They do and in yesterday's match in the whole 45 of football in the first half, they had nearly 80% of possession to their name - that is insane. Anyway, about your other point - he might just be as prolific as Messi but no one can deny that Messi is such a talented footballer, he is just a step above Ronaldo imo. But, that is only a tiny step and ronnie can still come to terms with him in his up coming years.
Lionel Messi
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They do and in yesterday's match in the whole 45 of football in the first half, they had nearly 80% of possession to their name - that is insane. Anyway, about your other point - he might just be as prolific as Messi but no one can deny that Messi is such a talented footballer, he is just a step above Ronaldo imo. But, that is only a tiny step and ronnie can still come to terms with him in his up coming years.
I'd say he would, he could initiate the counter and finish them off easy enough. He wouldn't be waltzing through/past the oppositions defences but he'd be in the right spot to recieve the cross/pass and turn it home.
great song, very underrated.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/fo...d-superstar-Lionel-Messi-to-rule-in-Rome.html
Some loon has once again put words in to Capello's mouth apparently...
Some loon has once again put words in to Capello's mouth apparently...
Messi CAN BE the superstar of the decade, not Messi IS like you two are trying to make out.
No one is denying Messi has a lot of talent and potential.
No one is denying Messi has a lot of talent and potential.
Billy Ray votes for Messi. And he's got a mullet, so he must be right.
Why even bother saying it, it's obvious to most people that Messi does look the most likely, he is clearly the most talented and exciting player in the world and only a handful of United fans seem hell bent on trying to portray Ronaldo as his equal or his superior.
Fair enough you can stick to your "time will tell" attitude but most people make predictions and i'd certainly agree with Capello.
Barca definately will not dominate possesion like they do if you swap Messi and Ronaldo,Messi just doesn't dribble past players and shoot at every oppurtunity,he plays quick one twos,passes the ball a lot and makes a lot of neat exchanges and opens up spaces for other players wheras Ronaldo will shoot from every possible angle and oppurtunity instead of making a smart pass,ofcourse there is every chance Ronaldo could/would match or outscore Messi if he played in the barca team,but they won't be as enjoyable and dominating as with Messi.
Why bother saying it? Perhaps because he was asked who he thought the favourite for the CL is?
I don't have a problem with people making predictions, but you and your sidekick appear to be making conclusions rather than predictions.
So far in their careers, only an idiot will argue Ronaldo hasn't been better and more successful. Messi may yet change that, but it's not a foregone conclusion.
Xavi and Iniesta are the main part of dominating possession.
Messi makes it flow, but swapping him for Ronaldo wouldn't cause that drastic an effect. They'd still dominate possession, like they did before having Messi as the main player in their team.
Cal, is Messi better than Ronaldo?
If you're asking who's the better player, no.
If you're asking who's having the better season, yes.
You just have to look at the stats regarding how many goals they score with Messi in the side and how many they score with him out of the side.
If the same can be said for United then maybe it would translate to Barca but we'll probably never know anyway because whilst United fans probably wouldnt view Ronaldo leaving as the end of the world the Barca fans would start a riot if Messi were to leave or be sold.
Plus Ronaldo has already made it quite clear he'll be playing for Madrid at some stage whilst Messi has made it quite clear he has no desire to leave Barca.
There's a pretty clear difference between scoring goals and dominating possession, though, is there not?
Obviously, but he makes a point of bringing up Messi and regarding him as the player to watch. Clearly Capello thinks Messi is already the best and can be the best of the rest of his career.
As far as success no doubt Ronaldo has been more successful, but Messi is rated higher in the world of football. He is the best player in the world and not that many people disagree with that, a handful of United fans like yourself is hardly surprising but i think the fact that alot of United fans even admit that Messi is better might make you think a little but clearly not.
I'm sure it boils down to La Liga bias, Barca bias, Bitter fans about the whole summer saga and any other typical excuses you care to create.
Sure, my point was more to do with goals and effectiveness, you assume Ronaldo could replace Messi and the Barca team wouldn't feel much effect but when you look at Barca minus Messi there is a big effect. He is that important to the team.
As for possession you perhaps don't give him enough credit for what he does with possession. He is an outball, he draws others towards him which opens up the pitch. He can take the ball in tight areas and very rarely loses possession whilst Ronaldo for United does lose possession quite frequently.
Also when Messi loses the ball he doesn't sit on his arse with his hands flailing around, he picks himself up and makes a good effort to win the ball back, at the weekend he lost possession a few times but almost every time chased back and regained it.
The amazing thing is that Barcelona have so far scored 84 goals and have +60 as a goal difference 
Yep, I seen him chasing back. Did that really well for one of Barca's goals, was it Alves'?
And yes, he's better than Ronaldo at keeping possession. Not significantly better though, Barcelona would still dominate possession with Ronaldo in the team instead of Messi.
I never talked about effectiveness or goals though, just purely possession.
I see, you said swapping Messi for Ronaldo wouldn't have that much of a drastic effect, i think it would. The team is quite messi dependant, i'd say more dependant than United are on Ronaldo.
Ronaldo would get his fair share of goals anywhere though no doubt.
Read it again.
"Xavi and Iniesta are the main part of dominating possession.
Messi makes it flow, but swapping him for Ronaldo wouldn't cause that drastic an effect. They'd still dominate possession, like they did before having Messi as the main player in their team."
Like I said, I was purely talking about possession, you have to read it in context.
I agree with the bits you put in bold, although you have to have more than two players good at passing a ball. The link up with Alves has been very good this season.
The only gripe i had was the "Messi makes it flow, but swapping him for Ronaldo wouldnt cause that drastic an effect." now i understand you were meaning possession wise but even so i think it would have a drastic effect. Ronaldo is a very different type of player to Messi that's why it would change a massive dynamic in that team.
I think it would just change the general flow of play, rather than from Xavi to Messi and then back to Xavi or onto Eto'o, there'd be more impetus on Iniesta, Alves and Xavi to do the creating and Ronaldo would be the one there to finish it off.
He'd play a similar role to the one Giuly had in his first season, when he stretched defences with his pace and was there to provide a clinical touch alongside Eto'o.
They'd still dominate possession. It's Barcelona.
So basically Barca would become United?
Thing is they still have Iniesta, Xavi and Alves doing the creating if Messi isn't around and they don't keep banging in goals for fun with Eto'o and Henry minus Messi.
Anyway this is really quite pointless, Messi wont leave, he's loyal to Barca as far as i can tell. ROnaldo could be at Madrid as early as next season.
Aye, but that has nothing to do with possession, they still dominate possession without Messi.
I've no idea how Barca would do if they swapped Messi for Ronaldo, I've not bothered to give it any thought.
And yes, it's very pointless.
Exactly, but they don't do enough with it because he isn't on the pitch and bringing in Ronaldo wouldnt change that. He doesn't have the ability to open up the game the way Messi does. Barca have always and will always play beautiful football but if they don't have certain players who can bring a bit of genius then they will be kicking the ball around without penetrating for too long.
Actually, no-one is currently rated higher than Ronaldo in world football - hence his recent awards.
And the fact he won those awards, would suggest that quite a few many people disagree with you.
Your love of Messi is almost nauseating but even this should not blind you to the fact that Ronaldo is actually a pretty good player in his own right and has, over the past 3 seasons as a whole, been Messi's superior.
He's not talking about the official awards due for the previous season but more about the form of the entire season.
So someone rating Messi as the best is nauseating.....
At this moment in time i think it's foolish to make a statement like "no-one is currently rated higher than Ronaldo in world football" when he's been below par, giving subdued performances and rarely inspiring his team. Football moves fast and even Ronaldos biggest fan can agree that Messi has been the better player this season which for any Ronaldo fanboy would mean Messi is currently the best player in the world. Unless someone is better than Messi and Ronaldo? No i didn't think so.
Who's better, Ronaldo or Messi?
Again, people like Sir Alex and Eusebio are clear idiots for believing Ronaldo is the best player in the World, and before you talk about the so called United or Portugal bias, does Sir Alex have a record of calling United players the best in the World?
He's not Mourinho you know...
Ronaldo won the award based on last seasons/years efforts.
He's been rubbish when compared to Messi this season. This is why Messi is the best player in the world ATM.
At some point you'll realise that there's just no convincing these people
Any reasonable sane person can recognise that Messi is playing the best football right now, will very likely if not certainly take the individual awards this year, and is playing on a completely different level to Cristiano Ronaldo, who is having, for him, a reasonably poor season - all the while remembering he's still the top scorer for the league leaders of the strongest league in Europe right now
Then again, any sane person could appreciate both talents without a bitter argument to the death about which is better
I miss sane people
Any reasonable sane person can recognise that Messi is playing the best football right now, will very likely if not certainly take the individual awards this year, and is playing on a completely different level to Cristiano Ronaldo, who is having, for him, a reasonably poor season - all the while remembering he's still the top scorer for the league leaders of the strongest league in Europe right now
Then again, any sane person could appreciate both talents without a bitter argument to the death about which is better
I miss sane people
Sorry Brad. You aren't allowed to think that Messi is a great player without thinking that Ronaldo is utterly rubbish. Or vice versa.
Although Marcos thinks Messi is rubbish because of the Pope or something like that.
Although Marcos thinks Messi is rubbish because of the Pope or something like that.
What he said.
Fergie's hyped up praise of Ronaldo or frequent comparision with greats is more to soothe his ego, and spur him up, nothig more . In the past he has always gone overboard to defend the likes of Schmeichel, Cantona, Beckham and Keane, eventhough they were all cnutish.
Messi as a footballer or on talent was/is in a different league to Bramble, Ronaldo, Kaka or any one else...lern to live with that...
Only 22 pages till we reach it to 100.Could we actually do it ?
No they are biased though, if you can't see that then you are blinded by your own bias. If everyone at United and in Portugal came out saying Ronaldo was the best i wouldn't be surprised, would anyone?
I'm sure everyone at Liverpool would say Gerrard is the best just like everyone at Inter would say Ibrahimovic is the best. It's very easy to big up your own, i'm sure i've heard Fergie comment on Messi and other players, he rates Ibrahimovic very highly and after the games against Barca he was full of praise for Messi but being a very smart man it's hardly productive to say that he thinks Messi is better when Ronaldo plays for his team is it? Can you not understand that?
You bring up SAF and Eusabio, i could easily bring up anyone at Barca from the president to the Manager to the fans and i could bring up anyone in Argentina from Maradona to Tevez.
Actually i'm quite sure plenty of Portuguese would now say Messi is better, Ronaldo has been average for portugal recently and took a lot of stick in the press there. Where as you just have to look through the list of people who claim Messi is better in argentina. When did Eusabio say Ronaldo was better anyway?
The list of people backing Messi is far greater than Ronaldo, maybe not always but now it is unquestionable and it's stupid to argue otherwise. Ronaldo is a great player but we are talking about a once in a generation player in Messi.
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