Categoría: www.danzon.es

In the last four years, the richest football club in the world has had it really bad. It won no trophy at all. And this current season, hopes were really high that the team would win a major trophy, with the appointment of the former coach of Juventus, Fabio Capello to be in charge of the team. Capello, who had coached the team once in the nineties, had led Juventus to win two back-to-back Scudetto titles in Italy in 2004 and 2005. With such high qualifications, it was assumed that he was eminently qualified for the job and would lead the team back to winning ways. While he resumed as manager, Capello vowed that he would only lose five matches in the league (la liga) all season.

However, with just about twenty matches into the league, Capello has lost seven matches. And he has led the team to some of it’s worst performances in recent history. Real has lost some vital home games in the Bernabeu against lowly rated teams like Recreativo and Levante, who are at the bottom of the league.

In a run of ten matches, the team scored just three goals, a far cry from it’s high scoring nature in the past. Even the recruitment of new players in the January transfer window has not helped matters. The club now lies four points adrift of Barcelona on the league table.

Having being knocked out of the King’s cup by Real Betis, the only hope of winning any trophies this season are in the champion’s league or the Spanish league. On current form, the chances of the team winning in Europe are very slim. As such, the expectation is that the team is more likely to go empty handed again this season.

What could have led to the current crisis in Europe’s most successful football club?

For one, the coaching style of Capello has been much criticised by the players and fans. The new manager’s defensive style has not been popular with fans and neither has it produced the desired results.

Also, the sudden change in the club’s player recruitment policy from the era of buying «galacticos» or world famous players, to that of buying relatively unknown players seem to have affected the club internally. It is not uncommon to hear of wranglings and power play in the dressing room.

Also, the manager’s apparent dislike for some players has helped in polarising the club and dampening the team spirit. The recent comments by the club president, and the manager about some key players in the team, which was hyped by the media, served to show the extent of the animosity that exists within the club’s rank and file.

FIFA’s recent award of the Ballon d’Or 2014 (World Player of the Year) to Cristiano Ronaldo proves that the accolade is more about politics and personal popularity than about performance on the field.

Although players from several nationalities are nominated and win the award, they always all play for European clubs while those active in other leagues such as in South America and Mexico are generally overlooked. The best player is chosen by players and managers based on favoritism rather than merit which often creates unworthy winners. Thus the award has lost its recognition and become the object of amusement and ridicule.

The Ballon d’Or was established by a magazine called France Football in 1956 to recognize the history-makers of the game. But that is not what it has turned out to be.

LA LIGA

Between January 1 and December 31, 2014 in this competition Lionel Messi scored 35 goals in 36 matches (11 with the right foot, 23 with the left and the other with the head) while Cristiano Ronaldo scored 38 but with less versatility as only 4 were with his head and unfavorable left foot.

In addition Messi created 97 chances, 24 more than any other player and completed 164 dribbles, 63 more than the nearest rival Iker Muniain of Atletico Bilbao (MAILOnline – Why Lionel Messi should win Ballon d’Or after a record-breaking year with Barcelona; by Kieran Gill, January 12, 2015).

EUROPE

Messi conquered the continent on November 25 when he became the all-time top goal scorer in the Champions League in Nicosia, Cyprus. It was his 23rd European city, his 16th European country and recorded the 24th different stadium in which he had scored (MAILOnline etc.)

WORLD CUP 2014

At soccer’s most important competition Messi led Argentina to the final, was voted Man of the Match in 4 games (the most of any player in the competition) and won the Golden Boot as the best player of the tournament.

He had the most impact on the competition. His goals were all match-winning goals which propelled Argentina to the final. He was the third joint highest goal scorer with 4 goals and 1 assist, created the most chances, had the most successful dribbling runs, made the most deliveries into the box and produced the most through balls of any player.

In contrast, Ronaldo was a non-factor and only scored a late goal against minnow Ghana and had an assist against the USA.

HISTORY MAKER

Messi’s performance in 2014 was what the Ballon d’Or is all about, namely, history-making performances. On March 16, he became Barcelona’s all-time top goal scorer (371). One week later he became the El Clasico (matches between Real Madrid and Barcelona) top goal scorer (21) with a hat- trick.

He scored his 400th career goal on September 27 against Granada and surpassed a 59-year-old record to become La Liga’s all-time top goal scorer (253) on November 22. Three days later he overtook Raul by scoring a hat-trick to become the top goal scorer in the history of the Champions League (74).

Given all these achievements one would think that of the three nominees Messi was the most deserving to win the award. Instead he not only lost to Ronaldo but he and the other nominee Manuel Neuer got less votes combined (31.48 %) than Ronaldo (37.66%).

In 2013 Ronaldo won nothing and Franck Ribery won everything but nevertheless Ronaldo beat him.

How can all this be explained?

POLITICS BEHIND THE VOTING

FIFA’s criteria call for national managers, captains and media officials to vote for the most outstanding performer of the previous twelve months.

Not unexpectedly players vote for their team-mates and compatriots. In the 2014 contest for example, Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) gave all three spots to Germans, Manuel Neuer, Phillip Lahm and Thomas Muller.

Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid) voted for his former team-mates Diego Costa and Thibaut Courtois.

Vincent Kompany (Belgium) voted for team-mates Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard as the world’s two best players with Arjen Robben third.

The best example of the politics in all of this is illustrated by Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) who declared without giving a reason that he regretted voting for Ronaldo instead of his team-mate Neuer. This ‘change of heart’ can only be explained as coming from a player who wants to save face with team-mates in the dressing room rather than from a voter with any real conviction.

The same criticism applies to managers who only vote for national players. For example, Argentina’s manager Gerardo Martino gave all three places to his fellow countrymen namely, Lionel Messi, Angel di Maria and Javier Mascherano, Belgium coach Marc Wilmots voted for Belgian Thibaut Courtous for third place, Didier Deschamps (France) gave the final spot to French striker Benzema and Holland’s Guus Hiddink gave top honor to compatriot Arjen Robben.

Players will get a lot of votes if they are popular ‘with the boys’ and can play to the cameras to advertise commercial products. Those who defend the choice of Ronaldo as best player point to the fact that in the second half of 2014 he scored 32 goals. The problem is that 9 of those goals were penalties so his non-penalty goals were 23, the same amount as Messi who had no penalties. Ronaldo is nicknamed «Penaldo» because of his mastery of drawing and scoring penalties.

In a World Cup year such as 2014 your performance in that tournament is what defines you. On the world’s biggest stage Ronaldo was a nonfactor and his supporters excuse this by saying he was carrying an injury. If that is true that is unfortunate but injury is a misfortune, not a privilege and he can only be judged on actual performance and not on speculation as to what he might have achieved had he been fully fit.

The Player of the Year award has lost its authenticity. But it does not have to be so. It is not a personality or school prom contest. It is supposed to recognize performance on the field. Maybe the officials of FIFA should themselves become the judges, give more consideration to non-European clubs and use criteria like achievements and fair play to choose the winner. This would not be a perfect system but would be preferable to the present one which is deeply flawed and cannot be taken seriously.

Victor A. Dixon
January 18, 2015

On May 28th 2011 the World’s ‘best’ team, Barcelona, travel to Wembley Stadium in London to take on the power of Manchester United. After destroying Real Madrid and Schalke in their semi-finals, these two giants of World football will do battle for the premier prize in club football. On display will be some of the planet’s most talented players in Xavi, Iniesta, Pique, Villa, Bojan, Mascherano, Alves, Rooney, Vidic, Ferdinand, Hernandez, Berbatov, Van der Saar, Evra, and, of course, the very best of all in the Argentinean genius Lionel Messi.

Barcelona, given their comprehensive victory over United in 2009 and their awesome pedigree over the past few seasons, will go into the final as strong favorites to lift the trophy and conquer Europe for a second time in three years. Their La Liga form has again been outstanding this season as they have pulled away from the big spending Ronaldo / Kaka led Real Madrid at the top of the table. David Villa, after a slightly slow start by his very high standards, has started regularly find the net and shown the form he did for previous club Valencia. Add to that the masterful passing and possession of Iniesta and Xavi, the vision, skill and finishing of Messi and it’s easy to see why Barca score so many goals. Lionel Messi has scored 52 goals so far this season in all competitions – that, by anyone’s standards is amazing and will be giving Alex Ferguson and his players countless sleepless nights.

Manchester United’s form has gathered pace as the season has progressed. After a slow start, with a number of draws against lower table sides, they have established themselves at the summit of the Premier League table going into the remaining 3 games of the season. They face a massive test against title rivals Chelsea on Sunday 08th May at Old Trafford. Should they win or draw that match they will be highly likely to win the Premier League title, which would see them surpass Liverpool’s record for the most league titles.

In Wayne Rooney and Hernandez United have two strikers in red hot form. So much so that they are keeping top scorer Berbatov on the sidelines. It will be interesting to see how Alex Ferguson addresses Barcelona’s midfield masters in the final. I expect him to pack the midfield with five players, and play Rooney alone upfront. That may mean Hernandez is limited to a cameo role.

This game has all the ingredients to go down as one of the greatest ever Champions League Finals. Will Manchester United gain revenge for the mauling they received in the 2009 Final, or will Fergie mastermind a victory over the seemingly unplayable Messi and Co? Come the 28th May 2011 and all will be revealed on the magnificent Wembley pitch. I for one can’t wait!

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira is a famous Brazilian football player who is better known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho. His name Ronaldinho was used to distinguish him from a fellow Brazilian football celebrity whose name is also Ronaldo. Gaúcho was used when the existing Ronaldo was also known as Ronaldinho.

He was born on March 21, 1980 in Porto Alegre, Brazil. He is the youngest among the three siblings. Miguelina, his mother, was a sales woman who soon decided to take up nursing. João, his father was a worker in the shipyard and a football player for Cruzeiro. He died due to a heart attack when Ronaldinho was at the age of 8. Ronaldinho’s brother Roberto was also a professional football player for Grêmio. But his career ended too soon due to his injuries. And now he manages Ronaldinho. His sister, Deisi, is his press manager.

During Ronaldinho’s childhood days, his interest in football was already evident. He started playing futsal and beach football which later lead into his passion for a more established football game. His character as a football player developed in his early years.

His career as a skilled football player started when he joined the youth team in Porto Alegre club Grêmio. His extraordinary ball control and capability to score was rapidly displayed which lead him to fame. Many clubs from all over the world attempted to get him to be part of their teams. Eventually Ronaldinho signed a 5-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain which he joined at the start of the new season.

During his years with PSG, there were still much larger offers from different clubs, but he opted to stay with the team. But after some time he decided to leave the team after their many unsuccessful attempts to qualify for any European competitions. This caused a bidding war among the many clubs. Finally, the bidding ended up with FC Barcelona as the winning club for Ronaldinho’s services. They acquired him for £18 million. He was a very high paid player in Barcelona. He has had his terrible times in his career but his many achievements was far more overflowing than that. He had also joined the Brazilan National team.

Ronaldinho is one of the most successful football players in the world. He had so many achievements in his arena which includes the FIFA World Player of the Year wherein he was awarded in 2 consecutive years (2004-2005), the European Footballer of the Year award and the FIFPro World Player of the Year award which was also awarded to him in 2 successive years (2005-2006).

Primera Liga is the First Division of Spain’s Liga de Futbol Profesional or Professional Football League and is also known as the Liga BBVA after the bank that sponsors it. It’s one of the most glamorous and competitive leagues in the world and the crowning glory of football in Spain.

Founded in 1928, La Liga de Futbol Profesional actually consists of two divisions – Primera and Segunda, known as La Liga Adelante, but when people talk of La Liga, they are generally referring to just the First Division.

Having won 31 and 19 Liga titles respectively, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are undoubtedly the dominant forces of Spanish football and are particularly bitter rivals. Beating the old enemy is as important as winning a title or a trophy in Spain, so given FC Barcelona’s recent successes daggers will definitely be drawn in 2009-10.

Barca completed the most successful season in the history of Spanish football in 2009 by winning La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League in 2009. And they did it by playing what was widely considered to be the most adventurous and entertaining football in the world.

Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, Puyol and, of course, Josep Guardiola are just a few of the names behind this fantastic side, which prides itself in being led by local Catalan players. What’s more the signing of Swedish goalscorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter Milan will add strength and variation to an already fearsome attack.

Under new president Florentino Perez, Real Madrid have responded by bring out the checkbook and after spending more than 300 million euro, glamour is back at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the shape of the New Galacticos. The superstar signings of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema and Xabi Alonso alongside Madrid veterans such as Raul and Casillas, guarantee a real battle for glory in 2009-10.

Amongst the other top teams are Sevilla FC and Atletico de Madrid, who are both representing Spain in the UEFA Champions League this season and modest Villarreal and a talented but unpredictable Valencia CF, who are playing in the Europa League along with Athletic Club Bilbao – a reawakened giant back at the top after a long period away.

Amongst the other sides there’s always a surprise team, and Malaga, Deportivo or Espanyol could well finish in European places at the end of the season.

However, few people would back any team other than FC Barcelona or Real Madrid for La Liga, and what’s more, with this year’s Champions League Final taking place in the Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid will be especially keen to stop the reigning champions raising the cup again.

This year more than ever, La Liga is down to two sides – Barcelona and Madrid.

For the best part of the last decade, two names have dominated world football (soccer) more than any others; Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. These great rivals have broken countless football records, scored insane number of goals and pushed each other all the way to greatness despite the fact that they are two very different football players, playing two very different styles in two very different roles for two different clubs. The only thing that really connects the two is the ocean of ability that separates them from the rest of the players in the world. There can be no question as to whether the duo belongs in the pantheon of football all-time greats anymore. Although any effort to determine the greatest footballer of all time is subject to generational bias, it should be noted that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are not individually or collectively the greatest football player[s] of all time due to the following reasons;

Cristiano is not the best ‘Ronaldo’ to play the game: Despite his unparalleled achievement in and off the field of play, Cristiano Ronaldo is still not considered the best Ronaldo to have played the game. Ronaldo de Assisi (also known as Ronaldinho) and Ronaldo de Lima (the phenomenon) are the other ‘Ronaldos’ whose legendary attacking prowess is often compared to Cristiano Ronaldo’s. Ronaldo de Lima was a more explosive and complete striker who would have probably been the ‘World’s Best Striker Ever’ if he had stayed injury-free in his footballing career, while Ronaldinho was the entertainer who, at his peak, constantly wowed the footballing world. Cristiano Ronaldo is better than other ‘Ronaldos’ in terms of constituency over the years, phenomenal goal-scoring rates, overall fitness and prolonged career (due to low rate of injuries) but for sheer skill, explosiveness, superior technical ability, and the ‘wow’ factor, the two ‘Ronaldos’ are better than Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lionel Messi is not the best ever Argentine player: It is a well-known fact that for a footballer to be the best ever in the world, he has to be the best ever footballer in his country and sadly, Lionel Messi isn’t both. Lionel Messi is not the best football player Argentina has produced. That honor goes to Diego Armando Maradona. Maradona (widely regarded as one of the best football players ever) is a footballing legend that inspired Argentina to a world cup victory and S.S.C. Napoli (in the Italian Football League) to its first and second League title [Scudetti] in its history. He is the scorer of the world’s most dubious goal (the ‘Hand of God’ goal) and the FIFA Goal of the Century. There is virtually a cult around the player in Argentina. Diego Maradona (and Pele) is the benchmark for the illustrious South American nation when a new star comes on to the block. So, while Messi has dazzled on the European stage, passing milestone after milestone and picking up loads of awards, his countrymen regard him as the country’s second best football player ever.

Both players have never won the World Cup: Although the latter rounds of the modern-day UEFA Champions League would rival the FIFA World Cup in terms of quality, with talents from around the globe increasingly concentrated in the hands of an elite few, the World Cup still retains substantial symbolic value as a quadrennial competition which pit the best of one nation against the best of another. It is no secret Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have never won (or inspired their respective countries to win) the FIFA World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo has won an European Cup (The Euros) with his home country, Portugal but has never been to the semi-finals or the finals of the World Cup while Lionel Messi was underwhelming in the 2014 world cup semi-final and final with his home country Argentina eventually losing to Germany. The World (and Messi) was shocked when he was named the best player and awarded the Golden Ball of the tournament. Lionel Messi is also a three-time runner-up in the Copa America competition with Argentina. Most football players such as Zinedine Zidane, Pele, Diego Maradonna, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo de Lima etc. often touted as the world’s best ever football player all played dominant roles in the World Cup tournament they eventually won. The same cannot be said presently of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

They are not Football’s best Goal-scorers ever: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are efficient, effective and phenomenal goal scorers boasting amazing goal per match ratio but they aren’t among the five best goal scorers in football history. Neither of them have scored up more than 700 goals in their respective careers so they cannot be in the company of great players such as Pele, Romario, Josef Bican, Ferenc Puskas (he has a FIFA goal-scoring award named after him), Gerd Muller. The rate of scoring of these legendary players is more impressive than that of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo given they ended their footballing careers with goal tallies well into the 800s. So if scoring goals are what makes footballers great, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, having better players boasting better goal tallies ahead of them, cannot be the greatest footballers of all time.

Both players have been accused of being criminals: They both have tax payment issues with the Spanish authorities (the country they reside and play in) and so have been accused of being criminals. After a lengthy trial that attracted so much publicity due to his status as a supremely gifted sportsman, Lionel Messi (and his father) was found guilty of not paying his taxes to the Spanish government, fined heavily and sentenced to two years in prison (he has since agreed to pay an increased fine rather than have a 21-month suspended prison sentence). His trial, guilty verdict, fine and (suspended) sentence damaged his credibility as a morally upright athlete who could do no wrong and that of his football club (FC Barcelona). Cristiano Ronaldo is also being investigated for tax evasion by the Spanish authorities, might be tried (or not), heavily fined and get a suspended prison sentence.

Their overall goal tallies are padded with too many penalties: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the greatest goal scorers of their generation. They score obscene number of goals in a football season but almost half of the total goals scored both players have come from the penalty spot. In football, penalties are the easiest way to score because it involves only the designated penalty-taker and a goal keeper to beat. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, being the designated penalty-takers of their respective club sides, always take every penalty kick awarded them or their teammates thereby increasing their goal tallies. In 2013/2014 Football season in England, Luis Suarez of Liverpool FC (before he moved to FC Barcelona to become a teammate of Lionel Messi) won the highest goal scorer award in the English Premier League and shared the European Golden Shoe award with Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring 32 goals in 33 games in open play without taking a single penalty. That is a record Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo do not yet hold.

They play for football’s most valuable clubs: Messi and Ronaldo play for super-clubs in Spain where the top sides score goals by the hatful. The second millennium’s new financial order unfortunately gave birth to the modern super team essentially creating a certain form of predictability in both domestic and continental leagues. Lionel Messi plays for FC Barcelona in Spain while Ronaldo plays for Real Madrid CF also in Spain. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF are extremely rich and dominant football clubs that can afford to buy and stockpile the best and most expensive football talent anywhere in the world and so Messi and Ronaldo are always surrounded and assisted by world-class players to aid in dominating continental club football thus raising their international profiles. Both clubs always have a slew of world-class players at their disposal which leads to utter domination in domestic (Spanish La Liga) and continental (UEFA Champions League) football competitions.

The benefit of playing in the Modern Era: It is almost impossible to compare players of different era in a game that has changed so much over the years. Great footballers like Ferenc Puskas, Alfredo di Stefano played in an era when the game was played at a tempo unrecognizably slower than in the modern era. That does not make them less great than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The game played presently has changed because of changes in rules governing the game and the quality of footballs produced and used. Players in the modern era are also fitter, faster, and stronger than they have ever been, but players (especially defenders) are technically weaker than they have ever been. The Champions League’s expansions of the nineties is also an advantage to the modern player: having a group stage allows a margin of error that simply did not exist in the knock out style pre-1995 tournament. It has never been easier for attackers – Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo probably would never score 40-60 goals a season in the 1980s when the rules governing the game and footballs used didn’t benefits attackers (strikers), and defenders/defenses were littered with world-class talents.

They are a part of football’s rich history: We view the history of the game through our own national experiences, or at least we did until the modern era, where we can watch the Spanish league, Messi and Ronaldo every weekend. It is worth remembering that in the 1970s and even into the 1980s, most of Europe just watched the European Cup and UEFA Cup games of their own national teams. So, here is a little suggestion; the next time Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo score a breath-taking goal and someone on Twitter suggests the debate (on the greatest football player) is over, head to YouTube and spend ten minutes watching goals from Diego Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Pele, Ferenc Puskas, Roberto Baggio, Eusebio, Alfredo di Stefano and so on. There have been plenty of geniuses in the game, and Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are part of that rich football history.

Generational and positional bias in football: The hunt for the greatest football player in history is like that of the Holy Grail. All footballers (sportsmen) are products of their time. Due to football’s developmental stagnation relative to other sport and because there are so many different positions, and so many roles within those positions, it is hard to have a worthwhile conversation about who the best football player of all time is. Since the main objective of the game is to score a goal, the best goal scorers such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will always be near the top of any list about the game’s best players.

Conclusion; Don’t kid yourself that there won’t be another player like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, no-one thought they would see another player like Diego Maradona.

Summer is over. That only means one thing: the Champions League is back. This year’s joint favourites, Barcelona and Chelsea, have fast become bitter rivals in this competition. That rivalry is certain to intensify since they were drawn into the same group at this early stage of the tournament. The format is as follows: 32 teams contest the group stage, divided into eight groups of four. The group winners and runners-up advance to the knockout stages, the eight third-placed teams move into the UEFA Cup third round, and the eight fourth-placed teams are eliminated. Here is an overview of all the groups with predictions on who we expect to win each group.

Group A: Barcelona (-118), Chelsea (+125), Werder Bremen (15/1), Levski Sofia (250/1)

Maybe the Chelsea-Barcelona rivalry won’t be quite as intense at this early stage. Both teams will advance from this group and there is a good chance they will meet again at a later stage of this competition. Chelsea look noticeably shakier this year. Their previously impenetrable defence looks slightly more lax. That will bode ill for the Blues. But unlike the past few years, with two Premiership titles under their belt, this season Jose Mourinho’s explicit goal is to win the Champions League. Still, we have to side with Barcelona here. They are goal scoring machines and should demolish Bremen and Levski, and they are more than capable of scoring against Chelsea. At close to even money, they are worth backing to win this group.

Group B: Bayern Munich (+125), Inter Milan (+163), Sporting Lisbon (6/1), Spartak Moscow (40/1)

Inter is a big price here and are worth backing. They have added strength, quality and depth to their squad and after the Calciopoli scandal were belated awarded last year’s Scudetto in Serie A. Sporting Lisbon are no pushovers, but Inter can and should get past them. There is one slight worry though. Bayern Munich is the sort of team that can run up the score against weak opponents like Spartak Moscow. If Bayern and Inter are level on points, Bayern could well win this group on goal difference.

Group C: Liverpool (-161), PSV Eindhoven (+450), Bordeaux (5/1), Galatasaray (10/1)

Although they are odds-on, it’s hard to look past Liverpool in this group. They are a well-organized side and lifted the CL trophy two years ago. Manger Rafa Benitez is experienced at European competition and should navigate his team through this group with ease. PSV are a shadow of the team they were last season. There is a good chance they won’t finish in the top two of the Dutch league, let alone replicate their above average Champions League form of recent years. Bordeaux and Galatasaray are second-rate clubs in this competition.

Group D: Valencia (-125), Roma (+150), Shakhtar Donetsk (20/1), Olympiakos (29/1)

It’s hard to understand why Roma are underdogs in this group. They are favoured to win this year’s diluted Italian league. Their squad is a lot stronger this season both on paper and judging by their Serie A results so far. But the Romans face tough Spanish competition in this group. Valencia have a disciplined and experienced Champions League side. They are deadly on the counterattack and stifle the offence of their opponents. This looks like a coin flip between Roma and Valencia, so we’ll take the Italians at odds-against. Keep and eye on Olympiakos. They won’t win this group, but, like many Greek teams, they can be dangerous in their home games.

Group E: Lyon (-125), Real Madrid (+163), Steaua Bucharest (10/1), Dynamo Kiev (50/1)

The collapse of Juventus has benefited no team more than Real Madrid. The Spanish giants picked up a handful more Galacticos and one of the world’s top managers, Fabio Capello. They are serious contenders for both the La Liga and Champions League titles this year. But they will have to get past their nemesis in this tournament: Lyon. The French side are perennially underestimated by the bookmakers despite excelling in European competition. We’ll happily back them again to win this group and possibly the whole thing.

Group F: Manchester United (-275), Benfica (+650), Celtic (13/1), FC Copenhagen (50/1)

Man Utd couldn’t have asked for a more favourable draw. But luck is what they’ll need to get any further than this stage. At this short price, it’s not worth betting on the Red Devils to win the group. Copenhagen are a dangerous team, having knocked Ajax out of this competition. They are a huge price to win the group and are worth a small punt. Benfica are solid as ever in Portugal and experienced in the Champions League. They should claim second spot.

Group G: Arsenal (-161), Hamburg (9/1), Porto (9/1), CSKA Moscow (10/1)

Arsenal were the surprise team of the Champions League last year, going all the way to the final and defying expectations with each match. This year, they seem to be overestimated. The Gunners have not yet settled into their new Emirates Stadium. The squad look noticeably uncomfortable and will take more time to jell. In light of the above, it’s worth looking at the others. CSKA are a huge price at 10/1 and the 2005 UEFA Cup champions must be backed to win this group. Russia is an intimidating place for visiting teams and the Muscovites are more than capable of claiming results from their travels.

Group H: AC Milan (-333), Lille (6/1), AEK Athens (25/1), Anderlecht (33/1)

Milan should cruise through this group with relative ease. They are capable of dismantling virtually any team in the world and opponents like Lille, AEK and Anderlecht are hardly dangerous challengers. Lille are solid in France and might hold Milan to a draw in their home leg. As usual, Greek side AEK will be tough at home too, but they are hopeless on their travels. Anderlecht don’t deserve to be in this competition. Even at this short price, take Milan.

The history of Nigeria’s football will not be complete without mentioning the contribution of goalkeeper Peter Rufai. The 47 years old former Stationary Stores of Lagos shot stopper made history in 1986 when he became the first Nigerian goalkeeper to move out of the shore of the country in pursuit of his professional career. He was signed by AS Dragon F.C of Benin Republic.

The quiet spoken Rufai is vastly traveled having played for Belgian club sides- Lokeren and Beveren before making a surprise move to Go Ahead Eagles of Holland in the 1993-1994 where he got selected to feature for Nigeria at the 1994 African Nations Cup hosted by Tunisia. He helped Nigeria lift the coveted trophy for a second time after defeat of Zambia in the final.

His performance at the African Nations Cup earned him a subsequent call-up to the Nigeria squad that played in the 1994 FIFA World Cup hosted by the United States of America. As both captain and goalkeeper of the team, he succeeded in ensuring Nigeria gave a commanding performance at her first World Cup outing. The team got to the round of 16, before succumbing to the more experienced Italians who were inspired by Roberto Baggio. The match eventually ended 2-1 in favor of the Italians.

Peter Rufai who was fondly called «Dodo Mayana» by his teeming supporters, returned to man the post for the Super Eagles in 1998 FIFA World Cup hosted by Spain. He could not however help the team scale through the round of 16, as they were battered by Denmark in a one-sided encounter played at the Stade de France. Dodo Mayana watched helplessly as the Danes put four goals behind him.

That match was incidentally his very last international outing for the senior National team before he eventually called it quit. His best ever performance were in the color of Spanish La Liga side- Deportivo La Coruna, where he made a name for himself despite been a back-up to Cameroonian goalkeeper- Jacques Songo’o for two consecutive seasons.

Peter Rufai presently lives in Nigeria, where he organizes football clinics in selected cities to help discover talented goalkeepers. He will be best remembered as one of the best goalkeepers Nigeria ever had, having earned the respect of fellow players and the Confederation of African Football who named him the 10th best CAF Best Goalkeeper of the century. It is noteworthy to mention that Rufai is the only Nigerian Goalkeeper so mentioned by the African Football body.

After losing the Player of the Year award (Ballon d’Or) to Lionel Messi for four consecutive years Cristiano Ronaldo won the accolade in 2013. This and the great start Ronaldo has made in the new season have livened up an old debate as to whether he is a better player than Messi.

The discussion has focused on a particular set of statistics, namely, goals. To the extent that the data can help us to hazard an educated guess about player performance, Messi is the better of the two at club and international levels.

However if goals are used as the criteria to compare players it is not sufficient to look only at the number of goals scored. You also have to break down the conversion rate into such things as whether the shots are from inside or outside the area, the goal expectation i.e. whether an average player would score given the chance presented and the quality of the opponents.

CLUB LEVEL

The findings of a recent mathematical study were published in the Washington Post which showed that in 2009 to 2013 Messi’s average chance quality (i.e. quality of chances created) was higher than Ronaldo’s. Ronaldo had more shots but were mostly from long distance and he only scored 30 goals from 587 such shots whereas Messi scored 28 goals from his 287 long distance shots. Messi was more efficient because a higher percentage of his shots were converted i.e. 9.75 % to 5.11%.

The study found that Messi is better at getting into goal-scoring positions since he had 29 danger zone shots (from inside the area) to Ronaldo’s 20.

Messi is also a better finisher. In the period 2009/10 through 2013/14 Messi averaged 40% more goals than expected goals compared to Ronaldo’s 20% (see WASHINGTON POST – Despite great season, Cristiano Ronaldo is not better than Lionel Messi; by Michael Caley, November 7, 2014).

Last season Ronaldo broke the norm and outscored Messi. This propelled him to win the Ballon d’Or in 2013. But this has to be looked at in light of the fact that Messi missed a part of the year through injury and when he resumed playing he almost caught up with Ronaldo’s tally of 31 by scoring 28 by the end of the 2013/14 season.

Also, in the current season Ronaldo has made a great start by scoring 12 non-penalty goals to Messi’s 7. A plausible explanation for this is not that Ronaldo is now a better player but it is attributed to the changing roles of both players at their respective clubs.

With the addition of Neymar and Luis Suarez on the flanks of Barcelona’s 4-3-3 formation Messi now plays a deep-lying playmaking role which has led to his goals trending down while his assists are going up. His goals per game fell from little under 1.50 in the season 2012/13 to 0.86 in 2014/15 while his assists in 2013/14 was little under 0.50 and rose to 0.86 in the current season.

At Real Madrid the trend was the opposite. With the recent addition of Gareth Bale and James Rodriques in the midfield Ronaldo is now more of a striker and less focused on distribution. He now takes more shots from inside the penalty area and in the current season his 12 non-penalty goals except for 2 were from inside the box. His goals per game rose from 1.00 in 2013/14 to 2.20 in 2014/15 while his assists in the same period fell from 0.25 to 0.17 (ESPN FC GLOBAL- Realigning Stars: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo face changing roles; by Michael Cox, October 23, 2014).

INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

Messi has a better strike rate than Ronaldo. The all time stats for all competitions show that Messi has 44 goals from 95 caps (0.46 goals per game) whereas Ronaldo has 51 from 116 caps (0.43 goals per game) (INTERNATIONAL STATS – November 8, 2014).

World Cup – Messi also surpasses Ronaldo with 5 goals from 15 caps (0.33 goals per game) to Ronaldo’s 3 goals from 13 caps (0.23 goals per game) (INTERNATIONAL STATS etc.).

Messi’s record is very impressive. In 2014 he led Argentina to the final, was voted Man of the Match in 4 games (the most of any player in the competition) and won the Golden Boot as the best player of the tournament.

Contrary to what some critics say he was the most deserving of the latter award. He had the most impact on the competition as Argentina would not have progressed to the final without him. He was the joint highest goal scorer with 4 goals and assists, created the most chances, had the most successful dribbling runs, made the most deliveries into the box and produced the most through balls of any player.

In contrast, Ronaldo has a sorry record. He has only scored thrice and against weak opposition, namely, a penalty against Iran (2006), the sixth goal in a 7-0 win against North Korea in 2010 and a late goal against Ghana in 2014. In the last tournament his only real contribution was an assist against the USA.

QUALITY OF OPPONENTS

Messi has more career goals for club and country. He has a total of 420 goals in 564 games (or 0.74 goals per game) while Ronaldo has 449 goals in 702 games (or 0.63 goals per game).

The important difference is that the Argentine has more game changing goals and against stronger opposition. His goals are directly associated with winning titles in La Liga, Champions League victories, Olympic gold medal matches and Youth and Club World Cups.

For example, as at March 24, 2014 for Barcelona he has scored against the best teams namely, 21 against Real Madrid (Barcelona’s fiercest rival), 20 against league champion Atletico Madrid and 18 against Sevilla (most successful club in Andalusia). In the Champions League he has 12 against German teams, 8 against English teams and 5 against Italian teams. And in the World Cup 2014 he scored 4 match winning goals.

Ronaldo on the other hand has failed to score in decisive matches and succeeded in scoring multiple goals against weak teams not only with his club but with his country. For example, in the English Premier League for Manchester United he only scored 2 goals in 9 games against Liverpool (United’s fiercest rival) and scored 1 goal in 15 games against stalwart Chelsea.

In the Champions League for United he failed to net in his first 26 games and although he scored in the final in 2014 for Real Madrid he had little impact in the other final in which he played in 2009 in a 2-0 loss to Barcelona.

In Spain in his first 9 games against Barcelona (Real Madrid’s main rival) he scored just 3 goals.

In the World Cup he has a sorry record which was discussed above and in the European Championship he has 6 goals against minnows Greece, the Czech Republic and a weak Holland team and underperforms against strong teams like Germany and Spain.

All in all the stats show that Messi is the better player because he is better at getting into goal scoring positions, is a better finisher and is a more efficient goal scorer. Messi has an age advantage because he is 27 and Ronaldo is 29 and though it is likely that both will still be playing for a few more years the Argentine will have more time than Ronaldo to extend his record of achievements. In the meantime the debate goes on.

Victor A. Dixon
November 20, 2014

Who does not know Lionel Messi? Miracles in the world of Argentine football this star could glint, though arguably somewhat dimmed in the period 2013-2014. The appearance of stars who often called Leo is somewhat decreased throughout 2013-204. He only packed 41 goals throughout the season, the lowest record since 2008-2009.

He even failed to deliver Argentina to the 2014 World Cup champions after the German bent 1-0. In order to improve performance on the ground, this footballer changes lifestyle and diet. With the help of his friend, fellow Argentine Martin Demichelis, Messi met with Italian nutritionist Giuliano Poser.

The meeting agreed earlier this year, Messi routinely visited Poser and got a good nutrition recipe. «After the World Cup, something has changed for him, Messi knows what to change, he has the humility to make a change in his professional career since January, he looks stronger,» Poser said. Investigate a calibration, one of the causes of decreased appearance Messi due to his hobby eating pizza.

Barcelona attacker was also experiencing weight gain due to lifestyle and eating patterns that are less attention. In order to improve performance, Messi decided to reduce the consumption of animal-containing menu. Well, since following the direction of Poser, in a relatively fast time, proved his appearance changed drastically.

Physical rapidly changing his fitness fit throughout the game. «He changed his diet, did not eat processed foods and replaced them with foods rich in vitamins, minerals, fibre contained in grains, fruits, vegetables, fish and olive oil,» Poser said as quoted La Gazzetta Dello Sport. Apparently, not just Messi who became a client Poser.

Manchester City striker, Sergio Aguero, also adopted the diet advocated by Poser. «We (Aguero and Messi) are undergoing a normal nutritional examination to check the condition of the body, he recommends food to improve our physicality, I am happy because it is important to look at the body and know what I want,» Aguero said.

No one denied the fact that Lionel Messi is the best footballer at the moment. Behind the performance that good, FC Barcelona star has a good diet.

In order to perform well on the pitch, Messi runs a diet program. There are some foods that must be consumed every day, but some are forbidden.

Dietician Messi, Giuliano Poser, revealed that sugar became one of the strikers petty striker with the nickname La Pulga it.

«Sugar is the worst thing for muscles,» Poser told Mundo Deportivo.

According to Poser, sugar contains many calories that can damage the body’s metabolism and interfere with muscle development. The more Messi away from sugar, the better.

In the meantime, there are 4 mandatory meals on Messi’s diet menu list. Is that?

«Water, good quality olive oil, grains, and fresh fruits and vegetables that are not contaminated by pesticides, therefore can cause massive damage to the body,» Poser said.

«My method is unquestionable – everyone can see how Messi looks from week to week,» Pose said.

A healthy and balanced diet leads Messi to the top of his career. At the age of 28 years now, the captain of the Argentina national team has already bagged 7 La Liga titles, 4 Champions League and 5 Ballon d’Or trophy.

Only one event that has not been conquered Messi, namely the World Cup.