and peers. If he can do that then the sky is indeed his limit.

  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • RSS

0 comments:

Post a Comment