At the end of an emotionally exhausting 95 minutes (even for ‘neutral’ fans like us), one could not help but wonder if such a clash should have been reserved for late stage knockout rounds. Anyhow, with just 4 matches gone, the 13 goals and some really entertaining matches so far bodes really well for a World Cup which most the American and British media had prematurely and stupidly predicted was doomed for failure. The reasons had nothing to do with the facilities and more to do with their antipathy towards Vladimir Putin and stereotypes about Russian people.
Now back to the football. Oh Ronaldo! There are people who love to hate him. He is petulant, a show-off, arrogant as hell. But this is one of those rare cases of attitude being backed by sheer talent. There is no doubt Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the mentally toughest players on earth. At the age of 33, his body, after being subjected to hundreds of tackles by opposition defenders, isn’t what is used to be. In a match like this, where after going behind Spain were at their tiki-taka best, it was his ferocious willpower which enabled him to take the game by the scruff of its neck.
Objectively, there is no doubt Ronaldo is the best player on the planet on current form. Witness that sublime free kick in the 88th minute, which completed his 51st hat-trick. Only he could have attempted that, as the ball swerved around the Spanish defensive ball, and like a meaty cricket in-swing delivery, came back in to hit the top right corner of the Spanish goal. David De Gea, considered the best goal keeper in the English Premier League, could not even move. He had a bad day for sure, as Ronaldo’s second goal was down to his mistake (As a life-long Man Utd fan, I am happy De Gea reserves his bad days for his national team, and not his club!).
Lionel Messi was no doubt the world’s greatest in the period of 2009-2012. But since then, Ronaldo has leap frogged him, taking four FIFA World Player of the year gongs to Messi’s one. During the same time, Real Madrid has taken over the mantle of Europe’s pre-eminent club from Barcelona. There are still people who think Messi is better than Ronaldo, and justifiably so. But consider this, while turning up for Argentina, Messi looks troubled, tortured almost. The crushing burden of expectations shows on him, especially due to Argentina’s history at the World Cup, reaching the finals five teams and lifting the trophy twice.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, turns out for a nation where the weight of history is lesser. While the Portugese do expect their team to win the World Cup, there are no comparisons with past teams. Even reaching the final would be a step into the unknown for Ronaldo and his men. This was key in them winning the Euro 2016 tournament, as they wore down their opponents in the final, France, who had to face the pressure of emulating the great French team of the late 90s and early 2000s in front of their home crowd.
Messi, on the other hand, always gets compared to Diego Maradona. To be honest, he has better talent backing him in the Argentine national squad, with fearsome strikers and midfielders like Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero and Angel Di Maria. Most of the squad was there in the last World Cup when Argentina reached the final, only to come up against the barely-human cyborgs of Germany. At the end of the match in Rio de Janiero, Messi looked deflated, tired, knowing that the one chance at true immortality had slipped through his hands. He now has a chance to make amends, as Argentina open their campaign against the Viking warriors of Iceland on Saturday. Will it to be too much, having to do it all over again, in what will certainly be his, and Ronaldo’s, last world cup. We will see. One hopes Messi takes up the challenge, and saves his apparent weariness for some other day. Messi v Ronaldo - the Final Chapter, is now well and truly underway. May the best demigod win!
 "Lionel Messi")
